These Italian-Style Chip Cookies are the bakery-style chocolate chip cookie you’ve only dreamed of making and eating at home. They’re incredibly delicate and cakey, perfect for dipping in milk or coffee.
Their secret? They’re made with Italian semola rimacinata (twice-ground) flour, which is velvet-y smooth and so easy to work with.
What Is Semola Rimacinata Flour?
There’s some confusion about Italian flours (semolina vs. semola) in the United States. You have semolina flour, which is a coarsely ground flour made from durum wheat. Then there’s semola rimacinata, which is also made from durum wheat, but it is twice-ground and incredibly soft.
Coarser semolina flour is on the top; finer semola rimacinata is on the bottom.
In the United States, both of these flours might be called semolina. But to make sure that your flour is the super-soft kind, look for the term “rimacinata,” or twice-ground, on the package.
Why Use Italian Flour?
We adapted these semolina chocolate chip cookies from our friends at the “Pure Flour from Europe” campaign. The Pure Flour from Europe campaign is an educational campaign managed by ITALMOPA (the Italian Milling Industry Association) and co-founded by the European Union. Its goal is to promote Italian and European flours, which are among the finest in the world in terms of quality and versatility.
Dry organic semolina durum flour in a bowl – Photo credit: Simone Caponigro for ITALMOPA
Italian and European flours preserve the flavors and nutritional elements of wheat while conforming with the strictest food safety regulations in Europe. (There are 15 levels in the food safety control network in Italy, in addition to the cross-checks carried out by the milling industry itself.)
We’ve used the semolina flour to make semolina grissini and they were delicious (and versatile)!
Then we tried this semola rimacinata and we were sold – It is almost a different product entirely from what you might see in American flours. It’s extremely fine and soft. And of course it’s great for making pasta and more.
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How Do You Make Italian-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies?
These Italian-style chocolate chip cookies are not the typical Toll-House-style American cookies. Rather than being chewy, they are soft and dunk-able. (They’re the perfect companion for your favorite capuccino.)
We adapted them from a Pure Flour From Europe recipe to be just a little bit richer and cake-like.
To start, you sift out the flour and powdered sugar (and add the baking powder and salt). Then you basically massage in the eggs and butter, until you have a perfectly smooth golden dough.
After you chill the dough, you knead in the tiny chocolate chips. (Ooops – did you drop some? Better eat them to make sure they taste OK!)
The resulting dough is firm but pliable. It’s easy to roll out and cut into perfect little circles. We decided to make these cookies very small (1 1/2 inch in diameter) with mini chocolate chips to create the perfect one-bite cookie.
Italian-Style Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Semolina Chocolate Chip Cookies
These tiny bakery-style chocolate chip cookies are made with semola rimacinata flour, a very soft, twice-ground version of semolina. Adapted from a Pure Flour from Europe recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups semola rimacinata (twice-ground semolina) flour (or substitute cake flour)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- grated zest of one lemon
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
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Sift the semola rimacinata flour and powdered sugar together into a bowl. Add the baking powder and salt, and stir to combine. Create a well in the middle of the flour; place the butter and the eggs in the center. Stir with a wooden spoon (or mix with your hands) until the dough can be shaped into a soft, smooth ball. The consistency should be similar to play dough.
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Refrigerate the dough ball for 30 minutes. (Note: Try not to keep it for more than 30 minutes; otherwise you will have to wait for it to soften.)
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Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it onto a lightly floured board. Roll the dough into a large circle and sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips. Knead the chocolate chips into the dough.
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Roll the dough out again until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into circles using a small (1 1/2-inch circle) cookie cutter.
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Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 10 to 11 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom.
Italian-Style Chocolate Chip Cookie Notes
Just a few more thoughts about making these cookies.
One: If you cannot find semola rimacinata flour, try it with cake flour. (Although you will love it with the Italian flour!)
Two: We’ve tried this recipe a few different ways, and the extra egg yolk really seems to make a difference in the softness of the dough and the richness of the cookie. (Yum!)
Three: Try not to chill the dough for more than 30 minutes. If you let it go for longer than that, the dough will be hard to roll out and you will have to let it soften again.
Four We made these as mini cookies, but of course you can make them full-size as well. For mini cookies, we got almost three dozen out of the batch. For larger cookies, we got closer to 10-12 cookies.
And last but not least, don’t forget to share them with your friends. We brought some to a recent gathering in little muffin cups – about five or six to a cup. It’s the perfect snacking gift!
Enjoy!
Hi! I'm Jeanne Fratello - a writer, reporter, and food enthusiast who is on a mission to write great stories about food and where your food comes from.
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