York Cookie Recipe

I’ve learned a few things over the weekend.

I’ve learned that the very first workout you’re going to get from your new Ab Lounger is going to take place when you assemble it. I’ve learned that if you want to make stuffed mushrooms and get them done all the way through you should roast the mushrooms first. And I’ve learned that no matter what you tell yourself, the tastes of your youth are something that will never let you down.

I stumbled across my mothers’ old York Cookie recipe while I was digging around in some paperwork that had absolutely no business having a recipe attached to it. (I scribble on envelopes sometimes.) It wasn’t long before my fear of baking was overcome by my dire need to have one or three of these tasty, fluffy, crumbly little delights, and it was off to the market to pick up some fresh lemons for juicing. (Mom used the really fresh kind… The little yellow squeeze bottle with leaves for a tag, but I figured I’d go low-brow and use fresh lemons.)

Note: I’ve adjusted this recipe to make enough dough to cover a full sheet pan. If you’re using a 9×13″, you can half it, or it will require 2 9×13″ pans.

Yield: 24 cookies

York Cookie Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ Tablespoon ground nutmeg
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (I suppose you could use orange juice, but I wouldn’t go with lime)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Mix butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add flour by thirds until well mixed. Mix eggs and milk together in a separate cup. Add the eggs and milk and mix until blended. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine.
3. Thoroughly grease a cookie sheet. Spread dough to cover at about ¼-inch thick. Sprinkle with sugar and bake until golden brown and nummy! about 15 minutes.
4. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve with coffee, tea or milk. Add a sprinkling of fresh nutmeg over the top of the cookies just before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 291Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 241mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 3g

What I wold have done differently had I thought about it at the time:

Well, nothing really. The cookies came out fantastically. My only issue is that spreading York Cookie batter is just slightly less difficult than spreading mortar on a wall with a toothpick. This is a very sticky dough, and none of my utensils wanted to play nice with it. At one point I thought of abandoning the whole idea and eating the dough raw.

In the end, I got to relive several moments of my childhood. Especially the ones that concern the smell of York cookies wafting through my house and the smile on my mother’s face in the light of our little kitchen window. Even after 8 years I terribly miss that smile sometimes.