Light, crisp, not too sweet and delicately flavored with anise seed, these Italian anise biscotti are the perfect dunking cookies. You won’t believe how easy it is to whip up a batch of homemade biscotti in minutes!
I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed the sweet, licorice flavor of anise seed in baked goods until I made biscotti di San Martino, a popular Sicilian cookie enjoyed on November 11th for St-Martin’s Day.
This recipe inspired me to adapt my mother’s traditional almond biscotti recipe and transform it into anise seed biscotti, also known as anicini.
I enjoy biting into the anise seed dispersed throughout the cookie dough, however you may also substitute with ground anise seed; anise extract or even anise liqueur. Check out a complete list of possible substitutions and add-ins further below in this post!
Here’s why you’ll want to try out this recipe!
- This recipe is made with few ingredients, only 7 to be precise!
- No special equipment is necessary to prepare this Italian biscotti recipe.
- It is virtually effortless. Stir all ingredients together in a bowl, shape into logs, bake, slice and bake again for that wonderfully satisfying crisp texture.
- These not too sweet biscotti are the ones you’ll reach for to dunk in your coffee.
- Due to their dry, crisp texture, biscotti with anise seed keep for a while stored at room temperature or, if you prefer, they freeze well.
- These twice baked cookies are the perfect addition to your holiday cookie platters.
Ingredient list
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Anise seed
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the eggs; sugar and vegetable oil in a large bowl until pale and frothy.
- Sift the all-purpose flour; baking powder and salt and add to the wet ingredients. Sprinkle the anise seed over the dry ingredients.
- Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stir only until there are no visible traces of flour.
- The dough will be thick and sticky.
- Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide in two.
- Shape the dough into approximately a 8 cm x 30 cm log with a thickness of about 2 cm.
- Carefully transfer it to the prepared baking sheet.
- If you prefer, you may also shape it directly on the baking sheet to avoid having to transfer it.
- Repeat with the second piece of dough.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the dough is golden brown underneath.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Slice crosswise or at a diagonal with a chef’s knife into 2 cm thick biscotti.
- Reduce the oven to 275 degrees F, place the biscotti, cut side facing up, back onto the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes (or until crisp), flipping the cookies halfway.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before storing or serving.
Recipe Notes
-2 tsp. ground anise
-1 tsp. anise extract
-1-2 tbsp. anise liqueur such as Anisette
-For double anise flavor, add 1-2 tbsp anise liqueur to the original recipe along with the anice seed.
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
-grated zest of 1 lemon
-1 cup of toasted, chopped almonds
-Since biscotti are dry cookies, they can be kept stored in a well sealed container at room temperature for several weeks.
-Place in freezer safe, airtight bags or container for up to 3 months.
-Defrost at room temperature before serving.
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!
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Check out more Italian cookie recipes!
- Classic Almond Biscotti with Variations
- Cuccidati – Sicilian Fig Cookies
- Italian Nut and Jam Rolled Cookies
- Biscotti di San Martino
- Sheet Pan Almond Biscotti
- Chewy Amaretti Cookies
- Biscotti Regina
- Pistachio Amaretti
- Chocolate and Espresso Amaretti
- Tetù (Sicilian Chocolate Spice Cookies)
- Chocolate Pizzelle Cookies
- Italian Pizzelle Cookies
- Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. anise seed
- ¼ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the eggs; sugar and vegetable oil in a large bowl until pale and frothy.
- Sift the all-purpose flour; baking powder and salt and add to the bowl with the wet ingredients.
- Sprinkle the anise seed over the dry ingredients.
- Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stir only until there are no visible traces of flour. The dough will be thick and sticky.
- Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide in two.
- Shape the dough into approximately a 8 cm x 30 cm log with a thickness of about 2 cm.
- Carefully transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. If you prefer, you may also shape the dough directly on the baking sheet to avoid having to transfer it. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the dough is golden brown underneath.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 275 degrees F. Slice the logs crosswise or at a diagonal with a chef's knife to slice into 2 cm thick biscotti.
- Transfer the cut biscotti back onto the baking sheet (cut side facing up), and bake for 30 minutes (or until crisp), flipping the cookies halfway.
- Return the biscotti to the wire rack and let cool completely before storing them.
Notes
-1 tsp. anise extract
-1-2 tbsp. anise liqueur such as Anisette
-For double anise flavor, add 1-2 tbsp anise liqueur to the original recipe along with the anice seed. Possible add-ins (choose one) -1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
-grated zest of 1 lemon
-1 cup of toasted, chopped almonds Storage: -Since biscotti are dry cookies, they can be kept stored in a well sealed container at room temperature for several weeks. To freeze: -Since biscotti are dry cookies, they can be kept stored in a well sealed container at room temperature for several weeks.
Quintessential Anise Biscotti! We LOVED it! Recipe was easy to follow, my dough was a bit runnier than it probably should have been because my loaves, before baking, did not look so well-shaped as in the photos! The biscotti still turned out beautifully and we enjoyed every last one! Thanks for sharing Nadia!
Hi Elizabeth, so glad you enjoyed this easy recipe. Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Nice texture, nice flavor. I used anise extract and they came out delicious. I will be making them again.
Hi Michele, so glad you enjoyed these easy to make cookies. Thank you for your comment!