These are Amish brown sugar cookies that I picked up in Wayne County, Indiana. They may not be the world’s most colorful cookies, but they make for an easy, soft, sweet treat.
Brown sugar has a lot of uses in Amish kitchens, among them:
USES FOR BROWN SUGAR
- Sprinkle brown sugar on cereal
- Sprikle some into your granola
- Add a couple teaspoons to chili to give it a sweet balance
- Add some to homemade barbecue sauce
- Make a pie!
Amish brown sugar cookies are a sweet treat!
Brown sugar is an inexpensive and versatile sweetener that Amish families often buy in bulk. Most Amish bulk food stores sell sacks of brown sugar which are more economical to buy than the small boxes of Domino’s that most non-Amish buy. Meanwhile, these cookies would be good on their own, but apply a layer of homemade maple frosting to the tops and they are out of this world! I had some for breakfast this morning. This cookie is a classic Amish recipe because they are so easy, with such basic ingredients.
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- ½ cup butter
- 1¼ cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Heat oven to 350ºF.
- Beat together shortening, butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla in medium bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls or use small cookie scoop. Place 2-inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to cooling rack after 1 minute.
Add maple syrup frosting:
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbls. maple syrup
In a small bowl mix the sugar and extract and then mix in syrup until desired consistency. Spread onto cool cookies.
