Invece di comprare i biscotti, li facciamo in casa con il mattarello e uno stampo piccolo.

Because invece di + infinitive is the normal way to say instead of doing something.

• invece di comprare = instead of buying
• invece di mangiare = instead of eating

If you say just invece, it usually means instead / on the other hand, but it does not directly introduce a verb in this structure.

Examples:

• Invece di uscire, restiamo a casa.
• Invece di studiare, guarda la TV.

So here, di is required before the infinitive comprare.

After invece di, Italian normally uses the infinitive when the subject is the same or understood generally.

So:

• invece di comprare i biscotti = instead of buying the cookies

This is similar to English instead of buying, although Italian uses the infinitive, not a gerund.

If you needed to make the subject more explicit or different, Italian might use a different structure, but in a sentence like this, invece di + infinitive is the standard pattern.

Italian uses definite articles much more often than English, including with general or familiar things.

So i biscotti can mean:

• the cookies
• or more generally cookies as a category, depending on context

This is very common in Italian:

• Mi piacciono i cani. = I like dogs.
• Mangiamo la pasta spesso. = We eat pasta often.

So even where English would use no article, Italian often uses one.

Li is a direct object pronoun meaning them. It refers back to i biscotti.

• i biscotti = the noun
• li = them, replacing i biscotti

In English, we also often do this:

• Instead of buying cookies, we make them at home.

Italian does the same:

• Invece di comprare i biscotti, li facciamo in casa.

The pronoun is needed because facciamo needs an object: we make them. Italian does not usually repeat the full noun here unless you want special emphasis:

• ...facciamo i biscotti in casa is possible, but less natural in this exact structure than using li.

In Italian, unstressed object pronouns usually go before a conjugated verb.

So:

• li facciamo = we make them
• lo vedo = I see it
• ti chiamo = I call you

This is one of the basic word-order patterns in Italian:

• pronoun + conjugated verb

But with infinitives, imperatives, and some other forms, pronouns can attach to the end:

• comprarli = to buy them
• falli! = make them!

In your sentence, facciamo is a conjugated verb, so li goes before it.

The present tense in Italian is often used for:

• actions happening now
• habitual actions
• general statements
• things someone regularly does

Here li facciamo in casa most naturally sounds like a general or habitual statement: we make them at home.

Italian present tense is very flexible, just like English present in sentences such as:

• We usually make them at home.
• We make them at home instead of buying them.

So facciamo does not necessarily mean the action is happening at this exact second.

In this sentence, in casa means at home / homemade / in the home setting, and it fits very naturally with making food.

• li facciamo in casa = we make them at home / homemade

Italian often uses fare in casa for things made at home:

• pane fatto in casa
• pasta fatta in casa
• dolci fatti in casa

A casa often focuses more on location in the sense of at someone’s home:

• Sono a casa. = I’m at home.
• Resto a casa. = I’m staying home.

In many contexts the two overlap, but with food and handmade things, in casa is especially idiomatic.

There are two different things happening here:

1. il mattarello uses the definite article il

   • This can mean the rolling pin, but in context it often works like English with a rolling pin
   • Italian often uses the definite article where English might use a

2. uno stampo piccolo uses the indefinite article uno

   • stampo begins with s + consonant (st-), so Italian uses uno, not un

Compare:

• un coltello
• uno stampo
• uno zaino
• uno studente

So the form uno is required because of the sound at the start of stampo.

Yes, absolutely. Both are possible, but the adjective position changes the feel slightly.

• uno stampo piccolo = a small mold/cutter, more neutral and descriptive
• un piccolo stampo = a small mold/cutter, often a bit more natural or flowing in many contexts

In Italian, adjectives can come either before or after the noun, but the position can affect:

• emphasis
• style
• sometimes meaning

With piccolo, both positions are common:

• una piccola casa
• una casa piccola

In your sentence, uno stampo piccolo is perfectly grammatical and clearly descriptive.

Because stampo begins with s + consonant (st), and masculine singular nouns with that sound pattern take uno.

Use uno before nouns starting with:

• s + consonant: uno studente, uno stampo
• z: uno zaino
• ps: uno psicologo
• gn: uno gnomo
• sometimes x and y sounds as well

Use un before most other masculine singular nouns:

• un libro
• un biscotto
• un mattarello

So uno stampo is the correct form.

Not always. Stampo usually means mold or baking mold/tin, and in some contexts it can refer to a shaping tool. But for actual cookie cutters, Italian often uses words like:

• formina
• tagliabiscotti

So depending on the exact object, a native speaker might also say:

• con il mattarello e una formina
• con il mattarello e un tagliabiscotti

That said, stampo piccolo is understandable, especially if the tool is used to shape the dough.

Because once i biscotti has already been mentioned, Italian usually prefers the pronoun li rather than repeating the noun.

So this sounds smooth and natural:

• Invece di comprare i biscotti, li facciamo in casa.

If you repeated the noun:

• Invece di comprare i biscotti, facciamo i biscotti in casa.

that is still grammatical, but it feels more repetitive.

Using a pronoun avoids repetition, just as English prefers we make them at home rather than repeating cookies.

It describes how the cookies are made, so it goes with the verb facciamo.

• con il mattarello = using a rolling pin
• e uno stampo piccolo = and a small mold/cutter

So this part functions like an adverbial phrase of means or instrument: it tells you the tools used in making them.

It is not describing the cookies themselves. If it described the cookies, the structure would be different.

Yes. In Italian, biscotto is the normal word for a cookie or biscuit, depending on the variety and on the kind of English being compared.

• singular: biscotto
• plural: biscotti

In English, biscotti has become a borrowed word referring to a specific type of Italian almond biscuit/cookie, but in Italian itself biscotti is much broader and can simply mean cookies in general.