Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe

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Ingredients:

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*1/2 cup Butter

*1 cup Sugar

*1 teaspoon Vanilla

*1 Egg

*1/2 cup Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream, Sour Cream or Cream Cheese (I’ve used each one of these variation each gives the cookie a slightly different taste and they’re all yummy!) Note: If you use cream cheese use only 3 cups of flour

*3 and 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour, more if needed (Dough should be slightly sticky)

*1 teaspoon Soda

*1/2 teaspoon Salt

*Pumpkin Cookie Cutter, the number of cookies this recipe makes will depend on the size of cookie cutter you use

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In a stand mixer on medium-low speed cream together the butter and sugar. Then add the vanilla, egg and cream of your choice and mix just until combined.

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Using Sifter, sift together in a bowl the flour soda and salt and slowly add to the creamed mixture, mixing on low just until barely combined. Dough should be slightly sticky. Do Not Over Mix!

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Then divide the dough into 3 dough balls, flatten dough balls making disk shapes. Now wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or more.

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Remove 1 dough disk at a time from the refrigerator and rollout disk on a floured surface with rolling-pin or use 2 pieces of plastic wrap, placing the dough disk in the center of 1 of the pieces of plastic wrap and the second piece on top of the dough disk, use rolling-pin and roll out the cookie dough about 1/2 inch thick.

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Use a cookie cutter of your choice and cut out shapes in the rolled out dough. Repeat for each dough disk. Then add to the next dough disk the scraps from the first disk or (discard scraps of dough), continue this technic until all the dough is used.
Place cookies on a Silpat covered half baking sheet, 12 cookies per sheet.  For best results refrigerate the cut cookies on baking sheet before baking 5-10 minutes.

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Bake the cookies in a pre-heated 425* F. oven for 8-12 minutes or barely starting to turn golden on the bottom; baking time depends on the size of cookie cutter used. Do Not Over Bake! If you do over bake they will become to hard. Cool on baking sheet.

Recipe from Tested Recipes Cookbook, Central Milling Company third edition, now out of print an old family cookbook

Chocolate Candy Melt Coating

*1 Packages 10 to 12 ounce Candy Melts. We used Wilton Orange but you could use any color (make bats, witches hats, black cats and etc… Note: You may need another package depending on amount of cookies dipped and the size.

*3 and 1/2 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil, I like to use 2 tablespoons Extra Light Olive Oil and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons Vegetable. This adds a smooth and easy dipping consistency

*Halloween colored Nonpareils, we used Ghouls’ Night Out by Festival, for decorating.

Melt the candy melts and oil in the microwave on low heat in a shallow microwave safe bowl (In a bowl that about 2 inches bigger than the cookies you are dipping, this is for easy dipping) , 30 second increments, stirring between each increment until almost all disks have melted and then stir-stir-stir until smooth.

Dip each cookie face down into the melted dipping chocolate. Let excess drip off. Then with dipped side of cookie facing up shake cookie until coating is smooth and flat. Dip about 8 cookies, then sprinkle on the nonpareils and allow them to set on a Silpat or parchment paper or cooling rack etc…

Then when completely set enjoy or store in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

Enjoy!

Lindy

Peanut Butter Lindt Spider Cookies

*3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

*1/2 cup Butter, room temperature

*1/3 cup Brown Sugar

*1 Egg, room temperature

*1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

*3/4 cup All-purpose Flour

*1/2 cup White Wheat Pastry Flour, adds a nutty flavor

*3/4 Baking Powder

*1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

*1 teaspoon Sea Salt

*2 packages (5.1 ounce each) Lindt Linder Round Extra Dark Chocolate Truffles (24 total) for decorating

*3/4 cup Ghirardelli Chocolate Melting Wafers, melted in 30 second increments in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl until melted stirring between each increment, for spider legs

*48 Candy Eyes, medium size like Wilton, for decorating 2 per cookie

Preheat oven 350*F.

In a stand mixer on medium speed cream together the peanut butter, butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla mix until combined.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Gradually add the flour mixture in thirds until incorporated. Mix on low speed just until incorporated.

Scoop or roll in your hand 1 and 1/2 tablespoon of cookie dough forming a ball, making about 24 cookie balls. Bake 12 cookie dough balls per Silpat or parchment covered half baking sheet for about 10 minutes.

After removing from the oven, I used a round teaspoon and pressed it in the center of the baked cookie, making a round indentation.

While allowing the cookies to cool, melt the chocolate wafers in the microwave as explained above and place a small amount of chocolate in the cooled cookie and add a Lindt Truffle. Then add two small dots of chocolate using a large tooth pick and place 2 dots of chocolate where desired for the eyes and then add the eyes. I used tweezers to attach the eyes to the truffle.

Using a pastry bag with small tip or pastry bottle add the melted wafers and pipe on 8 spider legs or as desired.

Recipe adapted from A Spicy Perspective

Enjoy!

Lindy