Tetù or Sicilian Chocolate Spice Cookies are rich, dense chocolate cookies flavored with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and orange zest. Tetù are traditionally prepared on All Saint’s Day (November 1st) in Sicily or during the Christmas holidays in North America.
This is another one of those many recipes that I am finally able to put a name on. I have enjoyed these chocolate spice cookies as made by my aunt ever since I could remember and they have been on my to do list for a long time. But I had no idea what they were called and unfortunately was not able to obtain the recipe from my aunt.
I recently came across of a photo of them on social media and learned of the name ‘tetù’. So I reached out to a trustworthy contact of mine in Sicily who shared his recipe with me (grazie Salvatore!).
However I noticed that they were not quite the same. I’m quite sure my aunt added chopped nuts to her cookies. After further investigation and lots of recipe testing of my own I came up with this version which, in my opinion, most resembles the cookie I’ve enjoyed for years.
What does tetù mean?
Firstly I learned that these cookies are called by many names depending on where they are made in Sicily. They can be referred to as tetù, toto, or even tutu. This term apparently means ‘for you and for me’ or ‘one for you and one for me‘.
Furthermore, here in North America they are also called Italian meatball cookies which is not hard to understand when you look at their shape and color!
Variations:
Like most other recipes, these cookies vary from one part of Sicily to the next. Here’s what I learned!
- Traditionally ammonia or ammonium carbonate was added as a leavening agent. This is before baking powder was widely available. I used ammonia to make Sicilian Easter Cookies with Eggs and liked the result. The cookies puff up beautifully, have a crisp exterior and soft crumb on the inside. The baking powder in this recipe may be substituted with an equal amount of ammonia if you’d like to give it a try.
- In Sicily strutto or lard is the fat typically used for baking. I substituted butter in my recipe.
- Some recipes add nuts such as almonds or walnuts while others don’t. The nuts can be finely ground or roughly chopped.
- Some add cocoa while other cookies are white.
- Spices vary from cinnamon to cloves or nutmeg or a of combination of 2 of these spices.
- They are all glazed but the glaze can be white (flavored with lemon or vanilla) or a chocolate glaze with cocoa added.
- Some add lemon zest or juice, others use orange and some use neither.
- And, the shape can be round or elongated.
Quite frankly it’s dizzying to think of all the possible variations! However, as I mentioned above, the recipe I’m sharing is my interpretation of my aunt’s cookies.
What holiday is traditionally associated with Tetù?
Here in North America these cookies are often associated with the Christmas holidays and are sometimes topped with candy sprinkles. However, in Sicily tetù are traditionally prepared on November 1st. This is All Saint’s Day, the day in which to honor the memory of deceased relatives.
So now that I’ve shared all that I have learned about tetù, let’s get to this recipe!
Step by Step Instructions
The following are step by step explanations with images but you’ll find the complete printable recipe at the end of this post.
In a large bowl sift together all-purpose flour; sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder; cinnamon; cloves; nutmeg; baking powder and a pinch of salt (1). Add cubed butter (at room temperature) (2) and use your fingers, a pastry cutter or even your electric mixer, if you prefer, to cut the butter into the flour (3). Stir in finely chopped walnuts and orange zest (4).
Make a well in the center of the mixture and add a beaten egg (5), stir into the flour. Stir in the milk and shape into a dough (6). Add extra milk, as needed, to form a dough that holds together. The dough will be quite firm and slightly sticky (7).
Scoop pieces of dough using a cookie scoop for even sizing (I used a 1 tbsp sized scoop) and roll into a ball. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or parchment paper if it is not a non stick pan (8). They do not have to be placed too far apart as they don’t spread much during baking.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you prepare the glaze.
In a medium sized bowl whisk powdered sugar and milk until you have a glaze of desired consistency. I prefer mine on the thin side. Dip the tops of each cookie in the glaze allowing the excess to drip off. Alternately, you may use a pastry brush to apply the glaze. 
Place the cookies on the wire rack to set. Allow the glaze to harden completely before transferring to an air tight container for storage.
