Every Thanksgiving, we get together with my father to make the cookies for Christmas. His kitchen fills with trays of cookies that have been part of our family for generations. Nana’s dough is the base for all of them — the starting point for every shape, filling, and holiday tradition we still make today.
Nana Cookies
A traditional Sicilian family cookie dough used to create a full assortment of holiday cookies – from S‑shapes to filled rounds, sesame fingers, lemon‑glazed cookies, almond‑pressed rounds, and many more.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 4 cups all‑purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ cups Crisco (keep at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups sugar
- 3 teaspoons flavoring (Vanilla, Almond, or Anise)
- 3 eggs (leave out ahead of time (room temperature))
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 –6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Decoration
- Colored nonpareil sprinkles
- Jimmies
- Sliced almonds (for almond‑pressed rounds)
- Sesame seeds (for sesame fingers)
- Maraschino cherries
- Assorted fillings: lemon, strawberry, raspberry, mince meat
Instructions
Cream the base mixture
- Cream together the eggs, sugar, salt, Crisco, and your chosen flavoring until smooth and well combined.
- Add baking powder + half the flour
- Mix in the baking powder and about half of the flour until incorporated.
Fold in remaining flour
- Add the rest of the flour and fold gently. Do not over‑mix — the dough should be soft and workable.
Shape the cookies
- Use the dough to create your preferred cookie types:
- Roll into balls and press flat for rounds
- Shape into S‑cookies
- Roll into short “fingers” and press into sesame seeds
- Press sliced almonds onto rounds
- Roll out dough for filled cookies (lemon, strawberry, raspberry, mince meat)
- Shape into diamonds or other traditional forms
Bake
- Bake at 350°F for 10–15 minutes, or until lightly golden.
- (Family note: Nana’s original card says 325°F for 10 minutes — adjust based on your oven.)
- Cool and glaze
- Cool completely before glazing.
- For lemon glaze, whisk powdered sugar with fresh lemon juice and zest until smooth.
- Dip or drizzle cookies, then add sprinkles or toppings as desired.
Nutrition
Serving: 1CookieCalories: 110kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 60mgSugar: 7g
Notes
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice is non‑negotiable – store bought juice simply doesn’t taste the same.
- Start with 3 tablespoons lemon juice and add more until the glaze is pourable but not runny.
- Almond‑pressed cookies are traditionally not glazed – just press sliced almonds on top before baking.
- Do not chill the dough. It needs to stay pliable or it will crack and make it unexpectedly tough, especially when shaping S‑cookies.
- Cookies freeze well and keep beautifully for months.
Family Variations
Use the base dough to create the full traditional assortment:- S Cookies
- Lemon‑filled cookies
- Strawberry‑filled cookies
- Raspberry‑filled cookies
- Mince meat‑filled cookies
- Maraschino Cherry cookies
- Sesame fingers
- Almond‑pressed rounds
- Round cookies
- Diamond cookies
Perfect with Coffee
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