Brown Sugar-Anise Cookies
- Total Time
- 40 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups/255 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ⅓cup/45 grams cornstarch
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt
- 1cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
- ½cup/110 grams light brown sugar
- 1teaspoon vanilla paste or extract, or scrapings from ½ vanilla bean
- 1egg white
- 2teaspoons anise seeds
- ¼cup/50 grams sanding or sparkling sugar
Nutritional analysis per serving (30 servings)
112 calories; 6 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 51 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 2 cups flour, the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Step 2
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and light brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add vanilla paste and beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping bowl as needed.
- Step 3
Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Scrape the bowl and fold a few times to make sure everything is well combined. Divide dough in two, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and flatten into disks. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
- Step 4
Place one piece of dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment, or a silicone baking mat, and flour both sides of the dough and the rolling pin. Roll dough into an oblong oval that is roughly 7-by-10 inches and a generous ¼-inch thick. Prick all over with a floured fork. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Slide rolled dough on parchment paper onto a baking sheet, and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
- Step 5
Lightly beat the egg white with 1 teaspoon water to thin it out. Lightly brush the top of the dough with the egg white, and sprinkle with the anise seeds, pressing gently to adhere. Sprinkle with the sanding sugar, then bake until turning deeply golden at the edges, 15 to 17 minutes.
- Step 6
Let cool on the baking sheet. After about 5 minutes, use a knife, pastry wheel or pizza cutter to cut crosswise into ¾-inch strips. Alternatively, let cool and serve whole, allowing guests to break into pieces. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.
Private Notes
Comments
if the dough needs to be chilled, heating the oven should be step 4.
these are fast, easy and yum. let the dough stand at room temp for about 5minutes before you start rolling or it will crumble apart. i used a lot more seeds and a little more sugar. can't wait to have them with coffee in the morning. jean's suggestion of cinnamon sugar would be great as would be grated lemon or orange rind, sugar and thyme. pretty much anything would work. it's a great base cookie.
Do not chill before rolling out. That’s like trying to roll out a hockey puck. Simply roll out between two sheets of parchment paper (or parchment on top and silicone mat on the bottom) to desired thickness and then chill. Bake right on the paper/mat. Easy peasy.
I make these every year but I add the egg yolk (separated from the white) to the dough, plus the anise seeds, and I form into two logs to cut as slice-and-bake after chilling. I brush each log with the egg white, roll in sugar (sanding or turbinado), slice 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick, and bake for 13-15 minutes. They are my family’s favorite cookies.
I have fennel seeds, caraway seeds and poppy seeds...I'm thinking any can use any of these. Has anyone tried other kinds of seeds? (I first had these at a friends, she used black sesame seeds as ell = yum!)
Love these cookies. I’ve made them three times. Agree with other postings, leave the corn starch out, it makes them way too crumbly. I accidentally used dark brown sugar the second time, they baked up just fine. And they taste as good, if not better, than the ones made with light brown sugar. Extra anis seeds do amp up the flavor. The third time, I made them with finely chopped pistachios pressed in, before the egg wash and sugar. Delicious.
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