Welcome to my stop on the Decadent Publishing Book on the Nook blog hop.
–> Check out this cool promo!
I thought we’d nourish our mind a little before dessert. Aniseed is also known as anise. According to HowStuffWorks.com:
The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that you could increase desire by sucking on anise seeds. Aniseed does include estrogenic compounds (female hormones), which have been reported to induce similar effects to testosterone.
I witnessed the draw to anise firsthand with anise sugar cookies. The men in my life love them, and when presented a variety of homemade baked goods, they go for the anise cookies every time. And I always get a kiss or a hug. Hmm, go figure. Ladies, add this recipe to your holiday reportoire and I guarantee great results.
Ingredients
– 1 cup butter
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 1-1/2 tsp anise extract
– 3 eggs (add them one at a time)
– 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
– 2 tsp cream of tartar
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp salt
Directions … preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Cream together the butter, sugar and eggs. Add the anise, and then the dry ingredients.
2. Turn the batter out onto a clean surface (I use a large cutting board, but if you typically roll out dough on your countertops, that’s a good place, too). There will likely be some pebbled, unincorporated bits of dry batter, but once you knead it all together before rolling, it all works in. Don’t worry. 🙂
3. Roll cookies out to the thickness you prefer for cookies; I try to roll it between 1/8 to 1/4 inch and find this recipe bakes up nicely. If I’m using little cookie cutters, I roll it thicker.
4. Place cut-out dough onto prepared cookie sheets (I use parchment paper), and bake for 6 – 8 minutes, until very, very lightly browned.
5. I like to glaze them, but you could eat them plain out of the oven. To make the glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp anise extract, 3 Tbsp water; whisk it together until smooth (it’s thin), and either dip your cookies into it, or brush it on with a pastry brush.
We freeze about half of the batch since we can’t eat them quite fast enough, and I’ve found that they can live happily in the freezer for about three weeks.
Leave a comment below to let me know what your favorite holiday cookie is, and one lucky commenter will win a Fidget Bead Bracelet (if you live in the lower 48; $5 Amazon gift card if you’re far away). Be sure to leave your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you if you win.
AND … Good luck on the Book on the Nook blog hop … click here to check out the rest of the authors on the hop after you comment here.
PS. These are a great recharge for hikes in the great outdoors … if you’re looking for a little romantic adventure over the holidays, check out my 1 Night Stand, The Great Outdoors. It makes a great present!