SWEDISH DREAMS COOKIES

SWEDISH DREAMS COOKIES image

Yield 4 dozen

Number Of Ingredients 9

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1 c sugar
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 t salt*
2 t vanilla extract
1 t orange or lemon extract, optional
2 c flour
1/2 t baker's ammonia
coarse sparkling sugar or sugar decorations, for topping
*If you use salted butter, reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. Place the different sugar decorations you're using into separate small bowls. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, salt, vanilla, and orange or lemon extract. Add the flour and baker's ammonia, and beat until the dough comes together, scraping the bowl once; it'll seem quite dry at first, but keep beating, eventually it'll become chunky and cohesive. Scoop the dough by teaspoonfuls (a teaspoon cookie scoop works wonderfully well here) into the bowls of decorations. Roll the dough balls in the sugar to coat. Put them on the prepared baking sheets, and use the bottom of a glass, dipped in sugar if necessary to prevent sticking, to flatten the balls to about 1/4-inch thick. Bake the cookies for about 20 to 25 minutes, until they're a very light golden brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool.