Ingredients: |
Ingredients: For the dough:
▢½ cup unsalted butter, softened
▢½ cup granulated sugar
▢3 eggs
▢¼ cup milk (I used 2%, use your preferred)
▢2 teaspoon anise extract
▢½ teaspoon vanilla extract
▢3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour, potentially up to 3 ¼ cups [see instructions]
▢1 tablespoon baking powder
For the glaze:
▢2 cups confectioners' sugar
▢3 tablespoon milk or water
▢¼ teaspoon anise extract
▢Sprinkles
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Directions: |
Directions:For the cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl for a few minutes until smooth and creamy.
Add the eggs and beat well using a hand or stand mixer, until the mixture is light and looks frothy.
Add milk, anise extract, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Add 3 cups of flour (measured using the spoon-and-level method) and baking powder to a separate bowl and whisk until evenly combined.
In 2-3 increments, add flour mixture to the bowl with the wet ingredients, mixing in until just combined.
The dough will be very sticky. *If needed* add in additional flour one tablespoon at a time, until you can roll a cookie's worth of dough between your palms without too much sticking. Wetting your palms may help reduce the sticking as you form a ball. You may need up to an additional ¼ cup (4 tbsp) during this time, but likely less. The amount of flour you need may vary.
Using a 1 ½-tbsp cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough and roll between your palms to form spheres. Some of the dough will stick inside the scoop but that's okay. Place dough balls equally-spaced on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 ½ inches between one another.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly brown on the bottom. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
For the glaze:
Once cookies have cooled completely, whisk together 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoon milk (or water), and ¼ teaspoon anise extract. Dip the tops of each anise cookie into the glaze, and then sprinkle nonpareils over top. Let glaze harden completely before storing. |
This recipe for Italian Anise Cookies is from