Brown Eyed Susans

http://i.imgur.com/IZC40.jpg

I had never heard of a Brown Eyed Susan before. Ever. Which is interesting because almost anyone I told about these cookies after making them said “Oh! Those are good.” Seriously, how had everyone heard of this cookie except for me?

I had found the cookie recipe torn out of a cookbook that looked like a flashback to the 1970s, on a page touting these as delicious after school snacks, along with some chocolate sandwich cookies. I thought they looked interesting, and they certainly sounded interesting. So, I decided to give them a try, since they sounded easy enough. Plus, they involved thumbprints and I’m a sucker for any kind of thumbprint cookies ever since my childhood when I got to make thumbprint cookies with my mom. Pressing my thumb into the dough is a sensation that absolutely evokes memories for me.

Start by mixing sugar, butter or margarine, an egg, and some vanilla in a bowl.

http://i.imgur.com/gXqBr.jpg

Cream that together until it’s well-combined.

http://i.imgur.com/GtMMk.jpg

Add in some flour to make the dough. If it’s too soft to roll into balls, go ahead and pop it in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes, just to get it a little stiffer.

http://i.imgur.com/wrE11.jpg

Roll those into one inch balls. Or at least, close to one inch. I rarely measure mine and end up guessing, which means I get fewer cookies because I overestimate the size.

Place those on a cookie sheet and prepare to bake them– they don’t bake long, about 8-10 minutes.

http://i.imgur.com/n1AVz.jpg

Then it’s time for the fun part– the thumbprints! Press your thumb gently into the top of each cookie. I found that it helped to flour my thumb lightly so the cookie didn’t stick to my thumb.

http://i.imgur.com/Gdd7w.jpg

When they’re all done, it’ll look something like this.

http://i.imgur.com/4qOe8.jpg

While those bake, it’s time to prepare the chocolate frosting. It’s a simple mixture of powdered sugar, melted butter, cocoa powder, and milk.

http://i.imgur.com/9zr1k.jpg

Mix that together until it has a smooth consistency. This frosting is very good, has a rich chocolate taste, and would also taste very good piped into a cupcake for a delicious chocolate filling (you may need to add a little additional milk to thin it out slightly).

http://i.imgur.com/03hiP.jpg

When the cookies are baked and cooled, top them with a teaspoonful of the chocolate frosting. Then, press an almond into the top of each one!

http://i.imgur.com/tsCDk.jpg

Ta-da! Delicious!

http://i.imgur.com/HSyml.jpg

Let me know in the comments below: Have you ever heard of Brown-Eyed Susans? Am I the only one left out of the loop?

Brown-eyed Susans
 
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 2/3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate filling
Almonds (garnish)
Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla in small bowl until fluffy. Add flour and salt, blending well. Shape small portion of dough into 1 inch balls (chill if it’s too soft). Place on ungreased cookie sheet, then make indentation in center with thumb. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until firm and lightly browned. Fill with teaspoonful of Chocolate Filling. Swirl with spatula; top with almond. Remove from cookie sheet onto rack to cool (the recipe says that you get about 3 dozen cookies… I managed to get about 1 dozen)
Chocolate Filling
Combine 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, 3 tablespoons Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk; blend until smooth and creamy.