Gift GuiDe

Janet Levine shares this tradition and her
Chanukah cookie recipe.

Levi/ e Family
Chan
Coo ies

3/4 cup of vegetable shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix top 4 ingredients together thoroughly

2 1P2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Measure 2 1/2 cups flour by dipping. Sift to-
gether flour, baking powder and salt. Blend all of
the shortening and flour mixtures together by
hand or mixer until the texture to from a log. Cut
the log into three separate pieces and wrap indi-
vidually in plastic wrap or wax paper. Chill in the
refrigerator at least one hour or over night is fine.
(Mom usually does this process ahead of the
Chanukah cookie party.)
Now you are ready for little and big hands to
do their creative best.
A floured kitchen table works wonderfully for
this next step. Roll dough from one chilled log
at a time using a well floured rolling pin or a tall
glass if you don't own a rolling pin. When the
dough is about 118 inch thick, you're ready for the
flour dipped Chanukah cookie cutters. Dip cutter
each time you use it. Lift the cut cookies with a
spatula to an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 6-
8 minutes at 350-375 degrees, depending on your
oven. Watch the first batch very carefully until
they just barely start to brown. Remove from oven
and let stand 3 or 4 minutes before removing to a
flat tray or rack. These cookies crisp as they cool
and work best if barely brown. Let the first batch
cool as you proceed with rest of the dough. Just
rechill the cut away dough for rerolling later.
Ice and paint the cookies. Blend one and 112
cups of powdered sugar sifted with 1/4 teaspoon
of vanilla and 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk or water
to make a thin paint-like icing. Divide the icing
into little bowls and color with a few drops of food
coloring. (red, blue, green and yellow) Now you
are ready to paint. Use new brushes just for cook-
ies. Let painted cookies dry several hours before
wrapping or placing in a tin. ❑

Bonnie Torgow and her 13 grandchildren decorated this Chanukah table.

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