Anise

Anise or Aniseed, botanical name (Pimpinella anisum), is a flowering plant native to the eastern Mediterranean region and southwest Asia. Anise contains licorice-like components and is sweet and very fragrant. It is often used to make confections; for example pizzelles (Italy), and springerle (Germany) among others. In the Mediterranean, aniseed is used in producing alcoholic beverages, such as Arak (Morocco), Ouzo (Greece) and Raki in Turkey.

Anise can be made into a liquid scent and is used for both hunting and fishing. Anise smells similar to liquorice and is put on fishing lures to attract fish; at least according to lore. I once spent several hours watching my son pull up bluegills from McDonald Lake using worms while I stubbornly insisted on using one of those gummy fake things soaked in anise oil. Guess which one of us ended up with more fish? That’s right - he did. Perhaps OTHER fish like anise oil. So while the jury is out on the fish, in cookies anise can definitely make a delightful addition.

Springerle Cookies

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup powdered sugar
2-1/4 cups flour and a bit more for dusting
4 drops essential oil of anise
2 TBSP anise seeds crushed

Directions
Beat whole eggs till they thicken. Add sugar gradually, beating well between each addition until all is combined and then beat well for about 15 minutes. Add the anise oil and blend. Fold in the flour lightly. Roll out the dough about 1/2 inch thick. Flour the springerle molds carefully and press firmly onto the dough. Remove the mold and cut the cookies along the line of the imprint. Flour the mold each time it is used. Sprinkle crushed anise seeds on greased cookie sheets and place the cookies on them.

When all the cookies are made put in cold oven to dry overnight. This will set the pattern.

The next day, remove cookies from cold oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Place cookies into heated oven for anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. The cookies will be light in color almost white. I’m lucky enough to possess a Springerle rolling pin to roll these beautiful cookies out. If you require such a rolling pin or want to make perfect cookies that will amaze anyone who lays eyes on them a wonderous selection of patterns can be found at www.houseonthehill.net.