Italian Grandmother Anise Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Beat eggs together in a large bowl. Gradually stir white sugar into beaten eggs until smooth. Slowly pour vegetable oil and anise oil into sugar mixture until incorporated. Mix flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl; slowly add to sugar mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until dough is dry.
• Refrigerate dough, 30 minutes to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Roll dough into walnut-size balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are crisp around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
• Mix confectioners' sugar and milk together in a bowl until desired consistency is reached. Dip a fork into the icing and drizzle over cookies. Allow icing to harden.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and white sugar. Make a well in the center and add oil, milk, 1 tablespoon anise extract, and eggs. Mix together until dough is sticky.
• Oil fingers and pinch off dough in 1 inch pieces. Roll into a ball and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, 1 inch apart, flatten top slightly. Bake for 8 minutes. Dip cookies in Icing while warm.
• To Make Icing: Blend in 1 teaspoon anise extract and enough hot water to 1 cup confectioner's sugar to form a smooth icing.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Beat butter and sugar for dough together in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and anise extract and blend. Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl; stir into butter mixture until blended.
• Take a ping pong-sized ball of dough and roll between your hands to form a rope. Connect the ends and twist into a figure 8 shape. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake in batches in the preheated oven until edges are golden, about 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Mix milk into confectioners' sugar for icing, stirring slowly. Add the anise extract and vanilla extract.
• Dip cooled cookies into the icing face-down and lay on wax paper or a wire rack.

Steps:

• Combine the flour, sugar and heaping tablespoon of baking powder.
• In another bowl whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil and anise extract.
• Combine wet and dry ingredients. Dough will be sticky, add up to an extra 1/4 cup of flour if needed.
• Shape cookies as desired (lightly oiled hands will help). One way to do it: roll about 2 tablespoons of dough between hands until you have a rope, fold rope in half and twist. You can also just make little dough patties.
• Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (this is good for dark nonstick sheets, you might need to bake a little longer if using airbake sheets).
• Remove from cookie sheets and let cool completely.
• To make icing, melt butter then add milk. Gradually mix in powdered sugar. Add more sugar or milk until at desired spreading consistency.
• Frost cookies. Icing will harden quickly so add non-pareils or other sprinkles immediately after frosting each cookie.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Stir in anise extract and lemon extract. Blend in eggs. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl; blend into egg mixture until dough is almost crumbly but stays together when you roll it in your hands.
• Form dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are set and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cool on the baking sheet briefly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar and milk in a bowl. Glaze cooled cookies and top with sprinkles.

Steps:

• With a Kitchenaid mixer: beat eggs 20 minutes with 2 cups of granulated sugar (yes I mean 20 minutes as this is what will make the cookies light as a feather with a crisp melt in you mouth top crust).
• Add flour gradually, beating well after each addition. Add 1 tsp anise oil and blend well.
• Drop by tablespoonsful onto greased cookie sheets and let stand in a draft free place overnight.
• Bake in a 375°F oven for 10 minutes until light golden but do not brown.
• Cool on baking racks thoroughly before storing.
• Store in a tightly covered cookie tin (not plastic).
• The longer you let the cookie age, the better it will be.

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer, cream 2 sticks butter with sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add ricotta, lemon zest and 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and beat well. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula, then beat in flour, baking soda and salt. Cover dough and chill for at least 2 hours and up to a week.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees and line several cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick liners. Shape tablespoons of dough into balls. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake until pale golden on the bottom, about 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.
• Melt remaining tablespoon butter. Whisk confectioners' sugar to break up any large lumps, then whisk in melted butter, lemon juice, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and enough milk to make a spreadable icing. Spread icing on cooled cookies, then let set for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• For cookies, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add anise extract.
• Blend flour and baking powder. Start by adding about 1/3 of these dry ingredients to the butter/sugar in your mixer, then add 1 T. milk. Add another third of the flour and another 1 T. milk. Finally, mix in enough of the remaining flour until your dough is like a brownie batter (it should be softer than a drop cookie dough).
• Use a 1 T. cookie scooper to make simple round drop cookies - use wet fingers to pat any rough edges OR for an Easter-Egg look, roll 1 T. dough into an elongated ball.
• Bake cookies 10-12 minutes (they won't be brown but the insides will be soft and cake-like).
• For icing: mix sugar, milk and extract to make a sugar glaze. HINT: When I make the icing, I make it thick but then I microwave it for 10 seconds so it is thin enough for dipping. Also, I like to divide the mixture in thirds, and then add ONE DROP of food coloring to each batch (pink, green, yellow).
• Hold cookie in your hand and turn upside down so you can dip the top half in the glaze; turn over and immediately top with sprinkles so they will stick.
• Allow icing to harden overnight; then store in air-tight containers or freeze.