Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume IV Part 27

1/2 c. shortening 1 c. sugar 1 egg 1-3/4 c. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1 egg white Blanched almonds

Cream the shortening and add the sugar and the egg. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, and add these to the mixture. Fold in the beaten egg white. Roll as thin as possible and cut. Split blanched almonds, and after putting the cookies on the cooky sheet, place several halves of almonds in any desirable position on the cookies. Bake in a quick oven until light brown.

HIGHLAND DAINTIES (Sufficient for 3 Dozen Cookies)

2 c. flour 1/2 c. brown sugar 3/4 c. b.u.t.ter 1 egg yolk

Mix and sift the flour and sugar and work in the b.u.t.ter with the fingers. Roll out about 1/3 inch thick and cut into any desirable shape with small cutters. Brush with the egg yolk to which has been added 1 teaspoonful of water. Bake in a slow oven until light brown.

FILLED COOKIES (Sufficient for 1-1/2 Dozen Cookies)

1 c. shortening 1 c. sugar 1 egg 1/2 c. milk 3 c. flour 3 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the shortening and add the sugar gradually. Next add the beaten egg and the milk. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together and add to the mixture. Add the vanilla. Roll very thin and cut into small round, square, or diamond shapes. Spread one cooky with the following filling, cover with a second, press the edges together, and bake in a quick oven.

FILLING FOR COOKIES

1 c. sugar 1 Tb. flour 1/2 c. boiling water 1-1/4 c. chopped raisins 3/4 c. nut meats

Mix the sugar and flour and stir them into the boiling water. Add the raisins and let cook until thick enough to spread on the cookies. Remove from the fire and add the nut meats. Cool slightly and spread. Figs or dates may be used in place of the raisins.

If it is not desired to prepare a filling for the cookies, jam makes a very good subst.i.tute.

SOUR-CREAM COOKIES (Sufficient for 3 Dozen Cookies)

1/2 c. b.u.t.ter 1 c. sugar 2 eggs 1/2 pt. thick sour cream 1/2 tsp. soda 1 tsp. baking powder 3-1/2 c. flour 1/2 tsp. lemon extract

Cream the b.u.t.ter and sugar, add the eggs, and beat thoroughly. Add the cream. Sift the soda, baking powder, and flour and add to the first mixture. Add the lemon extract, roll out thick, and sprinkle with sugar.

Cut with a round cutter, place on greased and floured tins, and bake.

KISSES AND MACAROONS

19. NATURE OF KISSES AND MACAROONS.--The varieties of small cakes known as kisses and macaroons are undoubtedly the daintiest ones that are made. Composed almost entirely of sugar, egg whites, and flavoring, they are very delicate in texture and are practically confections. Kisses do not contain any flour, but macaroons need a small amount of this ingredient and some varieties of them contain the yolks, as well as the whites, of eggs. Chopped or ground nuts, coconut, and various kinds of dried or candied fruits are added to these cakes to give them variety.

20. The mixtures of which these cakes are made are either dropped by spoonfuls or forced through a pastry bag into little mounds or rosettes on an inverted pan or a cooky sheet and then baked in a very slow oven.

An oven of this kind is necessary, for the mixtures must be practically dried out in the baking. _Meringues_, although made of a mixture similar to that used for kisses, are usually made in rather large, round, flat shapes, whereas kisses are smaller and are for the most part made in the shape of rosettes. Fig. 12 shows a plate of kisses ready to serve.

21. _Marguerites_, while not exactly the same as either kisses or macaroons, are given in this connection because the mixture used for them is similar to that for kisses. These, as shown in Fig. 13, are in reality saltines covered with a mixture of egg and sugar to which nuts, coconut, flavoring, etc. may be added for variety. After the sugar covering has been applied, the saltines are set in the oven and baked until slightly brown on top. This variety of small cakes, as well as kisses and meringues, is excellent for serving with afternoon tea, or with ice cream at a party that is to be very dainty.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 12]

22. RECIPES FOR KISSES AND MACAROONS.--One recipe for kisses, several recipes for macaroons, and directions for the preparation of marguerites follow. If meringues are desired, the recipe for kisses may be followed and the mixture then dropped by spoonfuls, instead of being forced through a pastry tube.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 13]

KISSES OR MERINGUES (Sufficient for 1 to 2 Dozen Cakes)

1/2 c. fine granulated sugar, or 1/2 c. and 2 Tb. powdered sugar 2 egg whites 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Fine granulated or powdered sugar may be used for these cakes. If powdered sugar is selected, a little more will be required than of granulated. Only fresh eggs should be employed. Separate them and beat the whites with an egg whip, beating slowly at first and more rapidly as the eggs grow stiff. When they have become very stiff, add a tablespoonful of the sugar and continue the beating. When this has been beaten thoroughly, add another tablespoonful, and continue to add sugar in small amounts and to beat until all has been worked in. Add the vanilla. Moisten with cold water a board that is about 1 inch thick, place over it some heavy white paper, and force the mixture through a pastry bag or drop by spoonfuls on the paper. Place the board containing the kisses in a very slow oven, one so slow that instead of baking the kisses it will really dry them. If the oven is too warm, open the oven door slightly to prevent the temperature from rising too high. Bake until the kisses are dry and then remove them from the oven.

