Mexican Wedding Cookies and more....

I LOVE Mexican Wedding Cookies. For those of you that haven't tried Mexican Wedding Cookies, they remind me of shortbread in the way that they are rich with flavor and dense in texture. Shortbread has a very buttery taste, but Mexican Wedding Cookies are less buttery and more nutty. Yesterday's game night at Nicole and Sabin's seemed like a good excuse to try making them for the first time, along with some standard Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

makes 30

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1tsp natural vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups pecan nuts, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat the butter in a large bowl until it is light and fluffy, then beat in 1 cup of the sugar, with the vanilla extract.

2. Gradually add the flour and salt to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition, until it starts to form a dough. Add the finely chopped pecans with the remaining flour. Knead the dough lightly until combined.

3. Divide the dough into 30 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Space about 1/4 in. apart on baking sheets. Press each ball lightly with your thumb, to flatten slightly.

4. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until the cookies are starting to brown. Cool on the backing sheets for 10 minutes then, using a metal spatula, transfer to wire-racks to cool completely

5. Put the remaining sugar in a bow. Add a few cookies at a time shaking them genly until they are heavily coated. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

Notes:

(1) I wouldn't wait until the cookies are turning slightly brown to take them out. It took 15 minutes before the cookies turned slightly brown and they ended up being a little overcooked. (2) Make sure to cool the cookies completely before Step 5. I had to do Step 5 when they were still a little warm and the sugar melted slightly and gave the cookies a glaze rather than a powdered look.

Double Chocolate Cookies

makes 18-20

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted (sweet) butter at room temperature, diced

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups self-rising flour

1 cup rolled oats

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped*

4 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped*

* I only used semi-sweet chocolate, and I used chocolate chips instead coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Cream the butter with the sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.

2. Sift the flour over the mixture and fold in lightly with a metal spoon, the add the oats and chopped plain and white chocolate and stir well until evenly mixed.

3. Plase small spoonfuls of the mixture in 18-20 rocky heaps on the prepared baking sheets, leaving space for spreading.

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes until beginning to turn pale golden brown. Cool for 2-3 minutes on baking sheets, then using a spatula. Trasfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Note:

I picked these cookies because the picture in the book made them look thick rather than thinned out. They were thick...that's for sure. These cookies didn't thin out at all. If anything, they just grew upwards, so place them on the baking sheet as you find appropriate.

Recipes from The COOKIE Book by Catherine Atkinson, Joanna Farrow, and Valerie Barrett