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2-1/4 cups
all-purpose flour lightly sprinkled into
measuring cup
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1/2 cup sugar
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1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter or frozen
unsalted pareve margarine
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1 tablespoon water
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1 large egg
SIMPLE ICING:
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1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
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2 tablespoons skim milk, or water
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1 teaspoon clear imitation vanilla extract,
to keep icing white sprinkles, jimmies
(optional)
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food coloring
Preheat the oven to 350° F,
with racks in the middle and lower third of
the oven. Have two nonstick cookie sheets
available.
Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a food
processor bowl. Process for a few seconds to
mix the dry ingredients.
Cut the butter into 1/2-inch chunks and
scatter on top of the flour. Pulse-process
until the butter is cut into the flour so
that the mixture looks like coarse meal.
In a small bowl, combine the vanilla
extract, water, and egg. Whisk lightly to
blend. With the processor running, add the
egg mixture through the feed tube. Continue
to process until the dough just starts to
clump together. If the dough is too dry to
come together, add more water, 1 teaspoon at
a time. The dough won't ball up in the bowl,
but it should start to clump, and should
come into a ball with the heat of your hands
as you push it together. Wrap the dough in
plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough (I like to roll in a floured
jumbo zip top bag) to a scant 1/8 inch
thick. Cut with a dreidel-shaped cookie
cutter, and place on the cookie sheets. Bake
for 5 minutes, switch the cookie sheets top
to bottom, and bake another 4 to 7 minutes,
until the edges are just starting to brown.
Remove the cookies from the pan, and cool
them on a wire rack.
For the icing, sift the powdered sugar Into
a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk and vanilla
until smooth. The icing should be very thick
but thin enough to spread. If it is not thin
enough, add more milk by the 1/2 teaspoonful
until the icing is the right consistency.
Spread the cookies with icing (a small
decorating spatula works best). If you are
going to use sprinkles, sprinkle them on
while the icing is still wet so they will
stick well. If not using sprinkles, let the
icing dry. Add color to the remaining icing
(I like to use a rich blue) and paint on the
dreidel letters using a fine artist's brush.
For a great-looking accent, sprinkle small,
fine sprinkles, such as multicolored tiny
balls, on the wet lettering (larger
sprinkles, such as chocolate sticks, will
obscure the letters). If you prefer, the
dreidel letters can be painted on un-iced
cookies. In all cases, let the decorations
dry before storing the cookies.
Cookies can be made 1 day ahead, or
frozen for up to 3 months.
Makes about 50 cookies |
