Spritz Stix Pepperkakor Coffee Swedish Spice Orange Pecan Food

SPRITZ STIX (PEPPERKAKOR, COFFEE, SWEDISH SPICE, ORANGE PECAN...

Steps:

• Cream together all ingredients except flour.
• Blend in flour.
• Divide dough in half.
• Spread each half with floured fingers or spatula to a 12x10" rectangle on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Run floured fork tines over top to make"spritz" marks.
• Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until delicately browned.
• Cut immediately into 3x1" sticks.
• Remove from cookie sheet.
• Chocolate Spritz:.
• Increase sugar to 1 cup total and add 2 oz.
• unsweetened chocolate in the first step.
• Don't overbake.
• Butterscotch Spritz:.
• Substitute brown sugar for white (only change).
• Orange Pecan Spritz:.
• Add 2 tbsp orange peel and 1/2 cup pecans when you add the flour.
• Swedish Spice Spritz:.
• Add 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp cardamom in the first step.
• Coffee Spritz:.
• Add 1 tbsp instant coffee and 1/4 cup pecans, if desired, with the sugar.
• Pepperkakor Spritz:.
• Omit the egg, and add 1/4 cup light molasses, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cloves and 1/2 tsp ginger with the sugar.

SWEDISH SPRITZ (SPRITSKRANSAR)

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar very well.
• Add egg yolk and extract.
• Stir in almonds and flour a little at a time until dough is smooth and not too firm.
• Shape with a cookie press into rings or "S" shapes on buttered cookie sheets.
• Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes till golden yellow in color.
• Let cookies cool on sheet.

ORANGE PECANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300ºF.
• Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Add orange peel, cinnamon, coriander, cloves and cayenne and stir until aromatic, about 30 seconds.
• Add pecans, then sugar and salt and stir to coat evenly. Transfer nut mixture to baking sheet.
• Bake until nuts are toasted, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature).

PEPPARKAKOR (SWEDISH GINGER COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
• In a small saucepan over moderate heat, warm the corn syrup and orange zest. Add the butter and sugar and continue warming, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Add the egg and whisk to combine. Pour over the flour mixture and stir to combine. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in a double layer of plastic wrap, and chill overnight.
• Arrange racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with nonstick baking mats, such as Silpats, or parchment paper.
• Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out a portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into desired shapes, such as circles, stars, hearts, bells, gingerbread men, and Christmas trees. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with the pearl sugar. Bake, switching the cookies between the upper and lower racks and rotating the baking sheets about halfway through baking, until the edges are just beginning to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Watch the cookies carefully to make sure they don't get too brown.
• Let the cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to let cool completely. Continue rolling and cutting out the rest of the cookie dough and baking the cookies on cooled baking sheets. DO AHEAD: Pepparkakor can be baked ahead and kept, stored between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container, for up to 2 weeks, or frozen up to 1 month.

SPICED ORANGE PECANS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the egg whites and orange juice.
• Add pecan halves and toss to coat; drain well.
• In another large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.
• Add pecans halves and toss to coat.
• Spread in a single layer in a greased 15" x 10" baking pan.
• Bake at 250 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until dry and lightly browned.
• Cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container.
• Yield: 5 cups.

ORANGE PECAN GEM COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease baking sheets.
• Combine cake mix, yogurt, egg, butter, and chopped pecans in a large bowl.
• Beat at low speed with electric mixer until blended.
• Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, on prepared baking sheets.
• Press a pecan half into the center of each cookie.
• Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Cool for 1 minute on baking sheets, then remove to cooling racks and cool completely.
• Store in airtight container. Makes 4 1/2 - 5 dozen cookies.

TRADITIONAL SWEDISH PEPPARKAKOR

Steps:

• Sift the flour together with the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom in a mixing bowl.
• Beat the butter together with the white and brown sugars in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and corn syrup until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until evenly blended. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and wrap tightly each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
• Using 1 portion at a time, work on a floured surface and roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutter, and place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven until set, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered tins.

SWEDISH PECANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
• Place stick of butter on cookie sheet, place in oven to melt butter.
• In mixing bown combine egg whites and vanilla, beat until foamy.
• Add dash of salt and sugar, mix well until thick, but not stiff.
• Fold in pecans.
• Remove cookie sheet from oven and spread pecan mixture on sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove and turn pecans over.
• Return to oven for additional 30 minutes, remove every 10 minutes to stir or turn over.
• Pecans will be nearly "dry" when complete.
• Allow to cool and remove from pan.
• Store in air tight container.

GRANDMA WENDT'S ALMOND SPRITZ COOKIE RECIPE

Steps:

• The directions for this recipe are for using the poinsettia shape disk.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Mix butter and sugar.
• Mix in remaining ingredients. This is the critical moment for this cookie; if it feels too tacky add 1/8-1/4 cup of additional flour.
• Refrigerate for 10 minutes or so (I usually make a double batch, and refrigerate the first batch while I am mixing the second batch.).
• Fill the press with dough and press onto ungreased cookie sheet. (I can usually put 24 on a large sheet; they don't spread much).
• Sprinkle each cookie with colored sugar. (My Mom used to place a cinnamon dot into the center of each cookie, but I skip that).
• Bake for 7 minutes; remove from pan to cool. (You may need to adjust this depending on your oven).