Anise Cookies
A crispy sponge cake dough is the basis for the sweet, anise-scented cookies (janeževi upognjenci in Slovenian). When they are still hot, they get their curved shape by bending them over the handle of a wooden spoon or putting them in a shot glass.
Though I could not find specific historical information, these cookies appear to be popular in both Slovenia and the Austrian province of Styria.
Anise cookies were among my grandmother’s favorites, and she would offer them to every visitor who came to her home. Every time I taste or smell them, they bring back fond memories of her.
Recipe
Ingredients
4 eggs
weight of 3 eggs (approx. 150 g) of flour
weight of 4 eggs (about 200 g) of powdered sugar
1 tbsp of rum
anise seeds
Equipment
drinking glasses or a wooden spoon
stainless steel turner
Instructions:
Dough
Weigh an empty mixing bowl and note its weight. Crack three whole eggs into the bowl, discarding the shells, and record their combined weight. Add one more egg to the bowl and write down the total weight of 4 eggs without shells. Next, measure out flour equal to the weight of the first three eggs and sugar equal to the weight of all four eggs.
Add the sugar to the bowl with the eggs and beat the mixture with an electric mixer until fluffy. Pour in the rum and continue beating for another minute. The mixture should be light and airy.
Gradually sift the flour into the mixture, gently folding it into the dough with a lifting motion. The dough is should be quite runny.
Making Anise Cookies
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F).
Prepare a baking tray and grease it with butter.
Prepare empty drinking glasses or a wooden spoon.
Spoon a teaspoon of dough onto the greased baking sheet, using a second spoon to help with the process. Flatten into a round shape. Repeat this about 6 times and be sure to space the mounds far enough apart, as the dough spreads immediately.
Generously sprinkle anise seeds over the mounds of dough before placing the tray in the preheated oven. Bake on the middle rack for 7–10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cookies. Watch for the edges to develop a deeper golden-brown color and the surface to brown slightly. Keep in mind that cookies which remain sticky and soft the following day are often a result of underbaking.
Using a stainless steel turner, carefully lift the freshly baked cookie from the tray and place it in a glass. Alternatively, you can bend the cookies with the help of a wooden spoon. Be sure the side without the anise faces inward. After a few minutes, the cookie will cool enough to harden and can be transferred to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat this process with the next hot cookie. If any cookies have already hardened, simply return them to the oven for a few seconds to soften, as they must be hot to bend.
Serve and enjoy.
