Tortas De Aciete

These are my favorite biscuits in the entire world. Delicate, crunchy, they taste of aniseed and make you happy. They normally cost £5 for a packet of six. Note: won't be found in the 'affordable' aisle of the shop. Actually, nor will the rest of the shop I get them from. I was lucky enough to be bought some for my birthday but once they were demolished, I decided to make my own. There are a few recipes out there, some with yeast and some without. I found these matched the taste and texture pretty well. Thanks to a number of recipes, this one worked best for me.

Spanish Olive Oil biscuits/Tortas De Aciete
Ingredients
225g plain white flour
50g unhulled sesame seeds
3 tbsps sugar (plus more for sprinkling)
1 tbsp anise seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
120ml olive oil
90ml ice water
2 large egg whites, beaten until foamy
Fennel seeds
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, 200 degrees C, place racks on upper and lower thirds. Mix flour, sesame seeds, sugar, anise seeds, baking powder and salt in food processor until just combined. In a small bowl combine olive oil and water, add to flour mix. Beat until combined, scrape down side of the bowl.
Shape into balls about the size of a Ferraro Roche, get some parchment paper and your rolling pin, fold the parchment paper in half and place the ball in the middle, roll them out until they are very thin. Transfer to parchment paper on the baking sheet (reuse the folded bit of parchment paper for each biscuit). Brush with egg whites and sprinkle with sugar and fennel seeds.
Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until brown at the edges, takes between 4 and 8 minutes (less on the top shelf). Once cooked leave to cool on a wire rack.
ENJOY!