Frolla Montata are delicate Italian butter cookies with a light, buttery texture that melts in your mouth. Traditionally piped into beautiful shapes before baking, these classic Italian biscuits are simple yet incredibly delicious. Perfect with coffee, for gifting, or adding to dessert platters, they’re a timeless recipe that looks impressive while using simple pantry ingredients.
Frolla Montata (Italian Butter Cookies)
Frolla Montata (Italian Butter Cookies)
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Baking
Cuisine
Italian
Author:
Ashley's Place
Servings
35
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
These are some of my favourite cookies to make and dipping them in chocolate just makes them even more delicious. They are really light and airy biscuits that are perfect with a cuppa for afternoon tea, they also make a beautiful gift for someone too.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
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400g 00 Flour (*See note 1)
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250g Room Temp Unsalted Butter (*See note 2)
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1 Large Egg (needs to be large approx. 60-65g)
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150g Icing Sugar (confectioners sugar)
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1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
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A pinch of salt
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1 Block of Chocolate (180-200g) I use Nestle Plaistowe 40% Dark but pick your fav
Tools Needed:
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1 x Piping Bag
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1 x Open Star Piping Tip (*See note 3)
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Stand Mixer or Hand Held Mixer
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Large Baking Tray with Baking Paper (use 2 smaller ones if you don’t have a large)
Directions
Take your butter and eggs out of the fridge and let them both come to room temp, the timing will depend on the weather but they need to be room temp otherwise it will be really hard to pipe your cookies
Pre-heat your oven to 175°C (350°F) and line your baking tray with baking paper
Once the butter is room temp chop into small pieces, add to your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix with the sugar for a good 8-10 minutes scrape down your bowl half way. Don’t skip this step either, we need to make sure it is light and airy, one for texture but 2 so that it’s easy to pipe
Once that is mixed and light and fluffy, scrape down the bowl and add the egg in and mix again until it is fully incorporated, don’t stress if it looks like it isn’t at the start it will do and if you need to scrape the bowl again
Add in the flour in a few parts while mixing on low speed. Once it is all added only mix until it is just combined and turn off the mixer
Add your cookie dough to your piping bag, with your piping tip. Depending on the thickness/quality of your piping bag it might be added in ½ parts, pipe the cookies then add the other half. Sometimes if your piping bag is thinner etc it can be hard to pipe if you over fill it.
Hold the end of the piping bag and twist it around so the cookie dough doesn’t come out the other end. Then use your other hand at the other end to guide the bag and start to pipe your shapes. Don’t worry about making them perfect, honestly they come out fine and tasty no matter what. I like to do circles and squiggle lines but you can even do straight lines. Make sure you leave some a couple of cm gaps in-between as they expand when baking.
Bake away in the oven for 15 minutes or until they are cooked. You want these to be just baked if they are starting to go golden take them out as they still keep their lightness
Leave them to cool on the tray for at least 5-8 minutes then take them off and pop them onto a cooling wrack to cool completely. If you are popping chocolate on see below steps if not once cooled pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh for about 5-7 days at room temp, a week or more in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer. Storing tips below in Notes
Chocolate Topping:
Once cooled melt your chocolate, if you want them all half covered use the whole pack if you only want half use half the block. You can always melt more if needed. Melt in the microwave in 30 Second bursts then mix really well in-between each burst. It should only take 1-1.5 minutes to melt
Pop a piece of baking paper under your cooking wrack so the chocolate can drip on it
Now dip your completely cooled cookies in your chocolate lightly so they don’t break or use a spoon to spoon it over the top.
And pop them back on the wrack to dry and the chocolate to set. You can pop these in the fridge if its super hot or humid where you are.
Recipe Video
Recipe Note
Notes & FAQ's:
00 Flour is the best flour for this it's an Italian soft flour which you can pick up these days in most supermarkets, deli's, even fruit shops etc. If you can't find it you can use plain flour or all purpose but just sift it so there is no clumps
We need room temp butter for this one so that it creams together properly with the sugar so that the mixture is easy to pipe
An open star piping tip is what you want for these ones if your piping tip is too closed at the end it will be hard to pipe. If you google Open Star Piping tip you will be able to see some options but something like a Loyal 8B, Schneider 18mm Open Star, or Wilton 4B or 32 will work. And a piping bag also, I use disposable ones it's much easier, you can get then from your local cake store, or variety store (dollar store). See FAQ's below if you don't have either
Q. What if I don't have a piping bag or piping tip? Can I make them still?
A. Yes! Definitely you can roll them into balls and lightly flatten down like regular cookies, you can roll it into little little logs or connect the ends of the logs to make circles. The piping bag is just a traditional way of doing these but they will taste great no matter the shape
Q. I am struggling to pipe these it won't come out?
A. You may either have too much in your bag, or the piping bag might not be the best quality. Or if you haven't let your butter and sugar cream enough they may be a bit too firm. You can pop it back into the machine and add a tsp or 2 of hot water to help loosen it up a bit. But only do 1-2 tsp at a time so it doesn't become liquidy
Q. How do I store these?
A. Store them in a airtight container. If there is no chocolate you can store on your bench. If you have chocolate you can store them on the bench if it's not too warm, but if its warm or humid pop them in the fridge. If you also store them in layers in your container with baking paper in-between so the chocolate doesn't melt together.
Q. Can I freeze these?
A. Yep you can do for up to 3 months. Freeze them in a airtight container or in zip lock bags. If you try to use the right size for the bags or containers so that it helps with keeping freezer burn away. And just make sure your chocolate is set before you pop them in the freezer or they will stick to eachother