Some years ago, I bought a couple of little cookie books for I'm sure a very, very cheap price and although I went through them and marked recipes, I never tried any of them !! I guess I just wanted to look at the pictures.....LOL
Years later as I was cleaning out and getting rid of things, I decided to let them go. Instead of donating them like I usually do, I went through them and tore out the pages I had marked...... and then put the pages in a box with many other recipes I've never tried.
I was looking for a different recipe a few weeks back and came across them. I pulled one or two out and tonight I decided to try this one. It was a good choice I thought, since it was a "cut-out" cookie recipe and I could make them in the shape of hearts to share for Valentine's Day.
Nutmeg is nearly my favorite spice these days. Cinnamon held the number one spot most my life and I still love all things cinnamon, but there is just something amazingly comforting to me about nutmeg.
Mace is a dried lacy coating of the nutmeg seed, so has some similar flavor, but is not as strong or sweet as nutmeg.
Although I haven't used mace much before, I still thought I might like these cookies. The recipe (at the bottom of this post) is pretty much like a sugar cookie of sorts with the mace added and made with butter instead of shortening. Can't go wrong with butter !
This afternoon I put the dough together and put it in the frig to chill till I got ready to make the cookies. I really enjoy making cut-out cookies.
After cutting and baking and letting the cookies cool, I put a light glaze on them and I also put a few sprinkles on some. I want to take some to Mom's tomorrow if the roads aren't too icy to go. We had an ice storm last night.... well.... the other side of the county where Mom lives did. Somewhere there was an invisible line between her house and mine and on my side.... no ice! She said her trees were white and laden with ice this morning and not much of it melted during today since the sun never came out. I was happy this morning when I got up and saw no ice..... only to find out later there are a lot of people without power not too far away from me ! I was living in my own little bubble for a while....LOL !
While I was going through my cookie cutter box to find the heart shaped cutter, I came across this wonky looking cutter I bought years back (and had also not used !).... As you can see, it is a heart shape with a.. a.... slit?.... so that you can hang the cookie on the side of your coffee mug or hot chocolate mug.... or whatever kind of mug you use. I decided to make a few of these too.
They were smaller than the hearts, so I just dipped them in the glaze that was left and threw a few sprinkles on some of them too.
I thought they looked quite adorable hanging on my pink mug. I decided to put some milk in it, because I didn't want to make a pot of coffee for a cookie photo shoot. ha ha
Milk and cookies worked fine though. After I took some photos, I simply HAD to dunk one or two of the small ones and eat them There was no other choice. 馃槃
I had to eat a couple of the heart cookies too, as taste tests. I found that when I first bit them, the hints of nutmeg came through, but by the end, the flavor was changing a little... maybe a little peppery.... and to my tongue a slight hint that reminded me of anise.... although, not really anise. I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about....LOL !!
Anyway, I do like them and would certainly consider making them again. Tomorrow I will see if I can find another guinea pig (grinny pigs I like to call my taste testers).. .or two and get more opinions.
Hope your Valentine's Day is a happy one.
Love ya !
Jacey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iced Mace Cookies
1 & 3/4 cups all purpose (plain) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Simple Glaze
1 cup confectioner's / icing sugar
2-3 Tablespoons warm water
Stir together the flour, baking powder and mace in a medium bowl.
Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and creamy.
With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time and beat until combined.
With the mixer at low speed, gradually beat in the mixed dry ingredients
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease & lightly flour baking sheet. (Note: I just used parchment on my baking sheet)
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to 1/8th inch thick.
Cut with cookie cutters of your choice and carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden, then transfer to racks to cool.
After the cookies have cooled, mix the confectioners sugar with the water and spread over the cookies. (Note: I added 2 drops of red liquid food color to make my glaze pink)
