My Nana made the best Lemon Meringue pie.  Really, she made many delicious pies – standouts include apple and mincemeat – my favorite though was probably her lemon meringue variety.  The meringue was always so perfectly browned on the peaks, but yet so soft and springy - came out just right every time.   She was a great cook – even her Minute rice was somehow more delicious than any other Minute rice I ever tasted.  And her wax beans – now that was a tasty side dish.  Nana always kept us kids well fed – whether it was refrigerated Little Debbie cakes, fruit cups, or her favorite Jello, we loved going to Nana’s for a special treat.  She passed away at the age of 96 (almost 97!) last week, and although she had not been well enough to cook in a few years, I can remember her delicious lemon meringue pies like they were baked yesterday.

In honor of my lovely Nana, I wanted to post a recipe that will always make me smile and think of her.  Not sure I’ll ever quite be able to replicate it, as I’m pretty sure the reason it tasted so awesome was that it was made with love by my Nana…plus, as my cousin (the formally trained pastry chef) put it when she tried to learn how to make Nana’s apple pie – ‘that’s not a recipe!  That’s guessing!’   But, here’s my best effort.

I remember I tried this once ages ago back in college, and used instant lemon pudding which promptly melted all over my oven when I attempted to brown the meringue – a rookie mistake to be sure!  Now that I’m all grown up though – I decided to make my pie filling from scratch, using the miniature pie maker that my husband got me for Christmas (I swear, this is not a unitasker – I can make mini lemon meringue pie, apple pie, french meat pie, empanadas, pumpkin pie…you name it, I can make it in my mini-pie maker.)  I found a recipe aptly called ‘Grandma’s Lemon Meringue Pie‘ – It was actually surprisingly quick to make, and the meringue was spot-on.  I did feel the filling was a little on the runny side…but then again, I barely let it cool before digging in.  I think my Nana would be proud.

Lemon Meringue Pie – from Emilie S. via Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 lemons, juiced and zested
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 eggs, separated
• One nine inch pie crust, baked – or if you prefer, 8-12 mini pie crusts, baked
• 6 tablespoons white sugar

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt with a whisk.  To the mixture, add water, lemon juice, and lemon zest.  Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken and comes to a boil.  Add the butter.  Beat egg yolks.  Take 3-4 tablespoons of the hot mixture and add this to the egg yolks, stirring well (this tempers the mixture so you will not have lemony scrambled eggs in your pie.)  Add the egg yolks back to the saucepan and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened.  Remove from the heat and pour into the prepared pie crust.  Time now to make the meringue. First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.   Take the egg whites and in a large very clean glass bowl (or in your trusty stand mixer) beat on high speed until foamy.  Add sugar gradually, sprinkling over the egg foam.  Continue to beat until the mixture appears glossy and starts to form stiff peaks.  Spread the meringue over the pie, sealing the meringue to the edge of the crust.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, or until the meringue appears browned on top.  Cool completely, and enjoy!

Ok so I recently found the Peppermint Brownie Cake Pops at Starbucks and my life has not been the same since.  They are that delicious.  And somehow, under 200 calories…I’m guessing that’s because they are so small, but really this sweet treat is all I really need to get me through my day.  I also, however, realized that they are sadly seasonal items – so probably sometime this month they will be trickling out of stores near you.  Obviously, I could not let this happen without figuring out a reasonable knock-off recipe prior to the inevitable end of the holiday season.

I have to say, this recipe is a pretty passable version of the deliciousness that is the Peppermint Brownie Cake Pop.  I made it for Christmas this year, and it was a big hit to say the least.  It also is very easy, even if you’ve never tried cake pops before.  Basically Cake Pops are what you make if your cake comes out all crumbly and fall-apart-y.  You combine the cooked and crumbled cake with frosting and form into balls, about 1.5 inches in diameter, then freeze until semi-solid.  For the finishing touch, you put a stick into the ball of crumbled cake (since it’s frozen, it won’t fall apart) and then dip into your choice of coating, which for me was melted white chocolate.  Finally, sprinkle with whatever cute/tasty decoration you wish to use.

