Add the shortening and the flour in a big bowl, begin kneading the dough until it resembles course corn meal.

On a small pot boil the 2 cups of water, the anise seeds, cinnamon sticks and optional 1/2 cup of sugar.

Slowly begin adding the anise tea to the flour, in 1/4 cup intervals and knead the dough until it's soft and not sticky to your skin. You may not need all the anise tea.

In a container with a lid mix 3 cups of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup ground cinnamon, this will be the coating for when the cookies are out of the oven.

Roll out the dough, not too thin nor too thick because then it won't cook all the way use a cookie cutter if you would like a certain shape. Bake at 375 degrees, 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. If unsure if cooked throughout cut a cookie in half - it should crumble.

This is important! The cookies should be out of the oven and immediately put in the container with the sugar and ground cinnamon so the heat can cause the mixture to stick!