Yes, I write about Riderwood a lot. That's because I'm impressed. It’s not a nursing home but a place to retire to. I lost a leg about four years ago, and here I am not housebound. I work in the church and other programs, I go to the supermarket by a bus that can load me in my chair, and all my medical needs are here. Also, my children do not need to worry that I'll move in with them and be a burden.
Last month, I wrote about the easiest pie ever: pour liquid into a shell from the store and walk away for an hour. Cutout Christmas Cookies are this month’s recipe. Everyone thinks they have the best recipe for them, but mine is better. So if you been thinking about a new one, here it is.
Before we begin, I want to tell you about butter. We buy butter from the store, and it is yellowish. Butter is supposed to be pale white, white as printer paper; it turns yellow with age. Age also gives it more flavor. I once worked in the field of croissants. In New York, there is a company that made the best-tasting croissants of any in NY. Its secret was it never used butter that wasn't at least one year old and bright yellow. So my tip for you is to purchase your butter now for the holidays and then just put it in the vegetable bin and forget it. If you find butter on sale, it will be yellow. Great. Ok, here we go.
In a medium bowl, place 2/3 cup of sugar.
Add one stick of butter.
Cream the mixture well with a hand mixer.
Stir in one egg.
Add flavor: I like almond, but rum or vanilla is also good.
Add 1 cup flour (any you have).
Stir until it is a stiff mass.
In class, we would roll it out on a flowered tea towel, very thin, about a 1/4 inch.
Use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes.
Spritz the dough with water to make the colored sugar stick. Add the colored sugar.
Bake them until the edges are slightly brown, about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
You can find this recipe and more on the web at www.bakerbill.net. Click on recipes.
Next month the recipe will be my fruitcake. I had a good following last year, but many of you could not find the fruit. I went to Giant in Calverton on the bus and spoke to the produce manager. He said he would carry the fruit again this year. If you can't find it, ask!
Baker Bill AKA Bill Raulin
bill@bakerbill.net