The Best Recipe for Italian Anise Cookies (2024)

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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The Best Recipe for Italian Anise Cookies (2024)

FAQs

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.

Which of the following is a very popular cookie from Italy? ›

Biscotti: Perhaps one of the most famous Italian cookies, biscotti are crispy, twice-baked treats that are perfect for dipping in coffee or wine. Traditionally flavored with almonds and fragrant anise, these long-lasting cookies are a staple in every Italian household.

Are anise cookies good for you? ›

Healthy Anise Cookie

A great company for a cup of thee or coffee. Anise is good for digestion and by using olive oil instead of butter there are no saturated fats.

Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies? ›

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

What is the most popular Italian cookie in the United States? ›

Biscotti Amaretti is the most famous Italian cookie of all. Made without flour or any added fat this almond macaroon is light, crunchy and intensely almond.

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 #1 cookie in the United States? ›

The chocolate chip cookie is far and away America's favorite cookie This should come as no surprise to anyone who enjoys the tasty treat. More than 53% of American adults prefer the cookies over the next most popular kind, peanut butter.

Who should not eat star anise? ›

Children: It is possibly unsafe for star anise to be taken by mouth in children. Serious side effects, including vomiting and seizures, have been reported in infants and adults given star anise tea. Star anise teas may be contaminated with Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum), which is poisonous.

Who should not take anise? ›

Hormone-sensitive conditions: Anise might act like estrogen. If you have any condition that might be made worse by exposure to estrogen, don't use anise. This includes breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, and others. Surgery: Anise might lower blood sugar levels.

Can you eat too much anise? ›

At typical amounts in food, anise is generally considered safe. However, with excessive amounts, possible symptoms of toxicity with anise may include: Abnormal hormone levels—with potential effects on sperm count or fertility. Breathing problems from an allergic reaction or too much fluid in the lungs.

What causes homemade cookies to be flat? ›

Why are my cookies flat?
  • The butter was too soft.
  • The oven is too hot.
  • Hot cookie sheets were used.
  • Ingredients weren't measured correctly.
  • The wrong kind of fat was used.
  • The cookie dough was not chilled before baking.
  • The butter and sugar were undermixed or overmixed.
  • The cookies were rolled too thin.
Nov 21, 2022

Why aren't my cookies rising? ›

Your baking powder and baking soda are old.

Baking powder and baking soda are what we call leavening agents. These ingreidents are what makes your cookies rise. If they are too old, they may have become inactive. Inactive = they won't do squat for your cookies, aka flat cookies are bound to happen in your future.

Why are my homemade cookies not flat? ›

Too much flour causes the dough to become dry and crumbly, which prevents it from flattening out during baking. As a result, your cookies will stay in their original shape instead of spreading out into nice circles.

Does melted butter make cookies flat? ›

Cookies made with melted butter often deflate and become denser when they cool, resulting in a perfectly cooked fudgy center — a similar textural result to brownies that get rapped (aka banged against an oven rack mid-bake to deflate them) or Sarah Kieffer's iconic pan-banging cookies that turn out pleasantly compact.

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