1993 1st Place: Ginger Cookies

80 Servings

1 C Granulated sugar
1/2 C Dark corn syrup
1/2 C Water
1 T ginger, Ground
2 t Cinnamon
2 t cloves, Ground
1 C butter (or margarine) Unsalted
4 C All-purpose flour
1 1/2 t Baking soda
Liquid food coloring
If desired

Preparation time: 1 1/2 hours Chilling time: 12 hours or more
Cooking time: 7 minutes

1. Put sugar, syrup, water, ginger, cinnamon and cloves into a large saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
Add butter.
Stir until butter is melted and mixture is no longer very hot.

2.
Mix flour and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir to blend thoroughly. Dough will have a soft texture.
Place dough in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight or at least 12 hours or as long as 1 week.

3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove about one-sixth of the dough and knead it until it is slightly softened. Roll dough directly onto ungreased cookie sheets until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to stamp shapes in dough, allowing a 1-inch margin between each cookie. Remove excess dough by lifting it and peeling it away. Scraps of dough can be kneaded together and re-rolled.

4. Bake until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Allow cookies to cool slightly and become crisp before removing them from the cookie sheet. Cool thoroughly on wire racks. If desired, you may "paint" the cooled cookies using a clean, small paintbrush and food coloring that has been watered down slightly. Store cookies in airtight containers. Note: After the 12-hour resting period, this cookie dough can be hand-molded like clay-rolled, pinched, poked and pressed-and it will keep its shape, expanding slightly while baking. Thin cookies will become brown and bake quickly, large and thick shapes will require longer baking. Can be cut into any shape desired but make the cookies uniformly thick.
1993 2nd Place: Mozart Cookies

3 c All-purpose flour
1/2 c Granulated sugar
2 Egg yolks, beaten
1 T Pure vanilla extract
1/2 t Salt
rind of 1 lemon, Grated
1 c Unsalted butter, softened
Filling
12 oz Apricot preserves
1 T Fresh lemon juice
1 T Rum
Confectioners' sugar

1. Sift flour into a large mixing bowl and make an indentation or well in the center of the flour.
Add the sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, salt and lemon rind to the well.
Mix the ingredients in the well together with the flour. Then cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or two sharp knives. At this point the dough will resemble coarse crumbs. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead it with your hands until smooth and firm. Divide dough in half and shape into two balls.

2. Wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, about 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, heat the apricot preserves over low heat, stirring constantly.
Stir in lemon juice and rum. Let cool.

4. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of floured wax paper. Roll out with a floured rolling pin to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out circles of dough about 2 inches in diameter.
Place half of the circles onto greased or non-stick cookie sheets. Cut the other half of the circles again with a small shot glass or cookie cutter to form a ring shape. (Make an equal amount of rings to circles.)
Place the rings onto buttered baking sheets. Bake until light gold, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool a little on the cookie sheets.

5. To assemble, brush the still-warm circles with the cooled apricot mixture.
Place one ring on top of each circle and press gently (they break easily) to secure. Spoon a small dollop of the apricot mixture into the center of the cookies. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Cool. Store in a tightly closed tin.