Red Light, Green Light Cookies
December 2008
Most likely to stop everyone in their tracks.
Makes: 36 servings
Prep: 35 mins
Bake: 20 mins
- 1 1/4cups rolled oats
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4cup each strawberry jelly, apple jelly and apricot jam
- Green liquid food coloring
- Using a food processor, grind the oats to make coarse crumbs, about 30 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and process for 10 seconds.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at high speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla at medium speed until just incorporated. Mix in the dry ingredients at low speed until just blended. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees . Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Pinch off 1-inch balls of the chilled dough and roll between your palms to shape into 2-inch logs; place 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets. Using your finger, make 3 indentations in a row in each cookie; bake for 8 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheets to a work surface and reshape the indentations in each cookie using the end of a wooden spoon handle. Reverse the sheets in the oven and bake the cookies until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
- In separate small bowls, microwave the jellies and jam until slightly liquid, about 45 seconds. Stir 3 drops of green food coloring into the apple jelly. Using a small spoon, fill the indentations in each cookie with the 3 jellies, in the style of a traffic light: red, yellow, green. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely.
Tip
Waste not:
- Reuse parchment paper until it turns brittle or gets burned.