Spicy Anise Cookies With Lemon Icing Recipes

ITALIAN ANISE COOKIES WITH ICING AND SPRINKLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• For cookies, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add anise extract.
• Blend flour and baking powder. Start by adding about 1/3 of these dry ingredients to the butter/sugar in your mixer, then add 1 T. milk. Add another third of the flour and another 1 T. milk. Finally, mix in enough of the remaining flour until your dough is like a brownie batter (it should be softer than a drop cookie dough).
• Use a 1 T. cookie scooper to make simple round drop cookies - use wet fingers to pat any rough edges OR for an Easter-Egg look, roll 1 T. dough into an elongated ball.
• Bake cookies 10-12 minutes (they won't be brown but the insides will be soft and cake-like).
• For icing: mix sugar, milk and extract to make a sugar glaze. HINT: When I make the icing, I make it thick but then I microwave it for 10 seconds so it is thin enough for dipping. Also, I like to divide the mixture in thirds, and then add ONE DROP of food coloring to each batch (pink, green, yellow).
• Hold cookie in your hand and turn upside down so you can dip the top half in the glaze; turn over and immediately top with sprinkles so they will stick.
• Allow icing to harden overnight; then store in air-tight containers or freeze.

CRISP LEMON COOKIES WITH ANISE FROSTING

Steps:

• 1. Cream together butter and pouch of lemon filling mix from krusteaz box. Add in vanilla and pure lemon extracts
• 2. To this add 2 eggs and stir until well blended
• 3. Now add in flour, pouch of crust mix from krusteaz box, soda, and salt. Stir this until dough forms. You may have to knead the dough with your hands. (If sticky add flour to your hands before kneading)
• 4. Take HEAPING Tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Roll in bowl of sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Be sure to place balls at least 2 inches apart because the expand. (I fit 12 cookies on a tray)
• 5. Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 14 to 16 minutes or until cookies are golden and set.
• 6. Allow cookies to cool and then frost with preferred frosting (we left some unfrosted cause my daughter hates frosting)
• 7. split can of frosting in half to one half add anise extract and to other half add lemon extract, stir both to blend well. Frost cookies.