Millennium Pine Nut And Anise Cookies Recipes

PINE NUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, fennel seed, and salt in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the flour and mix just until blended.
• Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into an 8-inch-long log. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line heavy large baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper. Cut the dough log crosswise into 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick slices. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly apart. Press the pine nuts decoratively atop the cookies. Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.

ANISE PINE-NUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter, the shortening, and the sugars until mixture is light and fluffy and beat in the vanilla. In another bowl whisk together the flour, the salt, and the baking powder and add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. In a food processor or blender grind fine the aniseed and 1/2 cup of the pine nuts, add the mixture to the dough, and blend the dough well.
• Drop teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets, top each cookie with several of the remaining pine nuts, and bake the cookies in a preheated 325°F. oven, switching the positions of the baking sheets halfway through the cooking time for 18 to 20 minutes, or until they are golden. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, transfer them carefully (the cookies are very delicate) with a metal spatula to racks, and let them cool completely. The cookies keep in an airtight container for 4 days.