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.
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
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!!
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.
