New Year's Cookies
A traditional crisp, lightly sweet cookie, typically seasoned with caraway or anise seeds and featuring decorative stamped patterns.
Ingredients
caraway seed or aniseed or mixture (coarsely ground or crushed with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder)
1 tablespoon
all-purpose white flour
3 cups
salt
1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
1/4 teaspoon
cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon
milk (plus more if needed)
3–4 tablespoons
sugar
Generous 1 cup
unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 2/3 tablespoons, slightly softened)
2/3 cup
Instructions
1
Mix Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar; set aside.
2
Cream the Butter
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, and caraway seeds and/or aniseed with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined and fluffy.
3
Combine the Dough
Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the milk until evenly combined. Beat in half of the flour mixture until uniform. Stir in the remaining flour mixture. If the dough is too dry to come together, gradually add a little more milk.
4
Rest the Dough
Let the dough rest in a cool place for at least 20 to 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
5
Preheat and Prepare Molds
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease several baking sheets or spray them with nonstick spray. Lightly brush the mold surfaces with vegetable oil; make sure to coat all the design crevices. Blot up any excess oil with a paper towel.
6
Roll Out the Dough
Divide the dough in half. Place each portion between two large sheets of wax paper. Roll out to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick; check the underside of the dough and smooth out any wrinkles. Carefully peel off and discard the top sheet of wax paper.
7
Stamp and Cut
Place the mold on top of the dough. Press down firmly to imprint the design. Using a sharp knife, pastry wheel, or a cookie cutter of the same shape but slightly larger than the mold, cut around the edges of the mold. Carefully lift the dough (with the mold still stuck to it) off the paper and flip it over so the dough side faces up. Gently press down on various parts of the dough to further press in the design. Carefully peel the dough off the mold and transfer it to the baking sheet.
8
Continue Making
Continue stamping more cookies, spacing them about 1.5 inches apart. (If the dough becomes too soft to work with at any point, refrigerate or freeze until firm again.) Only re-oil the mold lightly when the dough starts to stick. Re-roll the dough scraps. Continue making cookies until all the dough is used up.
