The board site was down for quite a while, but it's back up (ew - I DON'T like it. Why do they always have to "fix" something that "ain't" broke? Anyway, here are recipes for 7 eggless cookies that are really delicious.
1. CHERRY DREAMS
1 c. real butter
3/4 c. confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour pinch salt
Maraschino cherries, well drained
Thin chocolate icing for drizzling.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Thoroughly mix butter, sugar and vanilla. Add flour and salt.
Using level tablespoonsful of dough, form into a ball and place on sheet. Press 1/2 cherry on top. With fingers, form dough around cherry, leaving top of cherry showing.
Bake 10 min. @ 400 degrees. Cookies will not spread and should not brown except maybe a little around edges. Remove cookies from sheet and cool on a rack.
When cool, drizzle with a thin chocolate icing.
2. EZ DOES IT RASPBERRY BARS
1 (2-layer) yellow cake mix
1 1/2 c. quick-cooking oatmeal
3/4 c margarine, melted
12-ounce jar raspberry jam mixed with 1 Tbls. water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease 9 x 12 baking pan.
Combine dry cake mix, dry oatmeal and melted margarine. Mixture will be crumbly. Remove 1 cup crumbs and set aside.
Place rest of crumbs in greased pan, and press and flatten with your hands. Spread with jam. Sprinkle with reserved 1 cup crumbs.
Bake for about 25 min. (no longer than 30 min. or edges may get hard). Cool, cut into squares or bars.
OR, YOU MAY:
Use apricot jam or filling. Sprinkle with 1 cup choc. chips. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs, bake and cool as above. If desired,
melt about 3-4 ounces choc. chips and drizzle over the top. When choc. drizzle is firm, cut as above.
3. MELTING MOMENTS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cornstarch (yes, 1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. confectioner's sugar
1 c. unsalted butter (no substitutes), at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Mix until all is well incorporated. Cover and refrigerate dough for until 1 hour or until firm.
Form dough into 1" balls and place 1" apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes until edges of cookies start to brown. Cookies will not spread.
While still very warm, roll cookies in confectioner's sugar, (be careful - they are very fragile and can crumble easily when warm), then cool completely. By this time the sugar will have become sticky. Roll again in conf. sugar. Cookies will no longer be sticky and will look like snowballs and the cornstarch in the dough will make them just melt in your mouth!
4. RUSSIAN TEACAKES (Mexican Wedding Cookies, Snowballs)
1 cup real butter
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup FINELY chopped nuts (I use walnuts)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Combine butter, sugar and vanilla. Combine flour and salt. Blend in. Mix in nuts and chill dough about an hour.
Roll dough in 1" balls. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set but not brown. While warm, roll in confectioner's sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again.
NOTE: Some people like to wrap the dough around a maraschine cherry. This makes the cookie too sweet for me, but it is an individual choice, and does provide a nice little surprise when you bite into it.
This cookie IS similar to Melting Moments above, but not having cornstarch changes the texture a little and the addition of nuts does change the flavor. Both are delicious.
5. DATE BARS (or Apricot or Pineapple or Jam Bars)
3/4 cup shortening (part butter or margarine)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an oblong pan 9 x 12.
Mix shortening and sugar thoroughly. Stir flour, soda and salt together and blend in. Mix in oats.
Press and flatten half of mixture over bottom of greased pan. Spread with 1 cup fruit filling of your choice or jam of your choice.
(My favorite is pineapple or apricot filling. It adds a little tartness and is really good. I think commercial jams are too sweet, but that's just me.) Top with remaining crumb mixture, patting down lightly.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. While warm, cut in bars and remove from pan.
IF YOU WANT THE RECIPES FOR FRUIT FILLINGS, JUST LET ME KNOW.
6. VIENNESE SHORTBREAD (a special-occasion cookie, just luscious)
1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
Powdered Sugar Icing of your flavor choice
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Blend flour and baking power and stir in.
Using a medium star design in a cookie press, press out strips 3" long on baking sheet. (If dough does not come through smoothly, add 1-2 tsp. cream.) Bake about 7 minutes or until very lightly browned on edges. Cool.
Put 2 cookies together with a powdered sugar icing of your flavor choice.
This recipe calls for a coffee flavored filling which complements the cookie deliciously:
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
2 Tbls. soft butter
1 tsp. powdered instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp. boiling water.
Blend until fluffy. If too dry, add a few drops of water.
For a fancier cookie, the ends of cookies may be dipped into melted sweet chocolate.
7. FRENCH LACE COOKIES
(The thin batter is transformed in baking into a crisp round with open spaces resembling lace. They have a rich, nutty, butterscotchy flavor.)
1 cup flour
1 cup finely chopped nuts
1/2 cup corn syrup (Karo)
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Blend flour and nuts and set aside.
Bring shortening, corn syrup and sugar to boil in saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in flour and nuts.
Drop batter by level teaspoonfuls about 3" apart on prepared baking sheet. (Cookies really spread.) Bake only 8 or 9 cookies at a time. Bake 5-6 minutes. Cookies will be actively bubbling all over and as the bubbles break, will form the "lace". Remove from oven . Allow to stand 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.
OK, there you go. I hope you try some of them. They are all really good. If you have any questions, let me know.
Happy baking!
Carol