Every wonder why we put coins in “Piggy Banks” for savings? Historically, there was the notion of “Prosperity Pigs”, that the pig symbolized wealth, prosperity and luck, and putting a little something away for savings can never hurt. In Germany, the pig still has a place for luck (“Glücksschwein” — Lucky Pig) and often around New Year’s you see little marzipan pigs adorning sweets. Along that theme, I made some very vanilla-y Piggy “Lucky” Cookies, to help ring in the new year 2024.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
You will also meed a pig shaped cookie cutter and (optional) a text imprinter, such as this thing
Directions
Prepare a cookie sheet with was paper. This will be for chilling the cookies, not for baking. Also prepare cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper (for baking).
In mixing bowl, cream together unsalted butter, sugar and egg until light and fluffy. Beat in flour, baking powder, orange juice and vanilla until smooth and well combined. Chill in refrigerator 2-3 hours or until firm enough to be rolled.
Preheat over to 400F. Roll out half of the dough on a well floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness (be careful to get the surface even, otherwise you will have oddly-browned cookies. Also, do not roll the dough to thin, otherwise you will have hard cookies when they come out of the oven).
Cut with the piggie cookie cutter. Place on cookie sheet with the wax paper. Refrigerate each tray for about ten minutes (this is very important for the cookies to hold their shape; do not skip this step!) Once you take the sheet of cookies out of the fridge, imprint them with text of your choice — I went with lucky, but Happy New Year would also be appropriate. Repeat this with other half of the dough.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown at the edges. Cool on wire rack.
