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Home » Desserts » Cookies & Bars » Canestrelli Delicious Italian Cookies

Canestrelli Delicious Italian Cookies

By: Rosemary Published: August 4, 2018 Updated on: June 25, 2021

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Canestrelli are a wonderfully delicious Italian Cookie, an almost shortbread type cookie but with a crunch, fast and easy. The perfect afternoon tea cookie. A touch of Lemon makes them irresistible.

Table of Contents

  • Canestrelli
      • And yeah I actually like the basic ones better. Because sometimes less is more!
  • Canestrelli Delicious Italian Cookies
  • More Italian Cookies you may enjoy!
      • Never Miss a Recipe!
  • What are the ingredients in Canestrelli?
  • Canestrelli Delicious Italian Cookies
    • Ingredients  1x2x3x
      • *I use salted butter if you use unsalted add 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
    • Instructions 
      • **I used a small pastry tip.
    • Nutrition

canestrelli on a blue board and in a cookie jarCanestrelli

I have returned to Italy and of course I am missing all my family and friends, especially my eldest Daughter that unfortunately I didn’t see nearly enough.

She is off on adventures of her own and is now living in Vancouver (this was 2 years ago and now she is back in Toronto!) for the time being. So we only had a few days together.

Although we did have a great time and now we look forward to her visit back home.

Naturally with the return to your home that was mainly kept up by the Italian, well you can imagine what I came home to! To tell the truth it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined.

At least the dog, the cat and the plants were still alive.

Canestrelli a wonderfully delicious Italian Cookie, a shortbread type cookie but with a crunch, fast and easy.

Needless to say I have a to do list the length of my arm, starting with grocery shopping. So while I was shopping I of course noticed the difference between Canadian aisles and the Italian store aisles. Yeah big difference.

While checking out the cookie aisle (believe me that aisle kept me staring forever in Canada) I noticed how unstuffed the cookies tend to be here. The lack of cream, chocolate, caramel, marshmallows etc.

The very basic cookie, from breakfast cookies to snack cookies with this delicious Canestrelli front and centre. These cookies are sold year round but are very popular at Christmas.

And yeah I actually like the basic ones better. Because sometimes less is more!

Canestrelli Delicious Italian Cookies

canestrelli in a cookie jar

More Italian Cookies you may enjoy!

Pizzicati Italian Cookies

up close pizzicati cookies

Wine Cookies – Ciambelle al Vino

upclose of Italian wine cookies

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    Abbracci – Italian Hugs Cookies

    abbracci cookie leaning again 2 stacked with a glass of milk

    Traditional Italian Breakfast Cookies

    Italian breakfast cookies front photo in a grey box and 3 in front

    I decided to make these Canestrelli, which are one of my favourites! This is a simple crunchy but an almost melt in your mouth cookie delight. The dough comes together in minutes especially if you use your Food Processor.

    What are the ingredients in Canestrelli?

    They are made with butter, powdered sugar and hard-boiled egg yolks. Yes that’s right,  egg yolks,  strange right? That’s what I thought, but I was told this helps make them crumbly, which is what we want.

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    canestrelli in a white jar

    Canestrelli are originally from Monferrato which is in the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. If you are looking for a tasty, yummy Italian Cookie why not give these a try.

    Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee or just when you want a cookie. Enjoy!

    canestrelli on a brown board

    Cookies should be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months.

    I love my Biscotti handmade bowl from Nelle Design!

    canestrelli Italian cookies in a bowl

    Canestrelli Delicious Italian Cookies

    Rosemary Molloy
    Canestrelli a wonderfully delicious Italian Cookie, an almost shortbread type cookie but with a crunch, fast and easy. The perfect afternoon tea cookie. 
    4.37 from 127 votes
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    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    chilling time 2 hrs
    Total Time 35 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 60 cookies
    Calories 38 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup all purpose flour (130 grams)
    • 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar (75 grams)
    • pinch salt
    • 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons corn starch (100 grams)
    • 2/3 cup cold butter cut into pieces* (150 grams)
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
    • 3 hard boiled egg (use just the yolks)
    • zest 1/2 lemon

    *I use salted butter if you use unsalted add 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

      Instructions
       

      • Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water, heat until boiling, then remove from heat and let sit 8-10 minutes. Place under cold water. Remove shell when cooled, separate the white from yolk and mash just the yolk part, well with a fork.
      • In a food processor whisk together flour, sugar, salt, corn starch and zest, then add cold butter and vanilla, pulse a few times to mix, add egg yolks and pulse until almost combined, move to a lightly floured flat surface and knead gently until combined. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate for at least an hour or two or even overnight.
      • Pre-heat oven to 335° (170° celsius).   Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
      • Remove dough from fridge, on a lightly floured flat surface, start with rolling out half the dough to 1 centimeter thickness and cut with a small to medium size flower cookie cutter, using a straw or any small round hole cutter**, cut a hole in the middle of the flower. Place cut out flowers on prepared cookie sheets and bake for approximately 12 -14 minutes, cookies should not brown. Let cookies rest 5 minutes then move to wire racks to cool,  then dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

      **I used a small pastry tip.

        Nutrition

        Calories: 38kcalCarbohydrates: 4gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 18mgPotassium: 3mgVitamin A: 75IUCalcium: 2mgIron: 0.1mg
        Keyword crunchy and buttery cookie, fast and easy Italian Cookie Recipe
        Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

        Updated from September 2, 2016.

