Condensed Milk Cookies

These roll out / cut out cookies have a soft texture and are mildly sweet with a buttery taste that I find familiar at Christmas time. They are great just plain, dipped in tea or coffee, or serve with ice cream. This recipe is from Local Milk and she made Thai Ice Cream Sandwiches using these cookies.This is what gave me the idea to make and serve them with a Ginger Ice Cream that I made last week for my cooking club's "Thai One On" dinner.

We all enjoyed the cookies with our ice cream and hot tea (they are delicious with a hot cup of tea!) 

This is a great dough to work with and the cookies freeze beautifully. They can be cut into any shape and would be great for any holiday or festivity. Decorate for any holiday with colored sugars (such as red & green sugar for Christmas, orange sugar for Halloween, pastel sugars for Easter, or whatever colors you'd like for your special holiday or festivity.)

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus up to an additional 1/2 cup
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling (optional)
• 1 (14 oz) can condensed milk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter & sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and condensed milk.

When combined add dry ingredients about one cup at a time and mix until just combined. If mixture appears too wet add up to another 1/2 cup of flour until desired consistency.  Note: this dough will seem wet but it will chill and harden in the refrigerator before rolling out. (I did use all 4 cups of flour and the dough came out great for rolling).

Divide dough into two discs and wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least half an hour and, if making ahead, up to three days. Dough can also be frozen at this point up to three months.

Heat oven to 350° F

Place dough on a floured work surface and roll out to 1/4-1/8 of an inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Using a wooden skewer or other object (like the tip of a thermometer, as suggested by Local Milk) poke the cookies with holes. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes on racks. If using for ice cream sandwiches, place in a large ziplock bag and freeze. Otherwise they can be stored in an air tight container or frozen (and brought to room before serving).

I found these cookies to taste best after the sit for a few hours or the next day.

Enjoy!