Favorite Cookie Recipe - Anise Cookies
Perhaps the first thing to notice about the spice anise is that it tastes like licorice, as does star anise, an unrelated seasoning.
Use about a quarter teaspoon of ground anise for every two servings.
It has staying power, so you can use it at the beginning of the cooking cycle, whether in bread, stew, or slaw or with carrots, fruit or in desserts.
Most people associate it with cookies, especially the flattened, circular waffle-like pizzelle.
You can mix anise with some of the other cookie spices, such as allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg.
But when using in hardier foods, like stews, you may blend it with bay leaf, curry powder or garlic.
This spice comes in three forms, the grayish seeds (aniseeds), which will last a long time, the ground powder or the liquid and more concentrated extract.
Anise has been in use for a very long time.
The Romans would mix aniseeds and other spices to make a cake served after heavy meals, including wedding feasts.
Some think this is the origin of the wedding cake tradition.
Romans also liked to hang the plant near pillows to ward off bad dreams and seizures.
They even thought it would restore youth.
Although I'm not a huge fan of anise and make my pizzelles with maple extract instead, I do like the following cookie recipe that uses lots of anise.
Bizochitos (pronounced biss-co-cheat-toes and meaning little biscuit) are the official state cookie of New Mexico and lard is the more authentic oil used in Mexican recipes.
There are many versions of this tasty creation.
Bizcochitos Heat oven to: 325 degrees Fahrenheit Baking time: 19 to 20 minutes until golden on an ungreased cookie sheet Quantity: 2 dozen Cookie type: drop by teaspoonful Cream together the following ingredients:
Add 1 teaspoon brandy or 1 teaspoon white vinegar.
Separately, whisk together: 1 1/3 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder and then add to the rest.
Chill an hour to firm up the dough.
Use a cookie scoop to form 1-inch diameter balls.
Roll the balls into a mixture of 2 tablespoons of sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and flatten to about ¼ inch.
Flatten it with the bottom of a flat-bottomed glass.
They will spread, so allow 2 to 2 ½ inches between the cookies.
I've made these drop cookies with a non-hydrogenated 64 percent vegetable oil instead of butter, and it works fine, especially when combined with the shortening.
I would caution that you make sure you chill the dough to prevent spreading, if you do use the vegetable oil.
You may roll out the dough and use cookie cutters with this recipe.
If you do, use unbleached flour (it makes it less sticky than bleached flour) and real butter.
The vegetable oil won't firm the dough up enough to roll it out.
As you will see, the cookie tastes a lot like a snickerdoodle, except for the subtle, yet yummy, addition of anise.
Mmmmm!
Use about a quarter teaspoon of ground anise for every two servings.
It has staying power, so you can use it at the beginning of the cooking cycle, whether in bread, stew, or slaw or with carrots, fruit or in desserts.
Most people associate it with cookies, especially the flattened, circular waffle-like pizzelle.
You can mix anise with some of the other cookie spices, such as allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg.
But when using in hardier foods, like stews, you may blend it with bay leaf, curry powder or garlic.
This spice comes in three forms, the grayish seeds (aniseeds), which will last a long time, the ground powder or the liquid and more concentrated extract.
Anise has been in use for a very long time.
The Romans would mix aniseeds and other spices to make a cake served after heavy meals, including wedding feasts.
Some think this is the origin of the wedding cake tradition.
Romans also liked to hang the plant near pillows to ward off bad dreams and seizures.
They even thought it would restore youth.
Although I'm not a huge fan of anise and make my pizzelles with maple extract instead, I do like the following cookie recipe that uses lots of anise.
Bizochitos (pronounced biss-co-cheat-toes and meaning little biscuit) are the official state cookie of New Mexico and lard is the more authentic oil used in Mexican recipes.
There are many versions of this tasty creation.
Bizcochitos Heat oven to: 325 degrees Fahrenheit Baking time: 19 to 20 minutes until golden on an ungreased cookie sheet Quantity: 2 dozen Cookie type: drop by teaspoonful Cream together the following ingredients:
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup salted, softened butter (½ stick)
- ¼ cup shortening
- 1 ½ teaspoon anise
Add 1 teaspoon brandy or 1 teaspoon white vinegar.
Separately, whisk together: 1 1/3 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder and then add to the rest.
Chill an hour to firm up the dough.
Use a cookie scoop to form 1-inch diameter balls.
Roll the balls into a mixture of 2 tablespoons of sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and flatten to about ¼ inch.
Flatten it with the bottom of a flat-bottomed glass.
They will spread, so allow 2 to 2 ½ inches between the cookies.
I've made these drop cookies with a non-hydrogenated 64 percent vegetable oil instead of butter, and it works fine, especially when combined with the shortening.
I would caution that you make sure you chill the dough to prevent spreading, if you do use the vegetable oil.
You may roll out the dough and use cookie cutters with this recipe.
If you do, use unbleached flour (it makes it less sticky than bleached flour) and real butter.
The vegetable oil won't firm the dough up enough to roll it out.
As you will see, the cookie tastes a lot like a snickerdoodle, except for the subtle, yet yummy, addition of anise.
Mmmmm!
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