Italian Anise Cookies With Icing and Sprinkles

These are delicate cake-like cookies, glazed with icing and topped with colorful candy sprinkles. They are a wonderful treat that are frequently served at Italian celebrations, holidays and weddings.

Cookie

1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons anise extract (or almond extract)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2-3 tablespoons milk

Icing
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon anise extract
food coloring if desired
decorative candy sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

3. For cookies, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add anise extract.

4. Blend flour and baking powder. Start by adding about 1/3 of these dry ingredients to the butter/sugar in your mixer, then add 1 T. milk. Add another third of the flour and another 1 T. milk. Finally, mix in the last third of flour.

5. Use a 1 T. cookie scooper to make simple round drop cookies, OR for an Easter-Egg look, roll 1 T. dough into an elongated ball.

6. Bake cookies 10-12 minutes (they won't brown but the insides will be soft and cake-like).

7. For icing: mix sugar, milk and extract to make a sugar glaze. HINT: When I make the icing, I make it thick but then I microwave it for 10 seconds so it is thin enough for dipping. Also, I like to divide the mixture in thirds, and then add ONE DROP of food coloring to each batch (pink, green, yellow).

8. Hold cookie in your hand and turn upside down so you can dip the top half in the glaze; turn over and immediately top with sprinkles so they will stick.

9. Allow icing to harden overnight; then store in air-tight containers or freeze.