Italian Anisette Cookies

Ever since I can remember, for every family gathering there ever was my grandmother has always brought these to the table. And just about every time, I help myself to one. The crumbly, dense, sweet cookie with the hint of anisette and the bright colored balls over the hard, sleek glaze that just melts in your mouth....um where was I again?

Right, my anisette cookies. Being a true Italian, I knew I couldn't wait much longer to try out making these cookies from scratch. I found one particularly good recipe from Amanda's Cookin', but I also dug up another recipe from my great grandmother (the same person that also came up with the Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Bread) and I decided to meld the two together. The outcome? Spectacular! One bite transports you to your grandmother's kitchen, or a nice Italian bakery. I served them at a dinner party this weekend and the feedback was great! They were a huge hit. I have already had many people coming up asking me what makes them just so moist (one of them being my other Italian grandmother on my mom's side!).

I was really proud of these. They came out really nicely, plus they were oh so simple to make. I banged the batter out in under 30 minutes! The only tricky thing is that you really have to watch the cookies bake in the oven, if they are in for too long, they will be dry and tasteless. 

So have fun with this recipe! Play some Italian opera while you bake and reminisce about that really good macaroni you had at that one Italian restaurant. Let these transport you to Italy-home of good food and even better dessert!

Italian Anisette Cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

3 cups plus extra flour (AP or cake)

4 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 tsp anise extract

Anise Glaze

Colored sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cookie sheets with Cream butter and shortening together. 

Add sugar, beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, beating them in one at a time. Mix in vanilla and anise extracts.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Gradually add to wet mixture. Add extra flour by the tablespoon until the mixture forms a dough. Chill dough in the refrigerator until firm, about 10-15 minutes.

Form tablespoon-sized balls and place about an inch apart, about 12 per sheet. Bake for about 8-9 minutes, until the bottoms are slightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Anise Glaze:

2 cups confectioners sugar

5 tbsp milk

1 tsp anise extract

1/4 tsp vanilla

Add the milk to the sugar, stirring continuously. Mix in the vanilla and anise extracts. If the mixture is too watery, add more confectioner's sugar. 

Once the cookies are completely cool, transfer to a wire rack with paper towels underneath to catch extra glaze. Dunk the tops of the cookies in the glaze, then sprinkle the tip with colored balls. Let the glaze harden before serving.

*This glaze technique works best when someone else helps you. It's a pain to do it by yourself, and you really cant glaze all and then put the sprinkles on, because the glaze hardens rather quickly.