Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a hand mixer, combine sugar, vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Add white wine and anise extract and mix well. Add flour a cup at a time. The mixture will seem dry or crumbly. You may want to use your hands to mix together the dough as you add the last 2 cups of flour. Take out a small amount of dough and roll into a rope about 1/3” thick on an unfloured cutting board. Cut into pieces about 4 inches long and join the two ends to form a doughnut shape or ring. Carefully place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 15-18 minutes or until they become a golden color. Be careful not to burn the bottoms! Let cool about 10 minutes, so the cookies do not fall apart as you lift them off with a spatula. While still warm, dip in icing sugar to coat the tops, if desired.
