There is nothing more wonderful than the beautiful simplicity of a drop cookie. And, it doesn't take much to turn them into something special - just some luscious frosting and a few sprinkles. These buttermilk cookies are soft and tender and provided me with a blank canvas that I used to create a winter wonderful with just a sprinkle of white sugar crystals. The recipe is from Taste of Home's Best Loved Cookies and Candies, copyright 2010.
Mom's Buttermilk Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
Frosting:
3 tbsp. butter, softened
3-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, optional
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
For the frosting, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl; beat until smooth. Frost the cookies; sprinkle with chopped walnuts if desired.
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Beat in the egg and vanilla flavoring.
Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add them alternately with the buttermilk. I usually add 1/3 of the flour at a time.
It's very rare that I have buttermilk in the refrigerator so I thought I would use it in as many recipes as possible over the holidays.
Add half of the buttermilk after adding the first 1/3 of the flour. Repeat the process one more time then add the remaining 1/3 of flour.
The batter will be thick and will smell wonderful like pound cake batter!
I like to use a spoon and spatula when I'm making drop cookies. Parchment paper is a must!!
The drop cookie: perfect in its imperfection.
I baked for exactly ten minutes.
While the cookies cooled, I whipped up the frosting, starting with 3 tbsp. of softened butter.
Next came the powdered sugar.
And, finally, the milk and vanilla.
The frosting was VERY thick so I added another tablespoonful of milk.
The perfect consistency!
Grab your favorite sprinkles and get creative!
These cookies are soft, rich, and creamy like eating a pound cake in cookie form. Perfect for your holiday cookie tray!
Enjoy!!!
These cookies are so good! Mama brought us some "leftovers" so we got to sample everything.
ReplyDeleteI loved these. They were my Mama's favorites but my Daddy kept eating them so she only got one. I think I'm going to make them at Valentine's Day and add some pink frosting and sprinkles.
ReplyDeleteClassic...and a family favorite too! :)
ReplyDeleteThese look so pretty!
ReplyDelete