Vanilla Bean and/or Orange Shortbread Cookies January 31, 2013

I made some super fantastic cookies for my mom on her birthday.

The vanilla bean shortbread is great on it’s own or can be doctored up in many ways. You can opt out of the vanilla bean part and just use the vanilla extract, but you would be missing out on a really awesome taste.I made a huge batch and split it in half, adding orange zest and juice to one of the halves. I would also recommend a shot of espresso or a packet or two of  Starbucks via. I think they make a Blonde roast that is far less bitter than the regular roast.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• Interior scrapings of 1 split vanilla bean
• 3-4 cups flour depending on moisture and altitude
• ** for orange version**
• 3 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange zest
• Juice of ½ orange
• Juice of ½ lemon

Preparation

In a mixer or with electric beaters mix butter, sugar and salt until creamy.

Continue mixing; add the egg yolks one at a time, then add the vanilla extract and scrapings from the vanilla bean, orange zest and citrus juice.

Reduce speed on mixer and add flour one cup at a time, allowing flour to incorporate before adding more. Add flour until the dough starts to look dry, but still soft.

Remove dough from mixer, roll into a log and wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.  

Preheat oven to 375°F and unwrap dough. Slice the dough to create rounds about ¼ to ½ inch thick and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake until cookies look dry and lightly golden.

 

Tea Party January 21, 2009

This year for my birthday, I’m having a tea party. Complete with funny hats and a few characters from Alice in Wonderland.So in the spirit of the celebration, here are some tea cookie recipes:

Lavender and Lemon Sugar Cookies

1/4 tsp. dried lavender buds
1/4 cup sugar1 cup soft butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
2 1/8 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp.lemon extract

In a food processor or blender, grind lavender with sugar. Cream sugar with butter and powdered sugar, and add egg. Stir in lemon extract, then flour, soda, tartar and salt; blending well. Place a tablespoon of dough on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten dough with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in sugar, and sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Cream Cheese Cookies

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
raspberry or strawberry preserves

Combine the cream cheese, butter and flour and blend completely. Chill. Roll out the dough, half at a time, to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into small rounds or other dainty shapes. Make a small depression in the center of each cookie and place 1/2 tsp. preserves. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Cool, and dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired. Makes about 2 dozen.

Old Fashioned Anise Seed Cookies

2 cups granulated sugar
2 medium eggs
1/2 cup molasses
1 1/2 cups shortening
2 tsp. finely crushed anise seeds
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ginger

Cream the sugar, eggs, molasses, shortening and ground anise until it resembles a smooth paste. Sift the dry ingredients remaining three times and add to the anise mixture. Mix well. Roll the dough into balls and coat each one in granulated sugar. Place on lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Makes 3-4 dozen.

Lemon Basil Cookies

1/4 cup butter
3 ounces cream cheese
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons dried basil, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 package lemon cake mix
1/2 cup crushed walnuts or pecans

Mix together the butter, cheese, yolk and juice. Add the cake mix, and blend well. Stir in the nuts, peel and basil. Chill for 1/2 hour or more. Roll into small 1/2 inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Parchment paper works well. Flatten with a fork dipped in sugar. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Cream Cheese Coconut Cookies

1(8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
1 (18.5 ounce) package yellow cake mix
Optional:
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in the egg and extract. Add cake mix, and stir until well blended. Roll into 1 inch balls and coat in the confectioners’ sugar. Place 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I used parchment paper). Bake for 10 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven. After a few minutes remove from baking sheets to cool.