Fruit-Shaped Cookies
- 1 cup margarine or 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon almond extract, your choice re how strong you want the flavour to be
- food coloring
- colored sugar sprinkle
- whole cloves
- cinnamon stick
- Mix margarine and sugar in medium bowl; stir in flour and almond extract until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Divide dough into 3 equal parts; tint and shape each portion as desired; see below for fruit options.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheet; cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 300F degrees.
- Bake cookies for about 30 minutes, until they're set but not browned.
- Apples: Mix red or green food colour into part of dough; shape into small balls; insert small piece of cinnamon stick in top of each stem end and whole clove into bottom of each for blossom end; dilute red or green food colour with water and brush over apples.
- Apricots: Mix red and yellow food colours into part of dough; shape into small balls; make crease down 1 side of each with a wooden pick; insert whole clove in each for stem end; dilute red food colour with water and brush over apricots.
- Oranges: Mix red and yellow food colours into part of dough; shape into small balls; insert whole clove in each for blossom end; prick balls with blunt end of wooden pick to resemble texture of orange peel.
- Pears: Mix yellow food colour into part of dough; shape into small balls, then into cone shapes, rounding narrow end of each; insert small piece of stick cinnamon in narrow end for stem; dilute red food colour with water and brush on"cheeks" of pears.
- Bananas: Mix yellow food colour into part of dough; shape into 3-inch rolls, tapering end to resemble bananas; flatten tops slightly to show planes of banana; curve each slightly; paint on characteristic markings with mixture of red, yellow and blue food colours diluted with water.
- Strawberries: Mix red food colour into part of dough; shape into small balls, then into heart shapes (about 3/4-inch high); prick with blunt end of wooden pick for texture; roll each in red sugar; insert small piece of green-coloured wooden pick or green dough into top of each for stem.
margarine, sugar, flour, almond, food coloring, colored sugar, cloves, cinnamon stick
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/fruit-shaped-cookies-15398 (may not work)