A Plain and Sweet Christmas Romance Collection

by Lauralee Bliss

  Roll out on surface sprinkled with sweet rice flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. I found rolling out the dough in smaller amounts easier to handle. Cut with round cookie cutter and drop your favorite jam on each round. Traditionally, half the cookies were made with yellow jam (apricot or gooseberry) and the other half with red (plum), and when they were served, you never knew which color you would get. Fold the circles in half and pinch the edges firmly together. Place on baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until edges turn brown. These cookies are hard when they cool, then they are stored in a sealed container and by the next day are soft and delicious. The cookies may be either left plain or frosted with the following frosting.

  FROSTING

  Boil 1 cup sugar and 4 tablespoons water until string stage (takes a few minutes). Then pour syrup over one stiffly beaten egg white, continuing to beat until stiff and smooth. The Mennonite women would then put the cookies in a large bowl and pour the frosting over top, using their hands to coat them. I find it easier to put a rack over waxed paper, put the cookies on the rack, and pour the frosting over them. Let the frosting dry before you put the cookies in containers.

  Anna Schmidt is the author of over twenty works of fiction. Among her many honors, Anna is the recipient of Romantic Times’ Reviewer’s Choice Award and a finalist for the RITA award for romantic fiction. She enjoys gardening and collecting seashells at her winter home in Florida.