I never thought I would like anise until I moved to Pittsburgh. Many of my friends were Italian and made the most wonderful cookies. I fell madly in love with Italian anisette cookies and could’t wait for the holidays to savor the wonderful sweet and slightly licoricey flavor. I was diagnosed celiac and left Pittsburgh around all in the same year. When Christmas came around this year I knew I had to figure out a gluten free version of my now most favorite Christmas cookie. I had been having trouble finding anise flavoring in my local grocery stores, until one day I came across a bottle of anise emulsion at my local Ross. Emulsion and extract or anise flavoring will all work interchangeably in this recipe.

I wanted these cookies to be easy without any complicated mixing of flours. I also knew I wanted them to be soft chewy and cakey. I went to my local Walmart and looked at the gluten free flour blends that they had available. I spotted one I had never heard of before Gluten Free Cafe All Purpose Mix. I liked the fact that it contained sorghum flour which I know gives baked goods a great chew and consistency. I decided to give it a whirl. It is now my new favorite all purpose cookie flour. I created two recipes that I love so far using this flour; this recipe and a fantastic gluten free peanut butter cookie. If you like anise then these cookies will soon be your favorite too. The flavor is strong enough that I did not feel these needed the sugary icing that the original Italian version has. They stand alone well. If you feel like icing them anyways a simple glaze made of confectioners sugar, milk, and anise can be easily made.



Gluten Free Italian Anise Cookies ~ Gluten Free Cafe All Purpose Flour Print Prep time 5 mins Cook time 12 mins Total time 17 mins Author: Laurie Recipe type: cookie Ingredients 2 cups Gluten Free Cafe All Purpose Flour

¾ cup white sugar

¼ teaspoon baking soda

6 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter melted

6 tbsp eggs beaten (about 1 and a half eggs)

1½ teaspoons anise emulsion, extract, or flavoring Instructions Mix together dry ingredients. Mix together wet ingredients. Add wet to dry and mix until well combined. Chill dough until firmer about 30 minutes. Roll dough into teaspoon sized balls. Place balls 1 to 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet. Place any extra dough balls back in fridge to chill. Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes. Cookies will be soft and need to cool completely before being moved off of the tray. Makes 2 batches of 24 cookies. 3.2.1269