FILLED SUGAR COOKIES Recipe

Ever since the temperatures started dropping, I’ve been hungering to bite into a filled sugar cookie – so, today, I declared a “Queen’s Day” … and did nothing all day long but laze around my humble castle, scenting the atmosphere with homemade cookies baking 😊

It was a fine day in the realm of Valerina, today 😊

I like cookies. Bob liked cakes. I catered to both our whims … and on occasion, I baked a pie just to even the playing field 😉

Heart – ‘Even It Up’ song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLhxF-Un39k)

Today, I deviated a bit concerning the cookie filling for this particular recipe, because I had in mind a different {want}: **Apricot-Blueberry Filling Recipe follows at end of original recipe 😉 But I am posting this filled sugar cookie recipe in its original text … and you can do whatever filling you want to do.

I also do not cut out the center of the top cookie when I make my cookies: I like mine to look like little sugar cookie “pies”; and I don’t want to waste any portion of a cookie! 😊

FILLED SUGAR COOKIE Recipe ~2 dozen cookies

1 cup Sugar * ¾ cup Shortening (part butter or margarine) * 2 Eggs * 1 teaspoon Vanilla * 2½ cups all-purpose Flour * 1 teaspoon Baking Powder * 1 teaspoon Salt

Mix sugar, shortening, eggs, and vanilla; stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Cookie dough set to chill for 1 hour – it will still be quite soft, even chilled.

Heat oven to 400-degrees.

Cut dough into 48 rounds with a doughnut cutter (remove center hole cutting piece). Divide the rounds in 24 pieces x 2 – and placing the hole cutter back in place, cut center holes out of 24 of the rounds.

Filled Sugar Cookies; original recipe picture.

Place uncut rounds on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Top with Raisin Filling or Cherry-Apricot Filling (recipes follow); spreading almost to edges: top with remaining rounds. Press edges together with fingers or floured fork tines.

Sprinkle tops with sugar, and bake until very lightly browned – about 6 to 8 minutes.

Raisin Filling: 1¾ cups Raisins * ¾ cup Water * ½ cup Sugar * 2 Tablespoons all-purpose Flour * 1 Tablespoon Lemon juice

Heat raisins and water to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Mix sugar and flour – stir into raisin mixture. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice; cool. Spoon 1 Tablespoon of mixture onto a solid cookie round as described in cookie recipe above.

Cherry-Apricot Filling: ½ cup Sugar * 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Cornstarch * ½ cup Water * ¼ cup Maraschino Cherry juice * 1/3 cup chopped Maraschino Cherries * 1/3 cup cut-up dried Apricots

Mix sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir in remaining ingredients; heat to a rolling boil. Boil and stir 1 minute; cool. Spoon 1 Tablespoon of mixture onto a solid cookie round as described in cookie recipe above.

**MY COOKIE FILLING: I have apricot preserves that needs eating … and I have an abundance of frozen fresh blueberries from my garden bushes; the combo sounds tasty, so that’s what I’m going to do 😉

Apricot-Blueberry Filling: 2/3 cup Apricot Preserves * 2/3 cup frozen Blueberries

Apricot Preserves.

Fat, juicy, frozen Blueberries; off my own berry bushes.

Blend the jam and berries; spoon 1 teaspoon of mixture onto 24 solid cookie rounds & top each filled round with another solid cookie round – closing each round with floured fork tines. Bake as described in cookie recipe above.

1 tsp. filling per cookie; bottom of filled cookie.

My filled cookie 'topper'; top cookie.

They smell SO GOOD!

They taste good, too 😉

Cookies are my #1 Temptation; I don't feel a bit guilty for staying home, and giving in 😊

Now, I’m going to finish the day with another pleasurable enjoyment – there’s only 43 pages left … easy peasy.

Clive is another pleasurable enjoyment. LOL

I love these laid-back ‘Queen days’; I’m going to have to declare them more frequently in 2023 😊

And I may just get rid of my “skinny jeans” pile, altogether 😉; at 66 years of age (December 29^th), I’ll probably never see my {normal weight} ever again, this side of Heaven (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/11/jeggings-updated-with-ease-patches.html).

And, honestly? That’s okay with me. Starvation doesn’t appeal to me.

I believe another cookie is calling out to me ...

