Italian Anisette Cookies

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.

These were delicious and authentic Italian cookies with a nice strong anisette flavor. I presume the recipe had a typo regarding the 6 Tbs. of baking powder and I reduced it to 1 heaping Tbs. They were the exact consistency they should be and I cannot imagine what an additional 5 Tbs would have created!

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.

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.

I adjusted the baking powder to 6 tsp, not tablespoons like the recipe says and they were incredible!!! It must be a typo. They were so moist and cakey with just the right amount of anise flavor. The frosting dries quickly after dipping the cookies, so be ready with the sprinkles if you're using them!

This is the best anisette cookie I have tasted. This cookie is also delicious when almond extract is used instead of anise extract.

Very, very good. I made these with lemon extract yesterday after I couldn't get to the store to get anise and WOW! They were great. Two things though--everyone else is right about the baking powder. I put in 2TB and think that I may put even less next time (hence why only 4 stars). The texture is cakelike and the taste is less sweet and is almost between a biscuit and a cookie. These were DEVOURED at my sister's bridal shower today. Also, I wasn't sure that kids would like them because they're less sweet, but I had to stop my nephew when I saw him hit about the dozen mark and package the rest up for him to eat later at home!!

I did put in the 6 table spoons of baking soda and boy did they have a bad aftertaste. The recipe should be good if baking soda is adjusted. Maybe Heather can double check and rewrite the recipe if need be. Soon. I just wasted 1 1/2 hours of baking time and pitched all the cookies......kpl

This cookie was a rel hit with my husband and children. A very nice tasting cookie, followed the directions and turned out great. Perfect amount of icing too.

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! edited again to add: I have used this recipe a ton of times which is saying a lot ( I constantly am looking for something better)...I find this cookie delicious!

WONDERFUL,QUICK, EASY. CAN ALSO BE MADE WITH LEMON EXTRACT IN COOKIE AND FROSTING. A GREAT RECIPE.

These taste really great. I don't know if somehow I measured incorrectly (I really don't think so), but the dough seemed dry. I added an extra 1/4 cup of oil before forming the cookies and I still had to smash the dough balls down in order to get them to spread at all.

Unique cookie. husband loved it. Thanks!

Wonderful and easy recipe!! My seven year old twins and I made these for their teachers and they turned out perfectly. Flaky enough to be delicate, and soft enough to not be chewy. We sprinkled a few slivered almonds on the cooling icing and - yum!!!

Very good cookies. I love the anise flavor. The only thing I don't like about them , they are plain looking. So with that in mind I added nutmeg to the icing and that not only gave it an extra yummy flavor a bit of color. I can't say how much I added I just added until the frosting was speckly.

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.

UPDATE 12/31/15: I am so glad the typo in the amt. of baking powder was fixed. I had tried this recipe back in '06 and liked it but at that time, I cut the baking powder down and although still good, I had used another great recipe on here. I came back to this recipe because I didn't like the idea of using half dozen eggs (as they are so expensive now) in the other recipe, and saw the update. WOW, the 1 tbsp of powder is perfect. These stayed so soft days after making them. They are little tender pillows of delicate anise flavor! I always grind up some anise seed in my coffee grinder, as I like a burst of anise flavor. The amt. of glaze is perfect. These make a big batch and I can fit a lot on the cookie sheet, as they don't spread. I use the small size pampered chef stainless steel cookie scoop and they are perfect. Thank you so much for the baking powder correction. I also love the fact that I can use oil in this one! perfection. Even my friend's 23 yr old son fell in love with these, and I plan on making more today to give him some for the new year.

Thank you for sharing this recipe. I make them every year for the holiday's. Everyone loves them and will ask me to make them again and again. I followed the recipe as written and would not change anything at all. Perfect & delicious.:)

Loved these cookies. Only thing I did differently was that I added 1 T. anise seed and shaped these into different shapes like my grandmother used to do. Otherwise, recipe is perfect. This is a wonderful dough and so easy to work with. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

This is an amazing cookie! I loved it. Instead of all anise extract, I added a little bit of anise oil...The anise is not too strong and just right. Crumbly and not too sweet. My brother enjoyed it and he's not a fan of anise flavoring.

