A Week of Whole Grain Baking, Day 8: Soft Barley Sugar Cookies

Yes, I am fully aware that there are only seven days in a week, but I just couldn't leave out these sugar cookies from the roundup, seeing as how they are whole grain and were a part of the baking marathon. (Rest assured, this is the last post in my series on whole grain baking! Sadly, even with all this baking, I didn't finish all the flour. On a side note, I have now made more than enough [winning] recipes from this book to give it a glowing review! Buy it!) Aside from the necessary overnight chill, these cookies, made with sour cream, were easy to make. The first line in the header for this recipe says, "These taste just like my Grandma's!" Now, these barley cookies definitely aren't my grandmother's, (now that I think of it I can't recall my grandmothers baking cookies..) but they do give off a comforting, homey scent. The cookies stay soft for a while, which is a major bonus. I'm guessing that's due to the sour cream in it. The recipe calls for making ten HUGE cookies but I made regular sized cookies. I made these the night the girls were set to head off to Poland and I think they were very much appreciated. What's amazing about this whole week of baking is that no one could tell these baked goods were whole grain, just delicious. This recipe included. I hope I've encouraged you enough to seek out some whole grain flours (if I can find them in Israel, you can!) and try some of these recipes.

Soft Barley Sugar Cookies
from Whole Grain Baking

1/2 cup margarine or butter
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 egg
1 1/2 cups barley flour
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sour cream
sugar for sprinkling

Place the butter through lemon juice in a bowl.

Cream well.

Add the egg,

beating until smooth.

Add the flours and sour cream,

and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat your oven to 450. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop balls of dough and coat in sugar. Place on baking sheets and flatten. Bake for about 8 minutes until theyre just golden around the edges but still look soft in the center. Cool on their pans for ten minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.