Mid-Atlantic Gardening: A virtual Holiday Cookie exchange. , 1 by ladygardener1

ladygardener1 wrote:
My latest baking effort. I like anise cookies, found these on the internet, the dough was easy to handle; frosting and decorating took little effort. Made a big batch, I got 62 cookies!

Anisette Love Knots

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 lb unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
2 tablespoons baking powder
3 teaspoons pure anise extract
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup warm water
3 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Glaze:
5 tablespoons milk
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons anise extract
candy sprinkles
Directions
Cookies:
1
In bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Toss lightly with a fork. Add eggs and sugar – mix well, (mixture will be crumbly). Add melted butter, 3 teaspoons anise extract and warm water. Stir until mixture forms a ball. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until dough is smooth. Chill for one hour.
3
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of large olives and roll into logs. Tie each into a knot shape and place on aluminum foil approximately 2” apart. Slide foil with cookies onto cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until bottoms are pale brown. When done, slide aluminum foil off cookie sheets and let cookies cool on foil until cool.
4
Glaze:.
5
Stir milk and remaining two tablespoons anise extract into confectioners sugar. Consistency should be like heavy cream, if needed, add drops of milk. Dip cookies upside down into glaze; turn upright and dry on cookie rack over waxed paper for one minute, than sprinkle with candy sprinkles. Makes about 50 cookies.
6
Store in a waxed paper lined cookie tin, approximately one week.