Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients:
- ½ cup corn starch
- ½ cups icing sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup butter, softened
Instructions:
- Sift together cornstarch, icing sugar and flour.
- With wooden spoon, blend in butter until soft, smooth dough into a ball, and cover and chill 30-60 minutes.
- To shape, shape into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls. Place 1 ½ inches (4 cm) apart on parchment-lined cookie sheet; flatten with a lightly floured fork. Alternatively, roll dough to ¼ inch (6 mm); cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Decorate with dried fruit, coloured sprinkles, or nuts if desired.
Bake in 300 F oven for 15-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. And option is to pipe with your favourite icing and add sprinkles like crushed candy cane. Makes about 24 cookies.
Almond Orange Biscotti
Ingredients:
- For yield: 1485g X 2 logs (742g each)
- 1lb butter, soft
- 420g sugar
- 12g baking powder
- 6g salt
- 200g/4 pc eggs
- 6g vanilla extract
- 2pc of orange zest only
- 3g fennel seed
- 400g almonds, sliced
Instructions:
- Cream butter and sugar together in mixer with paddle attachment until soft.
- Slowly add in eggs and vanilla, mix until light pale yellow and fluffy.
- Add in all dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Mold into 2 large logs that are 2 ¼ inch wide and ¾ inch tall.
- First bake, let cool on tray for 10 minutes. Cut with bread knife into ½ thick slices, lay flat on baking sheet.
- Drop oven to 275 and bake for another 30 minutes until almost completely dry. Let cool
Bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes.
Molasses Crinkles
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp table salt
- ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup pack brown sugar (dark preferably)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- Granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions:
Several hours before baking:
- Sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. With and electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until light in colour and texture.
- Beat in the oil until blended.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the molasses and the egg. And beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture until well combined. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill until firm, about 3 hours.
To bake: Heat the oven to 375 F. Measure the dough into tablespoon-size pieces and roll each piece between your palms to form 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in granulated sugar to coat. Put the balls 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets/parchment paper. Sprinkle the tops with more sugar and bake until the venter surface of the cookies barely dry, 9 to 10 minutes (don’t overbake). Let it cool on the sheets for 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.