Star and Moon Cookies

I made these star and moon cookies, because I was experimenting with a different kind of icing. I added some corn syrup to the royal icing for a shiny finish. It turned out shiny, but took a little longer to completely harden.

Maple Crisps

These delicate maple crisps were quite simple to make, but I definitely have to remember to space them far enough apart next time. They spread and flattened out more than I thought they could, so some of them ended up sticking together at the sides. Either way, they were fun to eat!

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. maple syrup

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

5 tbsp. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, maple syrup and brown sugar.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and mix in flour and cinnamon.

Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. (3-4 inches apart)

Bake for about 5 minutes.

Place the cookie sheets onto wire racks to allow the crisps to cool.

Remove maple crisps by hand and enjoy!

Almond Cookie

One of my favorite cookies is the almond cookie. I often purchase these from the local bakery, but have never tried making them before. I was at a birthday party last weekend and they served miniature almond cookies along with other sweet treats for dessert. Eating those little almond cookies made me want to try making my own as they were a little different from the ones I have had before. They were crumbly as usual, but the flavor was a little different.

Maybe one of these days I will attempt to make my own and see how they turn out. If anyone has a good almond cookie recipe, please share!

Cinnamon and Sugar Biscuits

I made these mini cinnamon and sugar biscuits for my parents, because they love to have little treats with their after dinner tea. They are crunchy with a nice cinnamon and sugar coating.


Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla


Instructions:


In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Put aside.


Cream together the butter and the sugars.


Beat in the egg and vanilla.


Gradually mix in the flour mixture.


Once the dough is formed, roll it into a ball.


Form 1 inch round balls from the original ball of dough.


Place each 1 inch ball onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them 2 inches apart.


Flatten each ball out to 1/4 inch thick using a fork.


*I rolled out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and cut out 1 1/2 inch shapes. This was more time consuming, but if you like to make cookie shapes, you can use this method as well.


In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.


Sprinkle each cookie with some of the cinnamon and sugar mix.


Bake the cookies at 325 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.


Allow them to cool on wire racks.