Custard Cookies

These cookies start with a versatile dough recipe revised to reflect a healthier trend in baking. Filled with vanilla custard and topped with a raspberry drizzle, they look gorgeous and taste oh-so-good. Reminiscent of custard or jelly doughnuts, but in cookie form. Original recipe courtesy of Babby Loewi. Yields 6 dozen cookies or 3 dozen sandwiches

Directions

Prepare the Dough

Mix together all dough ingredients by hand to form a dough.

If using a mixer, beat together margarine, oil, applesauce, and sugar, scraping down the bowl.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Change to a dough hook and add the rest of the ingredients. Start with three cups of flour; if the dough looks sticky, add a bit more flour, up to three and a half cups. Mix together until a soft dough forms.

Variations:

For a milchig version, sub butter for the margarine. Make sure to make a siman that they’re dairy. Also, you can make the cookies in advance, freeze them, and fill when needed. They taste even better straight from the freezer.

Shape and Bake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

Divide dough in half. You can freeze half for later use. Divide the remaining dough in half again.

Generously sprinkle flour on your work surface. Roll out a portion of dough to desired thickness. (I prefer thin crispy cookies.)

Using a dreidel or menorah cookie cutter, cut out shapes to fill the entire surface of dough. Peel away the unused pieces of dough. With a spatula, carefully lift each cookie and transfer to a baking sheet lined with Gefen Parchment Paper. Continue until all the dough is used up.

Bake for 10–12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Notes:

Your yield will depend on the thickness of the cookies. You can use leftover dough for pie crust or roll out like strudel and fill with cinnamon/sugar, pie filling, etc. Tastes amazing!