High Altitude Thumbprint Cookies Food

HIGH ALTITUDE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Gradually stir in combined flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well.
• Roll heaping teaspoons of dough into 1-1/2-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. (If dough is too soft to roll into balls, refrigerate for 30 minutes.) Dip fork into sugar; press crisscross indentation on each ball, flattening only slightly. Bake 11 to 12 minutes. Let cookies stand on cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Remove cookies to wire rack; cool completely.
• Melt semisweet chocolate with 1-1/2 teaspoons shortening in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. Place melted chocolate in baggie and snip bottom corner to create a small opening. Squeeze slowly to decorate cookies with a dragonfly design or create your own design.
• Makes: about 2 to 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• For the shortcrust pastry, sift the flour and icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the vanilla sugar, lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it is incorporated and then mix in egg yolks. Knead everything into a compact smooth dough. Wrap the dough and chill it for 1 hour.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature for 10 minutes. Form the dough into a long roll and divide it into 60 equal portions. Form a small ball from each portion and place it on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment (you will need two or more sheets). Press a dip (for the jam) into each ball with the handle of a wooden spoon.
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Heat the jelly or jam in a saucepan until it melts. Use a teaspoon to fill the dips in the dough balls.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, then allow to cool completely. Finally, dust the cookies with some icing sugar. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for several weeks.

PIGNOLI COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Break apart the almond paste in the bowl of a food processor. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, salt and egg white and pulse until smooth. Scoop 1-tablespoon balls of dough directly into the pine nuts and gently roll them in the pine nuts, pressing gently to adhere. (The dough is soft but the pine nuts will help make it easier to handle.)
• Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned around the edges and puffed, 16 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool completely on the tray before removing them with an offset spatula.