Moldy Mice Cookies Wedding Cookies Recipes

MICE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter and brown sugar; beat in egg and extracts. Gradually add flour; mix well. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Shape into 1-in. balls; pinch front of each ball to form a nose. Add two peanuts halves for ears, two raisin pieces for eyes and one red-hot for nose. Poke a hole for tail with a toothpick. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks Insert licorice pieces for tails.

MICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk to combine flour and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating until mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in extract, then egg. Reduce speed to low, and add one-third flour mixture. Gradually add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. Halve dough and shape into disks; wrap each in plastic, and chill 2 hours or up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll about 1 tablespoon of chilled dough between your palms to form 1 1/4-inch- to 1 1/2-inch-long oval shapes. Slightly elongate one side to form face. Gently pinch bridge of nose to form eye sockets. With a paring knife, make 2 small slits at top of each shape, for placement of ears. Place 2 sliced almonds into slits. Place shapes on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are light golden brown on bottom and around edges, and tips of ears are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks, and immediately insert a wooden skewer about 1/2 inch into mouse's rounded end. Remove skewer and insert curved length of licorice for tail. It should adhere to the still-warm cookie. Let cookies cool completely on wire racks.
• Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water. Turn off heat; keep chocolate warm until ready to use, stirring occasionally. Place melted chocolate in a parchment cone or a resealable plastic bag with a tiny hole cut in one corner. Pipe chocolate in tiny dots to form eyes and nose. Chill until chocolate is set, about 20 minutes. Cookies can be stored in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

SUGAR-DUSTED WEDDING COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the butter, caster sugar, three yolks and vanilla with a wooden spoon until creamy. Stir in the ground rice and flour - you may need to get your hands in at the end to get all of the dry ingredients incorporated. Roughly divide the mixture into 3.
• Lay out 3 large sheets of greaseproof paper, and on each one, roll out a third of the dough into a long, thin sausage - about 1in thick. Use the paper to help you to roll it out as smoothly and evenly as possible. Lightly beat the egg white, then brush all over the dough. Scatter over the preserving sugar and roll so the dough is completely coated. Wrap up in the paper and carefully transfer to the fridge to chill for 30-40 mins until firm. At this stage you can freeze for up to 2 months, wrapped well in cling film.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Using a sharp knife, slice each roll into roughly 20-30 small biscuits. Arrange over baking parchment-lined baking trays - they will spread a little so leave gaps. Bake for 8-12 mins until pale golden. Cool on the trays until firm. Can also be frozen at this stage for up to a month.