In our house these wonderful cookies, usually called “Tetù” were known as “Sicilian Kisses”. How they got that name, we’re not sure. We were usually given some explanation of “Spicy” or something else just as cringe worthy, especially when you’re a kid. But in the end, they will always be known as Sicilian kisses to us. Because of the warm spices used, this is a perfect winter cookie. Something we always have just at Christmas and New Year, but of course they are great any time.
Since we serve these for the holidays, there always tends to be a few dessert options. That’s probably why we started making them fairly small. It also allows some to be enjoyed at the get together and then there’s plenty for everyone to take some home. You can easily double them in size, just make a slight adjustment to the baking time. Though it won’t be as much as you think, so add time in very small increments.
It’s import to make sure all the dry ingredients are mixed well before they go in to the sugar mixture. So taking the time to sift all if together will payoff in the end. To not overwork the dough, mix in the mini chips and orange zest at the very end. But know that the dough is very thick, so it’s going to take a bit of muscle.
A great thing about this cookie dough is it freezes well. If you know the time around your holiday gatherings is going to be a bit nutty, make them a couple weeks in advance. If you go through the step of shaping them, they will be that much easier to finish when you need them. Just make sure to take the step of freezing them individually before you put them in a container to store them. Otherwise you’ll still end up with a big mass of cookie dough. If you set them up on the baking sheet as your oven is heating, you really won’t need to add much time (if any) to the baking because they were frozen. Their size helps in this case.
Once baked, these only need about a minute on the baking sheet to set up before you move them to a cooling rack. Though you will want them to cool completely before glazing, otherwise the glaze will just melt in or drip off. No one wants that. In the “not 100% sure why” category, even though we always make them for Christmas, we don’t use green and red sprinkles. It’s always been multicolored. But that’s us – you do you and use whatever colors make work for your celebration.
Sicilian Chocolate Spice Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Scoop
- Large Mesh Strainer
- Electric Mixer
- Zester
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Nutmeg
- ½ tsp Ginger
- ½ tsp Allspice
- ¼ tsp Clove
- 1 cup Shortening
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- ½ cup Milk
- ½ tsp Vanilla
- ½ cup Mini Chocolate Chips
- Orange Zest From 1 Large Orange
Glaze
- ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
- Lemon Juice About 1 Lemon
- Multicolored sprinkles
Instructions
Make the cookies
- If baking the same day, preheat the oven to 400℉ Prep two baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper, set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a mesh strainer to sift together all dry ingredients. Use a large strainer/sifter if possible, so you can add all dry ingredients before sifting. Give a stir after all dry ingredients are the bowl to ensure the flavors are well mixed. Set aside.
- Cream together shortening and brown sugar. Then add eggs, one at a time to shortening and brown sugar mixture. Add the vanilla.
- Scrape down the side of the bowl, then start to add the dry ingredients. Alternate with adding the milk. Once the mixture is almost together, add the orange zest and the chocolate chips. Finish mixing by hand.
- Using a small scoop to shape the cookies. Leave 1½" - 2" between them, but they shouldn't spread much at all. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, let cool before finishing with glaze.
Make the glaze
- Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice (you can also substitute orange juice if you prefer). Slowly add the liquid in until you get the consistency you want. I prefer it a little thicker so the white stands out on the dark cookie. Glaze a some, then add the sprinkles, glaze some more...the glaze can set up fairly quickly, preventing the sprinkles from sticking.
- Let glaze step up completely before storing. The thicker the glaze, the more time they will need. Then store in an air tight container for up to a week.
Notes
- You can freeze them and bake from frozen. You just need space in your freezer (I used 2 9x13 pans). Follow the same steps through shaping. Since they are not baking, you can place them very close together. Once they have frozen solid, you can transfer them to a container or bag for storage until ready to bake. Bake & glaze as usual, though baking time might be closer to 10 minutes. I take them out of the freezer as soon as I start to preheat the oven, this gives them some time to thaw.
- As with all baking, make sure to have an oven thermometer. Use that to gauge the temp, not when you oven says it's ready. In most cases there is a significant amount of time before it really hits the temp you want. In this case, for my oven, it took 15 minutes after the oven said it was at 400.
- Because the cookies are small, this recipe makes a lot of cookies. Although the baking time is only 8 to 10 minutes, unless you have a double oven, you have at leave 2-3 rounds of baking. So plan on 20 to 30 minutes to get them all baked.
- I make them very small (using a 1 Tbsp/#60 scoop) but you easily double that (2 Tbsp/#30 scoop). Just adjust the bake time to 10 - 12 minutes.
- I have only made these with shortening, but if you prefer butter, this article from Better Homes & Gardens talks through making the substitution.
- Our family has always used multicolored sprinkles, so that is always what we think of when we make them. However, feel free to use whatever color you like to make them your own.