Ingredients
- Ingredients:
- 6 c. flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 3 tsp. anise seed (freshly ground or smashed to release the oils)
- 2 eggs
- 2 c. lard (a small 16 oz. carton)
- 1/4 c. white wine (I like to use a semi-sweet wine, like a Riesling)
- Topping:
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 2 Tbs. cinnamon
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift flour with baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream lard with sugar and freshly ground anise seeds until fluffy. (This is a very important step because you want a lot of air incorporated into the lard because it helps make the cookies lighter.)
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Mix in flour mixture and white wine until well blended.
Refrigerate 1-2 hours. (Cover with plastic wrap so the dough doesn't dry out.) (Also, this is NOT a type of cookie dough you want to eat raw. So don't even try it!)
Turn out portions of dough out on a floured surface and roll out to desired thickness (I usually like it about 1/4 of an inch thick).
Cut into shapes with cookie cutter.
Mix the 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tbsp of cinnamon in a small bowl.
Dip tops of the cut out cookies in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges start to turn a golden color.
Remove from oven and immediately dip the tops of the cookies again in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place cookies on cooling sheet and allow to cool completely. (Don’t try to taste them right out of the oven… they’re only good after they’ve cooled completely.)
Makes about 8 dozen cookies, depending on the size.