We sincerely enjoyed making these, and also eating them...although I do not recommend licking the candy coating off of a butter knife as my sous chef is.

I used a store-bought brownie mix, seeing as I was going to be crumbling it all up and mixing it with frosting to make it even moister and more delicious.  A tip for melting white chocolate here -if you add about 1-2 tsp of vegetable oil, the white chocolate melts much more smoothly, and is about a million times easier to work with.  I suggest using a double boiler for this recipe, (rather than my go-to chocolate melting strategy – the microwave) as it takes a while to dip all of the cake balls into the chocolate, and this will keep your white chocolate good to go the whole time.  Lastly, I would strongly recommend having a block of unused floral foam on hand, so that you can place the sticks into it and have the cake pops harden without a flat side.  Makes them much more pretty.

Peppermint Brownie Cake Pops – a la Starbucks

• 1 boxed brownie mix, prepared according to package instructions and cooled
• 4oz cream cheese, softened  **you may use frosting instead of cream cheese if you prefer a sweeter finished product
• 1 package white chocolate chips
• 1-2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 bag starlight mints or 1 box candy canes, crushed
• Candy sticks, found in the candy-making section of your local craft store

Place prepared brownies into the bowl of your stand mixer and turn it on.  Add softened cream cheese, and mix until the brownie crumbs are moistened.  Form into 1.5 inch balls and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Freeze for at least 1 hour.  Remove from freezer and insert a candy stick into each ball.  Place your white chocolate chips and vegetable oil into the bowl of a double boiler and place over a small amount of boiling water.  When the chips start to become glossy-looking, stir until they melt completely and are smooth.  Dip each cake pop into the melted white chocolate.  Immediately dip the cake pop into the crushed peppermint.  Finally, place the cake ball sticks into a waiting block of unused floral foam, so that your cake pops end up perfectly round.  Enjoy!

Oh. My. Gosh.  This was amazing.  I have never had better hot fudge, seriously.  And I love me some hot fudge, so that’s saying something.  The perfect time arose for me to make this ’30 while 30‘ recipe when I was actually on my way to my co-blogger Beth’s house for dinner.  I offered to bring dessert – but it was just too darn hot to bake, so I thought ice cream sundaes would be the perfect sweet treat to end our evening.  I could have just stopped at the multiple grocery stores between our houses to pick up a jar of hot fudge – but where would the fun in that be?!  Instead, I decided to knock one more item off of my list and make it myself.  It took me about 10 minutes, start to finish – but if I don’t say so myself, tasted like I spent hours slaving over the stove with a candy thermometer.  Let me tell you friends – this recipe is about my favorite recipe ever.  It uses things most people (well, most insane blogging-bakers) have in their pantry – items such as cocoa powder, chopped chocolate (in my case, chocolate chips), and corn syrup.  Why stop and buy the mass-produced variety when in just 10 minutes you too can look like Ms. Betty Crocker herself!!

Homemade Hot Fudge

from: thatssoyummy.com

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces chocolate chips (or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped)
• 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cup into 1/2 Tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a heavy sauce pan, combine the cocoa, dark brown sugar, corn syrup, cream and salt, along with about half of the chocolate chips.  Heat over medium heat until the chocolate melts and the mixture appears smooth.  Cook for 5 minutes more at a low boil, remembering to stir intermittently so it doesn’t burn!  Remove from the heat, and stir in the remaining chocolate chips, the butter, and the vanilla.  Let cool slightly before serving.  Enjoy!

My husband and I recently took a trip to Kennebunkport, Maine for our anniversary.  It was our first time staying at a bed & breakfast in the US (although we had been to some in Ireland) and we had an absolutely amazing time – it was the off season so the town was quiet as can be.  We went for walks on the beach, visited a meadery, and earned ourselves a hat on the Maine Beer Trail by visiting 5 breweries – which by the way, was awesome, and you should totally do if you have the opportunity.  During our trip, an innkeeper at the Captain Lord Mansion made us a fantastic breakfast and as we chatted with our fellow guests he mentioned that blueberry kuchen was his favorite pastry to make.  Kuchen is the German word for cake, and the dish is somewhat reminiscent of coffee cake…only better!  I happened to have some frozen raspberries on hand one day, and thought to my self that raspberries would probably taste equally awesome in kuchen, and gave it a whirl.  Turns out, Raspberry Kuchen is pretty awesome too, and FANTASTICALLY easy!  I used frozen berries, but certainly this would come out fine with fresh raspberries too.  This made a great cake for an afternoon tea party, or for a special breakfast treat, or for dessert.   I modified the berry content, as the 2 cups the original recipe calls for is a LOT of berries, and I was afraid it would be too watery – I’m glad I did, as it came out great!

