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 tablespoon anise liqueur to the original recipe along with the anice seed.
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-½ teaspoon 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!
*****
Check out more Italian cookie recipes!
- Classic Almond Biscotti with Variations
- Cuccidati - Sicilian Fig Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Lemon Almond 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 tablespoon anise liqueur to the original recipe along with the anice seed. Possible add-ins (choose one) -1 tsp. vanilla extract
-½ teaspoon 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.
Nina
OMG, no self respecting Italian would ever use vegetable oil!!! Olive oil or half olive oil & half melted butter only!! Seed oils are extremely harmful to the body.
Nadia
My mother was a self respecting Italian, like many others, who used vegetable all. Melted butter was not an ingredient commonly used in the south for baking. That said you can definitely use any oil that you’d like for this recipe for sure. And I would reconsider rating a recipe that you probably did not try with one star just because you do not approve of one ingredient. I often make substitutions in other people’s recipes to suit my taste and you may do the same. Thanks for your comment and have a nice day!
Rosanna
This is in response to the comment about using vegetable oil. A very selfish rating because you prefer butter… many nonnas refuse to use butter as this was not customary in their baking.
My batter was much runnier that was noted in the picture provided so because of a little experience as a baker I added more. The cookies were fantastic and delicious and for this reason it’s a five star rating for me ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nadia
Thank you Rosanna for your response. Indeed my mother never used butter in her baking. I'm glad the cookies turned out well for you. Thanks again!
Karen
I made these today. I used the metric recipe quantities. I also added some anise extract because I love the flavour.
As I came to the end of mixing I had to add quite a bit more flour to get a thicker mixture. Not sure why it wasn't stiffer. Anyway It was so fluid that I spooned it into 2 shallow loaf pans. They baked beautifully. I sliced one as cake and the other I baked again for biscotti.... win win.
My Husbsnd is Sicilian and loved the cake..... his Mother never used butter in her baking... she actually never used olive oil in baking either. She used vegetable oil for her biscotti.
Nadia
Hello Karen, so glad you enjoyed this easy recipe! I like your idea of serving some soft, like a cake, I think I'd enjoy that. And you are correct, most southern Italians do not traditionally use butter in their desserts. It was usually vegetable oil. Thank you for your comment!
Elle
Reminded me of the ones my mom would bake when I was a little girl. Lovely with a cup of tea. I added a few drops of anise extract. Paired nicely with the fennel seeds.
Nadia
Thank you Ella, so glad you enjoyed these simple cookies!
Valeria
When I see a biscotti recipe that calls for vegetable oil, I know it’s authentic. These biscotti are the real deal, Nadia! I made two batches!
Nadia
Hi Valeria, thank you! These cookies are definitely the real deal for me because it is the way my dear Sicilian mother made them for years. So glad you enjoyed them!
Anna
Really really tasty! I love anise seeds so next time I will add an extra tsp !
Thank you for making it easy!
Nadia
Thank you Anna, so glad you enjoyed them and you sure can increase the amount of anise seeds, I too enjoy their flavor!
Elizabeth Graffagna
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!
Nadia
Hi Elizabeth, so glad you enjoyed this easy recipe. Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Michele
Nice texture, nice flavor. I used anise extract and they came out delicious. I will be making them again.
Nadia
Hi Michele, so glad you enjoyed these easy to make cookies. Thank you for your comment!