No-Icing Fall Leaf Cookies

You know what I always wanted when I was growing up?

I'm going to guess that you don't, in fact, know what I wanted, and just tell you. I wanted a super-cool nickname. I figured if I had a nickname, then people would basically be in love with me and we could sit around in hair braiding circles at recess and  talk about baking cupcakes with light bulbs. And there would be glitter.  And also maybe, they would watch me walk by and think to themselves, "Now THAT'S a girl with a nickname. I'm so jealous." For a while, I kind of just hoped it would happen to me. I stood around staring at people, willing them to use some incredibly witty and attractive nickname when they asked to borrow my pencil. Nickname-mind-willing isn't really a special talent of mine though, so I had to move on to Plan B.

I tried to force it. At first, I went with J.J. (For no reason other than that I thought "J's" looked pretty when they were all stacked up next to each other.) I'd sign that name at the bottom of every entry in my secret diary. (You know, in case I got amnesia someday, I needed a way to be able to identify myself and account for all of my 3rd grade thoughts.) But for some reason, it never really caught on. Which is probably the reason that I was never voted prom queen of my elementary school. That, and the fact that we didn't actually have prom queens in elementary school. 


I tried at least a dozen different nicknames through elementary, middle, and even high school. They just didn't take. But I didn't give up. I wasn't going to let go of that happy dream from my childhood. I had already been forced to give up my favorite blanket. There was no way I tossing this in the trash too. And I'm happy to say that I am the poster child for perseverance. Because, this one time, when I was like 22, this guy had this super cool nickname for me and he used it every day for nearly 2 weeks before he left and I never saw him again. But for those two weeks, I bet I could have joined *any* hair-braiding circle and talked about cupcakes and people probably would have given me glitter. 

Now, there is this other guy in my life that calls me "Mom." And he doesn't really have any hair to braid, and I don't think he's all that interested in baking cupcakes with light bulbs. He DOES, however, like to help me make cookies. And these leaf cookies were the perfect activity for his very last day of being a non-school-goer.


1. Start with a non-spreading vanilla sugar cookie dough. Divide it into 4 blobs and knead food coloring into them. Wear gloves if at all possible.

2. Mush pieces of them together. Don't mix them too much.

3. Roll it out flat and press with a leaf veiner or impression mat (or a washed and dried grape leaf.)

4. Line up the leaf cutter along the center vein and cut out your cookie.


Crumple up some aluminum foil and place it on a baking sheet. 

Gently place your leaf cut-outs haphazardly across the aluminum foil. Bake as usual. Allow to cool before removing from the foil.

Serve with Whipped Pumpkin Spice Butter Cream. Eat until you are sick. Or until your conscience kicks in. Or, if your house starts on fire for some unknown reason, you should also stop eating then.
Georganne
Georganne

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