Love,love,love this recipe.It takes me back to a time when my Italian aunts would make these cookies for Christmas.I omit the aniset from the glaze since the flavor would be too strong.

Wonderful texture, brought back childhood memories for my husband. Perfect :)

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.

Like Grandma used to make, for sure. Some extra steps here, but all well worth it!

These cookies turned out great for Christmas. It was my first time making them but they were so easy to make and really enjoyable. Next time I think I will ease up on the anise for the icing because it was almost too strong of a flavor.

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!

The cookie is delicious, soft, and cake-like. I substituted 1/2 cup of the vegetable oil for applesauce and they were perfect. The icing, however, was gross...tasted like strong licorice or Nyquil! Bleh. We left them un-iced and they were gobbled up.

nice recipe it was easy. had to add a little more anise and raise the oven rack to the middle

Followed recipe exactly, not very good flavor. Boring cookie, frosting was too strong. Kind of like biscuits. Very weird the first day, bland second day. Had high hopes for these but they weren't good.

I was a tad unsure about using so much baking powder, so I cut it to 4 tbsp. and the cookies still turned out FABULOUS. They needed to bake a bit longer than the recipe says, but otherwise it was smooth-sailing with this recipe. I made a batch that were vanilla flavored using vanilla extract too for the family members that don't care for anise. YUM!! Would be good with lemon or cherry flavoring as well. These are definitely a part of my Christmas cookie list (and year-round baking list) from now on, so soft and yummy, great icing too!! Pretty to dress up with a little food coloring and crystal sprinkles.

Very good cookie! The only thing I did differently was I did 3 Tablespoons hot water to the icing instead of just 2 Tablespoons,it made to icing thinner and not as sweet. My husband being Itailan loved this recipe and he remembers it growing up. This recipe is a KEEPER!

So easy and very good,did with almond extract and shots on top.NOw I am doing a batch of anise extract.

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.

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.

I really cannot understand how this got five stars. They weren't good at all! Maybe it's because I just don't like black liccorice flavor, and that's why, or maybe my anise extract went bad, but my mom and I did not finish them. I followed others advice with the baking powder, however, they looked like little biscuits. I love pizzelles, so I thought I would like these, but unfortunately, they weren't good. I wish I could review differently.

a great cookie, simple enough to make, and just the right amount of anise flavor in them. I'm adding this one to my collection - thank you :) My cookies took 9 minutes to bake. And, I mixed the oil, anise, eggs, and milk together in a separate bowl before adding to the dry ingredients.

I love this recipe and make it once a month, I have used vanilla extract lemon and almond, and they have all turned out perfect. They are great to freeze and are a great no nut addition to my girls school lunches,the kids love to color the icing and dip these cookies.

I have been making Italian anise cookies for 30 years, but haven't been happy with the recipe. I decided to try this one and it's very good, thus the reason for 4 stars. I did encounter a problem, and hopefully someone can help. I made two (separate) batches, followed the recipe to a "T", and with both recipes I got the same result--the dough did not want to stay together, in the bowl, and it was very difficult to keep them together as balls.

These came out great, and tasted like the cookies I grew up with. Thanks for sharing.

Great recipe...our family calls them "Jeannettes." I used 2 Tablespoons of baking powder to correct the typo (6 teaspoons is what I think the author meant) and they came out just right. Keep in mind that u want these cookies to "crack" and that is why u need more baking powder than in a usual cookie.

Excellent italian cookie. They freeze well, I defrost a couple to have with a cup of tea!

great recipe, but use only 3 teaspoons of baking powder, I tried using 5 teaspoons like the recipe called for but leaves an after taste in mouth of baking powder. Also used cocoa powder and coffee instead of anise extract and made the best chocolate cake cookies ever!!

Easy, delicious, just what I was looking for. Perfect anise flavor in a not-too-sweet cookie. My 4 yr. old daughter helped me decorate them. I used 1 tbsp. baking powder. My grandmother makes something similar to this at Easter and now I think I've found the recipe we will use for our Easter cookies!

this recipe has been in my family for years. I lost it during moving this is pretty much the same recipe....For the icing..it's pretty much the same we just add food coloring to some of the bowls and it makes the cookies look pretty and festive!

