cookies | Pamela Toman

Light-Spice Cut-out Cookies

My favorite cut-out dough, which I first made with the nieblings when they were small. It behaves well and makes a Biscoff-like cookie.

Ingredients	Step
2 sticks (16 T.) butter 160 g (¾ c.) brown sugar 100 g (½ c.) white sugar 1½ t. baking powder 1½ t. cinnamon 1½ t. ginger ½ t. cloves ¾ t. salt	Beat together until light and fluffy, scraping down as needed.
1 egg 40 g (2 T.) molasses	Add. Beat well.
360 g (3 c.) flour	Measure into a large bowl.
	Mix about half the flour into the butter mixture.
remaining flour mixture 21 g (3 T.) cornstarch	Stir together, then add to butter mixture and mix.
	Divide the dough in half. Form balls then disks. Smooth the edges by rolling on a work surface. Wrap in plastic, then refrigerate at least 1 hour.
	Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
	Flour your work surface. Remove one dough disk from fridge. Start to roll it out (if it tears, let it warm up a bit more). Roll as thick as you like (maybe ⅛-¼"), then cut cookies out and place on ungreased baking sheets.
	Bake until slightly brown around the edges / until firm, around 10-12 minutes.
	Let cookies cool on baking sheet for several minutes until set, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

A classic.

Ingredients	Step
	Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
½ lb. butter, softened 8 oz cream cheese, softened 1 T. sugar 1 T. milk	Cream together.
1 egg yolk	Add. Mix in.
2 c. cake flour ½ t. baking powder	Whisk together, then add to wet ingredients.
	Chill 2 hours or overnight.
2 cans Solo pie filling (e.g., prune, apricot)	Take a baseball sized ball of batter. Roll it out using cake flour. Cut it into squares, then place the squares onto ungreased cookie sheets. Dab on filling, then fold up the two side corners of each cookie. Bake 10-12 minutes.
powdered sugar	When cool (or after freezing then thawing cookies), sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Source: Cathy Sorensen

A nice hamentaschen dough recipe, suitable for preschoolers. Each batch makes 36 circles.

Ingredients	Step
	Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
½ c. butter 1 c. sugar	Cream together. Beat until fluffy.
1 t. milk 1 t. vanilla	Add. Beat well.
1 egg	Add. Beat well.
2 c. flour 2 t. baking powder pinch salt	Sift together. Stir to make a soft dough. Chill in fridge for 20 minutes.
⅓ c. filling (e.g., cherry, apricot, prune, poppy seed, mini chocolate chips, raspberry)	Roll out dough on a lightly floured board to ⅛" thick. Cut out circles. Add jelly to center and then pinch or fold three corners.
	Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Source: Barb

This recipe must chill overnight, so plan ahead. It makes roughly 4 dozen small cookies.

If you substitute butter for shortening, use ¼ c. milk instead of ⅓ c.

Ingredients	Step
½ c. shortening 1⅔ c. sugar	Cream together.
2 t. vanilla 2 eggs, beaten 2 oz. unsweetened Baker's chocolate, melted	Add & beat.
2 c. flour, sifted 2 t. baking powder ½ t. salt	Sift together.
⅓ c. milk (or ¼ c. if using butter)	Add to the mixer alternately with dry ingredients.
½ c. walnuts, chopped	Stir in.
	Scrape down bowl, cover, and chill overnight.
powdered sugar	Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in confectioner's sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Source: my grandma

Made for Sarah's birthday in 2023. Makes 3½ dozen.

Ingredients	Step
	Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
3¼ c. flour 1½ c. sugar 1 T. baking powder ¼ c. cocoa powder 1¼ t. black pepper, fresh ground 1½ t. cinnamon ¼ t. clove ½ t. salt	Sift together.
¾ c. shortening	Work in the shortening (aim for coarse cornmeal texture).
½+ c. milk ⅔ c. walnuts, chopped	Add milk and nuts. Mix by hand until well-blended. If necessary, add a bit more milk so the dough holds together.
	Pinch off 1-inch pieces of dough and roll them into balls. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until firm.
1½ c. powdered sugar, sifted 3 T. milk 1 t. rum extract	Beat until smooth for a thin frosting (while the cookies bake). Add a wee bit more milk if necessary.
sprinkles	Let cookies cool on racks only until warm. Dip tops into icing, then sprinkle with colored sprinkles. Let the frosting dry completely, then layer the cookies between wax paper to store.