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“Just So Easy” cooking corner by Malathy – Cookies Galore!
 Sweeten up your holidays by trying one (or more) of the delicious cookie recipes below as provided by Malathy Ramanujam from Taste Connections.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (100 g) tightly packed brown sugar + 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 1/4 cups (260 gm) TC Multi-baking mix
1/2 cup butter
1 packet (3.5 oz.) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Water to make stiff dough (4 tablespoons)
Directions:
In a bowl measure the baking mix, and baking powder, and the instant pudding mix packet. Using a wire whisk mix the dry mixture well. Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C). Spoon sugars into a mixing bowl, add butter, vanilla, and beat well until fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add water slowly until you get a stiff dough*. Pat the dough into a disc and cover with SaranTM Plastic Wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.
CUT-OUT COOKIES
Roll out the dough (use cornstarch to help roll out) to 1/4 inch thick and cut into Christmas shapes such as tree, stockings, etc. Place on an ungreased baking pan and freeze it for 15-20 minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375° F and rotate the pan from front to back and bake for 3-4 more minutes or until the edges start to brown slightly. Cool on a wire rack. You can use the ready- made frosting from supermarkets (Betty Crocker® or Duncan Hines® brand Vanilla or White frosting). Spread a little on top, sprinkle with coarse colored sugar and leave on cooling rack to set overnight. The frosting will harden and the cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container for several days.
ORANGE SUGAR COOKIES
Add 1 teaspoon of orange zest when making the dough. Roll into walnut size balls, and flatten. Sprinkle with colored coarse sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375° F and rotate the pan from front to back and bake for 3-4 more minutes or until the edges start to brown slightly. Cool on a wire rack.
LEMON ROUNDS
Make the cookies as in sugar cookies and use lemon zest instead of orange and cool. Mix well 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, 2 Tablespoon any preferred colored decorating sugar, and 3 Tablespoons lemon juice and beat well. Spread 1/2-1 tsp on the cooled cookies.
WINDOW PANE COOKIES
Make the cookie dough and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough (use cornstarch to help roll out) to 1/4 inch thick and cut into Christmas shapes such as tree, stockings, etc. Cut out smaller shapes from the cut-out shapes. Place on ungreased baking pan and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Bake for 6-8 minutes at 375° F, sprinkle the centers with crushed hard candies and bake until melted, probably 4-5 minutes.
MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES
Make the cookie dough and use almond extract instead of vanilla. Chill for 30 minutes or longer (when baked the cookies should not spread too much and retain round ball shape mostly) and shape into small ball (walnut size). Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375° F and rotate the pan from front to back and bake for 3-4 more minutes or until the edges start to brown slightly. Cool mostly and then toss in confectioner’s sugar.
SANDWICH COOKIES
Make cookies as in orange sugar cookies and cool. Sandwich with jam or frosting between 2 cookies and let set.
LEMON EDGES
Make the lemon rounds dough and chill. Mix 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 Tablespoon lemon zest in a processor. Roll the dough into 2 or 3 1-inch round logs and roll in the lemon sugar. Freeze the logs for 15-20 minutes and then slice into 1-inch thick pieces. Place on ungreased baking pan and chill for 15 minutes.
Makes 2 dozen rolled-out cookies and more or less cut out cookies depending on the shape.
* Hint: Add water slowly until you get really stiff dough. If it is too stiff and dry to form the dough add extra water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you get the right consistency. Using an electric mixer speeds up the beating process.
| |
Kcal |
Pro(gm) |
PHE(mg) |
MET(mg) |
LEU(mg) |
| Per cookie (hand rolled - 24) |
102.8 |
0.06 |
3.2 |
1.2 |
6.2 |
| Per cookie (frosted) |
110 |
0.06 |
4 |
2 |
8 |
By the way, did you know?
- Christmas cookies date back to Medieval Europe.
- Dutch and German settlers first introduced cookie cutters to America in the 1700s.
- German gingerbread (“lebkuchen”) was the first cookie/cake associated with Christmas.
- Animal crackers began as edible ornaments. Nabisco introduced Animal Crackers to the American public in 1902 as a seasonal item and its brightly colored boxes were promoted as Christmas tree ornaments (that's what the string on the box was for!)
- The Wellesley Cookie Exchange, a most famous American cookie exchange, began in 1971 as a way to relieve holiday stress and is still held in Massachusetts every year.
Reference:
http://www.best-ever-cookie-collection.com/cookie-trivia.html
Special thanks to VitaFriends contributor, Malathy Ramanujam from Taste Connections. For information on how to obtain the Taste Connections ingredients used in this recipe, please visit www.tasteconnections.com.
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