Iced Sugar Cookies

Kent and I decided to have a big Spring Break party this year.  So we invited lots of friends over and got busy making a plan.  We had been looking for an excuse to have a crawfish party like ones we used to go to in Oxford, and we thought this would be the perfect time.  So, Kent built a double crawfish table that worked wonderfully for the party, and we stocked up with beer, raw oysters, Gretchen's crab dip, and Texas caviar to give everyone a few more options for food.  I wanted to make something sweet and remembered that Sally had given me a crawfish cookie cutter last summer.  And, when I went to look for it, I found a dolphin cookie cutter from my Tri Delt days (I bought it because Jen and I always joked about collecting dolphin memorabilia) that I thought would go well with our funny airbrushed Spring Break Party invites.  I had planned on making a very super secret cookie recipe (it's so secret that I can't even reveal who gave it to me!), but I was missing part of an ingredient.  So, on a whim, I ended up making the cookie recipe that had come with the cookie cutter that Sally had given me published by Ann Clark.  They turned out wonderfully, even though some of the claws fell off of my crawfish! 

Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups sifted flour.

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Beat the egg in a separate dish then add it to the butter/sugar mixture.  Add in the vanilla, salt, and flour.  Mix until all ingredients are well blended.  Chill dough 3 - 4 hours before rolling.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick and cut.  Bake about 8 - 10 minutes or until barely colored.  Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks. 

Icing:

3/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted)

1 Tb. butter

1 Tb. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

Melt butter.  Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth.  Add food coloring.

*For the icing, I always add way more powdered sugar than the directions indicate so it's not as runny and sticks a little thicker to the cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Blackberry Jam - from Sally

These Giada de Laurentis cookies come highly recommended from Sally. I have not made them (since I don't like peanut butter - yes, I know I'm unAmerican) but Sally said they were excellent!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Blackberry Jam
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (recommended: Hershey's)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
1/2 packed cup light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup blackberry jam

Directions:
Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sieve together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, peanut butter, 3/4 cup of sugar, and light brown sugar together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until blended. With the machine running on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated.
Put the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Form the dough into 1/4 cup-size balls and roll in the sugar. Arrange 5 balls of dough, evenly apart, on each baking sheet. Using a round 1/4 teaspoon measure, or the thin end of a wooden spoon, make a hole in the center of each ball of dough, about 1/2 to 3/4-inch deep. Spoon 1 teaspoon of jam into each hole. Bake for 11 to 14 minutes until the dough has spread and the surface of the cookies are crackled. Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Arrange the cookies on a serving dish and serve.

Miss Lenoree's Oatmeal Cookies

This is my very favorite cookie recipe! My grandmother created the recipe and made them for years. The recipe has appeared in several cookbooks throughout Alabama, usually as "Miss Lenoree's Oatmeal Cookies". You may need to cut the recipe in half as it yields about 8 dozen cookies!

Ingredients:

1½ cups white sugar

1½ cups brown sugar (packed)

4 eggs

2 cups oil

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp water

3 cups of plain flour

2 tsp of salt

2 tsp of baking soda

4 cups of oatmeal

1 bag Heath bits

Optional: cup raisins, chopped walnuts, or chocolate chips

Method:

Use a large bowl. Beat sugars and 4 eggs well with electric mixer. Add oil, vanilla, and water. Mix well. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Then add by hand oatmeal and Heath bits. Then, if desired, add one or two of the optional ingredients. Mixture will be very stiff. Roll into balls and drop on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until done.

Thumb Print Cookies

This is such a great southern cookie. I've probably made this recipe more than any other dessert. They look so professional - just like ones from a bakery - so you can serve them at any event! I've died the icing red or blue for tailgating, pink for showers, and different pastels for Easter.

Thumb Print Cookies
Ingredients:
1/4 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. Crisco
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg, separated
1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
3/4 c. finely chopped nuts (optional, I usually leave these out)

Method:
Heat oven to 350. Mix thoroughly butter, shortening, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Work in flour and salt until dough holds together. Shape dough by teaspoonfuls into 1-inch balls.

Beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white; roll in nuts (I usually dash them with sprinkles instead - but this can get very messy!) Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. (They tend to stick to the pan so I've started using parchment paper on top of my pans so that I don't have to break any of the cookies or scrape the pans too long.) Press thumb deeply into center of each but do not break through the bottom. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from baking sheet. Cool. Fill thumbprints with jelly or Confectioners Sugar Icing. (Makes about 1 dozen.)

Confectioners Sugar Icing:
1 c. confectioners sugar
1 T. milk
a few drops of peppermint extract
tint with a few drops of food coloring.
(Mix until smooth. Do not make the icing until you are ready to begin filling the cookies. It will start to harden. But, it takes several hours to harden completely. I usually make and ice the cookies the day before so they have plenty of time to set up.)

Cookbook recommendation: A Cookbook for My Southern Daughter/by: Patsy Smith
This recipe is adapted from Patsy Smith's cookbook. My mom gave it to me when I was in Junior High School, and I have been using it ever since. I've made tons of the recipes in this book, and they are always great! The books are only available in certain stores, but you can buy them on-line.
http://www.southerndaughtercookbooks.com/index.html