With a soft, cake-like texture and a warm, licorice-like flavor, my grandmother’s Italian anise cookies have been a cherished Christmas tradition in my family for generations.
Every year I start decorating for Christmas almost as soon as Thanksgiving is behind us. By early December the tree is up, wreaths hang in the windows, and the stockings are carefully placed. Even so, the holiday season in my house doesn’t truly feel underway until the oven yields a fresh batch of my grandmother Josephine’s Italian anise cookies—often called “drops.”
Soft and cakey with a distinctive licorice-like note from anise, these cookies are the flavor of the season for my family. I can’t imagine the holidays without them.
What I love most about these cookies is their texture. So many anise cookies I’ve tried from bakeries are heavy and dense—fine with coffee, but not the light treat I remember from my childhood. My grandmother’s version is tender and airy, the softest and lightest I’ve tasted. Their lightness is also a drawback: they don’t leave you feeling overly full, so they have a habit of disappearing quickly from the cookie tray.
Anise is the dominant flavor here: a sweet, warm, rounded extract that pairs beautifully with baked goods but can overwhelm a recipe if overused. My grandmother favored a generous amount—about one tablespoon of extract in the original recipe—to deliver a pronounced anise profile. I grew up with that bold flavor and prefer it that way, but the recipe is easy to adjust if you want something more subtle—reduce the extract to taste.
As a child, my earliest love for these cookies had less to do with anise and more to do with the colorful nonpareil sprinkles that topped each one. I remember the first year I helped Nanny with glazing and decorating; as a little girl, there was no such thing as “too many” sprinkles. I covered each cookie with so many nonpareils that they turned slightly crunchy. Nanny thought they were beautiful, and I still smile thinking about her amusement at my enthusiasm.
Nanny is no longer with us, but her recipes continue to shape our holiday traditions. Alongside these anise cookies, favorites like her lobster tails over linguine and stuffed calamari still appear on our Christmas Eve table. This season, I wish you happy baking and many warm memories, from my family’s kitchen to yours.
Josephine’s Anise Cookies
Amanda Biddle
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable or corn oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs , room temperature
- 1-1/2 to 3 teaspoons pure anise extract *
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 tablespoons baking powder
- pinch salt
Glaze
- 1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon anisette liqueur OR
- ½ teaspoon pure anise extract
- multicolored nonpareils for decorating
Instructions
Make the cookies
- In a large bowl, whisk together milk, oil, granulated sugar, eggs, and anise extract until well combined. Add flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Let the batter rest for 10–15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with the rack in the upper-middle position. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls about 1½ inches apart (a 1½ teaspoon scoop works well).
- Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, until the centers spring back when gently pressed. The cookies should not brown. Remove from oven and let sit 2–3 minutes.
- While still warm, lift each cookie off the parchment by gently peeling back the paper and transferring the cookie to a wire rack to cool before glazing. A light crumb impression on the parchment is normal.
Make the glaze
- Whisk confectioner’s sugar, milk, salt, and either anise extract or anisette liqueur until smooth. When cookies are at room temperature, dip the tops into the glaze and immediately sprinkle with nonpareils. Let the glaze set at room temperature.
Notes
**To simplify cleanup, place a sheet of wax paper under your cooling racks before glazing. When finished, roll up the paper with the dripped glaze and sprinkles and discard.
The nonpareil colors may bleed slightly into the glaze over time; this is normal and does not affect flavor. These cookies are best enjoyed within a day or two and are not recommended for freezing.
Nutrition Estimate
| Carbohydrates: 10 g
| Protein: 1 g
| Fat: 2 g
| Sugar: 4 g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
Please note these recipes use US customary measurements and have not been tested for high-altitude baking.
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