Here’s a great cookie for Christmas, or anytime. And depending on your taste, you can make it several ways: With nuts, without nuts, with cinnamon sugar, or with cinnamon sugar and nuts. It’s all how you feel that day (or if anyone has a nut allergy, just go the cinnamon route). If you’re a cinnamon freak like me, I went with the cinnamon sugar option.
This is your basic refrigerator, slice-and-bake cookie, so it is easy to make. You can make up the roll of dough ahead of time, and keep it in your fridge until you’re ready to bake. The origin of this cookie came from one of my older cookbooks, Cookies for Christmas, but as is usual with me, nothing ever stays as written. I have to tweak. Hence, the different “coatings.” Full info on the book is below, to give credit where credit is due.
The key ingredient in this cookie is cinnamon — my favourite spice. I use it year round, in lots of things. Most of the cinnamon sold in supermarkets is cassia, not what is called in English, true cinnamon, or cinnamomun verum [1]. Cassia is much cheaper to produce, hence why the supermarkets all carry it and not the other. However, I got a Christmas present of Saigon cinnamon, complete in it’s own little cinnamon wood box. Now that’s a gift to make this baker happy!
Another nice feature? It’s from World Vision’s Christmas catalogue, so my gift giver also gave me a beautiful gift reflecting social consciousness. It’s nice to know people know my tastes! Which brings us back to the cookie, as I had to find something to do with that lovely cinnamon. The cinnamon in question has a nice sweet flavor, not a dry taste like so many others have. Perfect for baking. So, you will want to fire up your oven for some great cookies.
Cinnamon Crisp Cookies Recipe
Yield 48 (although I had fewer)
Ingredients:
• 1¾ cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ cup butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup sugar (Please note, when I made these cookies, I left the white sugar out)
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup finely chopped pecans
and/or
• ¼ cup cinnamon sugar
Directions
1. Stir together flour, cinnamon, and salt. In a large mixer bowl beat butter or margarine till softened.
2. Add sugar (if using) and brown sugar and beat till fluffy.
3. Add egg and vanilla and beat well.
4. Cover and chill about 30 minutes or till easy to handle.
5. Shape into a 12-inch roll. Roll in nuts and/or cinnamon sugar to coat.
6. Wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Cut into ¼-inch slices.
7. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 to 12 minutes or till done. Remove and cool.
What I found with the ¼-inch thick cookie, was that they were more like shortbread. I would suggest maybe 1/8-inch if you want a crispier cookie, but watch your baking time, they will bake much faster.
References
Better Homes and Gardens. Cookies for Christmas. Des Moines, Iowa: Better Homes and Gardens Books, Meredith Corporation, 1985.
Notes:
1. Wikipedia does a decent job of explaining cinnamon, and a very detailed history of the spice throughout history. Quite interesting.
Sue Van Slooten teaches cooking and baking classes at her home on beautiful Big Rideau Lake, Ontario, Canada. She specializes in small classes for maximum benefit. Follow her homesteading adventures and check out her class offerings at www.SVanSlooten.com. If you wish, you can email Sue at suevanslooten@icloud.com. She would be thrilled to hear from you! Read all of Sue’s MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.
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