Spice Up Your Holiday Cookie Platter with this Traditional German Recipe
When I was growing up, December was always cookie month. My mother baked a batch of cookies almost every day to prepare for the Christmas festivities. Although she always changed the mix of cookies that went into the rotation — adding some, dropping others — one always appeared without fail: these great Anise Drop Cookies. Her recipe was handed down from her grandmother, and in turn handed down to me. And I gave it to Mrs. Kitchen Riffs, who is the cookie baker in our household.
The anise flavor is pronounced in these cookies, but not overwhelming. Anise is somewhat reminiscent of licorice — though even people who don’t like licorice (or black jelly beans) will probably like these cookies. (I hated black jelly beans when I was a kid, and they’re still the last jelly bean standing at Easter; but I always liked this cookie.) And of course, anyone who does like licorice will adore this cookie.
Anise is used in some Italian cookies and biscotti, and features in several of Germany’s best known holiday cookies, including Pfeffernüsse and Springerle. In fact, these cookies taste somewhat like Springerle, but are less labor intensive to make.
If you have an electric stand mixer, making Anise Drop Cookies is fairly simple. But it does take a bit of time — for the best results, you want to let them sit out overnight before baking.
If you insist on baking them right after mixing, you’ll still get a good cookie. But waiting overnight may be a good thing around Christmastime. After all, it lets you practice resisting the temptation to sneak a peek at all those gifts that have your name on them. You haven’t been peeking already, have you?
