Christmas and Cookies go Together: Christmas sugar cookies, lemon cookies, farmers cookies

Christmas and Cookies go together

CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES
Cukriniai sausainiai

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 12 oz. package (1-3/4 cups) semi-sweet chocolate baking bits OR
1 12 oz. package (1-3/4) milk chocolate baking bits granulated sugar as needed

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; ad d to creamed mixture just until blended. Stir in chocolate baking bits. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on greased cookie sheets about two inches apart. With bottom of glass dipped in sugar, flatten dough very slightly so as not to crush baking bits. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are slightly golden; let cool one minute before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Store in tightly covered container. Makes about four dozen cookies.

LEMON COOKIES
Citrininiai sausainiai

1 lemon
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for dipping
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Peel the zest (the yellow part of the rind) from the lemon and chop fine. Squeeze lem on and set juice aside. In a bowl, beat butter and 3/ė cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, lemon zest and 2 tsp. lemon juice. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Refrigerate dough until chilled. Roll dough into balls the size of a small apricot. Dip in sugar, place on greased cookie sheets and flatten slightly. Bake in a preheated 350° oven about 12 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Let cool on wire rack.

“MUSHROOM ” COOKIES
“Grybai”

1 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
4 Tbsp. burnt sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
5 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. each lemon rind, orange rind, cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger, cloves
1/8 tsp. each nutmeg, cardamom

Icing:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 Tbsp. cold water
10 drops vinegar

Heat honey. Add sugar, butter, eggs and cream, alternately with sifted flour and soda. Stir well. Add grated rind and spices. Knead until smooth. Divide dough in half. Form small pieces of half the dough into various sized mushroom caps, rounded on top, flat on bottom, making an indentation with fingertip in flat side for insertion of “stem”. Place flat side down on cookie sheet. Form stems by making several rolls of various thicknesses to correspond to mushroom caps, cut about 1 to 1 1/2 inches long. Wrap each stem in brown paper, leaving ends open. Place on cookie sheet, lapped side of paper down. Bake caps and stems at 350° for about 10 minutes or until brown. Cool. Enlarge mushroom cap indentation with knife tip. Dip one end of stem into icing, fit into indentation. Allow to set. Ice flat side of caps and stems with white icing. Sprinkle several poppy seeds around bottom of stem. Ice m ushroom tops with chocolate icing.

Icing: Boil together sugar and water until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat, sprinkle with cold water. Add vinegar. Cool. Beat until white. Add chocolate or cocoa to half the recipe.

FARMERS COOKIES
Ukiški sausainiai

1 cup raisins
1/2 cup water
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup nuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Bring to boil raisins and water. Cool. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and raisins. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and add to above mixture. Stir in oatmeal, nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonful on baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes.