I decided to soak the anise seeds in a 1/3 cup of grand marnier for about 20 minutes. (while I went to the store) and I also added a little amaretto. Very easy and very delicious! This one gets passed along!

These are so good!! These will definitely be on my regular bakin list and will be terrific for giving as gifts! I didn't have brandy so I used orange juice and an extra 1/2 tsp vanilla. They are light, crispy, and have excellent anise flavor. I think this recipe coul be easily converted to have any favors you would want in a biscotti.

They came out perfect. Also freeze very well.

You have to bake the cookies 3 times, which makes it a little time consuming, but it's worth it for what you get. I made this just as the recipe states, and it was perfect. I brought them to my Women's Club welcome tea, and one of the ladies was stuffing her pocketbook with them. She called me the next day to say how wonderful they were, and how much she was enjoying them. At first I could not find anise seeds, but a new up scale grocery store opened, and they carried them.

Just awesome!!! Although I did change a couple of things: doubled the anise extract and used crushed pecans. I also only made 2 large strips but will definitely make 4 strips next time as the recipe states. Can't wait to make them again!

i always make this biscotti recipe during christmas but they are good and time.. one of my faves

I think these biscotti turned out just okay; however my husband LOVED them! We made a pot of coffee after dinner tonight and he downed several of these biscotti...I ate one or two. While the biscotti are tasty enough, to me they lack something...seems like a key ingredient is missing! As a child, I often made Anise Biscotti with my beloved mom and the anise flavor was really intense, which I like a lot. To me, these biscotti are flavorful but way too light on anise. I calculated the recipe to make half the amount of servings as written (I yielded about 26 biscotti) and doing so, I actually DOUBLED the anise extract from the ORIGINAL recipe that yields 60 biscuits (I used 3 teaspoons of anise extract). I also used 2 full heaping tablespoons of anise seed for my dough recipe even though I halved the original recipe. Perhaps working with the dough and the biscotti for an hour or so dulled my sense & taste for anise! At any rate, I will definitely be making these biscotti again but I'm gonna tweak the recipe a bit. Also, just as a mention...the dough is very wet, sticky and rather difficult to work with. Rather than wet my hands, etc I just floured my board and my hands really well before turning out the dough & prior to shaping it. On parchment paper that I placed over my cookie sheet, I used a long, floured carving knife to sorta mold and push the dough into 2 long and low log shapes. Doing all of this made working with the dough much much easier.

Although I hate everything anise, I made these for an elderly, estranged Italian friend of ours when I found out it is his favorite kind of cookie. My husband and son liked them very much, and I actually did not mind the anise flavor after all, maybe because it's very mild. (By the way, I used 1 tsp ground anise instead of the extract since I did not have any, and used more seeds than called for). The thing I had trouble with was the consistency which was very sticky before baking, and crumbly after. I also had to bake it way longer than stated. I've had better luck with other biscotti recipes, but this was worth making at least for the sake of those who like it.

I made these for my family and friends as Christmas presents. They were a huge hit!

This is very moist and tasy biscotti, far better than the bland ones I have made before. The only thing was the brandy left a bad after-taste which surprised me. And I used a new, good brand. I thought the alcohol's bitter taste would cook out, but it did not. I would instead use one tablespoon brandy instead of 1/3 cup, or just leave it out altogether. You also can cook the dough an extra 8 - 10 minutes longer the first time around and then there is no need to double bake it --it makes for a softer cookie.