Italian Anise Cookies With Icing and Sprinkles

Ingredients

  • COOKIE
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons anise extract (or almond extract)
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may need up to 3 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 -3 tablespoons milk
  • ICING
  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1/8 teaspoon anise extract
  • food coloring
  • decorative candy sprinkles

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2
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.
3
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).
4
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.
5
Bake cookies 10-12 minutes (they won't be brown but the insides will be soft and cake-like).
6
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).
7
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.
8
Allow icing to harden overnight; then store in air-tight containers or freeze.