“Way More Fun Than Cut-Out Cookies!”
That’s what my son said to me as we made the latest cookie to cross our kitchen counter. I had decided to make cookies, but I wanted something more interactive for my son than dumping a few ingredients in a bowl. I wanted hands on, with delicious final results. My first thought, of course, had been a cut-out cookie. With dozens of shapes to choose from, and the obligatory icing and sprinkles to follow, they are usually our cookie of choice. Until we tried these new cookies.
My son calls them Squiggles, and I think his name is more than appropriate. I mixed together the dough in just a few minutes, and then it went into the fridge to chill for a few hours. We then spent some time playing a few games and getting a few odds and ends done, and then I called Zander to the kitchen. He stood on his stool at the counter and watched me roll the first cookie into a long snake, and then bend that snake into a Z. He lit up instantly and asked if he could make the next cookie.
This dough is very easy to work with, and we didn’t find it sticky in the least. I made several letters from the alphabet, and tried my hand at a few butterflies, apples, and snakes, while Zander made more free-form shapes. He dubbed them Squiggles, and once we were done shaping, I brushed the cookies with a glaze made from an egg white, sugar and vanilla, and then gave them a final gilding of some colored sugars. Fifteen minutes later we had delicious Squiggle shaped cookies. These cookies are so easy to make, and so fun that I could easily see this as being the perfect activity for a child’s birthday party. The dough is very forgiving and lightly sweet without being cloying. They’re definitely a new favorite here in our house!
Squiggles
1/2 cup butter — at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 whole egg
1 whole egg — separated
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
colored sugars for decorating — optional
Beat the butter, sugar, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla together in a mixing bowl. Reserve the remaining egg white for glaze.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix well until the dough comes together. It will be a fairly stiff dough.
Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap and chill for about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Pinch off walnut sized pieces of dough, roll them into 1/4-inch diameter logs and shape as desired. Place cookie shapes onto a greased baking sheet
In a small bowl, beat together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, egg white, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until thick and frothy. Using a paintbrush, brush the tops of the cookies with the egg white glaze. Sprinkle with colored sugars if desired.
Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove cookies from cookie sheets to cooling racks to cool completely.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 62 Calories; 3g Fat (41.3% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 17mg Cholesterol; 76mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