Check out my web story with step by step instructions here!
Recipe Notes
Substitutions and Variations:
- The walnuts may be substituted with almonds, either ground or finely chopped.
- A tsp of vanilla extract can be added to this recipe.
- If you’re not a huge fan of cloves, as I am, simply eliminate this spice.
- For a more festive looking cookie, top the glaze with a few colored candy sprinkles.
Storage:
- Store cookies in a well sealed container separating layers of cookies with parchment or wax paper to prevent them from sticking together.
- These cookies can be frozen up to 3 months.
No matter which occasion you choose to serve these tetù cookies, the rich spice and chocolatey flavor of these cookies will no doubt be loved by all! If you try out this recipe, please let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below. Feel free to Pin it for later. Buon appetito!
Here are a few more Italian cookie recipes for you to try!
- Chewy Amaretti Cookies
- Cuccidati – Sicilian Fig Cookies
- Easy Anise Biscotti Recipe
- Biscotti di San Martino
- 3-Ingredient Hazelnut Cookies
- Italian Nut and Jam Rolled Cookies
- Genovesi Ericine
- Pistachio Amaretti
- Italian Pizzelle Cookies
- Italian Orange Juice Cookies
- Classic Almond Biscotti with Variations
- Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies
- Italian Lemon Glazed Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup milk or more as needed
For the glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl sift together all-purpose flour; sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder; cinnamon; cloves; nutmeg; baking powder and a pinch of salt.
- Add cubed butter (at room temperature) and use your fingers, a pastry cutter or even your electric mixer, if you prefer, to cut the butter into the flour.
- Stir in finely chopped walnuts and orange zest.
- Make a well in the center of the mixture and add a beaten egg, stir into the flour. Stir in the milk and shape into a dough. Add extra milk, if necessary, to ensure that the dough holds together. The dough will be quite firm and slightly sticky. At this point, I prefer using my hands to gather the dough together and shape it into a ball.
- Scoop pieces of dough using a cookie scoop for even sizing (I used a 1 tbsp sized scoop) and roll into a ball. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or parchment paper if it is not a non stick pan. They do not have to be placed too far apart as they don't spread much during baking.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you prepare the glaze.
To glaze
- In a medium sized bowl whisk powdered sugar and milk until you have a glaze of desired consistency. I prefer my glaze on the thin side. Dip the tops of each cookie in the glaze allowing the excess to drip off. Transfer to the wire rack to set. Alternately, you may use a pastry brush to apply the glaze.
- Once the glaze has hardened, store the cookies in an airtight container separating layers of cookies with wax or parchment paper to prevent them from sticking.
Notes
- The walnuts may be substituted with almonds.
- If you're not a huge fan of cloves, as I am, simply eliminate this spice.
- For a more festive looking cookie, top the glaze with a few colored candy sprinkles.
- Store cookies in a well sealed container separating layers of cookies with parchment or wax paper.
- These cookies can be frozen up to 3 months.
- Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to ingredients used and portion size.
Nutrition
Hi Nadia if I want to use crisco is it same quantity of butter?
Thank you for sharing your recipes
Hi Anna, you can use the same quantity of Crisco, no problem. Hope you enjoy them!
These were so delicious. I didnt know that chocolate would taste so
good with the spices and orange!
Hello Mohammed, so glad you enjoyed these cookies, and yes orange, chocolate and spices are a tasty combo! Thank you!
Great recipe
Thank you Marie, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
I make every year almost the exact same recipe. The only difference is one recipe says Crisco and one says oil and I noticed you use butter. Do you know what difference the taste or texture would be between any of them?
Hi Cathy, Crisco may give these cookies a soft and slightly lighter texture where as oil would make them more flat and dense. That is why I chose butter instead. I would choose between the butter or Crisco and not the oil if I were you. Hope this helps!
The cookie sounds about the same as my aunt made. What is not the same is the glaze. If you look at the photo of the cookie in your lead in you will notice those cookies have been dipped in a glaze and little lumps of frosting are distributed across the surface. Can you tell me how that glaze was made?
