Anginetti is a part of every family celebration – Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Engagements, Weddings, Graduations – you name it they were there.
INGREDIENTS:
12 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar – Finely grated peel of one lemon
2 tsp. pure anise extract – 6 large eggs, room temperature
½ tsp. kosher salt – 5 cups all purpose flour, plus additional for shaping
6 tsp. baking powder – 1 pound of confectioners sugar
Juice of 1 lemon – 1 tsp. pure lemon or anise extract
¼ to ½ cup of cool water – Colored sprinkles if desired
Add the anise extract and continue to beat for an additional 2 minutes, scraping the bowl twice during that time. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating at medium high speed for one minute each, scraping down the bowl before adding the next egg.
Dust your work surface with a little flour and turn the dough out onto the work surface. Knead briefly and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Begin forming the Anginetti by taking a small portion of the dough, start with about 1 cup and roll into a rope about ½ inch in diameter.
You may need to lightly flour the work surface, however be careful not to add too much flour to the existing dough. Cut the rope into 4 to 4½ segments and begin to form the cookies by looping the small rope and bringing the end under the center to form a knot. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cookies are lightly colored and have risen. Do not over bake these as the resulting Anginetti will become quite hard. Remove to a cooling rack and begin to prepare the icing.