Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

tatus (totos italian chocolate cookies)

(3 ratings)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Anne Bruscato Nunez
Kansas City, MO

This is a very old, passed-down recipe in our family. We always bake them at Christmas.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

A wonderful Italian Christmas cookie that tastes of the holidays. This recipe is what happens when a chocolate cookie meets a spice cookie. The cookie is thick, chewy, soft, and cake-like. Not super sweet you taste cloves and cinnamon, but they're not overpowering. Dipping the cookies in a glaze adds the needed sweetness and is the perfect final touch. Definitely add these Italian cookies to your Christmas cookie tray.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(3 ratings)
prep time 30 Min
cook time 8 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For tatus (totos italian chocolate cookies)

  • 5 c
    all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp
    baking powder, rounded
  • 1 tsp
    baking soda
  • 1 tsp
    cinnamon
  • 1 tsp
    cloves, ground
  • 1 c
    pecans, chopped
  • 4
    eggs
  • 1 1/4 c
    vegetable shortening
  • 1/2 c
    granulated sugar
  • 16 oz
    Hershey's chocolate syrup (roughly 1 2/3 cup)
  • 1 1/2 c
    confectioners' sugar
  • 5-6 Tbsp
    milk (depending on thickness you desire)

How To Make tatus (totos italian chocolate cookies)

  • Dry ingredients in a bowl.
    1
    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
  • Eggs, shortening, and sugar in a bowl.
    2
    In a mixer, beat eggs. Add shortening and sugar, mix until combined.
  • Adding chocolate syrup to the bowl.
    3
    Add chocolate syrup and beat until smooth.
  • Incorporating dry ingredients.
    4
    Incorporate dry ingredients and stir just until combined. (Do not overmix).
  • Folding in pecans.
    5
    Fold in pecans. Refrigerate dough for about an hour to reduce stickiness and make it easier to roll.
  • Dough rolled into balls.
    6
    Roll into small balls (about 1 inch) and bake for 8 minutes. Do not overbake.
  • Prepared glaze in a bowl.
    7
    Once cookies are cool, mix glaze to desired consistency.
  • Dipping cookies in the glaze.
    8
    Dip tops in the glaze.
  • Icing on the cookies drying.
    9
    Allow icing to completely dry.
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