The random number generator picked the Italian Anise Toast recipe on page 92 as the next recipe.

This one falls under the “special diets” section of the Cooky Book specifically the no-salt diet recipe. I was a little confused by the “toast” in the name of the recipe, but it turns out this is essentially biscotti.

The recipe is just four ingredients: eggs, sugar, flour and anise seeds. That’s it! These are mixed into a thick dough (batter?) and baked in a loaf pan.

The baked loaf is cut into half-inch-thick slices, and those slices are baked for a few minutes on each side. Twice baked — like biscotti.

The twice-baking might sound a bit daunting (or at least time consuming), but these were super simple. The batter comes together quickly, the loaf cut easily (using a serrated bread knife), and really, most of the time on these was simply waiting for it to bake.

They come out lightly sweet, very crunchy, with a bit of an anise flavor. My husband liked them, even though he’s not a fan of licorice (or anise flavor), and my friend who doesn’t like biscotti but who likes anise also like them.

Bottom line: These are lightly-sweet and easy to make. They’re similar to biscotti, but a bit chewier. The anise taste is fairly light-handed, and they appealed to a variety of my guests. I could see making these again.