I used to think my grandmother had a friend named Stella D’oro. Like so many Nonnas, mine kept a ready supply of homemade biscotti - the twisted kind with sesame seeds - on hand at all times, in a slightly rusty tin, lined with a paper napkin on top of her fridge.
My favorite way to eat them was dunked in milky coffee for breakfast, the way they do in Sicily. Those things could take the edge off a broken heart, fuel a grudge, calm a shattered nerve, soothe the gums of a teething baby and ease the outcome of a difficult discussion.
But my Nonna also had a back-up plan for those times when she had better things to do, like chair yoga or a free makeover at the cosmetic counter at Bullock’s.
Enter the anisette toasts and her friend Stella.
Every once in a while, a large square-ish glass apothecary jar with pressed glass embellishments would appear in her kitchen, filled with anisette toasts and almond toasts. I never once saw her make these, nor was there any evidence of a wrapper or packaging, and when I’d ask where they came from, she’d say “Stella D’oro,” as if this Stella was a friend who baked anisette toasts.
This was before the internet when you’d believe anything the older folks would tell you, because you couldn’t just google fact-check it, and as far as I know, the Encyclopedia Brittanica didn’t cover breakfast cookies or women named Stella who baked anisette toasts.
Then one morning I stopped by Sandy DiCandilo’s house to walk to school together. Her mother was unwrapping a package of Stella D’oro almond toasts. I was just glad I hadn’t told Sandy about my Nonna’s friend Stella.
Below is the recipe for anisette toasts from my book Sicily, My Sweet, so you can make your own biscotti for breakfast, but before scrolling down, please note that you can bake along with me this spring at my week-long "Sicily, My Sweet" retreat. For more information, and to sign up, visit Soulful Sicilian Retreats.
BONUS: Readers of Appetito magazine who sign up before February 14 will receive $500 off per couple or $200 per person (just mention Appetito when registering).
Now, about that recipe…
Anisette Toasts
8
servings10
minutes40
minutesIngredients
2-1/4 cups 2-1/4 all-purpose flour (or 2 cups 00 flour)
2 teaspoons 2 baking powder
3 3 eggs
2/3 cup 2/3 sugar
1/3 cup 1/3 canola oil
1/2 teaspoons 1/2 fiori di Sicilia extract (or vanilla extract)
2 teaspoons 2 anise extract
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 fine sea salt
Grated zest of half a lemon
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 ̊F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Sift together the four and the baking powder and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs
- with the sugar until light and thickened, about 5 minutes.
- With the mixer running, add the oil a little at a time.
- Then add the fiori di Sicilia, anise extract, salt, and lemon zest.
- Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and add the flour mixture gradually,
- blending until the dough is smooth.
- Spoon half of the dough along the center of one of the baking sheets,
- making a rectangle that’s about 14 inches long and 3 inches wide.
- Using a spatula, neaten up the rectangle’s edges a bit so it bakes evenly.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough on the other baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the top springs back when you touch it
- lightly and it’s just beginning to brown (the dough will have spread quite a
- bit).
- Remove the baking sheets from the oven and turn the oven down to 300 ̊F.
- Cool the baked rectangles on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then
- transfer them to a cutting board.
- With a sharp knife, slice each rectangle crosswise into 1-inch wide strips
- and lay them cut-side down on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 10 minutes, flip the biscotti over, and bake for another 10 minutes
- (they should be light brown on both sides).
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then store airtight for up to 2
- weeks.
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