SPANISH MEAL

I woke up to the steady pit-pat of rainfall on the rooftop and instantly felt ambitious today, so thought I’d get busy in the kitchen and whip up a Spanish menu for at least 2 meals: same meal, but as there is just {me} instead of {we} now, I will be setting one aside in the freezer until  later on. And I only baked half the cookies, preparing and freezing the other half for future enjoyment also ;-)

This menu comes from my Bon Appetit, February 1985 cooking magazine.

I am posting the recipes in their entirety and you can break it down as you decide – I will be breaking the recipes down into a widow’s portions, as you will see with the picture accompanying the chicken recipe.

As usual, I have tweaked the recipes to fit my needs: instead of whole trussed chickens, I used chosen chicken pieces. Instead of slivered orange peels, I used ground orange peel; I also left out the orange segments as too much citrus is hard on my stomach. Instead of sprinkling slivered almonds on the cookies, which is also hard on my digestive system - I just left them off. And everything turned out fine and tasted great; recipes are guidelines – they are not cooking sacraments ;-)

Spanish Meal. Roast Chicken Seville & Saffron Rice w-Currants. I like trying new recipes, but I always cook 'homestyle'. If I want a fancy restaurant style serving ... I will go to a fancy restaurant and pay a fancy price for an eye-candy plate.

While the chicken and rice cooked, I worked some more on a ripple stitch lapghan that will also be donated to the local hospital for their beneficiary medical foundation; it will probably go to the cancer center.

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SPANISH MENU

Roast Chicken Seville

Saffron Rice w-Currants

Almond Cookies

Roast Chicken Seville ~Serves 6

4 medium Oranges * 2 tablespoons Olive Oil * 2  3-3-1/2-pound chickens * 4 Garlic cloves * 2 Bay leaves, crumbled * 1 teaspoon Salt * ½ teaspoon freshly ground White Pepper * ¼ cup (1/2 stick butter) * 1 cup Chicken Stock * 2 tablespoons Sherry Vinegar * Green onion tops * Orange Segments

Using a vegetable peeler, remove colored part if peel from oranges. Cut peel into slivers. Squeeze juice; strain into a bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Brush large roasting pan with oil. Pat chickens dry. Mix garlic, bay leaves, salt & pepper together; rub chickens inside and out with mixture. Truss chickens. Place on racks in prepared pans. Dot with butter. Roast 30 minutes. Baste with half orange juice; sprinkle with half of slivered peel. Continue roasting chicken until juices run clear when thigh is pierced – about 15 minutes or more.

Roast Chicken Seville: cut significantly down for 2 'widow serving' meals. Thighs ready for oven. If you follow the recipe exactly as typed above, it will, of course, look different being prepared for the oven.

Cover remaining peel with water and simmer 10 minutes. Drain.

Transfer chicken to platter. Stir remaining orange juice into pan, scraping up browned bits. Add blanched peel, stock, and vinegar; boil until sauce is thick and syrupy – about 15 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken, and garnish with onion tops and orange segments.

Saffron Rice w-Currants ~Serves 6

½ cup Currants * ¼ cup dry Sherry * ¼ cup (1/2 stick) Butter or Olive Oil * 1-1/2 cups long-grain Rice * 2 tablespoons minced Green Onion * 2 Garlic cloves * 2-1/2 cups Chicken Stock * 1/8 teaspoon Saffron threads, crushed * 3 tablespoons Butter * Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper to taste

Soak currants in Sherry 1 hour.

Meanwhile, melt ¼ cup butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add rice, onion and garlic and stir until golden – 2 to 3 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Stir several tablespoons into saffron to dissolve – return to skillet. Reduce heat, cover tightly; and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed – about 20 minutes.

Chicken stock mixture

Cooked Saffron Rice ... Currants will be added later.

Drain currants; stir into rice with remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Season with salt & pepper. Serve immediately.

Almond Cookies  ~About 6 dozen

¾ cup (1-1/2 sticks) Butter, room temperature * 6 tablespoons granulated Sugar * ½ teaspoon Almond Extract * 2 cups all-purpose flour * 1/8 teaspoon Salt * 1 Egg White, beaten to blend (glaze) * 1/3 cup minced blanched almonds * 1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon

Cream butter with 4 tablespoons sugar and almond extract until light and fluffy:

Sift together flour and salt; beat into butter mixture …

Gather dough into a ball; flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to thickness of 1/8-inch. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut dough into 1x2-inch strips …

Arrange on ungreased baking sheets. Brush with glaze. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, almonds, and cinnamon: sprinkle over strips:

Bake until golden brown around edges – about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on rack.

Baked Almond Cookies. This is a hard type of cookie.