This is a cookie I used to bake for my children quite often when they were growing up. I used to try to have some kind of a treat waiting for them every day when they got home from school. Funny enough I never saw myself as a baker, more of a savoury cook, but when I look back I can clearly see that I did both with an equal passion.
My original recipe for Amish Sugar Cookies makes a lot of cookies, which is great when you have five hungry children snapping at your heels, but not so great when you are staring at an empty nest.
That doesn't mean however that we can't still enjoy these delicious treats that we used to bake for our families, and yes . . . I did enjoy them as well. I am on a quest to try to small batch as many of my old favourites as I can. Smaller recipes to suit the smaller household. It just makes sense and it means there is far less temptation laying around and actually a bit less waste as well.
This is a great recipe. I actually won a ribbon at the county fair back home one year with them, so you know these are really good cookies. You can leave them plain, or you can glaze them if you like.
There used to be these cookies that we could get from Ben's Bakery back home that were like a thick sugar cookie with jam in the centres. I used to love them. They were my favourite, but I have never had a recipe to make my own. Today I added some jam to the centres of some of these to see if they might be similar . . .
Although they were very good, they were not the same, so I am still on my quest. I strongly suspect the difference is that those ones are made with shortening. These are all butter . . .
You can leave them plain of course, but a simple glaze is a great way to dress them up just a bit, with a few sprinkles.
There is no need to go crazy. Children love sprinkles, even the big children. 😉 Not naming any names.
If you do decide to do some with jam in the middle don't go crazy. You only need a tiny bit. I just pushed my index finger into each cookie I was adding jam to making a small identation . . . and then added about 1/3 tsp of my favourite strawberry jam . . . yes, Bonne Maman.
Not quite the traditional Amish Sugar Cookie, but then again I am quite fond of breaking barriers and stretching the realms of possibility . . .
I even glazed a few of the ones with jam in the middle just to see how it would work. It worked rather well actually . . .
In any case these worked out really well. You get about 2 1/2 dozen which is still a lot!
As with any cookie they go very well with an ice cold glass of milk, or a hot cuppa!
Petunia approves 100%!!
Small Batch Amish Sugar Cookies
Yield: Makes 2 1/2 Dozen
Easy to make, old fashioned and delicious. A smaller batch for the smaller family.
Ingredients:
For the Cookies:
- 120g butter softened (1/2 cup)
- 120ml vegetable oil (1/2 cup)
- 95g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
- 65g icing sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1 large free range egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
- 315g plain flour (2 1/4 cups all purpose flour)
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
For optional Glaze:
- 130g icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
- few drops vanilla
- warm water to thin
- cake decorating sprinkles
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line several baking sheets with baking paper. Set aside.
- Beat the butter, oil and both sugars together until well blended. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Sift the flour, soda and cream of tartar together and then stir this into the creamed mixture a bit at a time until well combined.
- Drop by walnut sized balls onto the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly brown around the edges.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the glaze whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the glaze allowing any excess to run off. Sprinkle with the sprinkles and allow to set.
- For optional jam sugar cookies, using your forefinger make a dip in the centre of the cookies prior to baking and fill with 1/3 teaspoon of your favourite jam. Bake as above.
These cookies are simple to make and they literally melt in your mouth. I highly recommend!
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