Anisette Toast Recipes

ANISETTE TOAST

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Grease 2 baking sheets.
• Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in one egg until completely incorporated, then another. Beat in the last egg along with the anise extract. Mix in the flour until just incorporated. Divide the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Form each portion into a 12-inch long log, 1/2-inch thick.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool 5 minutes. Cut into 3/4-inch thick slices using a serrated knife, and place cut-side-down onto the baking sheets. Return to the oven, and bake 5 to 10 minutes until the bottoms turn golden brown. Turn the cookies over, and continue baking until golden brown on the other side, 5 to 10 minutes more. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

ANISETTE TOAST (ITALIAN BISCOTTI)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a deep (about 1-2 inch deep) cookie sheet (such as a jelly roll pan). Mix the oil and sugar in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, vanilla, and Anisette. Add this to the sugar/oil mixture. Then add the baking powder and salt to the sugar/oil/egg mixture. Mix well. Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the sugar/oil/egg mixture into the flour and mix till well combined. Add in the nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth it out. Bake at 350ºF until light brown on top and firm in the center - about 35 minutes. Once baked, cut into long, narrow slices and toast, spread out on the cookie sheet, on all sides in a 300ºF oven until crunchy (toasting time may be vary between 10-20 minutes, depending on how moist the cookies are). Be careful not to burn them. For a chocolate dipped Biscotti, melt semi-sweet chocolate and shortening over a double boiler, and dip the cooled cookies on one side into the chocolate. Place on wax paper and allow chocolate to set.

ANISETTE TOAST

Steps:

• 1 Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with wax paper. Grease and flour the paper. Tap out the excess flour. 2 In a large electric mixer bowl, combine the eggs, liqueur, and sugar. Begin beating the eggs on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to high. Continue to beat the eggs until they are very light and foamy and tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. 3 Place the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in a fine-mesh strainer. Shake the strainer over the egg mixture, gradually folding in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to deflate the eggs. 4 Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm when touched lightly in the center and golden brown. Have ready a large baking sheet and a large cooling rack. 5 Remove the pan from the oven, but leave the oven turned on. Run a small knife around the edges of the pan. Invert the cake onto a cutting board. 6 Raise the oven temperature to 375°F. With a long serrated knife, cut the cake into 3-inch strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 3/4-inch- thick slices. Place the slices in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake the slices 7 minutes or until toasted and golden. 7 Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer to wire racks to cool. Store in a tightly covered container up to 2 weeks. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

ANISETTE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Beat sugar and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in walnuts, oil, anisette liqueur, brandy, and anise seeds. Fold in flour and baking powder until dough comes together. Cover with plastic wrap and chill, about 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 baking sheets.
• Remove dough from refrigerator. Use greased hands to shape half the dough into a 1 1/2-inch-wide log on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough on second baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven, switching baking sheets halfway through, until dough is pale golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool until easily handled, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer logs to a cutting board and slice into 1-inch pieces at a 45-degree angle using a sharp or serrated knife. Arrange slices on their sides on the baking sheets.
• Bake again in the preheated oven, flipping slices over halfway through, until lightly browned, about 14 minutes.

ANISETTE

Steps:

• In a mortar and pestle, or a resealable bag and rolling pin, crush anise pods and fennel and coriander seeds. Toast together in a skillet over medium-high until fragrant, about 1 minute. Divide between 2 quart-size glass jars, then divide vodka evenly between jars. Let cool completely. Screw lids onto jars, shake gently, and let stand in a cool, dark place 5 days.
• Strain vodka mixture through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth; discard solids. In a small pot, boil sugar and 1 1/4 cups water just until sugar dissolves; add to strained vodka. Let cool completely, then refrigerate until cold, 1 hour. Divide among eight 8-ounce gift bottles. Bottles will keep in refrigerator up to 6 months. To serve, pour 1.5 ounces directly over ice, or add 1 part anisette and 3 parts cold water to a glass filled with ice.

ITALIAN ANISETTE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add sugar, salt, baking powder, anisette; beat until smooth.
• In a small bowl, beat together oil and room temperature butter until well combined. Stir into batter.
• Gradually add flour, beating only for a short time after flour has been added. Use more or less flour to make a soft cookie batter dough. (Using less flour will make for a lighter cookie). Dough should be soft, but stiff enough to form a smooth shape.
• Cover; refrigerate dough for several hours.
• Using a cookie scoop or two teaspoons, shape the dough into small balls; press bottom of cookies lightly onto lightly greased cookie sheets, while keeping the rounded tops.
• Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 15 minutes. The cookies should be crisp but do not brown - they should be very light in color.
• Using a spatula, transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
• To ice the cookies: In a clean mixing bowl, combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar with 4 teaspoons milk and 4 teaspoons Karo syrup. Stir until the icing is of a spreadable consistency, adding more milk if required. A few drops of anisette may be added for flavor; a drop or two of food coloring can be stirred in for a pastel-colored icing, if desired.
• Dip cookie tops into icing, then optionally sprinkle with colored cookie decorations.
• Makes approximately 3 1/2 dozen cookies.