Reviewed: Apr. 9, 2008

This recipe is very close to the one I have. The important ingredients are about the same. One recommendation I would make is not to add additional flour. I knead my dough and it is very sticky. But if you then let the batter rest with out adding flour for 15 min to hr. it will roll nicely and be less apt to become hard.

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ACOOKIEMONSTER

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 2, 2008

I really love these cookies. I used 3 tsp. of baking powder instead of the 6 tbsp., as one reviewer suggested. When I first made them, the dough was crumbly. When I made them again, I used a little more water, which helped a lot. I also used more anisette extract, which made a difference. But the topping on the cake was sprinkling nonpareils on top (after a generous amount of icing), to make them colorful and visually appetizing. My friends and family LOVED them. One of my friends said that they were even better than the ones he got in Boston's North End!

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My2CatsR2Cool

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Living In: Nashua, New Hampshire, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2008

I lost my grandmothers recipe for these cookies, but they were always a childhood favorite. I was so happy to find this recipe, they tasted exactly like I remembered. Just the right balance of Anise, I however like others used only 2 Tbsp of baking powder and had excellent results.

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Charissa

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jan. 16, 2008

I have made these cookies for the Christmas holiday two years in a row..and they are a big family hit. Need to make these year-round. Great with a cup of coffee in the evening.

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LPOOR

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Reviewed: Jan. 7, 2008

I have made this recipe now for the second year in a row for Christmas and I have followed the recipe exactly. Everyone that has tried these say they are the best they have ever tasted. Do not alter the recipe in any way.

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LBailey

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Girard, Ohio, USA

Living In: Niles, Ohio, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2007

I was looking for a good anise cookie, for Christmas and this fit the bill. It is a good tasting cookie, and the icing is sooo good. It has a nice strong anise taste to it, which sweetens the cookie up perfectly. I did have to double the icing as this recipe made around 4 dozen cookies. The baking time was off for me, mine had to stay 14 minutes and were just a light golden brown on bottom. At the 8 minute time mark they were still raw in the center. I used only a heaping tablespoon of baking powder and it worked fine. Very good recipe! Thanks :) edited to add: I am now changing this to 5 stars as this got even better with age. Perfect blend of flavoring!

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SAVANNAH0410

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Reviewed: Dec. 10, 2007

Very easy to put together. Kids loved them! I was very surprised by that since they had never eaten anise. 8 minutes is no where near done. More like 12 minutes is great cause then they have a little crisp to them. I used the frosting and made red and green for the holidays. If the hubby likes when he gets home, will most likely make again.

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HappyMommy2

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Portland, Oregon, USA

Living In: Molalla, Oregon, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 9, 2007

I was skeptical of this recipe, but it makes the best cookie. not like cornbread in texture as one reviewer suggested. i DID cut the baking powder to one heaping tablespoon. found that ten minutes was about the right oven time. thanks. this is a delicious cookie for the holidays.

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d newman

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Sioux City, Iowa, USA

Living In: Holiday Island, Arkansas, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 24, 2007

These cookies were SoooGood!! I thought it was to easy that they wouldn't come out good.They were Great!!! used 3ts.baking powder. Thanks

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Linda

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Living In: Hingham, Massachusetts, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 22, 2007

Very good cookies. I used 6 teaspoons of baking powder like the others said. I usually dip cookies in icing when they are cool so that the icing doesn't get absorbed into the cookie and stays on top. I baked them for 8 minutes but they were a bit undone in the center. I kinda like them that way but not necessarily good for serving. Next time I will try baking them for 10 minutes.

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Food Girl

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 21, 2007

Just like mom used to make them! FYI PETERRE: as a teen, I also made the mistake of using baking soda instead of baking powder, it really doesn't work, but my brother still ate them! lol

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TAZ

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Reviewed: Oct. 20, 2007

These were quit lovely. Mine turned out more like sweetened corn bread. I didn't have any anise, so I used vanilla and almond extract. I also used self rising flour with 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder. They were quite lovely. I ate way to many, then later passed out from carb overload. :) :( :)

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Jonathan in GA

Cooking Level: Beginning

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Reviewed: Aug. 15, 2007

A number of reviewers have commented on how "6 tablespoons baking powder" seemed like way too much. Even though I'm not an experienced baker, I too thought that might be the case, but I nevertheless made the recipe as is. The recipe worked, but since I don't think I've ever had these kind of cookies, I'm not sure how close they came to the "real" thing. Nor did I particularly note the "bad aftertaste" supposed to be caused by this amount of baking powder, as described by one of those reviewers. I did share the cookies with two sets of people, and they said they liked them (unless they were just being polite). Myself, I'm not too fond of anise, so I thought the cookies were just okay. I baked some of the cookies for 8 minutes, and some for 9. The cookies came out very light and fluffy, and somewhat delicate. I'd never iced cookies before, but gingerly held them upside-down in the icing to coat the top, and let the excess drip back into the icing bowl. I don't know if there's another technique for icing cookies, but mine worked pretty well.

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SPOOTY

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jul. 1, 2007

This one's a keeper for sure! Loved them...brought these to work and made everyone's day :-) ! Thanks for the recipe!

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TRADY'S LADY

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Apr. 20, 2007

These didn't taste all that wonderful out of the oven, but for some reason were DELICOUS after they sat a few days. Give them a chance. :)

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LeeLee222

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Cliffside Park, New Jersey, USA

Living In: East Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 8, 2007

A great and unique cookie recipe. Everyone loved them. They are very light and fluffy with a great flavor.

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M.McBride

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Reviewed: Jan. 17, 2007

these are a great little anisette biscuit, but due to the amt. of baking powder stated in the recipe, I can't rate it higher. i only used 2 tbsp powder and that was plenty! Didn't have extract so ground 2 tbsp. anise seeds in my coffee grinder. rolled them in granulated sugar and baked. 8 min. was perfect in my oven. dough easy to work with. my dough was dingy gray color d/t the anise seed and oil but they bake up just like the stated pic; nice and white. very good flavor and not sickening sweet. fresh out of the oven, you can taste that baking powder but the flavor does mellow without any aftertaste. Can fit alot on one sheet and makes alot using pampered chef small size cookie scoop.

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TUNISIANSWIFE

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: King Ferry, New York, USA

Living In: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 9, 2006

Just finished backing these. They were quick, easy and tasty. Made using lemon extract, My tip: I used a very small scoop something like an old fashioned Ice Cream Scoop that I picked up years ago. This way I got an equal size portion for each cookie.

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jojoinlc

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Reviewed: Nov. 22, 2006

This is my Italian grandmother's recipe, to a T (except for the baking power typo, of course - 3 teaspoons works perfectly :) We call them "Sciamellis" in my family. The key with these cookies is that YOU SHOULD NOT BROWN THEM. If they turn golden on top, they're overdone. When you just start to see a teeny bit of golden color at the base of the cookies, get them out of the oven! Almond, anise, vanilla, lemon...all varieties taste great.

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POPPASQUASH

Cooking Level: Professional

Home Town: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Living In: Tiverton, Rhode Island, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 11, 2006

Love this cookie. 11 minutes seems perfect for bake time. I've been using an old recipe for years and it somehow just changed over time and the cookies were just boring. This is great. Very nice texture, not too cakey not too dry. Wonderful understated flavor - just great... I made up a batch for this Easter sunday and made different colors for the icing. They look like a bunch of beautiful Easter eggs. DELICIOUS... Thanks for this recipe. Also makes several dozen if you don't make them too big. Nice... I changed the baking powder amount to 1 tablespoon.

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Gio

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Italian Anisette Cookies

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