Country Woman

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

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What makes these cookies so good? It’s in the name—plus vanilla, almond and a hint of nutmeg. —CHRISTY HINRICHS PARKVILLE, MO PREP: 30 MIN. + CHILLING BAKE: 10 MIN./BATCH + COOLING MAKES: 4 DOZEN 1 cup butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar

1 large egg yolk, room temperatur­e

¹ ₂ tsp. vanilla extract

¹₄ tsp. almond extract

2¹ ₄ cups all-purpose flour

¹ ₂ tsp. salt

¹₄ tsp. baking soda

¹ ₈ tsp. ground nutmeg ICING

3³ ₄ cups confection­ers’ sugar ¹ ₃ cup water

4 tsp. meringue powder Assorted colors of liquid food coloring

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and extracts. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and nutmeg; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerat­e for 3 hours or until easy to handle.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2 1/2-in. cookie cutters.

3. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° until edges begin to brown, 8-10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

4. For the icing, in a small bowl, combine the confection­ers’ sugar, water and meringue powder; beat on low speed just until combined. Beat on high until soft peaks form, 4 minutes. Cover the icing with damp paper towels or plastic wrap between uses.

5. Working quickly, spread or pipe the icing over cookies; let dry at room temperatur­e for several hours or until firm. Use small new paintbrush­es or toothpicks and food coloring to make designs on the cookies. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container. NOTE Meringue powder is available 1 COOKIE 116 cal., 5g fat (3g sat. fat), 16mg chol., 66mg sod., 18g carb. (13g sugars, 0g fiber), 1g pro.

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