Whether a part of the assortment of Italian Christmas cookies or at a baby shower or wedding, these anise cookies are constantly production an appearances at my family celebrations (With a simple drop of food coloring they're excellent for any occasion!) If the licorice taste of anise doesn't suit you, try using almond, vanilla or even lemon extract...they are all delicious!
Makes about 8 dozen
Christmas Cookie Recipies
Cookie Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons anise passage (almond, vanilla or lemon can also be used!)
2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2-3 tablespoons milk
Icing Ingredients
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon anise passage (optional)
food coloring (optional)
sprinkles of your choice(optional)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. get ready your cookie sheets or pans by face them with parchment paper.
To get ready these Italian Christmas cookies, get a large bowl and merge the butter and sugar together until the compound is light and fluffy, which should take anywhere between 3 and 5 minutes. Crack in each egg, production sure to mix well after each one. Add your selection of extract.
Now merge the flour and baking powder, sifting it together so that there are no chunks of baking powder together. Take about a third of these dry ingredients and add them to the wet ones, using a hand or stand mixer to merge them. Then add about a tablespoon of milk. Repeat this process by adding another third of the flour compound to your batter, and then another spoon of milk. The last batch of flour should be added very slowly, mixing in between so that you can rule how much flour is enough. You want the batter to be very easy to mold, but not sticking to your hands. The dough should not be stiff! If you add too much flour, try adding a few more drops of milk until the batter is easy to manage.
Using a tablespoon, drop balls of the batter onto the baking sheets, leaving space for them to bake and puff up in the oven.
Stick your pan in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until they puff up and the bottoms begin to turn a light golden brown.
While the cookies are baking, mix together the confectioners sugar, milk and passage of your selection (if you are using it). At this point you can also add food coloring if you want your icing to be a special color. White is also just as nice though!
After the cookies have mostly cooled, hold each one upside down and dip into your frosting glaze. Flip it over and let it rest on a flat face covered with wax paper. If you intend to use sprinkles, only dip a few at time and then sprinkle them, or else the frosting will dry and sprinkles will no longer stick. (If your frosting begins to dry before you are done dipping just microwave it for about 10 seconds to let melt again!)
Let the frosting dry to the touch, dispose on a plate and get ready to serve these Italian Christmas cookies to your family and friends!
Italian Christmas Cookies - Anise Cookies
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