I had a little baking frenzy last night [more on that in a later post]. I’ve been dying to make these cookies since I first saw them on 101 Cookbooks. Marathon Cookies have anise and lemon zest in them, two of my favorite flavors. But I’ve never had a cookie even remotely close to flavored like these. And let me tell you: they.are.AMAZING! [And…these cookies use beans. I guess beans can be used in sweets without it being an epic failure.]
The Whole Foods in my town carries anise star, but not anise seed. I found it at The Fresh Market, but perhaps some regular grocery stores have it too?
I love that these cookies gave me an excuse to use our mortar and pestle. 
Mmm….look at all that lemon zest…delicious….
Mmm…even more delicious…the batter is really tasty. It has a stronger taste than the baked cookies, interestingly. The anise seemed to mellow out in the baked product.
And…I used REAL vanilla extract. I haven’t had it for a looong time since it costs so much more than the imitation stuff and with how much I bake, I go through vanilla fairly quickly. But I had a gift card to a grocery store from my mom (thanks Mom!), so I finally got some. I think it made the cookies that much better.
Here’s the finished product. Seriously, you’ve got to try these cookies. The texture is fantastic and the flavors are perfect. Even though I thought they were pretty perfect, I might try them with a little more lemon zest next time.
Do you use real or imitation vanilla extract?
Are you watching the Oscars? What movie do you think will win Best Picture? [Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air]
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Those cookies look awesome! I love the sesame seed topping.
Definitely real vanilla!
Yea, I thought the sesame seed topping made them so cute!
i usually use the fake stuff, unless i’m making something extra fancy
these sound so good…i really want a pestle & mortar!
I was surprised how cheap the mortar & pestle was…I think we paid like $10 -$15?
DEAR LORD those cookies look good. I need to make those. Oh and I use fake, because I’m cheap. ha.
They ARE good. I’m glad I’m not the only one who is too cheap to buy the real stuff!
those cookies are gorgeous! i use real extract, and it is funny you bring it up because tonight at my mom’s she only had imitation and i was so bummed! have a great week xoxo
haha. I never even knew imitation existed until I moved out of my parent’s house. My mom ALWAYS had the real stuff. She buys it at Costco in the giant bottle.
1] we have to break up b/c I don’t like anise!! eek – I think I would use cinnamon instead 2] I alwaaaayz use the real deal vanilla…shop around online you can find much better deals than in store even w/shipping 3] would they also be good with orange zest..or a mixture of lemon + orange? 4] I’m going to try rolling them in chia seeds…i’m not a huge sesame seed fan for whatever reason, but they would add flavor… 5] i watched a good amount of the Oscar’s…surprisingly 6] i of course have a mortar and pestle as well, hehe 7] byeeeeeee xo
(1) what???
(2) good idea! I never thought to look online.
(3) yes, I think they’d be good with orange zest…but if you don’t use anise they are going to be a totally different cookie, soo…..
(4) still have never tried chia seeds.
(5) I want pretty dresses.
(6) of course
(7) xoxoxo
Love, love, love anise and lemon…together, they sound amazing! I may have to try this even though I never bake!
They really are worth the effort, I promise!
I usually use pure vanilla extract. My MIL gets me tons of baking supplies every christmas – on of which is a bunch of pure vanilla : ) It is the perfect gift!
Those cookies look fabulous!
that is a perfect gift!!!
Those look amazing!!
I usually use the real stuff, but for my oatmeal, etc, everyday I use the fake stuff. We were going through the real stuff like socks and it was so expensive!!
I once heard that if you aren’t baking, you can get away the the imitation vanilla. But if the recipe is a baked one you should use real because the imitation stuff loses it’s flavor when heated above a certain temp…not sure if that’s true, but if so, good call to use the fake stuff for oatmeal!
So clearly I am stalking your blog at work again if I have stumbled across this little gem from 2010, but now I have to make these. Have to. The way you feel about ice cream/gelato/sorbet is the way I feel about cookies/cookies/cookies. I got a mortar & pestle for Christmas and hadn’t use it yet — I am so glad I have an excuse to bust it out of the box since I just haaaaad to have it.
Scuse me while I go add these cookies to my to do list. To eat list. Whatever, both lists.