COOKIE AND CRACKER RECIPES

Steps:

• Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and oil, blending well, and turn out on to a floured surface. Knead four or five times. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick and cut into 1 x 1 1/2-inch dumplings.
• In a large saucepan, combine the water and bouillon cubes/soup base. Boil until the bouillon cubes/soup base dissolve. Cook the dumplings until just about done; dumplings are done when they float up towards the top of the pot. Use a strainer to remove them to a bowl and set aside. Reserve the cooking liquid.
• While the dumplings are cooking, you can start to prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in medium saucepan. Add salt and flour; stir until thick. Mix the sugar with the milk and add to flour mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly with a whisk until thick and smooth. Remove from heat. Add the cooked dumplings to the sauce.
• Reserve 3/4-1 cup of the cooking liquid and stir gently into the sauce and dumplings. Return to low heat and simmer until blended. If the sauce seems too thick, gently stir in a little more cooking liquid. Add pepper to taste.

Steps:

• Lightly grease 2 baking sheets, or line with parchment paper-(I use parchment) Dough: Whisk together the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into small cubes, and work it into the dry ingredients using your fingers, a mixer or a fork, mixing until the dough in unevenly crumbly.
• Drizzle with the orange juice and water,mixing until dough holds together and it doesn't seem all dry or crumbly-you've added enough liquid.
• Divide the dough in 1/2, and shape each 1/2 into a small rectangles ;pressing each of the 4 sides against the work surface to smooth any rough edges.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Remove 1 piece of dough from the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350^. Place dough on a lightly floured parchment paper surface. Roll it into a rectangle 10x 14-inches, about a little less than 1/8 -inch thick; the THINNER the better. Ragged edges are OK. The thinner you can roll them without tearing the better!
• Brush dough lightly with some of the beaten egg, then spread 1/2 the surface with 3/4 cup of the raisins, pressing them in carefully. Fold dough over raisins and flatten dough again with rolling pin. to about 6x15-inches. Some raisins might pop though- that's OK. Slide dough off parchment paper onto the prepared cookie sheet. Brush dough with some of the beaten egg ,(if using the coarse sugar,sprinkle on now).
• Using a roiling pizza wheel or bench knife, carefully cut the rectangle of dough inti 3 strips,lengthwise. Then crosswise into 5 pieces.No need to separate they will break apart when you finish baking them. But you can separate them if you wish.Both ways work well. Because they don't expand much.Using a fork poke holes all over the top of the dough.
• Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 18 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on rack. If you do not need the cookie pan you can cool them on the pan. I baked them apart this time- but like them left together with perforations then baked.