Dissolve hartshorn in milk and set aside.
Beat eggs till thick and lemon-colored (10-20 minutes).
Slowly beat in the powdered sugar, then the softened butter.
Add the hartshorn and milk, salt, preferred flavoring, and grated rind of lemon or orange, if desired.
Gradually beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer, then stir in the remainder of the 2 lbs. of flour to make stiff dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead in enough flour to make a good print without sticking. Follow general directions for imprinting and drying cookies.
Bake on greased or baker's parchment-lined cookie sheets at 255° to 325° till barely golden on the bottom, 10-15 minutes or more, depending on size of cookie. Store in airtight containers or in zipper bags in the freezer. They keep for months, and improve with age. Yield 3 to 12 dozen.
General Directions for Printing Cookies Size and liquidity of eggs, flour, and weather can affect your dough. Use your senses to decide if the dough will print well without sticking. You may need to use less or more flour than the recipe states.
To Prevent Sticking: Brush flour over mold with a clean, dry pastry brush to prevent sticking. The mold we are using can be seen online at http://www.houseonthehill.net Printing Cookies: Dough will be rolled approximately 1/4" to 3/8" thick, like pie crust (deeper molds need thicker dough). Brush flour on the mold image, then imprint with your press (mold), cut out shape with knife or pastry wheel, dry and bake. To cut out, use a cutter where possible, like this one for the pumpkin: http://www.houseonthehill.net Drying Most printed cookies need to be dried for 12-24 hours before baking (depending on your schedule, humidity, etc.) Drying preserves the image during baking. Test bake one cookie first! It saves grief!
Baking Temperatures Ovens vary widely! If your test cookie over puffs or tilts, reduce heat, put an empty cookie sheet on bottom oven shelf, or prop the oven door slightly ajar with handle of a wooden spoon to wick off heat. For tiny cookies, you may need the temperature set as low as 200 degrees. In general, the smaller the cookie, the lower the temperature. The larger the cookie the higher the temperature. Hartshorn (Ammonium Carbonate or Baker's Ammonia) Hartshorn is an old-time leavening unexcelled for any cookies and produces an especially light, delicate texture. Hartshorn can be substituted for baking powder proportionately one-to-one in cookie or cracker recipes. Hartshorn is not affected by age, but it will evaporate. Doughs made with hartshorn store well, as its leavening action is only triggered by heat, not moisture. There will be an ammonia smell during baking, but it will be baked out of your cookies.
From the Black Cat Cafe & Bakery, Sharon Springs, NY, with permission from House on the Hill http://blackcat-ny.com/halloween2007/ and http://www.houseonthehill.net These whisked-egg holiday cookies date back to at least the 1600's and are made in Bavaria, Switzerland and the Alsace area of France. For eating quality, ease and quality of prints this recipe is just perfection!
