“Be inspired to create masterpieces from your own kitchen”.
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Anise CookiesThese anise cookies are deliciously crunchy and sweet, with a hint of black licorice. They're crispy thin on the outside and dry & chewy all the way through. They complement a nice cup of coffee, or hot tea. They're great for dunking, on the first day.
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But on the second day, these cookies are even better, as if the flavors needed to 'cure' overnight.
Once you bite through the thin and crunchy outer shell, the cookie just melts into your mouth with this sweet chewy, crunchiness I have yet to find a word to describe.
Once you bite through the thin and crunchy outer shell, the cookie just melts into your mouth with this sweet chewy, crunchiness I have yet to find a word to describe.
Anise Cookies
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Maybe it is because I like black licorice, but these don't have that strong flavor. They are really very good. They have a lite hint of the flavor, and trust me, you don't have to like black jelly beans to like these cookies, and if you do like black jelly beans, then you'll love them. The taste is really subtle, however, but distinctive enough to make you say "Mmm ,what is that flavor?". |
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That flavor comes from the cookie's namesake, anise seed. Not to be confused with star anise, another aeromatic spice. Star anise and Spanish anise seeds are not the same, because they come from two different species of plants and from two very different parts of the world. What they do have in common, however, the one thing that does relate the two is their component of the essential oil, anethole. |
Left: Star anise. Right: Spanish anise seeds.
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Anethole, known as anise camphor, is an essential oil that can also be found in fennel, licorice, camphor, and magnolia blossoms. It is from the anethole, is where the 'licorice' flavor comes from.
Spanish anise seeds.
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Its uses in medicinal, culinary and liquors goes as far back as the Renaissance. It is still widely used today for those same purposes. |
As there are a variety of these plants that share the anethole component, there are also varying degrees of the intensity of the flavor that comes out of the anethole. The flavor in these anise cookies is of the light, sweet, and subtle intensity.
The Anise Cookie Looks Like a Macaron
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This cookie is a distant cousin to the French macaron. Like the macaron, this cookie is round with a thin shell on top, and 'feet' on the bottom. And like the macaron, the batter is piped from a pastry bag. So yes, it looks like a macaron. Unlike the macaron, these cookies are made with cake flour, not almond flour. |
Anise cookies
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Unlike the macaron, these cookies will not include a meringue. While meringue is made with egg whites only, whipped whole eggs are included in this recipe. Unlike the macaron, anise cookies are not traditionally sandwiched together like macarons. But hey, I don't think there are any rules, here. Why not get creative?
Your Mise' En Place'A hand mixer would be the most convenient tool to use. You can mix in the bowl you've measured in. You need a large pastry bag, with a 1/2" tip. Cookie sheets, silicone scrapers, and parchment paper, completes your Tool Prep. |
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Tips for Preparation
Before getting started, check out these preparation tips
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Tips for Step 4
There's not a lot of preparation to make these cookies. There are only three steps to making this batter. Step 4 is when you'll need a large pastry bag fitted with the 1/2" round tip. Before starting, with your finger, take a little of the batter and put some of it under each corner of the parchment paper. This will keep the paper down when piping. With the bowl scraper, scrape the batter into the pastry bag to pipe the batter and pipe 1" rounds onto the sheet pans lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. |
See the anise seeds through the bag?
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Leave 1 inch of space between each cookie. When you first pipe the rounds you will see a small tip, but it should disappear on its own and the cookie should look like a round, smooth disk.
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These were a little big. They are meant to be dainty.
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Tips for Step 5
Sprinkle the cookies evenly with granulated sugar. These sugar crystals will caramelize in the oven, adding an additional, sweet crunch to these cookies. |
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Let the cookies dry at room temperature for 45 minutes or longer, up to 24 hours in humid weather. Dry until a skin has formed on the surface.
You should be able to touch the surface without leaving a mark and without the batter sticking to your finger. The temperature and humidity in your room will be a factor in the time it takes for the cookies to form a skin. |
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Step 6
Horrible image, I know. But this was the only 'baking' picture I could salvage. I decided to use it because I though it was helpful to see them rising in the oven. For some reason, that just fascinates me, the thing that's happening in there. I will be making these again. When I have time. And then, I will update a more appropriate image for you. |
They rise.
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Anise Cookies
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Anise Cookies
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So easy. Toss seeds with flour. Whip sugar and eggs. Fold together.
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Procedure |
Step 1 Sift the flour and add the anise to it. Give it a good stir and set aside. Step 2 Place the eggs, sugar, and sea salt in the mixer and whip on high speed for 3 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and whip for another 3 minutes. |
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Step 3 Remove the mixing bowl from the stand. Add the flour and anise to the egg mixture, and gently fold in. Make sure that with each fold you scrape the bottom of the bowl with your spatula and tilt the bowl so that the dry ingredients don't settle on the bottom. Fold only until the flour is completely incorporated, but not longer, or the mixture will start to collapse. Step 4 With the bowl scraper, scrape the mixture into the pastry bag fitted with the 1/2" round tip and pipe 1" rounds onto the lined sheet pans. Leave 1 inch of space between each cookie and stagger the rows' |
Step 5 Sprinkle the cookies evenly with granulated sugar. Let the cookies dry at room temperature for 45 minutes, until a skin has formed on the surface. Step 6 Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350'F/180'C and arrange the rack in the middle. When the cookies have formed a skin, bake 1 sheet pan at a time, opening the oven door quickly so that you do not lose too much heat. Close the door and let the cookies bake at 350'F/'l 80'C for 10 minutes, until they start to rise. Then, turn the heat down to 300'F/1 50'C and bake them for another 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. |
All Done !
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Eat. Share. Gift. |
Anise cookies
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