Very Good recipe for Anisette Cookies!

This is an excellent recipe. Has a nice texture to the cookie, better than the recipe I had. Only change I would make next time is to use 2 Tbl of anise instead of 1 for more flavor in the cookie. This is a keeper!! Thanks Heather.

These cookies seem to have calming properties. Thanks for the recipe!

Followed recipe exactly other than I used cinnamon extract instead of anise because my man doesn't not like anise. Wonderful cookies with tea! We're enjoying them with orange blossom tea tonight. :)

These cookies were easy to make and tasty too. I think maybe a little dry, and almost like there was something missing. I put a lot more almond extract in, b/c i like that stuff.

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

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. :) :( :)

These cookies have a great cake-like texture. However I do question the amount of anise extract. I mean, think about it--extracts in general are potent, expensive to buy, and typically used a teaspoonful at a time. This recipe uses an entire tablespoon plus more in the glaze. I think if I make this again I'll cut the extract back, and they will probably be just as good.

Very tasty. Made the house smell delicious! Will make these again.

I have made over 10 dozen of these cookies every year for years now, it is a family favorite at Christmas ! I like to cook these for 9 to 10 minutes depending on your oven.

These cookies are AMAZING!!! I followed the incredients exactly but I also read the reviews and noticed how everyone changed the baking powder amount, which I guess Heather corrected to 1 tablespoon which is what I used. Absolutely delicious!! When I was glazing them I sprinkled some green and red sugar crystals to make them more festive for the holidays. I did run out of Anise extract so for the glaze I used almond extract. Thank you for the recipe Heather, they remind me of something my Grandmother use to make. Brings back wonderful memories and the kitchen smells great!

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.

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

Made this for a school project very nice would make again

outstanding! I've been looking for a good anisette cookie, and i've found it.

Scrumptious! I don't like licorice flavor, so I used almond extract instead. I'm thinking of trying these again with lemon extract. I found these cookies to be easy to make and they use oil not margarine or butter which is another plus.

I made these Easter weekend, and they were excellent! I used unflavored coconut oil for 1/4 of the oil, and it worked great. (I didn't realize it comes unflavored, and it's what I happened to buy). I'll try replacing more the next time. I also added 1 tsp of salt to the dry ingredients. Baking time of 11 minutes worked good, and I got about 4 doz cookies. I had to make another batch of the glaze which got used up, so I'd double the glaze. Great recipe! UPDATE 12/23/16: Made them a little bigger and got 3 dz. Decided 8 min is better cooking time. Doubled the icing, and it worked better. Dipped while still warm.

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.

These cookies a delicous. Even my husband said they were good without me asking if he like them. I think next time I will try them with almond extract, and maybe lemon extract. So easy too!

Wow, I love Anise Cookies, and used to follow a recipe from my Grandmother. She is no longer with us, and unfortunately her recipe wasn't exact (more like a pinch of this, etc) and they were always tough. I found this recipe and all I can say is WOW. They are light and moist and perfect! Thanks!!

So simple and oh so delicious. The only problem I had, was finding Anise Extract in local grocery stores. I found a great spice store called Savory Spice. I believe they are a chain and can be found everywhere.

Dough was really wetI had to acturally roll the dough in flour and make balls. But, it was a very good tasting cookie. Go easy on the anise; it's a powerful flavor. I usally ice only half the amount of cookies for family and guests that want to avoid icings and frostings.

Delish!! made exactly as posted :) perrrrrrrfect!!!

Tasted like dough.Baked it for 10 minutes.The recipe didn’t have salt in it.

I LOVE these cookies. They're quick and easy and have a great licorice flavor. I make them every year for Christmas and throughout the year for a treat for myself. They freeze well, too.

I did make changes with the baking soda and baking time a long time ago. Those have been fixed on the recipe. Everyone loves these cookies. Now making batches for husbands work, Xmas Eve and Xmas Day

I have shared this recipe with so many. I made a minor change in that I don't ice while warm. I have gone thru 10 pounds of flour in 1 month since I make a batch every other day. All my co workers ask for more and more and more, I finally just gave them the recipe!! The best cookie ever. Bake the first batch at 9 min, then 8 min. Perfect!!!

