Anise Cookies: Why 12-hour rest before baking?
I have a recipe for an anise cookie that I've made several times. The ingredients are: flour, baking powder, salt, anise, eggs, vanilla. No butter or oil. The dough is rather sticky. The unusual thing about the recipe is that once the cookies are put onto a parchment-lined sheet, they sit for 12 hours (not in fridge) before baking. The results are excellent, especially for a no-fat cookie. After the 12 hours, they still rise during baking and result in a delicious, chewy (not soft) cookie, my favorite cookie texture.
My question is: Why does it require a 12-hour rest on the counter? What is the purpose of the wait period? What creates the chewy texture?
[Today I decided to make them with 50% buckwheat flour. And I only let them rest 6 hours rather than 12. The result is tasty but not chewy. Buckwheat doesn't have gluten so this makes me wonder if the chewiness has to do with gluten development. Did I just answer my own question???]
Best Answer
There are different types of anise cookies. One particular type is a common guest on my German family's Christmas cookie tray. The recipe I use calls for a over night rest, too, and has a similar ingredients list to yours, so i assume you want to achieve this kind of cookie. It basically looks like a french macaron.
The resting time allows the cookies to dry out a bit and build a kind of skin. This is the reason for the chewiness, as the moisture is preserved during the baking time a bit more than it normally would (same as in bread making). However, it also creates a little signature "foot" (see french macaron). During the baking the cookies rise a little bit, but can't expand as they usually would, because of the skin. So instead they create the little foot.
My grandma was a very impatient person and didn't let them dry over night. She instead dried them in the oven at a low temperature (<100°C) for about 15-20 minutes before baking. However, I like the texture more with the longer drying period. I find it produces a better moisture to crispiness ratio.
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How long should cookies rest before baking?
Let it sit for long enough\u2014the famous Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie, published in the New York Times, mandates a rest of at least 24 hours and up to 72\u2014and the starches and proteins in the flour begin to break down, leading to more browning and caramelization.How long should you leave cookies to rest?
Most of the time, cookies need to cool for around five to ten minutes before they can be moved and consumed. But it's not as much of a cut and dry answer as you may think.Should you let cookie dough come to room temp before baking?
Chilling cookie dough controls spread.Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the less cookies spread.Is it better to chill cookie dough overnight?
As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product, says Haught Brown.Baking Grandma's Anise Cookies (LEARN TO LOVE LICORICE)
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