Cinnamon Cardinal Cookies
Prep Time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes Start to Finish: 1 Hour 50 Minutes 4 dozen cookies
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon or cardamom
- ⅓ cup whipping cream
- 48 miniature chocolate chips
- Red, black and yellow decorating sugar crystals
1 In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy; stir in vanilla. In small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and cinnamon. On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with whipping cream. Divide dough in half; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
2 Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets with shortening or cooking spray.
3 On lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough until about ⅛ inch thick. Cut with 3-inch floured cardinal-shaped cookie cutter. On cookie sheets, place cutouts 2 inches apart. Repeat with second portion of dough.
4 Place chocolate chip on each bird for eye. Sprinkle top of back, crown, tail and wing of each bird with red sugar crystals; neck and eye with black sugar crystals; and beak with yellow sugar crystals. Leave bottom breast of bird without sugar.
5 Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until light brown and set. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
1 Cookie: Calories 50; Total Fat 2.5g (Saturated Fat 1.5g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 5mg; Sodium 25mg; Total Carbohydrate 6g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 0g Exchanges: ½ Other Carbohydrate, ½ Fat Carbohydrate Choices: ½
Kitchen Secrets If you don’t have a cardinal-shaped cookie cutter, trace the outline of a cardinal from a coloring book or bird book onto waxed paper; or find one online, print it and cut it out. Place the pattern on the dough, and use a small paring knife to cut around it.