This is a GREAT recipe. It is less crumbly and dry than a lot of other recipes, and holds the flavor well, of whatever extract you use.YUM! Don’t overbake- we baked ours for about 7 1/2 min.

Great at christmas!

Great. Better than my grandma's recipe. Definitely don't make if you don't like black licorice.

I made these cookies from a couple different recipes & these are by far the best! Today making a double batch so I can send some to my brother Nino for his birthday. I'm sure they'll bring back some good memories, they sure did for me! Definitely had to drag out the Kitchen Aid to mix all that dough!

They didn't wow me. The extract gave them anise flavor on the front, but it didn't linger on the palate like the store-bought cookies I wanted to copy. I'm also thinking that I need to find a recipe that uses butter or shortening versus just oil alone. A certain richness was lacking.

I made this recipe and used a heaping tablespoon of baking powder and 2 tablespoons of anise extract. They came out perfect. Brings back childhood memories.

I loved these cookies and I didn't even follow the recipe exactly. I have never made cookies like this before and I am trying healthy ways to cook lately so I used olive oil, whole wheat flour and since I didn't have any anise, I decided to use vanilla instead. STILL turned out perfect! I taste tested them on my husband and 13 year old and they oohed and ahhed. One day I will make these with the Anise since I want to try that flavor as well but even with other flavors, this recipe takes it!

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

yummy

A Homerun! I made a double batch for dessert on the Italian table at a church dinner. I found them easy to make. I used self rising flour because it was on hand. (don't add baking powder or salt)and they turned out great. When making the glaze add water a little at a time to the desired consistency. One batch was almost like donut glaze the other was a bit thicker more like frosting. My husband does not have a sweet tooth. He asked me to make these cookies for us.

Not a sticky dough. not good cookies at all. I love to bake, I was looking for a new cookie to add to my Xmas tray this is not good!!!!

Great recipe. I made a test batch first and they were delicious! I will be making for my son's wedding.

It was very good. Strong anise flavor which I like. Cookies were good. They were just a tad drier than other recipes I used even though I stored them in an air tight container but not too bad!

I thought this recipe was very good and simple to make.

Followed recipe carefully, a bit disappointed! Next time, if I try again, I would add more anise extract, too light on the anise flavor! Also, and most important, cookies much too cake like. I definitely think baking time needs to be 10-11 minutes!

Great recipe!

Another winner!!! These are a tasty little cookie! Very moiste not dry at all! These will be a great addition on my cookie tray this year

Really yummy! I was pleasantly surprised how good these turned out. They were easy to make. They definitely rise so be sure to leave that 1 inch. Also, I got almost 50 cookies out of this recipe...I don't know where the 18 came from. The icing is definitely very sweet and very annisette-y! I liked it since the cookies themselves are not a very strong flavor. They are on the drier side so the icing helped. Also, I followed another reviewers advice-get out of the oven the second the bottom edges start to brown. Perfectly cooked.

Easy and good. I might have preferred a more buttery taste, but that probably wouldn't have been authentic. I was trying to create an Italian theme for my bookclub night.

Made the recipe exactly and they were delicious! My friends and I all enjoy Sambuca and these cookies taste just like that wonderful licorice flavor and they’re so good with coffee. Can’t wait to make them using almond flavoring!

just made this cookies for my family,they loved them easy to follow will be my favorite

I made these for the 1st time today. I think the bake time is closer to about 11-12 minutes til the bottom is browned. They look nice with white icing and colored sprinkles but I think they could have been sweeter and even though I added more anise extract, they still were kind of bland. They would probably be one of the 1st cookies I reached for on a plate, but I probably wouldn't go for a second one. Sorry

great cookie.. very moist.

I loveee them, thanks so much for the recipe =)

these were very easy to make and had a cakey texture to them. I dipped them in colored nonpareils and they were a huge success.

Nice flavor. I added a little more anise to the cookies. 8 minutes was not nearly long enough. I think 11-12 , depending on the oven. Icing recipe was exactly enough. Will make them again.

Traditional recipe with a snap of flavor. I cut back the Anise extract for icing in half, for subtlety. Just as preference. Easy, fast, flavorful.

Didn't change anything the Anise was way too intense! Cookies tasted like licorice!