826 start recipes

Bring a bit of Italian heritage into your home this Christmas with these scrumptious cookies that contain a hint of orange.

Homemade fresh pork sausage seasoned with garlic, fennel seeds, and star anise, ground and stuffed into links. An Italian-style sausage with an aromatic anise twist, made from scratch.

Traditional German springerle cookies with anise and lemon, stamped with intricate designs using a springerle rolling pin. A classic holiday cookie that air-dries overnight for a crisp, white finish.

Another homemade Italian sausage, mild or hot as desired.

Orange star anise biscochitos: traditional New Mexican holiday cookies flavored with anise and orange juice, rolled and cut into shapes, then dusted with cinnamon sugar. Crisp, fragrant, and built for gifting.

Homemade spiced herbal liqueur infused with cardamom, star anise, angelica root, cinnamon, and mace in vodka. Steep for one week, strain, and sweeten with sugar syrup.

Cinnamon sherry biscochitos, the official state cookie of New Mexico, crisp anise-scented butter cookies with a splash of sherry and cinnamon sugar coating.

Sambusak (Sephardic stuffed pastries) with a yeasted anise-scented dough filled with spiced ground beef, deep-fried to golden. A traditional Jewish meat pastry for holidays and gatherings.

Eight-spice crispy skinned snapper with Szechuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, fennel, cumin, coriander, white pepper, and ginger. Pan-seared then oven-roasted for shatteringly crisp skin.

Wine fruit cup with sliced plums, nectarines, and golden raisins soaked in a spiced white wine syrup infused with anise, cinnamon, and lemon. A chilled starter that doubles as a light summer dessert.

Five-spice tofu simmered in soy sauce, star anise, and molasses for a deeply savory, aromatic Chinese-style appetizer. Make-ahead and keeps in the fridge for a week.

Biscotti di anise are traditional Italian twice-baked almond cookies with anise seeds and anisette liqueur. Crunchy, fragrant, and made for dunking in espresso or Vin Santo.

Mini crawfish pies with a buttery cream filling spiked with cayenne, baked in flaky tart shells. Louisiana party food that freezes for up to two weeks ahead.

Classic Italian anise biscotti with toasted almonds and anise seeds infused in Sambuca or Pernod. Twice-baked until crisp and dry, built for dunking into espresso or Vin Santo.

A fragrant homemade Chinese ten-spice blend with toasted star anise, Szechuan peppercorns, fennel, coriander, and cumin. Toast, grind, and store for marinades, stir-fries, sauces, and meat rubs.

Fruity Mary punch simmers red wine with brown sugar, apple, orange, pineapple, and star anise, then finishes with a splash of orange curaçao. A warm holiday mulled wine served in heat-safe mugs.