Vanilla Spritz Cookies
Vanilla Spritz Cookies
I remember making pressed cookies when I was a kid. I loved using the machine to press out dough in all sorts of magical shapes. My mother was so kind- she let me make whatever I wanted. We had one Christmas with a whole plateful of camels. The machine we had required turning a handle- watching carefully, and turning the handle backwards to stop the flow of the dough. There are much easier versions of cookie presses today. Mine has a ratchet which pushes out the right amount of dough with one click. I decided to make some little green trees and red flowers this year. These cookies are light and very crisp. Great for having with coffee. They are also fast to make, once you get used to the cookie press. The fun thing about using a cookie press is that you can crank out a high volume of pretty cookies in no time flat. They taste good, too.
Vanilla Spritz Cookies
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 T. vanilla
½ t. salt
2½ c. flour
In mixing bowl beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg. Stir in vanilla and salt. Tint dough, is desired. Add flour and stir until smooth. Using a cookie press with desired shape press cookies on to ungreased baking sheet. Leave about 1-inch between cookies. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for about 10 minutes- cookies should be a light golden color around the edges. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 3 dozen.
Cream Wafers
Cream Wafers
Cream Wafers are a little more work than most cookies but they are worth it. They are the most requested cookies of all the ones I make. The secret is the dough, which contains no sugar. It is made from only three ingredients- flour, butter and heavy whipping cream. When baked they turn into flaky layers that melt in your mouth. We made these in class recently and they were a hit, as expected. Seriously, if you want to really impress this holiday season, show up at a party with these cookies. They are coated in sugar before baking and you can use tinted sugar, if you like. You can also tint the frosting if you like. Here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy!!
Cream Wafers
1 c. butter
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
2 c. flour
extra fine or granulated sugar
Frosting:
¼ c. butter, softened
¾ c. powdered sugar
1 T. milk
1 t. vanilla
food coloring, if desired
Mix butter, cream and flour well. Wrap and chill at least an hour. Roll chilled dough 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured board. Cut out into 1½ inch rounds or even little hearts or stars. Transfer cookies to a sheet of wax paper heavily coated with extra fine or granulated sugar and coat both sides. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and prick each cookie 4 times with a fork. Bake at 375-degrees 7-9 minutes until lightly browned and puffy. Cool on rack. Mix frosting ingredients. Put 2 cookies together with frosting to make “sandwiches”.
Russian Teacakes
Russian Teacakes
I had a conversation with a childhood friend recently about these cookies. She remembered that my Mom used to make them and she wondered if I still did. I still do make them. Wouldn’t seem like Christmas without them. Russian Teacakes, also known as Mexican Wedding Cakes are a delicate nut filled shortbread cookie coated in powdered sugar. The magic is created when the cookies, hot from the oven, are rolled in powdered sugar. Once cooled they are dusted with more powdered sugar. Whether you call them Russian Teacakes, Mexican Wedding Cakes, or as another friend always refers to them, butter balls, these cookies are a must for your holiday cookie baking.
Russian Teacakes
1 c. butter
½ c. powdered sugar, plus extra for coating
1 t. vanilla
2 ¼ c. flour
¼ t. salt
¾ c. finely chopped nuts, nearly ground
Mix butter, ½ cup sugar and vanilla well. Stir flour and salt together and then add to butter mixture. Mix well and stir in nuts. Wrap dough and chill. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned on the bottom. While still warm, roll cookies in powdered sugar. Dust again with sugar once cooled. Makes about 4 dozen.
Easy Sugar Cookies
Sugar Cookie Trees
These are a classic and always part of my holiday cookie baking. I change the shapes for the different holidays. I will confess to having an enormous assortment of cookie cutters. This time of year I am making trees, stars, snowmen and more. I use royal icing to frost them and an assortment of sprinkles and other candies. Royal icing is made with egg whites, powdered egg whites, actually. The advantage over say, a butter cream, is that this frosting hardens, making the cookies easy to pack and stack. You don’t need much- just a thin layer and tinting the frosting different colors is a big part of the fun. Depending on how much time you have, you can get really creative with decorating these cookies.
Easy Sugar Cookies
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
3 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
3 T. milk
Extra sugar for sprinkling, if desired
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Beat in milk. Heat oven to 375-degrees. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to about 1/3- inch thickness. Cut out with lightly floured cutters and sprinkle with sugar or colored sugar if you like and if you are not going to frost them. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 3 minutes before placing on wire rack to cool completely. Frost when cooled. Makes about 4 dozen.
Decorating your cookies:
You can use tube of pre-made frosting or you can tint canned frosting, however the best way is to use royal icing. Because royal icing contains egg whites it gets hard. Cookies have a smooth appearance and can be stacked. When making royal icing ALWAYS USE PASTUERIZED EGG WHITES OR POWDERED EGGS WHITES TO PREVENT SAMONELLA.
You can also use colored sugar and sprinkles and mini chocolate chips for eyes.
Royal Icing
1 lb. powdered sugar
½ t. cream of tartar
5¼ t. egg white powder
6 T. water
½ t. vanilla, optional
Assorted food colorings
In large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add water and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Divide into small bowls and tint each batch as needed. Keep bowl covered with a damp towel while waiting to use so frosting will not dry out.
Cookie “Candies”
Cookie “Candies”
These oatmeal shortbread cookies are one of my must-do cookies every holiday season. The dough is molded into little shapes then baked. They keep their shape pretty well. Once cooled the cookie are dipped in melted chocolate and then dipped in assorted toppings like sprinkles, coconut or sprinkles. They end up looking like little candies. A great cookie and fun for kids to help decorate.
Cookie-Candies
1 c. butter
¾ c. powdered sugar
1 T. vanilla
2 c. flour
½ c. rolled oats
½ c. chocolate chips
¼ c. milk
finely chopped nuts
assorted sprinkles
shredded coconut
Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour and oats. Shape teaspoonfuls of the dough into different shapes like rounds, ovals, cones cubes etc. Try to make them look like little candies. They will hold their shape very well while baking. Bake in a 325- degree oven for 20-25 minutes on an ungreased baking sheet. Cool. In microwave safe dish combine chocolate and milk and melt. Dip tops of cookies in chocolate mixture and then in one of the toppings you have. Chocolate topping will harden up after a while. Makes about 4 dozen.
Cookies for Sale- and More!!
I am making Christmas cookies and a lot of other baked goods for sale this season. I have started taking orders and hope you’ll consider me for your holiday baking needs. Many of the items were big sellers at the farm markets this year and I have included them on the list.
Feel free to email me for the order form- then you can just email me your order and preferred pick-up day. judi_strauss@att.net
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Product Order Form |
Price |
Quantity |
Total |
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Assorted Holiday cookies-2 lb. box. I make at least 10 different cookies and each box will contain an assortment of about 3 dozen cookies. |
$18 or $15 each for 3 boxes or more |
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Pumpkin Bread-lg. (4×8 in.) |
$7 |
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Pumpkin Bread –sm. (3×6 in.) |
$4 |
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Cranberry Bread lg. |
$7 |
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Cranberry Bread sm. |
$4 |
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Apple Bread lg. |
$7 |
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Apple Bread sm. |
$4 |
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Chocolate Beet Cake (Red Velvet) (6×8 in) |
$7 |
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Pumpkin Squares (6×8 in.) |
$7 |
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Apple Cake (6×8 in.) |
$7 |
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Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies 5-inch |
$3 or 12/$30 |
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Christmas Tree Coffee Cake- 11 rich pineapple and cream cheese rolls- in the shape of a Christmas tree. Adorable. |
$20 |
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Almond/coconut shortbread- vegan/ 12 cookies |
$10 |
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Christmas Tree Coffee Cake
Classic Butter Cookies
Orders can be taken from now until 12/21/14. Most orders can be ready with 72 hour notice. Orders can be picked up at my house from Dec 20-23.
Other baked goods are available upon request including but not limited to: yeast breads, cupcakes, scones and dinner rolls.
Classic Butter Cookies
Classic Butter Cookies
With all the types of cookies I make, especially this time of year, there are always a few classics. This cookie is one of them. These rich cookies are very versatile. They can be baked, cooled and then dipped in melted chocolate and nuts. I like to roll them and then dip in tinted sugars or sprinkles before baking. Simple and very pretty, too. They are crisp on the outside and tender inside. A lovely addition to any holiday cookie assortment.
Classic Butter Cookies
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
2 ¼ c. flour
1 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy and then beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and stir into butter mixture. Chill dough at least a couple of hours. Roll dough into ¾-1 inch balls and roll in sugar, sprinkles or nuts. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375 –degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will flatten somewhat. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
Variations: You can bake plain cookies and then dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate and then in chopped nuts or sprinkles.
Form into balls and place on baking sheet then press a nutmeat into the center of each. When cool you can drizzle with a small amount of melted chocolate or glaze.
Almond Cookies
Almond Cookies
I do love these cookies. They are delicate and cake- like and the perfect finish for almost any meal. I always make them as part of my holiday cookie baking. The whole almonds toast nicely as the cookies bake. I also like that they are easy to make. If you haven’t tried them before you might want to. I think you’ll like them as much as I do.
Almond Cookies
¾ c. sugar
¾ c. softened butter
1 egg
2 T. water
1 t. baking powder
1 t. almond extract
¼ t. salt
2 ½ c. flour
whole almonds, about 1/3 c.
Combine all ingredients except flour and nuts and beat until smooth. Stir in flour. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 2” apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Dip bottom of buttered glass in sugar and use it to flatten cookies a little. Press an almond into the center of each. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8-12 minutes. Cookies should be firm to the touch, but not brown. Makes 3-4 dozen.
Roscoe Village Gingerbread Cookies
Roscoe Village Gingerbread Cookies
I cannot remember where I first got this recipe. It is a great cookie for the holidays. This richly spiced cookie is perfect with a cup of coffee after dinner. While you can use either dried or fresh grated ginger I really prefer fresh. I keep a piece of ginger root in my freezer and then just grate what I want whenever needed. The ginger lasts nearly forever that way. The original recipe calls for shortening. If you prefer to not use it you can substitute coconut oil or butter. However, if you use butter, chill the cookies at least an hour before baking.
Roscoe Village Gingerbread Cookies
2 c. flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
¾ t. ginger (fresh grated preferred)
½ t. cloves
¼ t. salt
1 c. sugar, plus extra for rolling
¾ c. shortening- I use butter but chill the dough 60 minutes
¼ c. molasses
1 egg
Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Beat together sugar with shortening, molasses and egg until light. Stir in dry ingredients and roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in additional sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Edges should look dry. Cool on sheet for a few minutes and then move to rack. Makes about 36
Chocolate Butter Cookies
Chocolate Butter Cookies
These delicate little cookies are crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. They have a nice chocolate flavor and are not overly sweet. As an added bonus they are also easy to make. I tweaked another recipe and ended up with a cookie I like even better. Since I was happy with how they turned out I wanted to share the recipe with you. I rolled the cookies in demerara sugar when they were raw and then baked them. Demerara is a less refined sugar and looks like coarse brown sugar. It gave the cookies a nice sparkly appearance. You could also bake them plain and decorate with a drizzle of chocolate when cooled.
Chocolate Butter Cookies
1 c. sugar
1½ c. butter, room temp.
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
3 c. flour
¾ c. cocoa
Combine all ingredients, except flour and cocoa, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in flour and cocoa and blend well. Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Place 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 7-9 minutes or until set. Cool. Makes about 5 dozen.
Decorate with drizzles of melted chocolate or frosting, powdered sugar, sprinkles (apply before baking) or whatever you have on hand. You can also bake the cookies in rounds with an indent in the middle and add a cherry later. I rolled the raw cookies in demerara sugar. It’s a less refined sugar at looks little coarse brown sugar. Gave the cookies a pretty sparkle.
