Mom’s anise biscotti

Two for now

Katherine on cookies….

When I first met my husband I was puzzled at his apparent lack of a sweet tooth. Then I was mystified that the only sort of cookies he seemed to like came in a box, from the Dollar Store. More than a decade later he’s kicked that habit, so he says. He’s not a huge fan of chocolate chip or anything overly chewy, although he humors me. Nope, he likes the kind that are best dipped in milk or vin santo. So of course he loves biscotti. And growing up a family favorite was anise. (BabyGirl over at Pure Complex got us thinking about cookies with this post. So here’s the recipe for one of our favorites, courtesy of his mom.)

And speaking of bloggers and sweet things, if you haven’t checked out Sweet Caroline or Chef in Disguise you really should. Caroline’s got a great eye for photos and posts some wonderful recipes, sweet and savory. And the chef, aka The Food Doctor, is always coming up with something new and inventive. They both gave my husband Versatile Blogger awards recently. And thanks too to the other bloggers who’ve mentioned him. Update Charly Walker, one funny woman, also gave the blog a shout out. Thanks, Charly.

Mom’s Anise Biscotti

• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp anise seeds (ground coarsely in coffee grinder)
• 1 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 pound butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon anise extract

Grease baking sheet with butter and preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, anise seed and almonds. In a separate bowl combine sugar and butter and beat until light in color and fluffy.  Continue beating and add one egg at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in vanilla and anise extracts. Reduce speed to low and beat in a third of the flour mixture at a time until incorporated. Divide in half and start to drop spoonfuls onto the greased sheet, shaping each into a roughly two-inch by 12-inch log, flattening to about an inch high at most. Bake until golden, about 18 minutes. Cool on racks for 10-15 minutes. Cut into diagonal slices and arrange cut side down on baking sheet. Bake 10 more minutes, flipping half way through.