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Home » Recipes » Dessert Recipes

December 18, 2017 · 9 Comments

Italian Anise Cookies

Christmas· Dessert Recipes· Holiday Baking & Gifts· Italian

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Italian Anise Cookies are a soft, licorice flavored cookie covered with a powdered sugar glaze and nonpareil's sprinkled on top. 
Italian Anise Cookies traditionally are a soft, licorice flavored cookie covered with a powdered sugar glaze and nonpareil's sprinkled on top.

Italian Anise Cookies traditionally are a soft, licorice flavored cookie covered with a powdered sugar glaze and nonpareils sprinkled on top.

A close up of Italian Anise Cookies stacked on a plate

It always amazes me how much food plays an integral part of our lives. Not only for nourishment, but it also helps define who we are. As I get older, I can recall certain memories from my youth where others are completely lost until I smell a familiar scent or eat something I used to like as a child.

Italian Anise Cookies

When my husband's Italian aunt passed away a few years ago, her children made a recipe book with some of her favorite recipes. She was an amazing cook.

And like most Italian women I know, there was always food and drink ready at the drop of a hat; always ready to entertain family and friends. One of the recipes in this book was for her Anise Cookies or Anisette Cookies; which I couldn't wait to make.

Italian Anise Cookies with sprinkles on a white plate.

She always had these cookies on her Christmas cookie platter and they were one of my favorites. I also liked them because it brought back memories of me being a small girl and eating them with my sister and cousins at my own Italian grandmothers house during the holidays too. See, food does bring back memories!

Italian Anise Cookies traditionally are a soft, licorice flavored cookie covered with a powdered sugar glaze and nonpareil's sprinkled on top.

These Anise Cookies are delicious and so easy to make. The last two years I didn't have much time to bake for the holidays, but was happy this year when I was able to spend a day and a half in the kitchen making my favorites.

Some of them include Walnut Crescents, Bailey's Irish Cream Truffles, decorated sugar cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, Cinnamon Walnut Pinwheels, and even made a new biscotti recipe. We had Christmas music playing and the girls were decorating a Gingerbread House; it never gets old!

How do you make Italian Anise Cookies?

For this recipe you'll need flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, butter, anise extract, milk and confectioners sugar. Start by adding all ingredients except the confectioners sugar and milk to your mixer; then slowly blend until the dough forms.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat and drop 1 tbsp. of the dough onto the pan. The cookie won't spread much so you can place them about 2" apart. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until the bottoms turn a light brown.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Italian Anise Cookies

Once the cookies have cooled, combine the confectioners sugar, anise extract and milk in a small bowl and mix until the sugar is smooth. Dip the top of the cookie into the sugar mixture, place back on the wire rack; then sprinkle with nonpareils.

I like to dip about three to four cookies; then sprinkle because you want to make sure the sugar is still wet so the nonpareils will adhere.

Italian Anise Cookies stacked on a plate

You can store these Anise Cookies in a tightly sealed container or cookie tin at room temperature for about one week or I prefer keeping them frozen in a resealable bag so that they stay fresh longer (about 4 months).

It helps ensure that my cookies are fresh when  making trays of holiday cookies to bring as hostess gifts. ~Enjoy!

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Italian Anise Cookies

Italian Anise Cookies

Carrie's Experimental Kitchen
Italian Anise Cookies traditionally are a soft, licorice flavored cookie covered with a powdered sugar glaze and nonpareil's sprinkled on top.  
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Servings 40

Ingredients
  

For the Anise Cookies

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup butter , melted
  • 1 teaspoon anise extract
  • nonpareils , for decoration

For the Icing

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon anise extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions
 

For the Anise Cookies

  • Preheat oven to  350 degrees F.
  • Start by adding all ingredients to your mixer; then slowly blend until the dough forms. 
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat and drop 1 tbsp. of the dough onto the pan. (The cookie won't spread much so you can place them about 2" apart.) 
  • Bake for about 10 minutes or until the bottoms turn a light brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. 
  • Once the cookies have cooled, dip the top of the cookie into the sugar mixture, place back on the wire rack; then sprinkle with nonpareils. (I like to dip about three to four cookies; then sprinkle because you want to make sure the sugar is still wet so the nonpareils will adhere.)

For the Icing

  • Combine the confectioners sugar, anise extract and milk in a small bowl and mix until the sugar is smooth. 
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Italian Anise Cookies collage photo.

 

 

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Italian Anise Cookies traditionally are a soft, licorice flavored cookie covered with a powdered sugar glaze and nonpareil's sprinkled on top.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cara P says

    December 18, 2024 at 3:37 pm

    Well... They look perfect. Except I accidentally used 2 Tbsp of anise instead of tsp. and I forgot to melt the butter before mixing. My entire house smells like licorice lol. Taste wise, they're pretty good actually....but then again, I love anise. They are also nice and fluffy.
    These were supposed to be for a teacher/staff cookie exchange at my daughter's school so I'll be making more using the correct directions 😁

    Reply
    • Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says

      December 18, 2024 at 5:13 pm

      Oh no! Yes, they are a fluffy, light cookie which is why I love them. I hope they turn out better this time! As a side note, if you like lemon, you can substitute lemon extract in the dough and the glaze..they're pretty amazing too!

      Reply
  2. Rosalie says

    December 02, 2024 at 10:13 pm

    Hi Carrie
    Very delicious cookies and easy to make my sister loved them Thank you for the recipe

    Reply
    • Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says

      December 03, 2024 at 8:45 am

      You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe!

      Reply
  3. Nancy says

    December 06, 2023 at 6:27 am

    Can I make the dough and refrigerate 2 days before baking?🎄💚

    Reply
    • Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says

      December 06, 2023 at 6:32 am

      Yes you can!

      Reply
  4. Jaime Scriven says

    February 02, 2023 at 1:23 pm

    Delicious

    Reply
  5. Maria says

    February 06, 2021 at 3:21 pm

    Awesome recipe! Sooo easy to follow and bake. And I had everything in the pantry already. The ONLY thing I would do differently next time is make smaller cookies, but that is a personal preference. I like more bite sized cookies.

    Reply
    • Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says

      February 06, 2021 at 3:36 pm

      I agree on the smaller size as well. I've also made these using lemon extract and a lemon sugar glaze instead of the anise...amazing if you like lemon!

      Reply

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