Dutch Letter Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F (175 degrees C).
• Cream together the butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to sugar mixture and mix well, being careful not to over mix.
• Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten each with the tines of a fork (dip fork into small bowl of water so that dough doesn't stick to fork). Do this once or twice, depending on the size of cookie and fork.
• Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. After each pan is removed from oven, carefully place 5 or 6 chocolate chips on top of each cookie while they are still hot. When chocolate is glossy and soft, spread with knife.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Cut in chilled butter until the texture of the mix is mealy with pea sized lumps.
• Add ice water gradually while stirring with a wooden spoon until dough forms a ball. Cover your dough and chill for 1/2 hour.
• To make filling, in a small bowl, mix together the almond paste and sugar. Add the egg and mix well.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C ).
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness, making as square as possible. Cut the dough into strips 6 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide (about the width of a ruler). Using a pastry bag or a strong plastic bag with a small hole cut from the corner, pipe almond filling down the center of the strip starting halfway down. Fold the top half of the strip down over the almond filling to match the bottom.
• Shape strips into desired letters, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. If you are using all butter in your recipe, check after 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-in. round cookie cutter. Place half of the circles 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Crumble 1/2 teaspoon almond paste over each; top with remaining circles. Pinch edges to seal., Cut a small slit in top of each cookie. Brush with egg white. Press an almond in each slit. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a mixer, combine ingredients and blend well. Spread in 9X13 in pan. Brush with egg whites, sprinkle with sliced almonds and coarse sugar.
• Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Do not over bake.

Steps:

• Dough: Mix butter and flour.
• Stir in water and mix to form dough.
• Chill overnight.
• Filling: Beat almond paste until smooth. Add eggs, sugar and vanilla; mix well.
• Chill overnight.
• Assembly: Divide dough and filling into 14 equal parts.
• Roll 1 piece of dough into a 14x4&1/2-inch strip, then take 1 part of almond filling and spread it down the center of dough strip.
• Lap one side of dough over the filling, then the other side and pinch seam shut from end to end.
• Shape into an "S" shape and place on greased cookie sheet with seam on bottom.
• Brush tops with beaten egg whites and sprinkle with sugar; prick with fork every 2-inches or so to allow steam to escape.
• Repeat with rest of dough and filling.
• Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes.
• *These can be made and frozen before or after baking.