Raspberry Kuchen

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup frozen raspberries – straight from the freezer, do not thaw!

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl.  Mix in the milk, butter, egg and vanilla.  Beat until the batter is smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 baking pan.  Sprinkle frozen raspberries evenly over the top of the batter.  To make the topping, combine the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour.  Stir in the melted butter so the mixture takes a crumb-y appearance.  Sprinkle this topping evenly over the pan.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top appears slightly golden.  Cut into squares and serve.  Enjoy!

Greetings and a Happy Easter to all the loyal DP folk! I apologize for my absence as of late, but the garden beds have been calling me.

For our Easter celebration this year,  I decided to share some of my Polish culinary traditions with my husband and friends.  One staple which you’ll see throughout Central and Eastern Europe is the making of the annual Easter babka. The word babka means “grandmother” in Polish– although this sweet brioche-like bread can be baked into any shape, it tends to be put into a bundt pan and resembles the long skirt a grandmother would wear.

I decided to put my own spin into things, and took some inspiration from Epicurious and Baking for the Cure.  Through a serious of deliberate and accidental incidents, I’ve ended up with my own recipe!

A note before you start baking– This was an all-afternoon project. It’s not of those “just mix and go” recipes, but the wait and the effort are well worth it!

Chocolate Almond Easter Babka–  makes 2 loaves

Ingredients List

For the dough:

3/4 c warm milk  (at about 115 degrees)

1/2 c sugar (plus 2 tsp additional for yeast prep)

3 tsp active dry yeast (almost two whole packets)

3 1/4 c all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 whole large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 tsp salt

5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened*

For egg wash:

1 large egg yolk (reserve white)

1 tbsp half and half or heavy cream

For  filling:

3 tbsp unsalted butter, well softened

6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

6 oz ( approx half can) of almond paste/filling

1 egg white (reserved from egg wash)

Recipe:

Stir together warm milk and 2 tsp sugar in bowl of stand mixer.  Sprinkle yeast lightly over mixture and allow to stand about 5 minutes. You should see bubbles/foam– if not, restart with fresh yeast and take note of milk temp.

Add 1/2 c flour to yeast mixture and mix until combined. Add eggs and yolk, sugar, vanilla, and salt and mix.  Measure out 2 3/4 c flour, and slowly add it to mixture in 1/2 c intervals while beating mixture on low. Increase speed to medium, and beat in 5 tbsp butter. The dough will appear really wet and shiny after about 4-5 minutes– this is a good thing!

Scrape dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Take note that the dough will almost double in size, so make sure the bowl is large enough. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to allow dough to rise, about 1 1/2-2 hours. (I recommend setting the oven to warm; turn oven off and put dough in to rise.)

Combine chopped chocolate, butter, egg white, and almond paste in a small bowl and set aside.

Line two loaf pans with parchment paper.  With a lightly floured or oiled hand, punch down dough gently, then halve dough with oiled/floured spatula. Roll out one piece onto lightly floured surface into 8 in by 12 in rectangle, with the long side closest to you.

Spread half of chocolate/almond filling on dough, allowing a border of about 1 in on each side; lightly brush border with egg wash.  Starting with one side, begin tightly rolling dough into log, pinching in sides as you go along. Bring ends of log together, forming a ring. Take dough ring and twist several times, forming a figure eight. Place in lined loaf pan.

Repeat process with second half of dough and reserved filling. Put remaining egg wash in fridge to use later.

