- 1⅔ cups bread flour
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 cups Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon anise seeds
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 eggs
- 1⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- ½ teaspoon anise extract
- 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate; optional
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Blend bread and cake flours, pecans, baking powder, baking soda and anise seeds in bowl.
- Melt butter and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl beat 2 eggs, 1 additional egg yolk and sugar until smooth. Reserve the remaining egg white. Stir in zests and anise. Add butter and mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix to smooth dough.
- Roll dough into two 14-inch logs and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press tops of logs to flatten slightly. Brush with reserved egg white.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes until logs are light brown, but still give slightly when tops are pressed.
- Remove pan from oven and reduce temperature to 325ºF.
- While logs are still warm, cut diagonally into ½-inch slices. Return slices to baking sheet, placing on sides and then return to oven.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes until cookies are lightly brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.
- Cut chocolate into ½-inch chunks. Place two-thirds in stainless steel bowl, spreading in even layer over bottom and up sides of bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Fill medium saucepan one-third full of water. Bring water to simmer over high heat. Remove pan from heat and set bowl of chocolate over top. Let stand until 80% of the chocolate has melted. Do not let temperature of chocolate drop below 88ºF on candy thermometer. If so, place bowl over saucepan of warm water and continue stirring. Stir until chocolate is smooth and glossy. Have clean sheet of waxed paper nearby.
- Dip half of each cookie in chocolate. As cookie is removed, scrape top and bottom against side of bowl to remove excess chocolate. Set cookies on waxed paper until chocolate sets, about 3 hours or put into freezer for about 20 minutes.
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