CLOTHES PIN COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375..if using a dark cookie sheet bake at 370. Do not grease cookie sheets. Prepare your clothes pins having them handy once you roll out the dough and cut it to place on the pins.
• 2. Place margarine, crisco, egg yolk, butter flavoring and flour into a food processor. Pulse until well combined. Slowly add water until blended well and dough forms a ball in the bowl. Remove dough from processor.
• 3. **I don't have a food processor so I cut in the butter and shortening into the flour mixture with a butter knife, just as I do for my pie crust..then I used a large serving fork to mix when adding the water to form a ball.
• 4. Once dough is combined well and you have made it into a ball, flatten it some and then cut into quarters...wrapping them each and placing them in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes. Now remove from freezer and place in fridge...using ONE quarter at a time while leaving the rest in the fridge..take a floured pie crust mat, or a floured area on your counter top..Flour it well, the dough wants to stick, so be careful as you roll it out with a rolling pin. Roll your dough out into a rectangle if possible making it about 1/8 inch thick..and then cut your strips about 3/4 inch wide by 4 inches long...now take your clothes pin and wrap the dough around the clothespin..as shown in picture here.
• 5. Place seam side down on the cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes, watching carefully. YOu want the bottom of the cookie to be golden.
• 6. Remove from cookie sheet and CAREFULLY remove the spiral cookie from the clothes pin..it may seem delicate and difficult at first, but it gets easier as you go along. The clothes pins are HOT..so please be careful. Allow the cookies to cool completely before filling with buttercream!!
• 7. BUTTERCREAM FROSTING: Cream butter, shortening, vanilla extract, and butter flavoring with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Now add confectioners sugar and adding 1 T. of milk at a time until buttercream is light and ready to fill cookies. At this point use your judgement as to whether or not you need more milk or more confectioners sugar...
• 8. Once cookies are completely cooled..take a decorator's bag or plastic bag and fill with butter cream frosting and insert into end of cookie spiral and fill. Once filled sprinkle with confectioners sugar.
• 9. You can use your own ideas as far as filling them with some of the suggestions I gave above...I did do the buttercream and used a small amount of food coloring to make pink, greeen, yellow and then also add seedless raspberry jam for some. Have fun with this..but remember these are very delicate, so don't use a heavy filling..