West Hill House Bed and Breakfast
Warren, Vermont
Innkeeper Comments: "It's named in honor of a neighbor in Maplewood, New Jersey, who shared an old German family recipe.
"I have tried a number of cookie presses, including mechanized and electric shooters. The best I've found is an inexpensive screw-type press, with a fairly sizeable container (6-by-3-inch) for the dough. The secret is in using a cold cookie pan, so the dough sticks a bit and comes free from the press."
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 pound butter
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons flavoring (I use half vanilla, half almond flavoring)
- 5 cups flour
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Mix all ingredients well. You'll be best off with a heavy-duty mixer. If one isn't available, you'll have to get into it with your hands, as this is a very stiff dough.
Put through a cookie press, using Christmas designs -- stars, trees, ribbons, etc. I use the disc which makes a 1/2 rope to make wreaths, candy cane shapes and sticks, which I dip in melted chocolate chips and then into nonpareils or sprinkles after baking. Colored sugars and cinnamon candies can be used to decorate the cookies before baking.
Bake on ungreased cookie pans for 8 to 10 minutes, until just golden.
These cookies keep well in an airtight container -- if they haven't been eaten up immediately.
