Anicini are tasty anise cookies, or, to be more precise, anise biscotti.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 7/8 cup sugar
- An ounce of anise seeds
- 5 eggs, separated
- 1/2 a packet of chemical yeast (substitute 2 teaspoons baking powder)
- A rectangular pan lined with lightly oiled paper (in the initial phase of baking you will want to make a single long
- cookie about 2 1/2 inches wide, so make sure your pan is long enough --
- the Joy of Cooking tells how to subdivide a pan using aluminum foil).
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 320 F (160 C).
Beat the egg yolks and all but two tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow (it should pour from the spoon in a ribbon).
Beat the whites to stiff peaks.
Mix the flour and the anise seeds into the egg yolks, being careful lest seedy lumps form. Once the flour and seeds are incorporated, incorporate the baking powder, and then fold in the beaten whites. Pour the batter into the lined pan, dust it with the reserved sugar, and bake it for about 40 minutes. When it is done, remove it and turn it out on your work surface. Once it has cooled cut it crosswise into 3/4-inch wide cookies. At this point they will still be soft and chewy (relatively speaking). Heat your oven to 160 F (180 C) and bake them about 10 more minutes to dry them completely.
These are served with a cup of warmed cream, which makes me think they could also be nice with eggnog. Otherwise, serve them with a dessert wine.
Beat the egg yolks and all but two tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow (it should pour from the spoon in a ribbon).
Beat the whites to stiff peaks.
Mix the flour and the anise seeds into the egg yolks, being careful lest seedy lumps form. Once the flour and seeds are incorporated, incorporate the baking powder, and then fold in the beaten whites. Pour the batter into the lined pan, dust it with the reserved sugar, and bake it for about 40 minutes. When it is done, remove it and turn it out on your work surface. Once it has cooled cut it crosswise into 3/4-inch wide cookies. At this point they will still be soft and chewy (relatively speaking). Heat your oven to 160 F (180 C) and bake them about 10 more minutes to dry them completely.
These are served with a cup of warmed cream, which makes me think they could also be nice with eggnog. Otherwise, serve them with a dessert wine.
