Tag Archives: patriotic cookies

MARBLE COOKIES

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I found these vintage marbles at an estate sale:The big one is a “shooter.”  I can see why marbles, with their bright colors and swirling patterns, are popular to collect.

I think we’re all pretty much losing our marbles these days thanks to the isolation, fear, and uncertainty related to the coronavirus.  But I’m not letting it get in the way of celebrating the 4th of July.  Inspired by the marbles, I made Marble Cookies (also known as Chinese Marble Cookies, although I don’t know why).  They’re not difficult to make, and they will definitely brighten up your holiday.

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MARBLE COOKIES
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on cookies
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cream of tartar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 2 cups flour
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Place the butter, sugar, and egg in a large bowl, and using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and almond extract. Stir in flour, mixing until thoroughly combined.
  3. Divide the dough into 3 portions. Color 1 portion blue, 1 portion red, and leave the third portion plain. (You can vary the number of colors as desired.) Be sure to mix the food coloring in thoroughly, and use enough to get a deep color.
  4. Roll each portion of dough between two sheets of parchment paper or wax paper. Remove paper and stack the portions together. (To do this, remove one sheet of paper from each portion. Stack one color on top of another, dough side down, peel off paper from top color, and repeat with third color. Leave paper on top and lightly roll the stack to ensure that the colors adhere to each other, then remove top paper.)
  5. Using the paper on the bottom as an aid, start from one side of the stack and roll the dough inwards to make a log. Slice the log into ¼" slices, and using your hands, lightly roll each slice into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet. Place about a ½ cup of sugar in a small bowl, and dip the bottom of a drinking glass in the sugar, then lightly flatten the cookies with the glass. Sprinkle cookies lightly with sugar.
  6. Bake for 8 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown. Allow to cool briefly on cookie sheet then transfer to rack to cool completely.
  7. Roll out each

Rolled and ready to be stacked

Little marbles of cookie dough

Flattened, sugared, and ready for the oven

They’ll stay bright if you don’t let them brown 

Marble cookies — don’t take them for granite!

If you’re looking for inspiration for other patriotic treats, here are others featured on Tag Sale Tastes over the past 8 years:

 

 

LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF BISCOTTI

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When in the course of blogging events, it becomes necessary to create a holiday dish, it’s fun to try to come up with something creative in order to form a more perfect celebration.  For this year’s 4th of July festivities, I’ll be making Red, White, and Blue Biscotti, which hit all the high notes with my family.  (I’ve seen it suggested that Chicken Catch-a-Tory would be a good Independence Day party dish, but these colorful biscotti are so much more fun.)  There’s a few steps involved, but the end result is worth the extra time.

Begin with your favorite biscotti recipe, or use the one I’ve provided below.  Divide the dough into thirds, placing each third in a separate bowl.

To color the dough, it’s best to use gel food color, as opposed to liquid food color, for deeper colors:

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Be careful when using the food color, however, as it will stain your clothes, countertops, wooden spoons, fingers, dogs, etc.  Don’t skimp on the food color — add enough to get the depth of color you desire, and mix it thoroughly into the dough (I find a metal fork works best for mixing the food color in):

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To shape the biscotti, cover your workspace with a sheet of waxed paper or parchment, and lightly flour the surface.  Place one portion of dough on the waxed paper, and using your bare arms (which is your right), knead the dough a few times and then roll into a log about 14 inches long.  Repeat with the remaining two portions of dough.  Lay the three logs side by side, and gently twist them to form a single log:

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Cut the log into two pieces and transfer to a baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  Shape logs into fat rectangles:

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Bake according to recipe directions, then remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet.  The dough will have puffed up considerably.

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When cool enough to handle comfortably, slice on the diagonal into 1/2-inch thick slices using a serrated knife.  Stand the slices up on the baking sheet.  (For some recipes, you lay the slices on their side and bake, then turn over and bake longer, but for this recipe, in order for the colors to stay sharp, you don’t want to brown the sides.)

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If you really want to gild the liberty bell, you can spread a little white chocolate on the tops of the biscotti and sprinkle with red, white and blue nonpareils:

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Peaceably assemble (which is your right) the biscotti in a decorative container, and stand back and receive full faith and credit for these crowd-pleasing treats.   If you bring these to a 4th of July picnic, it should be a self-evident truth that they will be a surefire hit.

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I tried to find a knock knock joke to post for the 4th of July, but apparently there aren’t any, because freedom rings.  Happy 4th of July!

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PLAIN BISCOTTI
Author: 
Recipe type: Cookie
 
The beauty of this recipe is that it's a blank canvas -- you can doctor it up as you desire with nuts, flavorings, chocolate, etc. The butter keeps it from being tooth-breaking hard, but still crunchy enough for dunking.
Ingredients
  • 2½ cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Place eggs, melted butter, and extracts in a large bowl, and beat together using an electric beater. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and stir until well combined, and a sticky dough is formed.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 5 or 6 times. (If making red, white, and blue biscotti, divide dough into thirds and color one third with red gel food color, one third with blue gel food color, and leave the last third uncolored. Form each third into a rope approximately 14 inches long. Lay the ropes side by side and gently twist to form a single rope.) Divide the log into two equal portions.
  5. Transfer the logs to a baking sheet, and using your hands, pat into fat rectangles. Bake until lightly browned and firm to the touch, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the logs from the oven and let stand until cool enough to handle.
  6. Reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees. Transfer the cooled logs to a cutting board and slice them on the diagonal into ½-inch thick slices using a serrated knife. Stand the cookies up on the cookie sheet and bake again until the biscotti are dry, approximately 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.