Nathan Family Butter Cookies Food

THE MOTHER OF ALL BUTTER COOKIES (WITH ENDLESS VARIATIONS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse once or twice. Add butter, and pulse 10 or 20 times, until butter and flour are well combined. Add vanilla and egg and pulse 3 or 4 times. Add about half the milk and pulse 2 or 3 times. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, pulsing once or twice after each addition, until the dough holds together in a sticky mass.
• Remove the dough from the machine to one or more bowls. Make cookies as described in Step 3, or make any of the variations below.
• To make cookies, drop rounded teaspoons of dough (you can make the cookies larger or smaller, if you like) onto a nonstick baking sheet, a sheet lined with parchment paper or a lightly buttered sheet. If you want flat cookies, press the balls down a bit with your fingers or the back of a spatula or wooden spoon. Bake 11 minutes, or until the cookies are done as you like them. Cool on a rack, then store, if necessary, in a covered container.
• VARIATIONS on the flavor of these butter cookies are limitless. Here are a few suggestions:.
• Butterscotch cookies: Substitute brown sugar for half or more of the white sugar, or simply add 1 tablespoon of molasses along with the egg.
• Citrus cookies: Omit the vanilla, and add 1 tablespoon of lemon or orange juice and 2 teaspoons grated lemon or orange rind along with the egg. A couple of tablespoons of poppy seeds can also be added.
• Chocolate chip cookies: Stir in about 1 cup of chocolate chips. (The butterscotch variation is good with chocolate chips.).
• Other chunky cookies: To the finished batter, add about 1 cup of M& M's (or similar candy), roughly chopped walnuts, pecans or cashews, slivered almonds, raisins, coconut, dried cherries or cranberries. Or combine any chunky ingredients you like.
• Ginger cookies: Add 1 tablespoon ground dried ginger to the dry ingredients. For even better flavor, add 1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger to the batter by hand (this works well in addition to or in place of the ground ginger).
• Spice cookies: Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon each ground allspice and ground ginger and 1 pinch ground cloves and mace or nutmeg to the dry ingredients.
• Or you can make rolled cookies by freezing the dough for 15 minutes or refrigerating it for at least 1 hour. Working half the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface; the dough will absorb some flour at first but will soon become less sticky. Do not add more flour than necessary. Roll about 1/4 inch thick, and cut with cookie cutters; decorate as you like. Bake as above, reducing the cooking time to 8 to 10 minutes.

AUNT LISL'S BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Then mix in the eggs, brandy, salt, vanilla, and flour. Let rest for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll out the dough to 1/8- inch thick. Preheat oven to 350 degree. You can either use cookie cutters or use the point of a toothpick like a knife to cut out cookies in any shapes you want. Once the cookies have been cut out, gently place them on the baking sheet. Then either brush them with egg yolk and sprinkle with nuts and raisins or brush with egg white and sprinkle with blue sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Use a metal spatula to gentle remove each cookie from the baking sheet to a cooling rack or flat plate.

PASSOVER BROWNIES GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE WHOLE YEAR (FLOURLESS)

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar together. Mix in the egg yolks.
• Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Cool and add to the butter mixture. Add the finely ground almonds or almond flour.
• Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff but not dry. Fold into the batter. Pour into a 9-inch square greased baking tin. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Cool and cut in squares.
• NOTE: Each 30 g of finely ground nuts equals about ¼ cup. One ounce = about 28 grams.

JOAN NATHAN'S CLASSIC CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300. Grease the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Melt the butter and combine with the graham cracker crumbs. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Save some crumbs.
• Combine the egg yolks, cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and flour. Beat very well until light and fluffy.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with the remaining graham cracker crumbs.
• Bake 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cake in the oven 1 additional hour. Then leave the oven door ajar 30 minutes more. (This prevents cracking).

AUNT LISL'S BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Child: In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Then mix in the eggs, brandy, salt, vanilla, and flour. Let rest for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
• Adult with Child: Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thick. Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Child: You can either use cookie cutters or use the point of a toothpick like a knife to cut out cookies in any shapes you want. Let your imagination run free; how about dreidels, Stars of David, candles with flames attached, the four Hebrew letters on the dreidel?
• Once you have cut out the cookies, gently place them on the baking sheet. Then either brush them with egg yolk and sprinkle with nuts and raisins or brush with egg white and sprinkle with blue sugar.
• Adult: Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Use a metal spatula to gently remove each cookie from the baking sheet to a cooling rack or flat plate.