Either butter or apply cooking spray to one side of a piece of plastic wrap and cover loaf pan (butter/spray side down).  I’d suggest the cooking spray– husbands are great for assistance at this point for wrangling the plastic wrap!  Repeat with second loaf pan. Return both loaf pans to warm spot/oven to rise a second time. Dough will almost double in size over 1-2 hours. As an alternative, you can put pans in fridge and allow them to rise overnight, approx 8-12 hours. If you do this, make sure you bring loaves to room temp before baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once the dough reaches the top of the loaf pans, you’re set to bake. Brush tops of loaves with reserved egg wash; bake loaves for about 30-40 minutes. The tops should be dark golden brown in color, and the bread should come out of the pans easily (courtesy of parchment).  Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

This is an incredibly sweet dessert bread, but it pairs perfectly with Sunday morning coffee!

*NB- I made the mistake of adding 1/2 the butter recommended , but it still turned out great. The recipes called for close to 10 tbsp, but I added only 5.  You can make your own call.

Recently, after a long day of furniture shopping, my husband and I were meandering through the grocery store pondering what we would be having for dinner.  As we were picking up some fresh produce to make dinner, my husband strayed over towards the bakery case and took a very long look at the desserts.  It’s been a while since I’ve baked, as we’re currently between houses and staying with my parents and hence most of my kitchen is packed up and awaiting transplant to our new place…which we sadly don’t close on for another 31 days…not that anyone’s counting.  The poor guy really wanted a Boston Cream Pie.  Well, I figured after a long day of patiently deciding exactly which sofa arms were just the right shape (instead of watching Sunday afternoon football) he deserved a treat.  I had put Boston Cream Pie on my list of things to make while I’m 30 (after all, it is the official dessert of Massachusetts, partly thanks to my esteemed friend and co-blogger Beth) so figured I would give it a go tonight.  I was thinking about making the ‘real deal’ full sized pie here, but there is something that psychologically makes me feel better when I eat a cupcake rather than eating a slice of cake, so I opted to go the cupcake route with this one.

The recipe I located sounded fairly accessible for a recipe that requires homemade custard and ganache, and as Martha can do little wrong when it comes to cupcake recipes in my book, I figured they would be great.  Indeed, these little treats are absolutely delicious - although we were so excited for a bite as the vanilla cake smell filled the house, I just couldn’t wait long enough to get through the 40 minutes recommended to let my custard fully set, and as a result mine were a little bit wobbly.  Also, I had about twice as much ganache as I needed – unless you plan to REALLY REALLY cover your cupcakes in glaze, or you want to eat half a cup of ganache on its own, you can probably get by with about half a batch.  This recipe made a perfect 18 cupcakes for me otherwise.  It was rather odd not using paper liners for my cupcake pans, but because you slice the cakes in two in order to put the filling inside liners really aren’t practical.  I think this would also come out well if the cupcakes were hollowed out and filled with the vanilla cream, which would allow for liners and more stability – but would make them look less like real Boston Cream Pies.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes – from Martha Stewart Recipes

For the Cupcakes:

Regular readers of this blog will probably recognize the recipe below – it’s the chocolate cake that I’ve used as the base for all of my chocolate cupcakes.   It deserves its own post – it’s just that amazing.

First of all, it’s really easy to make.  There’s no melted butter or chopped chocolate, just vegetable oil and cocoa.  It’s a breeze to throw all the ingredients together.    The resulting cake has a rich, warm chocolate flavor with a soft, but not overly spongy crumb.

My husband made and decorated this cake for my birthday.  It was so pretty and absolutely delicious!  The cookies and cream frosting (simply halve the recipe from Oreo Cupcakes) added a nice touch.  I have to admit, it was difficult to get a good picture of the cake because it was after dark and we didn’t want to interrupt the celebration.

If you’re looking for a delicious, easy chocolate cake recipe, give the Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake a try… you won’t regret it!

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease 2 9-inch cake pans.
2. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
4. Add flour mixture to large bowl and beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.
5. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.

My husband and I planned a Mexican-themed dinner to celebrate Mother’s day with his Mom.  We served all of our favorites:  margaritas, chips and corn salsa, tequila-lime chicken fajitas with grilled vegetables and calabacitas.

