Dough may be stored in refrigerator up to four days. This recipe came from Karli Cunningham, a neighbor of the Ritters, and makes 4 1/2 to 5 dozen.
Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
3 1/2 cups flour (no need to sift — measure by lightly spooning into cup and leveling off)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
VANILLA SUGAR
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine yeast, room-temperature eggs and sour cream.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. With a pastry blender, cut in butter and shortening until the mixture is crumbly. Add egg mixture and vanilla to dry ingredients, mixing well. Cover; chill at least 2 hours.
In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar and vanilla. Stir to blend.
Roll out half of chilled dough on lightly floured surface which has been sprinkled with about 1/2 cup vanilla sugar. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar on top. Fold one end of the dough over to center. Fold other end over to make 3 layers. Turn around and repeat folding to center.
Roll out again to a 16-by-8-inch rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut into 4-by-1-inch strips. Twist each strip 2 or 3 times.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat entire process with remaining dough and vanilla sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, until light golden brown.
Wine ideas:
The cardinal rule with dessert wines is to make sure the wine is sweeter than the dessert. That’s no problem with these lightly sweet cookies: You could pair them with even the sweetest wines, like ice wine from Germany or Ontario.
Tara Q. Thomas
