Recipe - Leckerli Cookies

One half cup Honey
1/3 cup Sugar
2 One half cup Unsifted flour (see note)
4 teaspoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
1 pn Nutmeg
1 pn Cloves
2/3 cup Sliced almonds
3 tablespoon Candied orange peel, finely
chopped
3 tablespoon Candied lemon peel, finely
chopped
1 Egg
2 tablespoon Kirsch OR orange juice
Milk
Glaze (recipe follows)
Candied red cherries,
halved, for topping
Angelica or candied citron
peel, cut into leaf shapes
for topping

Spices and candied fruit are in these chewy cookie squares.

NOTE: When unsifted flour is called for, fluff up the flour in the sack
orcontainer with a fork before measuring.

Preheat oven to 375~.

Combine honey and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat slowly, stirring
constantly, until honey thinks and sugar dissolves; cool slightly.

Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves into a large bowl.
Add almonds, candied orange and lemon peels; mix to coat.

Add cooled honey mixture, egg and kirsch to flour mixture; stir with wooden
spoon until blended. Knead dough together with palm of hand until mixture
cleans side of bowl; shape into ball; flatten slightly.

Roll dough between two sheets of wax paper to a 13x9 inch rectangle,
slightly less than 1/4inch thick, keeping edges as even as possible.
Remove top piece of wax paper; flip dough onto lightly greased cookie
sheet; removesecond piece of wax paper. Brush top lightly with milk.

Bake in 375~ oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookie sheet
to wire tack. Trim edges of cookie dough; cut into 2inch squares.

Make Glaze. Brush quickly over warm Leckerli. (Do not make syrup until
Leckerli are out ofthe oven or syrup will harden) Decorate with candied
red cherry halves and angelica leaves. Glaze will harden and turn white.

~= Glaze: Combine One half cu granulated sugar and 3 Tablespoons water in
saucepan. Cook about 5 minutes or until it registers 235~ on candy
thermometer. Brush glaze on cookies while both are still warm.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini