My Lime Green Kitchen

Posts Tagged ‘Cookies’

These could be my favorite cookies my mom has ever made but I probably say that about all cookies.

Ingredients:

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 egg whites
2c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
About 1 c.  finely chopped nuts
Jelly, jam or candied cherries, cut in half

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar.  Add 2 beaten egg yolks.

Mix the flour and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture.  Add vanilla.  Mix well.  Chill for a couple of hours.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Roll into small balls.  Roll in egg white (do not beat egg whites).  Roll in chopped nuts.

Place on baking sheet.

Bake for 5 minutes.  Using a thimble, press a hole in the center.

Continue baking for 10 -15 minutes.  Press hole in center again.

Cool completely.  Fill hole with jam or jelly.

If you do not want to use jam, press half of a maraschino cherry in the center before baking and bake 15-20 minutes.

My great grandma was Grandma Stroud . . not Grandma Himel.  She always had tea cakes.  I have tried every tea cake recipe I find hoping to duplicate my great grandma’s tea cakes.  I probably don’t even remember at this point what they tasted like but I have this thought in my head about them.  My lovely friend from south Louisiana, Nita, shared a recipe from one of her neighbors from their Grandma Himel.  I immediately made them and they’re very, very close to my great grandma’s . . as close as I’ve come.

When I made them, I halved the recipe.  For three eggs, use either 1 very large or 2 very small eggs and it works.  The recipe calls for vanilla butternut extract.  I’d never heard of that and used clear vanilla.   Nita said she ordered the vanilla butternut extract from Amazon.

Ingredients:

6 cups flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 oz. vanilla butternut extract

Directions:

Melt butter.  Add extract, eggs, sugar, and milk. Mix well.  Stir in flour and baking powder.  Roll out, cut with cookie cutter.  Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350° for 13 – 15 minutes.  They will not be brown but a light yellow.

This is one of my favorite cookies.  There are several variations for making these and from what I’ve read, the recipe requiring baker’s ammonia is one of the best, most authentic recipes.  I rarely have baker’s ammonia and we’re perfectly happy with this recipe.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 lb. powdered sugar
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 – 4 drops anise oil

Directions:

Beat eggs til thick and lemon colored.  Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add flour, one cup at a time, along with baking powder.  Beat well after each cup of flour.  Add anise oil.  If your family isn’t a huge fan of anise, stick with 2 drops.  A little goes a long way!   We love anise and I usually add more than 4 drops.

If the dough seems a little too sticky, add another 1/4 – 1/2 cup flour.

To roll dough, sprinkle surface with flour and flour the top of your dough.  Roll to 1/2″ thick with a regular rolling pin.  Using a springerle pin, roll and cut the cookies.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to sit out overnight, uncovered, in a dry place.

Bake at 300 for 20 minutes.  Do not allow to brown.  It is recommended that you put these in an airtight container and store for one week before serving.  That never happens at our house.