Icebox Cookie Recipe:
- 2 C sifted all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 C soft butter
- 1 C sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 C finely chopped nuts
On sheet of waxed paper, sift flour with baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl beat butter until light. Gradually beat in sugar. Add egg and vanilla; continue beating until very light and fluffy.
At low speed beat in half the flour mixture. Mix in rest, with hands, to form a stiff dough. Add chopped nuts mixing to combine well.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Divide in half. With hands, shape each half into a roll 7 inches long. Wrap each roll in saran or foil. Refrigerate until firm, about 8 hours or overnight, before slicing and baking. (rolls of dough may be stored in refrigerator as long as 10 days).
Preheat oven to 375. With charp knife cut as many 1/8 inch slices asz desired for baking at one time. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets and bake 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Chocolate Variation: Melt 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate (my mom maybe uses milk) over hot, not boiling water. Cool and add to butter mixture, then proceed as above.
Almond Variation: mom subs out the vanilla extract for almond extract. Possibly adds more, she does it to taste.
Lemon Pecan: omit vanilla extract; add 1 Tbsp lemon peel to creamed butter mixture. Use finely chopped pecans. Proceed as above.
Orange Coconut: Omit vanilla extract; add 1 Tbsp grated orange peel to creamed butter mixture. Omit nuts. Use 1 can (3.5 oz) flaked coconut or 1/2 package (7 oz size) grated coconut. Proceed as above.
For Swirls: Refrigerate the dough in a flat mound prior to rolling it out. Roll out the dough on wax paper. Make it as rectangular as possible and make it the same size and shape as the chocolate layer. Lay the vanilla on the chocolate layer. Use the wax paper to roll into a cylinder. Refrigerate after rolling into a log to harden before slicing.
From Book: McCall’s Cookbook: the Absolutely Complete Step by Step Cooking and Service Guide