Holiday Spice Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream butter and sugars until fluffy.
Add eggs and beat together.
Add dry ingredients until dough forms.
If too dry to form, add a tablespoon or two of cream (or milk).
Divide into two parts, form a ball and flatten to a thick disk and wrap in wax paper. Chill in fridge for a few hours or until you want to bake.
(You can also wrap again in tin foil and keep in freezer until you want to bake.)
Preheat oven to 350 deg.
Use flour and roll out dough to about 1/8 inch and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Transfer to baking sheets and bake for 8-10 min until cookies are firm to the touch and lightly brown around the edges.
Cookies are great on their own. They can be rolled out thinner, and baked for a shorter time and crispy. I make small snowflake cookies and don't ice them. Of I make shapes and frost them with Royal Icing.
Royal Icing
2 egg whites
1 pound icing sugar
Beat egg whites until foamy but still wet
Add sugar and beat on low speed until mixed.
Increase speed and beat for 5 minutes until icing forms peaks and looks like marshmallow. If too stiff, add water, a couple,of drops at a time.
Tips: I often halve then icing recipe (1 egg white, 2 cups icing sugar) since it makes plenty. I put a zip lock Baggie in a cup, and put the icing in the bag. Seal the bag, and snip off one corner. (Do a small snip. You can always make a bigger hole if your first one is too small.)
Lay cookies out on wax paper, and decorate with the icing. Let 'cure' until hard (overnight). This recipe makes a lot of cookies, and they have a 2 week life, if they last that long!
