The Gift of Giving---#3---Hungarian Sugar Cookies

This is the Gift of Giving recipe #3

Hungarian Sugar Cookies

This is the cookie dough that you need to make a lot of because it's the one kids will love the best to work with. It can be colored with food coloring (My friends little boy is allergic to red [naturally orange and pink are included] food coloring. There are natural colorings which we've experimented with I'll include them at the end of this page. Make this dough a day before processing, it should sit in the fridge at least 24 hour. As long as its covered with margarine or butter and tightly wrapped in saran-wrap it can be baked for up to 4-5 days.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups butter or margarine (do not use whipped margarine too much water in it)
• 3 lg eggs
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoon of sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 teaspoon cream of tarter
• optional decorations such as colored sprinkles, choc. wormies,nuts,raisins, backing gummies, red and green ju-jubes are perfect for slicing and into Hollie leaves with red berries, smarties they will misshape a bit but still great color...use your imaginations, there is no limit for these cookies

Methodology

Cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs. Add milk, sour cream and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and stir (may need to add 1/4 cup of flour). Chill at least 24 hours. (Rem:to cover dough ball with margarine and wrap tight with Saran-wrap). Pinch small amount of dough and kneed in food color. While working with dough cover the rest with plastic wrap so it won't dry-out. Roll out thin and sprinkle colored sugar sprinkles, add nuts or small cut outs of the colored dough, options are unlimited. My kids always used the small "gingerbread-boy and girl" cookie cutters. They made holes at the top of the head with a knitting needle then loaded them up with decoration. Once baked we strung them onto ribbon which then went onto the Christmas tree. If the dough gets too crumbly add a bit of sour cream. If you want shiny golden cookies use an egg wash before decorating. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

To make natural cookie colors. Needs to prepare ahead of time. You'll need a juicer. Collect the juice of one red beet, this will give a nice deep burgundy color to the dough. The orange color is obvious juice a carrot and add to dough. These juices really don't change the flavour of the cookies too much.

Adding Cocoa will make a nice brown which looks awesome as a checkered board cookies. [form two thin strips each of regular and choc dough press together in opposites brown on top of white etc. slice into 3/8 thickness and voila checker board cookies.]

The food colors, natural or not will leave kids with messy hands which should clean up with a little lemon juice.

Enjoy