We first had these cookies in Jan. 2013 at a B&B in Westerly, RI. The proprietor kindly shared her handwritten recipe with me. Unfortunately, some ingredient proportions were unclear (e.g., two sticks butter, 1 box confectioners sugar), so we had to guess. The flavor was correct, but the batter was too runny to mold.
1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl: 1 cup white sugar (we used vanilla-infused), 6 eggs (well-beaten), 2 sticks melted butter (we assume 1 stick = ½ cup, so 2 sticks = 1 cup), and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract. Using a electric hand mixer, we blended these on low setting.
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: 5 cups flour and 6 tsp (or 2 Tbsp) baking powder (we wonder if this was too much baking powder).
3. Slowly blend the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, taking care not to overmix (so that the flour doesn’t get gummy).
4. If the dough is too runny to handle, pour into Saran Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (see Note below). Then, scoop out the dough with a household tablespoon and drop each scoop, two inches apart, on a parchment lined cookie sheet (we had two sheets ready for about 24 cookies). Bake in preheated oven and bake for 10 mins, until bottom edges are slightly browned.
5. While cookies are baking, whisk one stick (we assume ½ cup) melted butter with one box (we assume 8-10 oz confectioners sugar) and 1 tsp vanilla extract. This mixture will be lumpy. Slowly drizzle up to ¼ cup milk (we used about 1/8 cup) into the mixture, stirring until icing is smooth.
6. Using a flat turner, gently transfer each cookie to a wire cooking rack. Smear about 1-2 tsp of the icing (we used a dinner fork) onto each cookie, then let the cookies cool. This recipe is courtesy of Carole Cillino Marshall of Parkside East B&B in Westerly, RI. (Nov. 2017)
Note: When Carole made these cookies, she rolled each dough ball into twists. We found our dough too runny to do anything but scoop it into drop cookies onto the baking sheet, and that was after the dough had firmed up a bit from being refrigerated. If you do manage to roll your dough into twists, the baking time is 18 mins at 350.
Cooking Adventures 