AUNTIE MELLA’S ITALIAN SOFT ANISE COOKIES

WITH A CAKE-LIKE INTERIOR, GLAZED AND SPRINKLED TOPS, AND DELICATE LICORICE FLAVOR, THESE EASY ITALIAN SOFT ANISE COOKIES ARE A FAMILY FAVORITE.

I feel like I am supposed to say that the foods I remember most from my childhood were prepared from memory by my grandmother over the course of an entire Sunday, pressing pinches of love onto my cheek with one hand while she stirred and stirred the contents of a bubbling kettle with the other. I could try to make my memories fit, but it just wouldn’t be true. It’s not that my family doesn’t cook; it’s just that we don’t cook “like that.”

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons anise extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk

For the Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon anise extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, extract and baking powder.
3. Add the vegetable oil and milk, then the flour, one cup at a time, until well combined. Chill the dough for 20 minutes to help with stickiness.
4. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough, and roll smooth between your palms.  Arrange the balls of dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until bottoms of the cookies are a light golden brown.  The tops will still be pale.
6. Remove from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
7. Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl until just smooth.  You want it more thick than thin, but still runny.
8. ............................................

For full instructions please see : theapronarchives.com

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