I hate licorice - haaaaaaaate it. Traditionally, this recipe would also include 3 Tbs anise seed added to the batter with the vanilla. I just skip it. The original recipe - my father's mother's - calls for toasted slivered almonds - you can sub nearly anything (within reason) ... chocolate chips work great! When my grandmother tried them she was slightly horrified that they didn't have anise or almonds, but when she tasted them she liked them!
1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1.75 C sugar
6 eggs
2 T vanilla
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
6 C Flour
1/2 lb toasted slivered almonds (I am using 6 oz chopped toasted almonds)
Preheat oven to 325. Cream the butter and sugar, then add eggs gradually, then vanilla. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder and add to creamed sugar mixture. Shape the dough into 2 loaves (with oil on your hands.) Bake until light brown - about 20 minutes. Slice loaves while hot with a saw (?) knife at an angle. Toast both sides under broiler until light brown. (I have skipped the broiler toasting before and it's still tasty!)
I creamed the butter and sugar together using the whisk attachment in the stand mixer, I added the eggs and vanilla, but when I got about half the flour mix in, there was too much volume in the mixer bowl. I was feeling lazy so I tried using the flat beater, thinking that would allow for a bit more volume, but that wasn't working. I wound up turning the batter out into my largest glass bowl to finish up incorporating the flour mix. You need only enough oil to coat your hands when shaping the loaves - the recipe didn't specify how many, but I remember from when I was little there were always 2 loaves on a cookie sheet. I really wish I had used parchment to line the baking sheet - not to make it non-stick as teh Wilton cookie sheets are AMAZING - it would have made it MUCH easier to remove the baked loaves to the cutting board for slicing up. But I was out of parchment and in the mood to bake.
ReplyDeleteI made the chocolate chip version a few days ago - they came out a bit better, but still proved much tastier when very fresh vs. kept in a tin for a few days. Made a few changes aside from subbing chocolate chips (I used bittersweet) for the almonds. I jacked up the temp to 350 and wound up baking them for a half hour. Truthfully, they wouldn't have been hurt by a little more time in the oven.
ReplyDelete