Author Notes
These crescent-shaped cookies are inspired by Italian anise seed-studded cookies called Giambelli di Vino – little donut-shaped cookies made with wine (hence the name), studded with plenty of anise seed, and rolled in sugar to give them a nice crunch. I created my own version: little crescents reminiscent both in look and texture of German Vanille Kipferl, crumbly from the addition of ground oats to the dough and perfect to be eaten throughout the year. —Sophia R
Test Kitchen Notes
Mmm, anise-buttery goodness! These little cookies come together quickly, and bake up to a perfectly crumbly and not-too-sweet treat for after dinner. One or two with a glass of wine and a piece of fruit would make a nice finish to a meal. The oat imparts an earthy flavor, plus little bits of yummy chewiness. I like the contrast of the not-too-sweet dough and the finishing anise sugar. Try these with a touch of orange zest for a change of pace. —bonbonmarie
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Ingredients
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50g
oats
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140g
all-purpose flour
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45g
sugar
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1 pinch
of salt
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4 teaspoons
anise seeds, divided
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100g
cold butter
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1
egg
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4 teaspoons
sugar
Directions
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Toast all the anise seeds in a dry pan on medium heat until fragrant.
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Place the oats and 2 teaspoons of the anise seeds in a food processor and process until coarsely ground.
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Place the ground oat mixture, flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and form a well.
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Add the cubed butter and, using a knife or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the other ingredients until the mixture resembles sand.
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Add the egg and quickly combine everything to form a smooth dough. Wrap in foil and let rest in the fridge for about 1 hour.
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Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
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Using tablespoon-sized chunks of dough, form roughly 30 crescent-shaped cookies, placing them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden.
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Roll the warm cookies in a mix of the remaining sugar and the remaining anise seeds.
Hi, my name is Sophia and I have a passion (ok, maybe it is veering towards an obsession) for food and all things food-related: I read cookbooks for entertainment and sightseeing for me invariably includes walking up and down foreign supermarket aisles. I love to cook and bake but definitely play around more with sweet ingredients.
Current obsessions include all things fennel (I hope there is no cure), substituting butter in recipes with browned butter, baking with olive oil, toasted rice ice cream, seeing whether there is anything that could be ruined by adding a few flakes of sea salt and, most recently, trying to bridge the gap between German, English and Italian Christmas baking – would it be wrong to make a minced meat filled Crostata?
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