If desired, the inside of the meringues, which is soft, may be removed and the sh.e.l.l filled with a filling of some kind. Plain whipped cream or whipped cream to which fresh strawberries and sugar are added makes an excellent filling for this purpose. In fact, meringues filled and garnished with whipped cream make a very delightful dessert.

PECAN MACAROONS (Sufficient for 1-1/2 Dozen Cakes)

1 egg white 1 c. brown sugar 1 c. pecan meats 1/4 tsp. salt

Beat the egg white until stiff and add the sugar gradually, beating constantly. Fold in the nut meats, add the salt, and then drop from the tip of a spoon 1 or 2 inches apart on a cooky sheet covered with b.u.t.tered paper. Bake in a moderate oven until delicately browned.

ALMOND MACAROONS (Sufficient for 1-1/2 Dozen Cakes)

1/2 lb. almonds 1 c. powdered sugar 2 egg whites

Blanch the almonds and force them through a food chopper. Mix the ground almonds and powdered sugar, and gradually add the beaten egg whites until a mixture of the consistency of a stiff dough is formed. Force through a pastry bag or drop with a spoon on a cooky sheet covered with b.u.t.tered paper. The macaroon mixture spreads during the baking, so s.p.a.ce will have to be left between the cakes. Bake in a very slow oven. After removing from the oven, cover for a few minutes with a moist cloth in order to loosen the macaroons.

COCONUT MACAROONS (Sufficient for 1-1/2 Dozen Cakes)

1 c. powdered sugar 1 c. shredded coconut 2 egg whites

Mix the sugar and coconut. Beat the egg whites and fold into the coconut and sugar. Drop by spoonfuls on a cooky sheet covered with waxed paper and bake in a slow oven.

OATMEAL-FRUIT MACAROONS (Sufficient for 3 Dozen Cakes)

2 eggs 1/2 c. sugar 1/4 c. corn sirup 1 Tb. melted shortening 1/2 c. raisins, cut in small pieces 2-1/2 c. rolled oats 1/2 tsp. salt

Beat the eggs, add the sugar, sirup, and shortening. Fold in the fruit, rolled oats, and salt. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cooky sheet and bake in a moderate oven.

MARGUERITES (Sufficient for 3 Dozen Cakes)

3/4 c. sugar 1/3 c. water 1 egg white 1/4 c. shredded coconut 1/4 c. chopped nuts

Cook the sugar and water until it forms a hard ball when tested in cold water or threads from a spoon. Beat the egg white until stiff, pour the hot sirup into it, and continue beating until the mixture is stiff enough not to run. Add the coconut and chopped nuts and spread a thick layer on saltines. Place in a moderate oven and bake until slightly browned.

LADYFINGERS AND SPONGE DROPS

23. The mixture used for ladyfingers is in reality a sponge-cake mixture, but it is baked in a certain oblong shape known as a ladyfinger shape. Shallow pans that will bake the mixture in the required shape can be purchased, but these need not be secured, for much more satisfactory results can be obtained with a pastry bag and tube after a little practice. The same mixture may be dropped by spoonfuls and baked in small round cakes known as sponge drops. Both ladyfingers and sponge drops, after being baked, are put together in twos by means of a simple sugar icing. Care should be exercised in their baking to prevent them from burning.

Small cakes of these varieties are very satisfactory to serve with a rich gelatine or cream dessert. Then, again, such cakes, especially ladyfingers, are sometimes molded into a frozen dessert or placed in a mold in which a gelatine dessert is solidified. Often they are served with sweetened and flavored whipped cream; in fact, no matter how stale or fresh they may be, they help to make very delicious desserts.

LADYFINGERS No. 1 (Sufficient for 1-1/2 Dozen Cakes)

3 egg whites 1/3 c. powdered sugar 2 egg yolks 1/4 tsp. vanilla 1/3 c. flour 1/8 tsp. salt

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 14]

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and dry. Add the sugar gradually and continue beating. Beat the two egg yolks until they are thick and lemon-colored and add them. Add the flavoring and fold in the flour mixed and sifted with the salt. Cover a cooky sheet with light wrapping paper that is perfectly smooth and marked into s.p.a.ces 4-1/2 in.