Recipe of the Week; CLOTHESPIN COOKIES

Nothing says "It's Christmas!" to me like cookie tin filled with Mom's homemade clothespin cookies! She made these religiously year after year, and God Bless her for it!!

I too have taken on the daunting task of creating these mini masterpieces at Christmas, although since I've moved back to PA I don't regularly make them because Mom does and I can always steal a dozen or so from her!

The recipe I am posting is the one Mom uses, but I've seen similarly styled cookies made with puff pastry dough. That would seem like such an easy and heavenly alternative, but I'm kind of a stickler for the traditional way Mom made hers. Do make these- they are not as complicated as you may think. And if you're just not into all the measuring, rolling, and wrapping, try the puff pastry and let me know how they are!

Before you begin, you will need clothespins. Use the old-fashioned, (non-spring type) ones. You can find them primarily these days in craft stores.

Wrap the pins in aluminum foil. As an alternative to this, you could also use a dowel rod. Either cut the rod to clothespin lengths, or simply wrap several strips of dough on one rod, leaving enough space between them. I recommend 2 inches, as the cookies will puff a little during baking. You can also find "horns" in kitchen stores, but why go through the expense?

DOUGH:

1 package dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup room temperature evaporated milk

1 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs

Dissolve yeast in warm water, set aside. Mix evaporated milk, butter, vanilla and eggs in large mixing bowl. Gradually mix in yeast. Add salt, sugar and flour slowly to the mixture until a soft dough forms. Chill for at least one hour. You can prepare the filling while this chills.

FILLING:

1 cup milk

5 tablespoons flour

1 cup Crisco (not butter flavored, and no other brand of shortening works- BELIEVE ME.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar (fine granulated sugar works well)

Using a small saucepan on medium heat, mix milk and flour until it forms a soft ball. Stir constantly to avoid lumps. The mixture is completely ready when it sticks to itself and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and forms it's own ball. I cannot stress enough to MIX MIX MIX while it's boiling. Flour lumps are not welcome in this filling.

Allow mixture to cool completely. In a mixing bowl, add the Crisco, sugar and vanilla. Mix with an electric mixer until well combined. This process may take awhile, as the sugar should be beaten well to avoid gritty frosting. A stand mixer comes in handy here, as I've had to mix this for up to 15 minutes to get the right texture. The best way to check this is by tasting while it mixes.

Once the milk mixture is completely cool, add to Crisco and mix with electric mixer again until all ingredients are well combined. You should have a white, creamy filling.

You may add food coloring at this point if you wish, if I'm in the mood I'll tint some of the filling red and some of it green.

Store filling in a covered container in the refrigerator until you are ready to start filling cookies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once dough has been chilled, divide it into fourths, working with only one portion at a time. Keep the dough in the fridge until you're ready to start rolling. Roll the dough on a floured surface until it is approximately 1/4-inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into strips. roughly 3/4-inch wide and 4 to 5 inches long.

Wrap the dough strips around the foil-wrapped pins, overlapping the dough enough so that it doesn't separate during baking.

Place cookies on baking sheet. I suggest using a silpat or parchment paper on your cookie sheet to avoid the cookies from browning too much on the bottom. These cookies should retain a soft and somewhat delicate texture once they are baked.

Repeat with remaining dough until all the cookies have been baked.

Use a pastry bag or a zip-lock fitted with a large tip (I like the large star) to fill the cookies. Squirt into each side of the cookie to ensure the cookies are filled throughout.

I have dipped the ends of the cookies into fine colored sugar for the holidays upon occasion, although it's totally unnecessary. You could also finely dust with confectioners sugar if desired, this looks especially festive if you tint your filling.

These cookies freeze wonderfully for the holidays.