Anise and Orange Cutout Cookies - Dairy Free

Our New Favorite Fall Cookies

Making this recipe was a blast. Not only did we enjoy rolling out the cookies and picking fun Halloween cookie cutters, but we couldn’t stop laughing.

Right before making these cookies we had decided to start sharing more on the blog about ourselves and our conversations while cooking. Let’s just say we are going to be starting that on the next post.

We got really carried away with inappropriate jokes while cooking with anise for the first time. Yes, we can be those inappropriate, silly people sometimes. We avidly debated the proper pronunciation and found out that it’s a-nes.

Now that we know how to pronounce it, anise has also become one of our new favorite spices. It added a dimension of flavor to the cookies that surprised us and brought us endless laughter. Such a great combo!

We had Halloween in mind when we created these cookies. The orange and anise (a mild licorice flavor) blend together to give the cookie dough a cool orange and black sprinkle look. I’m not a huge fan of licorice and was a bit worried about the flavor being too powerful. I was pleasantly surprised by how great they tasted and how adding just a few simple ingredients really elevated these sugar cutout cookies.

We hope you give them a try! They’re a great sugar cookie taste for fall and winter.

— REBEL

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Anise and Orange Cutout Cookies

by Burnt Toast Food Blog October-5-2018

With a hint of anise and the sweetness of orange, these soft sugar cookies are a delicious flavor for fall. They’re easy to make and to cut out – fun to decorate for Halloween.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon anise seed
• 3/4 cup vegan margarine (1 1/2 sticks)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
Icing:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoons water

Instructions

1. Bring the margarine to room temperature. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and anise. 3. In a large mixer bowl, cream the margarine and sugar on medium high until it becomes fluffy and lighter in color. On low speed, add the egg and then the zest. Mix on medium until well blended. 4. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, scraping down the sides, until just combined. 5. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten it into a disc. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for half an hour. 6. Heat oven to 325°. 7. On a lightly floured board, roll the dough 1/4” thick. Using a floured cookie cutter, cut into desired shapes and transfer to a cookie sheet leaving 1/4" between cookies. (No need to line the cookie sheet, although you can use silpat mats or parchment paper.) 8. Bake in center of oven until set but not brown, 13-15 minutes. Cookies should spring back to the touch. 9. Transfer cookies from sheet to wire rack and let cool. When completely cooled, decorate with icing. 10. To make the icing, add powdered sugar to a small bowl and break up clumps. Add orange juice and water. Stir well. Adjust sugar or water to desired consistency. Divide into bowls and stir in food coloring.

Details

Prep time: 50 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1H 30 mins Yield: 3 dozen cookies