Biscochitos De Alfòncigo ¡ Feliz Navidad! -- Tasty

Printed in a free recipe pamphlet --Tasty Dish-- received in the mail from the eatwisconsincheese.com website.

• Ready In: 27 mins
• Yields: 5 dozen

Ingredients

• 3  cups unbleached flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1  teaspoon anise seed, crushed
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 3⁄4 cup  roasted and salted pistachios, ground small
• 1  cup butter, softened
• 1⁄3 cup raw sugar (demerara, turbinado)
• 1⁄3 cup dark brown sugar, packed (I used piloncillo)
• 1  large egg
• 1  teaspoon  almond extract
• 1  teaspoon  orange extract
• 2  teaspoons orange zest
•  colored sugar, for decoration

Directions

1. Note: I used my KitchenAid stand up mixer to prep the cookie dough.
2. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, anise seeds, cinnamon, salt and pistachios; set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat together butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg, extracts and zest; mix to combine.
4. Gradually add flour mixture; mixing well.
5. Divide dough in two pieces and place each piece on large sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten into 1/2-inch thick discs, wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, about 30 to 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F.
7. Roll dough out until 1/4-inch thick and cut into desired shapes (the website and pamphlet show a photo of the cookies with a snowflake shape and that is the shape we chose, too).
8. Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets. Decorate with colored sugars. (We tried a lovely shade of light turquoise-again as shown in the recipe pamphlet.).
9. Bake 9 to 11 minutes, until golden and crisp.
10. Cool cookies on pan 3 to 4 minutes.
11. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.