Sweet fennel and orange biscuits

I don't know for sure that these biscuits are Italian in origin but the fennel, orange and aniseed tells me they probably are. Someone told me once that the colloquial Italian word for a gay man is finocchio which is also Italian for fennel. Why? Well the theory is that the man's mother ate too much fennel while he was in-utero and so her little boy turned out a little too sweet. What's interesting is that the Italians think of fennel as a sweet herb, don't you think? Maybe their palates are a little more refined than the rest of us.

It's not that Italians don't do desserts well (I'm thinking tiramisu, cannoli, gelati), but I wouldn't normally turn to an Italian cookbook when I'm looking for dessert inspiration. They're more inclined to end a meal with fresh fruit and some not-so-sweet biscotti to go with coffee than an over-rich, calorific pudding.

Speaking of coffee, if you're looking for some biscuits to go with, why wouldn't you turn to the coffee aficionados?

Biscotti, teeth-breaking honey biscuits and panforte are perfect accompaniments to an espresso or a Vin Santo. I reckon they could even replace dessert at the end of a big meal. Moreover, one can also indulge one's unrefined habit of dunking biscuits and still feel terribly sophisticated.

Sweet Fennel and Orange Biscuits (from Karen Martini's recipe in Sunday Life)

Makes 40

3 oranges, zested using a potato peeler

3 tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp aniseed (I used anise seed which I'm guessing is the same thing...)

300ml water

150g brown sugar

150g caster sugar

3 eggs

375g plain flour

125g self-raising flour

pinch salt

200g butter, softened

olive oil for your hands

Preheat the oven to 180C (or 200C if conventional oven).

In a small pot, place orange zest, fennel seeds, aniseed and water. Bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes or until 2 1/2 tablespoons of the liquid is left along with the seeds and zest. Place mixture in a food processor and pulse 3-4 times to chop as finely as possible. Add the sugars and blitz for 2 minutes. Place mixture in a bowl and whisk through 2 of the eggs. (At this stage, it ain't pretty.)

In a large bowl, sift flours and salt, then rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and pour in egg and sugar mixture. Bring together to form a firm dough (it was pretty sticky when I made it, so long as it isn't too dry). 

Oil your hands and roll walnut-size portions into balls. Brush the biscuits with the remaining beaten egg and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden. Cool on a wire rack.