56 licorice recipes

Lemon-anise-poppy seed muffins with whole wheat flour, soy yogurt, and orange juice. Egg-free and dairy-free bundt muffins with a unique licorice-citrus flavor.

Halloween spider cake made from two bowl-shaped cakes filled with green Jello, frosted black with licorice legs and gumdrop eyes. Oozes green goop when sliced.

Cream cheese and sour cream dip with fennel seeds, minced white onion, and paprika. A no-cook, make-ahead party dip with a subtle licorice twist.

Classic anise cookies build a meringue-like base from eggs whipped with sugar for 30 minutes, then rest overnight before baking into pillowy, licorice-scented Italian cookies.

A vegetarian black-eyed pea salad tossed in a bold dressing of sambuca, fresh basil, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. The anise-kissed liqueur gives this bean salad an unexpected, aromatic twist you won't find anywhere else.

Swedish anise twists, sweet yeast-bread strips twisted and baked golden under a sugary anise glaze. The warm, licorice-like flavor of anise runs through these tender Scandinavian treats, made for coffee time.

Provençal chicken stew marinated overnight with fennel, saffron, tomatoes, and anise liqueur. Simmered with potatoes until fork-tender and served in warm bowls for a rustic French supper.

There is a bit of confusion about these two plants. For some reason,the fennel plant, which resembles celery with fern like tops, has been called sweet anise in produce markets. The true anise is cultivated only for its seeds. So what you see labelled "sweet anise" in your market is probably fennel, but no matter what you call it, this is a highly interesting vegetable. Every part of this aromatic plant has a taste and aroma similar to licorice. The stems are eaten like celery,uncook, or cooked and served as a vegetable (heavenly with apples in waldorf salad) available from September to May.