Cakes & Cooking » cookies

Plum Tea and Shortbread Cookies

cait — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:21:13 +0000

A delicious summer pairing. Plum tea, a recipe handed over from Aunt Kare, has a sweet, fresh flavor. Brown sugar shortbread is perfect with any tea – an easy combination of butter, sugar, and flour.

Plum Tea

2 quarts boiling water, divided
2 cups sugar
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (8-10 medium oranges) with pulp
.05 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons), no pulp
4 family-sized teabags or 16 regular teabags
water

Steep teabags in 1 quart of boiling water for 15 minutes. To the other 1 quart boiling water, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. In a heat-safe pitcher, add the tea (discard bags after 15 min), sugar water, orange juice, and lemon juice. Add enough water to make 1 full gallon. Chill and serve over ice.

Brown Sugar Shortbread

2 cups butter (not margerine)
1 cup packed brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 to 4.5 cups flour

In a food processor, cream butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add salt and vanilla. Add flour 1 cup at a time, until 3 cups. After 3 cups of flour have been added, turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead in an additional cup to cup and a half of flour. Pat dough into a 9×13 pan, score into rectangles. Prick each rectangle with a fork. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes, until brown on the edges. Cut along scored lines when cool, serve.

GrahamMallow Cookie Bars

cait — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 16:50:00 +0000

These crispy and delicious cookie bars are adapted from a recipe in the Great American Home Baking files. I’ve found that decreasing the amount of flour in the bottom crust yeilds a softer cookie (rocket science!) that keeps longer – and going halfsies on the chocolate chips and supplementing with butterscotch yields a much nicer flavor combination. My brown sugar was unexpectedly hardened, so I beat the egg whites with some maple syrup instead, and found the resulting meringue coating to be flavorful and equally sweet. The recipe below is the original.

Cream 1 stick of soft butter with 1 cup of sugar. Beat in two egg yolks, one at a time (reserve egg whites).
Mix together 1.5 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Fold flour mixture into butter mixture. Press into a lightly greased 9×13 pan.
Sprinkle over top of firmly packed crust – 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup butterscotch chips, 1 cup marshmallows.
Beat reserved egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar. Spread over top of the layers in pan.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, or until a crust is formed. Cool completely and cut into squares.

Rose Golden Cookies

cait — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:52:00 +0000

These are absolutely decadent cookies that I loved growing up. They are a favorite of my mothers, too. The easy layers make them a snap to make – but they are so rich. Sweetened condensed milk really sits on your stomach! So make these for a crowd and cut small pieces.

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup margerine, melted

Mix crumbs and margerine together, press down into an 8×8 pan.

In layers on top add:

-One layer of sweetened shredded coconut, spread generously.
-One layer of melted chocolate (made with 8 oz of chocolate chips melted with 1 stick butter)
-1 can of sweetened condensed milk
-3/4 cup coarsly chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans are best

Bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 and hour, allow to cool completely before cutting (unless you like a mushy cookie in a bowl, which is fine too).

Peanut Butter Cookies

cait — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 00:46:00 +0000

A simple classic and easy-peasy cookie to make when short on time.

Cream together:

1/2 cup margerine, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Beat in:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Stir in:

1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teasp NaCl
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup of flour

Drop onto a cookie sheet, press down with tines of a fork. If the fork sticks, try putting it in flour or sugar before pressing each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Cookies

cait — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 07:04:00 +0000

These pumpkin cookies are great, even for those who aren’t normally pumpkin friendly. They have a light, cake-like texture that stays soft for quite a while. The touch of brown sugar icing is wonderful and keeps the spices from being too bold. They are a fall cookie but I make them all year round!

Pumpkin Cookies
Cream together: 3/4 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar

Add: 2 cups pumpkin
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
2 eggs
3 cups of flour

Drop from full tablespoon (and these cookies are better big) onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350. Ice when cool.

Icing
Boil together: 4 tbsp margerine
4 tbsp milk
10 tbsp brown sugar

Boil, let cool. When cool add: 1 tsp vanilla and 1 lb powdered sugar.

Peanut Butter Squares

cait — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 16:17:00 +0000

These no-fuss, no-muss cookies are always a favorite at potlucks. I give out the recipe at least 20 times a year. For the peanut butter lover in your home, these are the way to go.

For the health-conscious in your home, avoid these like the plague!

2 sticks of margerine or unsalted butter, melted
1 cup of creamy peanut butter
1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
Approx 3-4 cups of confectioners sugar

Combine melted butter, peanut butter, and graham crumbs. Add in confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time until it will take no more sugar. Mixture should be moist and crumbly. Press into a 9×13 pan and chill.

1 bag chocolate chips
3 tbsp margarine

Melt chocolate and margerine together, then spread over the peanut butter mixture. Chill 20 minutes before cutting into squares.