Hello Sam, as described in my recipe post I made a simple glaze consisting of milk and powdered sugar and then only dipped the tops of each cookie. As you see I prefer my glaze on the thin side but you may add less milk, if you prefer, for a thicker glaze. Please consult the detailed recipe at the end of my post for detailed instructions and ingredient quantitites. Thank you!
Nadia,
I just stumbled across your website. My grandmother’s annual Christmas cookies were something my brother and I looked forward to every year and tetú were our favorite! All of her recipes were lost years ago during hurricane Katrina. Like every other Sicilian grandmother she didn’t measure anything and it was just a list of ingredients and not actual instructions but yours is almost identical to what I remember doing with her in the kitchen all those years ago! I cannot wait to try this and fingers crossed they bring me back to my childhood. I want this tradition to continue on with my children. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Tracy, there are without a doubt endless variations of this recipe but I’m glad to hear this one resembles your grandmother’s. I do hope you get to try it out and please let me know how they turn out. Thanks!
My recipe makes 200 plus cookies very old recipe. Uses 5pounds of flour. Original old recipe
Hi Nadia,
Thank you for the recipe. I never knew what these cookies were called and I remember them being elongated, I am looking forward to baking them this week. I wonder if you had ever heard of a “baby slipper “ cookie. All I remember is the bakery had them when I was a kid (in Brooklyn) and the were a flat elongated cookie with a slightly shiny smooth top. I went to a local bakery and they weren’t aware of it. Are you familiar with any such cookie? I would love to hear from you.
Hello Jeanne, there are definitely many versions of this cookie recipe so it is possible that the ones you enjoyed were elongated. I have not heard of a baby slipper cookie as you call it, but of course once again it may be known by several different names. Can you perhaps be referring to savoiardi cookies that are also used for making tiramisu? Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the tetu cookies!
Hi Elizabeth, I just came across your recipe after going through my moms Christmas cookie recipes. She passed away 5 years ago at 97 but always made a cookie we called “Dodo’s”. The picture looked your Tetù’s. Being Sicilian, they are very similar. Moms was passed down from my Grandmother. The only difference I see is Crisco or Spry, (do they even make that anymore) instead of butter but that was pretty common back in the old days. There also is a 1/2 cup of cold coffee and no orange zest. As usual on my moms recipe cards, the instructions are vague as to where and when that coffee or any other ingredients are added. Lol. Mom knew what she was doing. I’m going to make a double batch of yours today. Wish me luck!
Hi Debbie, hope you enjoy them! There are no doubt many versions of this recipe and you can definitely personalize it so it resembles your mom’s recipe such as using Crisco instead of butter and eliminating the orange zest. Hope they bring back memories of your mom’s cookies!
Are these hard or chewy?
Hello Kathy yes these cookies are chewy and not crunchy!
Hello Nadia … I finally got around to making up a batch of these cookies and was very happy with the result. Will be adding them to my neighbor’s Christmas baskets this year. Along with the sheet pan biscotti and biscotti Regina… all recipes thanks to you and your devotion to providing us with not only the recipes but their history as well. Thinking about how mama said ‘watch me’ and usually threw in a handful of this and a scoop of that, almost always with variations each time she made a particular cookie (or anything for that matter) it has been near impossible to duplicate some of the cookies that are the most treasured memories from my youth. Needless to tell, thanks does no even begin to express my appreciation to you. I’m so glad I found you!!
Hello Anna, I am glad to hear you enjoyed them. They are definitely a favorite during the holidays! It sounds like you’ll have a wonderful variety in your Christmas baskets this year and I do hope your friends, family and neighbours will appreciate them. There is nothing more special than a homemade gift for sure!
Nadia
Thank you so much for the research about the cookies ,I so appreciate. I have made a cookbook with my grandmother Lena‘s recipes .who is from marsala Sicily and have been making these cookies for many years. it was so fun to read your research! many thanks ,love Elizabeth Pellegrino Battaglia
Hello Elizabeth, it’s my pleasure! I enjoy finding out about the origins of the recipes I have been enjoying most of my life. Thank you for your comment!