Bavarian Anise Cookies

TRADITIONAL BAVARIAN ANISE COOKIES

This is the version Pris Kieber made. It requires anise seed. Pris learned how to make these on a visit to Bob’s family when they were still dating. Anna Ruhland Kieber was making the recipe she had learned from her mother, Ana Ruhland Ruhland.

Priscilla made them every year at Christmastime until she was 75 years old! To this day, her children and grandchildren keep the tradition.

Pris used to bake the cookies around Thanksgiving time and store them frosted  in a huge speckled canning pot, each layer lined with a sheet of wax paper in the “cold room” when the family lived in Locust.

The story is that this recipe came from Ana Ruhland (Bob’s gramma) who emigrated from Bavaria and this recipe came from the family in Waldmunchen.

The Kieber cousins love to rib each other over who makes the BEST anise cookies. And of course, there is the ongoing debate over whether the cookies made with anise oil were indeed better than the ones made with anise seed.

What are your traditions? Lori Vanderbilt, a  heart-cousin of Bob and Pris Kieber’s kids, wrote in 2014: “Made these last night with my husband … My mom made them every year until 75 as well – I found her last batch in March on our back stairs – it was most likely my best ‘find’ ever … Eating that batch in March, shortly after her death … It was a last hug, smooch and a reminder that Christmas truly does lie in your heart … Ps – thank you Aunt Prissy for sharing this tradition with our family … Just another little connection…”

If you’d like to post photos of your family making anise cookies, we’d love them!

INGREDIENTS

5 cups granulated sugar

1 ½ cup milk

2 ½ cup butter

Approx. 3 oz. anise seed

6 eggs

11 tsp baking powder

Approx. 5 pounds flour~ I use as much whole wheat flour as I can get away with!

 DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients. Adding the flour slowly creating stiff dough.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

Roll out and cut with cookie cutters. Thickness is an individual taste here. I like them a good half inch thick.

Bake at 325 degrees.

Frost with a mix of ¾ stick of butter and 2 pounds confectioners’ sugar and a tad of milk.

Here’s the ingredient list for a half recipe:

2.5 c. sugar

3/4 c. milk

1.25 c. butter

1.5 oz. anise

3 eggs

4.5 tsp. baking powder

2 1/5 lbs. flour

You say you are not even up to baking a half batch? OK, Rebecca also figured a quarter recipe:

1.25 c. sugar

1/3 c. milk

5/8 c. butter

3/4 oz. anise

2 eggs

2.25 tsp. baking powder

about 1.25 lbs. flour – we used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 all purpose unbleached with good results.