Sugar Cookies South Africa Recipes

ELOISE'S EASY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl mix together baking powder and flour. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until fully incorporated.
• Roll out on lightly floured board to desired thickness.
• Cutout 2-1/2" hearts and bake at 400 degrees for 7- 10 minutes.
• Should be light in color with light browning on the edges.
• Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

SUGAR COOKIES (SOUTH AFRICA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven 400°F.
• In bowl, cream butter and shortening. Add cloves, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and orange peel. Mix well.
• Beat in eggs, sugar, and almonds.
• In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Add to butter mixture alternately with the brandy and wine.
• Chill dough for about 30 minutes to an hour, or until firm enough to roll.
• Turn chilled dough out on a floured board and roll until the dough is very thin.
• Using pastry cutters, cut the dough into desired shapes.
• Bake on greased cookie sheets for 10-15 minutes, or until nicely browned.

AFRICAN COFFEE BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 baking sheets.
• Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Stir boiling water and coffee powder in a small bowl until coffee is dissolved. Stir in apricot jam. Mix into the creamed butter mixture.
• Stir milk and baking soda in a small bowl until baking soda is dissolved. Add vanilla extract. Stir into the creamed butter mixture.
• Combine cake flour and salt in a bowl; add to the creamed butter mixture. Stir well until a dough forms.
• Fill a cookie press with dough. Pipe dough onto the baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

SOETKOEKIES - SWEET WINE AND SPICE SOUTH AFRICAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray. Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt together and set aside.
• In a deep bowl, cream the butter and the dark-brown sugar together, mashing and beating them against the sides of the bowl until they are thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, then add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Beat in the wine and chopped almonds.
• With your hands, vigorously knead the dough in the bowl until it can be gathered into a somewhat firm, compact ball. If the dough then seems too soft, knead in up to 1/4 cup more flour, adding it a tablespoon or so at a time.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rough circle about 1/4 inch thick. With a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, cut it into 2-inch rounds. Arrange the rounds about 1 inch apart on the buttered baking sheets. Then gather the scraps of dough into a ball, roll it out into another circle, and cut out rounds as before.
• Press a blanched almond half lightly into the center of each Soetkoekie and brush the entire top surface of the cookie with the beaten egg white-and-water mixture.
• Bake the cookies in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until they are crisp and firm to the tough. With a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. The cookies will keep for up to two weeks in a tightly covered jar.