Margarita cupcakes are usually my go-to dessert for a celebration like this, but this time I wanted something light and summery.  A quick search on AllRecipes.com yielded this Margarita Pie.  The original recipe did not contain any alcohol, so I added tequila and triple sec to give it a true margarita flavor.

The margarita pie was a hit!  Everyone, including the guest of honor loved it!  The pie was cool and smooth with just the right combination of sweet and tangy flavors.  Using crushed pretzels for the crust added contrasting texture and the saltiness enhanced the margarita flavor – I for one love salt with my margarita!  I only allowed the pie to chill for three hours, so it was still a bit soft when I served it.  In the future I’d give it more time, but that certainly did not detract from the flavor.

Given the rave reviews and the ease with which this dessert came together, I’ll be adding it to my list of go-to summer desserts!

Margarita Pie

1 1/4 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
2 limes, zested and juiced
1/4 cup orange juice
4 tsp tequila
1 tsp triple sec
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
(8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1. In a medium bowl, combine crushed pretzels, melted butter, and sugar. Press mixture into a pie pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, orange juice, tequila, triple sec and sweetened condensed milk. Fold in whipped topping.
3. Spoon filling into pretzel crust. Place in refrigerator and allow to set for at least 4 hours.  (6+ hours or overnight is better)

I should probably rename them “Death By Cookie Dough” cupcakes.  Seriously.  A chocolate chip cookie inspired cupcake filled with eggless cookie dough and topped with brown sugar cookie dough buttercream, these are a cookie dough lovers dream!  Faces lit up at the description of the cupcakes and they were quickly devoured.  A friend who always insists that I bring leftover baked goods home specifically asked to keep the remaining cupcakes.  They are just that amazing!

If you’re a fan of cookie dough, get out your brown sugar, chocolate chips and butter (lots of butter) and get going on this unique, decadent cupcake!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
from Annie’s Eats
Yields 24 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Cupcakes
1.  Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. Combine butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix each addition just until incorporated.
6. Blend in the vanilla and fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
7. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.
10. Top with Cookie Dough Buttercream and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.

Cookie Dough Filling
1. Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.

Frosting
1. Beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy.
2. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

My local grocery store’s bakery makes the most amazing Anisette Cookies – soft pillows of anisette goodness coated with a delicate sugar glaze.  They are especially tasty when consumed with a cup of piping hot Lady Grey tea.

On Sunday, I found myself planning a last-minute dinner with my parents and realized that I didn’t have anything to serve with tea after our meal.  With at 90 minutes to spare before our company arrived, I could have run to the store to pick up a pack of cookies, but I decided to bake my own.  A quick search on allrecipes.com yielded this fantastic recipe for Italian Anisette Cookies.

Since I didn’t want to have too many extra cookies lying around after dinner (if I bake them, I will eat them!), I halved the recipe and ended up with about 30 smaller cookies.  They were so easy to make – only 60 minutes elapsed from the time I started measuring my ingredients to when I dipped the last cookie.  I even had time to work on other food preparation while the cookies baked.

I followed the recipe exactly as written.  I did find that the icing required more water than noted in the recipe, so I just  kept adding a little at a time until I was able to achieve the desired consistency.    Some of the reviewer comments provided helpful information concerning how to tell that the cookies are done – it’s important to not let the cookies brown or even turn golden on the top.  I baked them for 8 minutes as directed and the resulting cookies were soft and fluffy, yet stable.

As expected, these cookies were delicious – the perfect complement to a relaxing cup of tea.  Some reviewers altered the recipe to use either almond extract or lemon extract in place of the anise… now I can’t wait to make tasty little lemon drops!

Anisette Cookies
Yields about 60 cookies

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp anise extract

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp hot water (at least)
1 tsp anise extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and white sugar.
3. Make a well in the center and add oil, milk, 1 tablespoon anise extract, and eggs. Mix together until dough is sticky.
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Flatten top slightly.
5. Bake for 8 minutes.
6. Dip cookies in icing while warm.

To Make Icing: Blend in 1 teaspoon anise extract and enough hot water to 1 cup confectioner’s sugar to form a smooth icing.