My Aunt comes from Germany and she would back a big Garbage bag full of these cookeys hers were always so hard I remember and very strong thay would smell the house up as soon as she brought in that bag but I knew it was Christmas then I dont like ligurish but I love the memorys. merry Christmas to everyone

i made these according to the directions, except on parchment paper. bad idea. they stuck terribly to the paper. also, i piped them into one inch rounds, but they spread out and were ruined. the ones that survived had amazing flavor, but they were not crisp. they were so delicious in flavor, though, that i will try again!

i made these according to the directions, except on parchment paper. bad idea. they stuck terribly to the paper. also, i piped them into one inch rounds, but they spread out and were ruined. the ones that survived had amazing flavor, but they were not crisp. they were so delicious in flavor, though, that i will try again!

i made these according to the directions, except on parchment paper. bad idea. they stuck terribly to the paper. also, i piped them into one inch rounds, but they spread out and were ruined. the ones that survived had amazing flavor, but they were not crisp. they were so delicious in flavor, though, that i will try again!

Made these cookies last night according to these directions, and they spread out to where they were flat and very poor flavor and texture. I agree maybe they needed some butter.

This is a great recipe. I did use 1/2 tsp anise extract and 1 tsp anise seed and anise sugar on top. They are light, crisp and delicious. No pastry bag for me, only tsps. They came out the same. This is a keeper.

usually during our humid summers I will stor cookies with a slice of white bread in the container - it seems to keep them crisp

I have been making these cookies for years and they are our favorites. Since we moved to Florida I have had an impossible time of keeping them crisp! Any suggestions for the lovely HUMID climate?

I use oil, 1/2 tsp unless you like a heavier flavor then adjust. Yummmm

If you have anise oil, how much would you use?

1/2 tsp should give you a nice light flavor. I use that amt in another recipe for candy cane twists.

if you use extract instead of the ground anise seeds, how much is the equivalent?

Why would you need a pastry bag, why not just drop a spoonful onto the parchment paper. It would be round and just as pretty. Using raw sugar to sprinkle on the cookie before baking.

Try adding red food coloring to the end of the mix before piping or run some red stripes up the piping bag (inside) before filling and that should give you a cute edge pattern. Maybe even the cookie press gadget would work for different shapes.

use anise extract instead of the seeds. Great flavor

Debylu, you can use Fennel seed, it has that licorice flavor as well.

What could you use instead of anise?

hi null. I think the sugar would be sprinkled on before baking, otherwise the sugar might fall off after baking. Parchment paper would be fine. I use the paper and the mats interchangeably. Euni in Colorado

you can always use parchment instead of mats, I prefer it - no washing!
As for the sugar, I'd imagine you need to sprinkle before baking, or it won't stick. The large crystal sugar would look neat. I'm not sure about this recipe, seems to me it needs some butter. I have a similar recipe for ginger cookies which uses a good bit of butter. If I can find the anise, I'll try these!