"The cookies that taste like Christmas"
This is what my daughter calls these spritz cookies.
I am joining in the fun today at the
@
I have been making them as long as she can remember.
My hubby bought me this battery powered cookie shooter about 30 years ago.
I have been making these cookies every year since.
The recipe is a small variation from the one which came in the box.
The box has long since been lost.
One year hubby let the barrel roll off the counter and it broke.
He ran out and bought another cookie press and replaced it
before I knew what had happened.
A few more pieces have been lost or broken over the years,
but I still have enough to put it together
and it works as well as always.
This model is an old Proctor Silex and is only available used on ebay
or maybe at flea markets for about $10-$12 dollars,
which is what is was new 25 years ago.
The cookie sheets are at least as old, black coated steel and the surface is rough,
so I cover them with aluminum foil,
because they still bake the best cookies.
This the recipe ...
it is a my personal variation of the one which came in the box
Iced Spritz Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white vegetable shortening
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
(dash of salt, optonal)
Cream butter and shortening until light and fluffy.
Beat in sugar slowly in small additions.
About 5 minutes.
Add vanilla.
Beat in eggs.
Add baking powder to flour and mix into wet ingredients in three additions.
Batter will be very stiff.
If batter is not stiff, add a little more flour a little at a time
until batter is stiff and not sticky.
Fill your cookie press as directed by manufacturer and press.
You may roll the batter in small balls and flatten slightly if you do not have a cookie press.
If you refrigerate the batter until cold, you may also roll and cut with cookie cutters.
Bake spritz cookie at 375 degree for 10 - 12 minutes,
just until set,
not brown.
Do Not Overbake.
Makes about 11 dozen small cookies.
Icing
4 cups 10x confectionery sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
milk as needed to make a thin icing
food coloring as desired
Mix all ingredients together until icing coats spoon but is still thin enough to pour.
Dip tops of cookies into the icing and set on wire racks
that are set over foil to catch the drips.
Sprinkle with decorator sugar as you go.
When icing is completely dry,
store in tightly covered tins with waxed paper between the layers.
These cookies have a short shelf life,
only about a week.
They disappear so fast in my house that they never last a week.
This is my first batch of several
and they are for welcoming my daughter home for Christmas and gathering
and decorating our tree on Saturday.
I may have to make another batch by then ... ;)
The Tumbling Christmas Blocks Quilt
behind the cookies is one I made a few years ago when a friend asked if I knew how to make the tumbling blocks pattern without "Y" seams.
At the time, I had never made this pattern,
but the challenge was on!
I soon figured out that if I cut the top of the block into triangles
and sewed the pieces into rows
and then sewed the rows together,
it would be all straight piecing.
Easy peasy.
All the steps may be found here ...
These free tutorials are the most frequently visited posts on my blog,
month after month, year after year.
If you ever try this method,
I would love to hear from you.
Giveaway Time!
I have been sew blessed this year
that I am sharing the gifts by giving away a
$25.00 Gift Certificate to the
Fat Quarter Shop
This is a Rafflecopter Giveaway
Enter below ...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to visit all my Cookie Exchange friends
today for more yummy fun!
Carol asked us to share a favorite seasonal memory.
One of my favorites is a small one.
My husband and I were doing some last minute grocery shopping for our
Christmas feast when our children were still very young.
It was snowing. We ran into the mother of one of our sons'
friends from his very culturally diverse public school. Her family had moved to our country to escape a rigid regime that did not allow then to live their own way. We were welcomed into her home and we learned about a culture from a far away, much warmer climate.
During our parking lot chat she commented on how she had never seen snow before.
As we were getting ready to say our good nights, my husband wished her a very Merry Christmas. This warm and lovely woman smiled broadly and said, "Thank you! As you know we do not observe this holiday ... but we love all the parties!"
With this thought, I have gone through life celebrating all the parties life has to offer.
Happy Holidays!
Celebrate Life!
