Shortbread-Candied Ginger Cookies

 I love both shortbread and ginger.  This recipe is perfect to go along with tea or coffee.  They have just the right amount of sweetness and the ginger bits are delicious!  I'm a huge fan of using parchment paper to both roll out my cookies as well as bake on the parchment.  It just makes baking easier!  Enjoy.

Shortbread-Candied Ginger Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 Tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 275 F.

Beat softened butter until creamy, gradually adding the sugar, beat well then stir in vanilla.

Stir together the flour, ginger and salt and gradually add to the butter mixture.  Beat at low speed until blended after each addition.

Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and place dough on the surface (dough will be quite soft).  Roll out to 1/4"thick (I use parchment on top, too).  Cut out with a square 2" cookie cutter, placing each cut side by side.  Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment.  Re-roll scraps. 

Bake for 40 minutes until lightly browned on bottom.  Cool on cookie rack.  You should refrigerate 2nd batch until ready to bake. 
Makes 2 - 2 1/2 dozen cookies.  They freeze well.

Rose Gold & Ellen Gold Maine's Brown Sugar Spritz Cookies

Brown Sugar Spritz Cookies

My sister-in-law, Ellen and her Mom, Rose have made these cookies since Ellen was a child.  She and I made them last year while she and my brother Tom were visiting in Florida.  This year, El brought them along when she and Tom came for their annual visit, hooray!  They are delicious with tea or coffee, some of us have even been known to have them for breakfast!  Enjoy.

2 cups brown sugar
1 pound Crisco
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
4 - 4 3/4 cups of flour (amount varies with climate!)

Mix first 6 ingredients until well blended.  Add in flour until dough ball pulls away from sides of bowl (or it doesn't stick to your fingers).

Use cookie press to distribute cookies evenly on un-greased cookie sheet.

Bake cookies at 350 degrees until golden brown.  Makes:  12 dozen

Mom's "Good" Sugar Cookies

My sister, Bonnie, and I were discussing our sugar cookie recipe the other day & I commented that mine was called Mom's "Good" sugar cookies. She said hers was called the same thing. We wondered if this was opposed to our Mom's "lousy" sugar cookie recipe! When we asked Mom, she said she labeled it "Good" because it WAS good as opposed to the other recipes she'd tried that weren't so good! Bonnie has made this one with all butter and used 2 tsp. orange extract and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. She said they were a bit richer tasting than the original and that the orange extract added a "brightness" to the cookie. I'm sticking with it made my way! Either is great! The frosting is a wonderful buttercream, great on cakes and cupcakes as well as cookies. I keep leftover frosting in the refrigerator, it keeps well.

Cookie Dough:

1 cup shortening

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon milk

Cream the above & add:

3 - 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix well. Pat into a ball & chill at least an hour. Roll out & cut with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheet & bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Cool & frost. Makes about 4-5 dozen, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.

Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks butter, softened

4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon milk

pinch of salt

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, milk & salt in electric mixer until moistened. Increase speed & beat until creamy & fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes; scrape bow a few times. Frost & decorate cookies as desired.