Wheat Flour Based Licorice II

If you have ever made choux paste (cream puff/eclair pastry), this method used the same method. I made a strong extract of licorice-root and anise seed - about 8" root, smashed, 2 tbsp. anise in about 6 cups of water, boiled it down to about half, strained it and got about 1 1/2 cup liquid.

• 1 1/2 cup of liquid
• 3/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• 1/4 cup oil
• Bring to the boil.
  Add:
• 1 tbsp. pectin crystals (Certo^(r) or other brand)
• Boil hard for at least 1 minute then add all at once
• 1 1/2 cup of flour (depends on humidity)

Lower heat and stir constantly until batter forms a mass and pulls away from the sides of the pot. I extruded the dough through a pastry bag, but patting/rolling out dough then cutting to shape would work as well if not better. Leave licorice to dry and cure, turning every few hours to let it dry evenly. Takes at least a day to firm up, but I got good reviews!

I found that the licorice tea was plenty sweet without the addition of sugar and the pectin keeps it moist and chewy without being sticky. It's a very forgiving process - the hardness of the flour determines the firmness of the end product - I used pastry flour, but I would recommend starting with at least all-purpose. I chose pectin over gelatin because I've worked with it before in allergy and gluten-free cooking. If you need to substitute another grain for wheat, I used pastry flour which works up exactly the same as spelt. Just sift the spelt flour first. Any other flour-replacement mix would yield a slightly different texture and mouth feel, but I would go easy on starches that cook up clear (e.g. arrowroot, cornstarch)- perhaps a blend that is higher in a non-gelatinous or non-mucilaginous feel as the primary part of the mix.
Kindly submitted by: E.J. Martin