Star Anise Lace Cookies Recipes

LACE COOKIES (FLORENTINE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner (such as Silpat®).
• Place almonds into the bowl of a food processor; alternate pulsing and running at full speed every few seconds until finely chopped and crumblike. Be careful not to go too far; you don't want them too fine and pasty.
• Combine butter, brown sugar, and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir a few times and cook until melted and dissolved. Bring to a boil, then carefully remove from the heat.
• Add vanilla extract, salt, and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add chopped almonds and mix with a spatula until everything is combined.
• Drop eight uniformly sized, rounded spoonfuls of batter (each about 2 teaspoons, or 15 grams) onto the prepared sheet. Fine-tune the cookie shapes and make sure they are evenly spaced.
• Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until golden brown and a bit darker around the outsides, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
• Remove from the oven and slide the silicone liner off the baking sheet and directly onto the countertop. Allow to sit until cool and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes, then gently peel cookies off the liner. Repeat to bake remaining batches.
• Spread melted chocolate over the flat side of one cookie. Place a second cookie, flat-side down, on top to make a sandwich and press very gently to seal. Repeat to form remaining cookies. Let sit until chocolate has firmed up, about 30 minutes.

STAR ANISE LACE COOKIES

Steps:

• In an electric coffee/spice grinder finely grind star anise. In a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan bring anise, sugar, butter, and vinegar to a boil over moderate heat, stirring, and boil 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in flour and a pinch salt until mixture is smooth. Cool dough to room temperature. Form and bake cookies as directed at below.
• To form and bake lace cookies:
• Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll level 1/2-teaspoons dough into balls and arrange 4 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake cookies in batches in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, 10 minutes, or until cookies are flat and golden. Transfer parchment with cookies to racks to cool. Cool baking sheets and line with fresh parchment between batches.

SPRINGERLE COOKIES

Steps:

• Dissolve baking powder in milk in a small bowl. Whisk eggs with a mixer on high speed until very thick and pale, about 10 minutes. With machine running, slowly add sugar, beating until smooth and creamy. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in milk mixture, salt, anise extract, and lemon zest until just combined.
• Reduce speed to medium-low. Add 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Remove bowl from mixer, and stir in remaining 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until flour is incorporated and dough is stiff.
• Transfer dough to a floured surface, and knead until dough is smooth and not sticky, adding more flour if necessary. Divide dough into 4 pieces, and wrap in plastic wrap.
• Dust surface and springerle mold with confectioners' sugar. Roll out 1 disk of dough at a time to a 1/4- to 3/8-inch thickness (deeper molds will need thicker dough). Cut a piece of dough about the size of the mold. Press mold firmly into dough, flip over, and gently roll over dough with rolling pin. Flip over, and press onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a knife, trim excess dough from sides of mold. Gently coax dough out of mold with fingertips and onto baking sheet. Repeat, spacing cookies 1 inch apart, and placing same-size cookies on same sheet. Let stand, uncovered, for 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until completely dry, about 1 hour. (They should not color; reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees if cookies start to color.) Let cookies cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies will keep, unglazed and covered, for up to 2 to 3 weeks.
• Make the glaze: Mix lemon extract and a pinch of luster or petal dust in a small bowl, adding more dust as needed to get desired color. (You will need only a little dust; the mixture should remain runny). Using a very fine paintbrush, brush the tinted extract onto the flat portion of each cookie around the relief. Using a clean, damp paintbrush, remove smudges. Mix additional extract and luster or petal dust in 1/2 teaspoon increments as needed.

STAR ANISE-HONEY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat sugar and honey until blended. Beat in eggs. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and star anise; gradually beat into sugar mixture., Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 1-1/2-in. star-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets., Bake 4-6 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

GRANDMA'S LACE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl in a microwave. Add sugar and stir to combine. Add beaten egg and mix well. Stir in oats, flour, vanilla extract, salt, and baking powder.
• Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden brown, about 8 minutes. Let cool completely before removing cookies from foil.