Cookies

Russian Mint Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 large egg, slightly beaten

3 cups flour, plus more for your hands

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

For the glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract

Food coloring (optional)

2 to 4 tablespoons milk

Combine the sugar, 1/2 cup water and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes, remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in the peppermint extract and egg.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 baking sheets with oil spray.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the cooled syrup mixture. (The dough will be very sticky.) Use your floured hands to roll teaspoons of dough into 1-inch balls. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the balls slightly.

Bake 7 to 10 minutes, just until the cookies are slightly golden and the tops have cracked a little.

While the cookies are baking, prepare the glaze: Combine the confectioners’ sugar, peppermint extract, food coloring and enough milk to create a thin, creamy glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies while they’re still on the baking sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Makes about 50 cookies.

Source: Adapted by The Washington Post from “The Joy of Cookies,” by Sharon Tyler Herbst (Barron’s, 1987).

Per cookie: 60 calories, 0 g protein, 13 g carbohydrates, 1 g fat, 0 saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 20 mg sodium, 0 fiber, 7 g sugar.