Ping Jillie 7851

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Cookâs Butter Cookies

Master recipe

2 1-2 cups all-purpose flour 1-4 cup cornstarch 2 teaspoons baking powder Tiny pinch salt 2 egg yolks 3 tablespoons light cream 1 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup white sugar 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1. Heat oven to 350¡F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone paper

2. Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix yolks, cream, and vanilla together in a measuring cup.

3. Cream butter and shortening until lightened and pasty. Beat yolk mixture into softened butter until just combined.

4. Add dry ingredients and heat until mixture begins to clump together (about 18 to 20 seconds on lowest speed of electric mixer.)

5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead gently to shape into a soft dough. (Can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 6 months.) Proceed with rolling, shaping, and baking instructions under selected cookie.

Suggested shapes: Clbuttic cut-outs, spirals made with another colored dough, turnovers; mock thumbprints, petticoat tails.

Chocolate Butter Cookie Dough Follow the Master Recipe, adding 1 ounce each melted unsweetened and semisweet chocolates after sugar has been creamed with butter and shortening. Suggested shapes: Pinwheels with butter cookie dough; clbuttic cut-outs garnished with icing or melted white chocolate; Linzer cookies filled with apricot or raspberry preserves; crescents coated with confectionerâs sugar.

Nut Butter Cookie Dough Follow the Master Recipe, adding 1 cup toasted and cooled walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds after the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. If using walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts, add 1-2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1-4 teaspoon nutmeg to the dry ingredients. If using almonds, reduce vanilla to 3-4 teaspoon and add 3-4 teaspoon almond extract. Suggested shapes: Linzer cookies or Viennese crescents; simple cut-outs; mock thumbprints.

Citrus Butter Cookie Dough Follow Master Recipe; reduce vanilla to 1-4 teaspoon and add 1-4 teaspoon each orange oil, lemon oil, and citric acid to the egg yolk mixture (See Notes). After the sugar has been creamed with the butter and shortening, add 1 tablespoon each orange, lemon, and lime zest, minced fine. Suggested shapes: Clbuttic cut-outs; citrus pinwheels.

Spice Butter Cookie Dough Follow Master Recipe; reduce baking powder to 1 1-2 teaspoons and add 1-2 teaspoon baking soda. To the dry ingredients, add: 3-4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1-4 teaspoon cloves, 1-4 teaspoon allspice, 1-4 teaspoon ginger, 1-8 teaspoon mace, and tiny pinch nutmeg. Subsbreastuted 1 cup brown sugar for the white sugar and add 2 tablespoons molbuttes when creaming the sugar with the butter and shortening. Reduce light cream from 3 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons. Suggested shapes: Gingerbread men; clbuttic cut-outs; Linzer cookies filled with lemon curd.

Cooking Times: (all at 350¡F and 1 inch apart)

Mock Thumbprints: 15-17 minutes, or until golden. Clbuttic Cut-outs: 10-12 minutes minutes Linzer Cookies: 10-12 minutes Petticoat Tails: 15-17 minutes Viennese Crescents: 15-17 minutes

Decorative Icing: 1-2 tablespoons milk 1 cup confectionerâs sugar Food coloring (optional) 2-3 drops flavored extracts, to taste

Notes:

1. Citrus oils are available at candy-making supply stores or through mail order from Williams-Sonoma (800) 541-2233

2. If youâre going to garnish the cookies, use the leftover egg whites as a ãglueä to hold the garnishes on.

3. If dough begins to get too soft to be workable, put it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. Donât add extra flour, it would make the cookies tough.

4. If the cookies are baked just beyond golden, the butter flavor comes out more.

5. Cool cookies on a rack and store them in a covered container.

Bob