A Love Affair With Southern Cooking_ Recipes and Recollections - Jean Anderson [220]
5. Space the tea cakes about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets and bake on the middle oven shelf for 8 to 10 minutes or until pale tan.
6. Transfer at once to wire racks to cool. Store the tea cakes in airtight canisters, layering them between sheets of wax paper.
GEORGIA PECAN BALLS
MAKES ABOUT 3 DOZEN
Adapted from a recipe sent to me by the Georgia Pecan Commission, these cookies remind me of Mexican Wedding Cakes or what Virginia friends call “moldy mice.” Why, I have no idea. Nor could they enlighten me. Not too sweet and easy to make, pecan balls are perfect for the holiday season. Tip: To get a jump on things, bake them weeks ahead. Layered into airtight containers between sheets of wax paper and stored in the freezer, they’ll taste oven-fresh when thawed.
½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans
One 1-pound box confectioners’ (10X) sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. By hand, combine the butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt, beating until light. Work in the flour and pecans, taking care not to overmix.
3. Roll the dough into 1-to 1½-inch balls and space about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Note: If the dough is too soft to shape, chill well, then shape.
4. Bake the pecan balls on the middle oven shelf for 18 to 20 minutes or until pale tan and irresistible smelling. Roll at once in the confectioners’ sugar until nicely coated.
5. Cool the cookies before serving. Or, if desired, freeze and serve later (see Tip at left).
OLD SALEM SUGAR COOKIES
MAKES ABOUT 5 DOZEN
Whenever I visit Old Salem, an eighteenth-century Moravian village come to life in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, I zip over to the 200-year-old Winkler Bakery and load up on thin-as-onion-skin ginger cookies and these old-fashioned sugar cookies—my all-time favorites. This recipe is my updated, downsized version of the old institutional one. Note: Because the cookie dough must season overnight before it’s rolled, begin this recipe the day before you bake the cookies.
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1. Sift the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and nutmeg together onto a piece of wax paper and set aside.
2. Cream the butter in a large electric mixer bowl at moderately high speed for about 1 minute until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue beating until again light. With the motor running, add the vanilla, lemon and almond extracts, then the eggs and egg yolk. Sift in the combined dry ingredients and beat at low speed just enough to form a soft, sticky dough.
3. Shape the dough into a ball, flatten slightly, then wrap in aluminum foil and allow to season overnight in the refrigerator.
4. Next day when ready to proceed, preheat the oven to 325° F. Also grease several baking sheets and set aside.
5. Working with about one fourth of the dough at a time, roll on a well-floured pastry cloth with a well-floured stockinette-covered rolling pin to a thickness of 1/8 inch or about as thin as pie crust.
6. Cut into rounds with a well-floured 2¾-to 3-inch biscuit or cookie cutter and space the cookies about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Or, if you prefer, cut into fancy shapes but note that you may end up with fewer cookies.
7. Bake the cookies in the lower third of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edge.
8. Transfer at once to wire racks and cool to room temperature. Layer the cooled cookies between sheets