Italian Anisettes Recipes

Steps:

• In a mortar and pestle, or a resealable bag and rolling pin, crush anise pods and fennel and coriander seeds. Toast together in a skillet over medium-high until fragrant, about 1 minute. Divide between 2 quart-size glass jars, then divide vodka evenly between jars. Let cool completely. Screw lids onto jars, shake gently, and let stand in a cool, dark place 5 days.
• Strain vodka mixture through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth; discard solids. In a small pot, boil sugar and 1 1/4 cups water just until sugar dissolves; add to strained vodka. Let cool completely, then refrigerate until cold, 1 hour. Divide among eight 8-ounce gift bottles. Bottles will keep in refrigerator up to 6 months. To serve, pour 1.5 ounces directly over ice, or add 1 part anisette and 3 parts cold water to a glass filled with ice.

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add sugar, salt, baking powder, anisette; beat until smooth.
• In a small bowl, beat together oil and room temperature butter until well combined. Stir into batter.
• Gradually add flour, beating only for a short time after flour has been added. Use more or less flour to make a soft cookie batter dough. (Using less flour will make for a lighter cookie). Dough should be soft, but stiff enough to form a smooth shape.
• Cover; refrigerate dough for several hours.
• Using a cookie scoop or two teaspoons, shape the dough into small balls; press bottom of cookies lightly onto lightly greased cookie sheets, while keeping the rounded tops.
• Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 15 minutes. The cookies should be crisp but do not brown - they should be very light in color.
• Using a spatula, transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
• To ice the cookies: In a clean mixing bowl, combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar with 4 teaspoons milk and 4 teaspoons Karo syrup. Stir until the icing is of a spreadable consistency, adding more milk if required. A few drops of anisette may be added for flavor; a drop or two of food coloring can be stirred in for a pastel-colored icing, if desired.
• Dip cookie tops into icing, then optionally sprinkle with colored cookie decorations.
• Makes approximately 3 1/2 dozen cookies.