Italian Anise Cookies
Italian Anisette
Anise Cookies
The most delicious, authentic Italian Anise Cookies recipe you will find. These cookies are perfect any time of the year! I know they are traditional served around the holidays but we make them all the time!
For the cookies:
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp anise extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
For the icing-
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
3-4 tbsp nonpareils sprinkles
Instructions
Begin by creaming together butter and sugar.
Slowly add eggs and anise. Mix until fully combined.
Next, add flour and baking powder and mix until a cookie dough forms.
Wrap cookie dough in plastic and chill for one hour.
Once time is up, remove cookie dough from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Roll cookie dough into spheres, about 1-inch in diameter. Space cookies at least 2 inches apart from each other (you may have to bake in batches).
Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned.
Allow for the cookies to cool down.
In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and milk.
Dip the top of each cooled cookie into the powdered sugar and milk mixture. Sprinkle with nonpareils sprinkles.
Serve and enjoy!
How to Bake in Batches to Make the Most of Your Baking Time
One way to handle your holiday baking is to bake in batches, then freeze and store for the big day. You can do this successfully over a couple of weeks with batch baking and batch preparing.
The biggest thing to remember is to only try a few different types of things in one day, or focus on just one type of baked good in one day. For example, you might want to bake all your quick breads in one day. Another day you can prepare all your cookie dough. Yet another time, you can bake all your fruit pies and so forth. This process makes the most of the time you have, the space you have, and your skill level.
Be Prepared
Don’t try batch baking without a plan of action. Be sure to write down your plans in advance so that you are sure you have enough time to do everything that you’ve planned. To figure out a basic time line, add up the prep time, the baking time for each oven full, and then multiply that by 1.5 to account for a little extra issues happening. Then you should be sure that you have enough time.
Get Everything Ready to Go
Your kitchen should be spotless when you start, and ensure that you have all the ingredients and appliances necessary to make each item ready to go. If you know, for example, that today you’ll be using about 10 pounds of flour, consider using a large bowl to hold the flour so you can easily spoon the flour into the measuring cup, flatten off over the bowl, without having to get into the bag over and over which usually means spillage.
Clean as You Go
Fill your sink immediately with hot soapy water so you can clean as you go. You will want to wash your mixing dishes and other utensils during the baking process so that you can use them again. There’s no point in totally destroying your kitchen as you batch bake, and you don’t have to. Set out a draining board, fill the sink with hot soapy water, and wash as you go. There are many opportunities during baking to wash a couple of dishes, and this will make the clean-up faster, and the process more organized.
All Day Batch Baking
You can set aside a day for batch baking such as a Saturday. Plan for all day baking, which usually entails 8 to 10 hours of work. Ensure that any other chores are done, including the shopping, and the kitchen is clean and ready prior to baking day. It’s important to organize your recipes with some logic behind them. For example, if you need dough to rise, start that first, so that it can be rising as you are preparing other things such as cookie dough or pie crusts. Both can be put in the refrigerator or freezer after preparation while you bake the bread, then baked after you bake the bread while the oven is still hot and ready.
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FAQs
The Amaretti cookie is perhaps the most famous of all Italian cookies. The original Italian cookie recipe is believed to have been created in the 18th century. It's said they were a secret recipe which a newly married couple used to make cookies for the local bishop.
Why are my anise cookies flat? ›
Q: Why are my cookies so thin and flat? The butter or dough was too warm. Butter should be at room temperature (unless otherwise noted). If the dough seems too soft, chill it for 10 to 15 minutes before baking.
What are anisette cookies made of? ›
Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add oil, milk, eggs, and 1 tablespoon anise extract; mix together to form a workable dough. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, flatten slightly, and place 1 inch apart onto prepared cookie sheets.
Are anisette cookies good for you? ›
Since one of the main ingredients of the Anisette cookies are Anise seeds, these cookies are also quite healthy. Anise seeds are full of beneficial constituents which aid digestion and overall health.
What is the number one cookie in the world? ›
Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world. It is now sold in over 100 countries. Oreo was first produced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, now known as Na-Bis-Co.
What is the best Italian flour for cookies? ›
For cookies, bars, cakes/cupcakes, biscuits, scones, or anything that needs a tender crumb, use Farina di grano tenero, 00. This is your “cake flour.” Nobody wants a chewy cake. For bread, I recommend starting off with Farina di Manitoba, grano tenero, 0; this is similar to standard American bread flour.
Will more baking soda make cookies rise more? ›
Baking soda in cookies yields a denser cookie with craggy tops, while baking powder causes cookies to rise higher during baking for a cakier texture.
What makes cookies fluffy and not flat? ›
Adjust leavening agents: Baking powder and baking soda are responsible for the rise and structure of cookies. If your cookies are too flat, try slightly increasing these leavening agents. Conversely, if your cookies are overly puffy and then collapse into flatness, it could be due to using too much leavening agent.
What makes cookies flat and crispy? ›
Oven temperatures are a crucial factor in baking. If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.
What is the difference between anise and anisette? ›
Anise is always the main ingredient, and the liqueur also must meet minimum sugar (350 g/L), alcohol (38% abv) and anethole (anise aroma) content requirements. By comparison, anisette (sometimes seen as anisetta), is also an anise distillate, but it can be made with other ingredients in addition to anise.
The Elvis: Peanut Butter, Banana and Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. Recipe courtesy of Claudia Sidoti. Recipe courtesy of Claudia Sidoti.
Is anisette the same as Sambuca? ›
Anisette is a French liqueur flavored with anise seeds. Because of its strong flavor, it is often mixed with a splash of water, which turns it from clear to milky white. Sambuca is an Italian liqueur made from star anise or green anise, along with elderflower berries and licorice.
Does anise lower blood pressure? ›
It has been demonstrated that regularly consuming foods high in potassium, such anise seeds, can lower blood pressure and fend off numerous diseases like hypertension.
What does anise do for the body? ›
Anise contains chemicals that might have estrogen-like effects, decrease swelling, and help fight off insects. People use anise for indigestion, constipation, migraine, menopausal symptoms, and many other purposes, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. Don't confuse anise with star anise.
Is anise good for your stomach? ›
Anise is an herb. The seed (fruit) and oil, and less frequently the root and leaf, are used to make medicine. Anise is used for upset stomach, intestinal gas, “runny nose,” and as an expectorant to increase productive cough, as a diuretic to increase urine flow, and as an appetite stimulant.
What cookie originated in Italy? ›
The phrase "Italian cookie" often conjures the image of a delightful biscotti. This thick cookie gets its shape from being sliced off a dough log after it has been baked. Then, the pieces of biscotti are re-baked to ensure a crispy exterior that is almost bread-like. Biscotti can come in almost any flavor.
Which Italian cookie literally means twice baked? ›
The word biscotto, used in modern Italian to refer to a biscuit (or cookie) of any type, originates from the Medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning 'twice-cooked'.
What cookies do Italians eat for breakfast? ›
Sicilian S cookies, also known as biscotti squisiti originating from Ragusa, Sicily, are crisp and lightly lemon scented. These are the perfect cookies for dunking in your milk or coffee! If you grew up in an Italian household you no doubt have memories of dunking S cookies in your milk…
What kind of cookies are in an Italian cookie tray? ›
Our Classic Italian assortment is a great way to sample of our traditional sweets. This tray includes Cranberry Almond Biscotti, Amaretto Biscotti with Almonds, Chocolate Almond Macaroons and Pignoli Cookies.
