Treat yourself, your friends or your family to these delicious and decadent whipped Italian anise shortbread cookies. Made with a blend of butter, sugar, vanilla and anise flavoring, these delicate treats are perfect for any occasion.
These easy Italian anise cookies are my family's favorite and one of the cookies we always include in cookie boxes every year. The cookies are a whipped shortbread with anise extract added to them for the most unbelievable flavor.
They are drop style cookies that are lightly pressed with a fork and no cookies cutters are needed. During the holidays, I like to make them a little more special by using a piping bag with a large star tip and swirl the dough on to the baking sheet.
The anise in these cookies is light so they make the ideal cookie for gift giving. It is my favorite way to introduce kids to the flavor of anise since anise can be a strong flavor for them and this recipe is nice and light.
The combination of anise and butter is amazing.
How Is Whipped Shortbread Different From Regular Shortbread Cookies?
If you are a shortbread purist, please hear me out. Whipped shortbread has all of the same flavors as regular shortbread except the texture is a melt in your mouth kind of experience.
If I had to compare them, I would say whipped shortbread is a little less rich and lighter. Whipping shortbread produces a wonderful light cookie but it will not be the same as eating regular shortbread. Trust, me, it is good and especially with the anise.
What You Will Need
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control how much salt is in the cookies.
- Kosher salt: The salt elevates buttery shortbread flavors of the shortbread.
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar helps improve the texture of the whipped shortbread cookies. Since there is already cornstarch in this type of sugar, we do not need to add any to the recipe.
- Vanilla Extract
- Anise Extract: You can also use anise oil but if you do that, make sure to reduce the amount by a quarter of what the recipe calls for since it is stronger.
How to Make Italian Shortbread Cookies
I call these my 10 minute cookies because all the steps are 10 minutes. Here is what it looks like!
- Mix all the ingredients: In a large bowl with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) mix the flour, salt, butter, sugar, anise and vanilla by mixing on medium speed for 10 minutes.
- Scoop: Scoop a tablespoon of the dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Lightly press down the tops with a a fork or your finger tips. The dough will be very sticky.
- Chill: The shortbread dough should be chilled for about 10 minutes.
- Add sprinkles: If you want to add sprinkles, add them to the top of the cookies at this point.
- Roll: Roll the dough to about ¼ inches thick.
- Bake: For the shortbread for 10 minutes or until just lightly brown on the bottom or edges.
How to Make Italian Shortbread Cookies With A Piping Bag
For a more decorative look, using a piping bag is a great option. Here is how to do this.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. If you prefer a more decorative cookie, you can add the cookie dough to a cookie press to make them. Some of the dough may stay behind in the press though, since it is sticky.
Using a piping bag with a large decorative tip is a great way to make these cookies. Just make sure to choose a large tip that will allow the dough to be pushed through easily.
To prevent the cookies from spreading, make sure you chill them for at least 10 minutes. This firms up the whipped butter in the cookies and helps them keep their shape when baking.
Variations
- Using Anise oil: As I mentioned above (and in my Anise pizzelle recipe), you can also use anise oil instead of anise extract. Just reduce the amount in the recipe by ¼ or to your taste.
- Using salted butter: If you only have salted butter, go ahead and use that and just omit the salt from the recipe.
- Add more anise! These Italian anise cookies have a light anise flavor. If you love the flavor of anise, go ahead and add even more to the recipe. For kids or gift giving, I recommend using only the small amount that is in the recipe.
- Top with nonpareils or sprinkles: For a more festive touch, sprinkle on nonpareils or sprinkles before baking. It is a great way to jazz them up for the holidays and for cookie boxes.
Storing And Freezing
The dough also freezes well. To freeze them, just follow the recipe up until the baking part and instead of baking just freeze them.
When you are ready, just add a few minutes to the baking time since they are frozen and that is it.
These anise cookies can be stored in an air-tight container for up to one week on the counter. They are perfect for cookie boxes too.
More Delicious Italian Cookies For You!
Whipped Italian Anise Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- hand mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon Anise extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and with a hand mixer, mix on medium speed for 10 minutes.1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature, ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon Anise extract
- Once the dough is mixed, take a heaping tablespoon full of dough and with your finger tip, push it off on to the prepared baking sheet. If you want to use a piping bag for that beautiful swirl pattern, see notes below or pictures in the post for how to do that.
- Continue to do this until all the dough is used up and making sure to leave about an 1 ½ inches between the cookies.
- If you want to add sprinkles to the cookies, go ahead and do that now.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until you start to see some of the cookies lightly browning on the edges.
- Remove and cool for 10 minutes.
Meg says
Thank you for sharing this recipe