20 Reviews of Italian Anise Cookies With Icing and Sprinkles

From: justcallmetoni

On Mar 18, 2007

These are truly exceptional cookies and well worth the effort to follow the directions as presented. The cookie itself is light and pillowy with a soft cake inside and delicate exterior (neither crispy nor chewy). The anise is present enough to please those of us who are devotees but gentle enough not to discourage others from enjoying. Based on the results, I am thinking of adding these to my Christmas trays using white icing and an assortment of themed sprinkles. I made my dough today and bake three cookies as testers. The rest of the dough is frozen for baking closer to Easter. Will report back on that experiment. Thanks Cookin'Diva.

From: lilbitandme

On Feb 28, 2008

I have been making these cookies for 20 yrs....from my brother in law who is Italian. He gave me the recipe as a Christmas recipe. He shapes them into what he calls "bowties"....I call them the Christian "FISH", because to me that is what it looks like and its perfect for Christmas! He has always made these around the end of Nov. DOZENS AND DOZENS of them....he and my Hubbys sister take a WEEK off every year JUST to make cookies!!! They make, then freeze them. I don't think they are chewy, but I LOVE black licorice (Anise)!!! I don't DARE tell him I saw this recipe on the internet....he has made me swear I wouldnt EVER give the recipe out....was his great G-Moms!!!

From: Chef #598411

On Sep 27, 2007

This was the recipe I was looking for. I love these cookies and have tried various versions of them but was never quite satisfied. I had run out of milk and substituted 1/2 and 1/2 which was just fine. The amount of anise is just right and the cookie is light and delicious.This one is a keeper!

From: Ashbabe

On Mar 22, 2008

OMG these were absolutely WONDERFUL! What an easy recipe! The ingredients came together perfectly (even with my not so perfect equipment, lol) Baked up light and perfect and the colroed icing was just the right touch under the pastel Nonpareils that I bought. Great cookies , They are really going to be a beautiful adition to my Easter table

From: CHRISSYG

On Dec 20, 2007

These are very close to my "Grandmom Lena's" cookies. Substituted orange zest for the anise extract, and used orange juice in the glaze. Grandmom's were a bit dryer, (which in hindsight is probably not the ideal end result) Thank you Cookin'Diva! for helping me to recreate a childhood memory!

From: Chef #723060

On Feb 25, 2008

After I baked the cookie I thought it needed more sugar, because it was tasteless, but I was wrong! Once it was iced, it was perfect because the glaze made it sweeter. I did not have sprinkles so I put sesame seeds. Sprinkles are prettier, but I wanted to cover the cracks that appeared under the icing. The only thing I did not like was all the balls formed cracks at the top, and trying to ice the tiny ball was messy and the bottom of the ball did not get any glaze. But after all is said and done I love the taste. Next time I will get sprinkles and try to ice it a little more professionally. But it's a keeper and will add color to my cookie tray. Thank you.

From: Chef #1090253

On Dec 23, 2008

I have been trying to get this cookie right for three years now. I had almost given up. As an Irish girl, I have ZERO experience with this cookie. I had never had it before and didn't know how it was supposed to taste. The first time I made them (from another recipe) they were ROCK HARD and so dry. Awful. My husband tried them on my first attempt and said "Yep, this is the taste...but they are a little bit...erm...drier than I recall..." I was slightly defeated and ready to give up. However, my step daughter (VERY Italian on her mother's side) dearly loves these cookies. She asks for them every year. This recipe was my saving grace! My ten year old step daughter declared them "EXACTLY LIKE GRANDMA'S!!!" Which is high praise indeed as her grandma is well known for her "sprinkle cookies". I ended up using almond extract instead of Anise. That's how it's done here in New Jersey so I've been told. The cookies came out fluffy and cake like and so delicious. I'm thrilled to have been able to grant my darling step daughter's Christmas wish for these cookies.

From: PumpKIM

On Dec 23, 2008

These are AMAZING! I dislike the licorice taste of anise, but you converted me with these perfectly delightful cookies! THANKS!

From: Chef #1155308

On Feb 2, 2009

Exceptional and surprised. Texture came out more dense than cake as to what was expected in the recipe but less dense than tradional anis cookies. That was fine with me. Perfect middle of the road texture. Its taken the #1 spot in my personal favorites file! Batter actually made us 24 cookies and not 48. Thank You!

From: Papayaraya

On Dec 19, 2008

This recipe is absolutely perfect and I wouldn't change a thing. The icing also worked out beautifully. I did add a touch of corn syrup to give the icing a bit of a shiny glaze. I have not had cookies like these since my childhood Italian family holiday gatherings. Thanks so much for the recipe!