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          1. Lutzy Lu says

            December 14, 2022 at 5:09 am

            Hi !! this is the first time I would try to make it but I dont have a food process, can I use a stand mixer?
            It would came out?
            Hope u can help me ! I really want to make this cute cookies !!

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              December 14, 2022 at 9:00 am

              Hi Lutzy, yes it would work with a stand mixer, use the flat beaters and it should be fine. Let me know how it goes. Take care!

              Reply
          2. Pettia says

            December 9, 2022 at 5:39 pm

            How long will they keep in tins?
            Thank you

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              December 9, 2022 at 6:13 pm

              Hi Pettia, if they are kept in an airtight container they should keep for up to 8 days. 🙂

              Reply
          3. melissa says

            January 3, 2022 at 2:09 pm

            5 stars
            I have a few recipes from my family, but you have wonderful recipes that I have not seen before. Already planning for next year.

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              January 3, 2022 at 11:58 pm

              Hi Melissa, thanks so much, let me know what you try. Happy New Year.

              Reply
          4. Julie says

            July 3, 2021 at 3:06 am

            4 stars
            You think that these cookies will never come together. And then, magically, the crumbles form a dough. I rolled them into little balls, dipped the tops in colored sugar, and flattened them. I might need to add a little more flavor of some form, because they honestly do taste a little eggy to me. I will totally try these again.

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              July 8, 2021 at 6:59 pm

              Hi Julie, thanks, maybe some almond flavouring would work. Have a great weekend.

              Reply
          5. Elizabeth says

            May 17, 2021 at 7:04 am

            5 stars
            Exquisite recipe, thank you.❤

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              May 19, 2021 at 8:18 pm

              Hi Elizabeth, thanks so much, glad you liked them. Take care.

              Reply
          6. Rosalia says

            May 3, 2021 at 9:52 pm

            5 stars
            Superbly excellent delicious cookies.

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              May 4, 2021 at 7:15 pm

              Hi Rosalia, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed them. Take care.

              Reply
          7. Maria Cilea says

            February 21, 2021 at 9:42 pm

            5 stars
            I haven’t tried these yet but I certainly will; they are so easy to make. But, I do need to get a flower cookie cutter first…
            Thanks, all your recipes are great!!

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              February 22, 2021 at 11:55 am

              Hi Maria, thanks so much, you could always make them with a small round cutter. Have a great week.

              Reply
          8. Cathy Hennessey says

            February 1, 2021 at 3:27 am

            Made these tonight they are amazing thank you for sharing the recipe.

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              February 1, 2021 at 7:08 pm

              Thanks Cathy, so glad you liked them. Have a great week.

              Reply
          9. Carolyn says

            January 10, 2021 at 12:01 am

            Has anyone tried making these in a cookie press? I just mixed up the dough (Yay for using up the egg yolks leftover from mixing up the pignoli cookies!) and it’s chilling.

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              January 10, 2021 at 2:56 pm

              Hi Carolyn, I have never used a cookie press, I find the dough too stiff, but you could try it if you like. Let me know if you do.

              Reply
          10. Barb says

            December 17, 2020 at 3:40 am

            This recipe, along with the chocolate version, sounds wonderful! Would it be possible to split this cookie dough in half and add the cocoa to one half of the dough to make the chocolate version? If so, how much cocoa would you add to one half of this cookie dough? Thank you for this recipe!

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              December 17, 2020 at 5:01 pm

              Hi Barb, I think you would be better off halving each recipe, because of the addition of cocoa, you need to add less corn starch, so I don’t know how that would work out. Let me know.

              Reply
          11. Cook from Saskatchewan says

            December 14, 2020 at 6:17 pm

            4 stars
            Made these yesterday and really enjoyed the recipe. May try them in my cookie press. Interesting texture and I liked the hint of lemon. Also like cookies that let you make the dough one day and bake the next.

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              December 15, 2020 at 12:19 pm

              Thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed them.

              Reply
          12. soha says

            December 8, 2020 at 5:52 pm

            I don’t know why they lost their shape a became very thin?

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              December 11, 2020 at 8:35 am

              Hi Soha, it’s probably your flour is too low in protein. A higher protein around 12% keeps cookies from spreading. Hope that helps.

              Reply
            • Silvana says

              November 12, 2022 at 7:17 pm

              5 stars
              Excellent recipe! They loved them at home. They melt in your mouth literally. Thank you!

              Reply
              • Rosemary says

                November 13, 2022 at 7:01 pm

                Hi Silvana, thanks so much, so glad everyone enjoyed them. Take care!

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          Hi, I'm Rosemary.

          Living in Italy I learned to cook authentic Italian dishes using whole ingredients, fresh veggies and delicious spices. So take a seat and have a taste! Read More

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