My next few posts will include the cookie recipes I have introduced to you in my Christmas cookie post.

I am starting with my most favorite cookies, the Cream Wafers.  If you read the ingredients, you might not be able to envision how decadent these really are. They are very light and flaky, resemble a puff pastry, and practically melt in your mouth.

For your convenience, I am also including pictures of the final step by step preparation instructions, which are very important for a successful outcome of this product.

This recipe makes about 4-5 dozen of cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• ½ cup heavy cream (whipping cream, not sour cream)
• 2 cups flour, all purpose white flour
• Pinch of salt (tip of a tea spoon)
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Colored sugar (optional, for sprinkling on top)
  Granulated sugar (for dipping)

Directions:

1. Combine butter and cream, and mix thoroughly.
2. Mix in extracts.
3. Add flour and mix well.
4. Flour your hands, and divide the dough into, an orange size, balls.
5. Place balls in a bowl, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, or overnight.
6. Take out one ball at a time, and massage, by squishing it in your hands, for 8-10 seconds.
7. Flatten the ball, place it on a floured work area, and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.  (Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour as you are rolling it out.  But use flour sparingly as not to make the dough too dense, thus taking away from the flakiness of the cookies).
8. Keep remaining dough balls in the fridge.
9. Using a cookie cutter, cut out 1½ inch cookies (I use a circular shape).
10. Fill a dinner plate with granular sugar.
11. Transfer the rounds into the sugar.
12. Coat both sides of rounds with sugar, pressing them lightly with your fingers.
13. Gather the remaining dough from your work area, form into a ball and follow the above process until all the dough is done. (I try to work with all the fresh dough balls first, as these make the best cookies.  I keep the remnants of the dough from cut outs, in the fridge, until ready to use again.  At the end, I combine all the dough remnants, form them into a ball and follow the rest of the rolling/cutting out process.  These cookies will get denser with each roll out, as you are adding more flour during rolling.  So use as little additional flour as possible).

Remove and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  You do not need to spread these far apart, as they do not spread out, but rather puff out upwards.

Prick each cookie, about 4 times, with a fork (it lets the steam out during baking, helping it to puff out).

If you choose to sprinkle these with colored sugar, this is the time to do it.

Place in a preheated oven at 375o for 7-9 minutes, or just until set, but not browned (these remain at a very light color, even after baking).

Remove and cool on cookie racks.
You can use them plain, or with colored sugar, if you sprinkled them before baking:

or make them into sandwich cookies, with the following filling (I love them the best with the chocolate filling).

Filling Ingredients:

• ¼ cup soft butter
• ¾ cup confectioner (powdered) sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I prefer rum extract)
• 1 ½ oz unsweetened baker’s chocolate, melted (I melt it in a microware for 1 ½ minutes, stirring halfway through).
• Few drops of food coloring (optional, and only if you do not use chocolate)

Directions:

1. Cream all ingredients well, to spreading consistency.
2. Add a drop of water, one at a time, if needed.
3. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
4. Spread filling on the bottom side of each cookie, and cover it with another bottom side cookie (sandwich like).
5. Repeat until all are filled.

TIP:  Thicker cookie rounds will need longer baking time, and will result in lesser total quantity.

If you are looking for an easy, light (no butter or any other fat used) , and dainty cookies, this is a recipe for you.  This is a very simple recipe, quick baking, and produces wafer thin delicious cookies.  In taste, these cookies resemble lady fingers or zwieback cookies.   I used vanilla extract in this recipe, but  almond extract would also create a very interesting flavor.

These crisp and feather-light wafers make a great addition to a dessert platter for a tea party.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour, sifted
• Colored sugar or sprinkles, for decoration

Directions:

1. Beat the eggs until light.
2. Add the sugar gradually, and continue beating (it will turn to lemon color and custard like texture).
3. Stir in vanilla and salt.
4. Add the flour and mix well.
5. Drop from a tea spoon onto a greased baking sheet, placing them well apart to prevent from sticking together.  Do not make your batter mounds bigger than 1 inch in diameter.
6. Sprinkle with  colored sugar or colorful sprinkles.
7. Preheat the over to 350 F, and bake on the middle rack for 5-7 minutes, or until the edges are delicately browned.
8. Remove from the baking sheet, one at a time, with a spatula, and spread out on a cookie cooling rack to cool off.  Do not stack them up while warm, as they will twist, and lose their shape.

Tip: This recipe produces 6 dozens of cookies (about 1 ¾  inch in diameter)

For variation and richness, I sometimes dip the bottoms of these wafers in melted dark semi-sweet chocolate, then place them, bottoms up, on a waxed paper, for the chocolate to fully set.  You can also lightly drizzle the tops with melted chocolate, instead of the colored sugar or sprinkles.