Anise Biscotti

Anise Biscotti

At Kathey Jo’s Kitchen, we love anise biscotti because they are not only very enjoyable, but perfect for dunking due to their light flavor. Anise flavored biscotti is a very popular “cookie” in my household— my husband Rob loves them! They are lean but crunchy, which in my book is the perfect combination to drink a coffee.

Making these are a lot easier that you would think. It’s an eight-ingredient recipe that calls for items you are likely to already have in your kitchen. The only item that you may need to purchase are the anise seeds. The licorice smelling anise seeds are an essential part of the recipe. This ingredient specifically, is what gives that mature taste to the biscotti.

To get the perfect slices, make sure to closely follow the directions. I know it’s tempting to precut into the biscotti shapes before baking it but trust me, don’t. What will happen is that your dough will expand leaving you will a shapeless blob as it bakes in the oven. You’ll find yourself cutting it again. So instead, cut it only when it’s done for perfectly shaped biscotti.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine — softened
  • 3 teaspoons anise seed – ground
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat oven to 350°.
  2. Beat sugar, butter, anise seed, lemon peel and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon.
  3. Stir in remaining ingredients.
  4. Divide dough in half.
  5. Shape each half into rectangle, 10 × 3 inches, on ungreased cookie sheet.
  6. Bake about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
  7. Cool on cookie sheet 15 minutes.
  8. Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices.
  9. Turn slices cut sides down on cookie sheet.
  10. Bake about 15 minutes or until crisp and light brown.
  11. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
  12. ENJOY!