DAY 15

COOKIES

by Joanne Ende, EagleBurgmann

Birthdays, weddings, Christmas, Thanksgiving - Joanne Ende of EagleBurgmann in the USA has made cookies for every occasion. Her love for baking started already when she was a child, passed on from her mother, who let her take over the kitchen to bake as long as Joanne cleaned up afterwards. When Joanne's children were young, they spent a lot of time at the library. Whilst her children would take home picture books and records, she would opt for cookbooks. There she found the recipe for her cut-out cookies and has since perfected it to create these little pieces of art. Joanne even told us the "secret ingredient". According to her, fresh ground nutmeg makes all the difference!

Ingredients:

Cookie Dough:

2 sticks of butter or 1 cup
1 ½ cup of sugar
1 tsp. of real vanilla extract
1 tsp. of salt
2 tsp. of cream of tartar
1 tsp. of baking soda
½ -1 tsp. of fresh ground nutmeg
3 ½ cups of flour
2 eggs

Frosting / Glaze:

2 tbsp. of Wilton Meringue Powder or egg whites
2 pounds of confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. of clear vanilla
water
food coloring

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 375° F.

Cream butter and sugar, add fresh nutmeg. Then add eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture (not whipped and smooth; you want bits of butter to make the cookies flaky).

Mix the dry ingredients separately and add them slowly to the wet mixture.

Roll out and cut into your favorite cookie shapes. Bake for about 12-15 mins until golden but not brown. Leave the cookies to cool on wire racks.

Wisk together ½ bag of sugar, meringue powder or egg whites, clear vanilla, and water to create the glaze. Add the remaining sugar as needed to create a smooth syrup consistency. Add food coloring of your choice – a small drip at a time.

Spread the glaze over the cooled cookies using the back of a spoon. Let them dry on wire cookie racks with wax paper lining underneath to catch dripping.

Download the recipe