My great-grandmother used to make these cookies, which is how my family came to call them "Millie cookies." The recipe, however, sounds like something out of Paula Deen's kitchen. The cookies require two sticks of butter and the dough is so rich that you don't even need to butter the cookie sheet to prevent sticking. They've become less popular in my house since the late '90s—when my parents realized cholesterol was a thing—but these cookies were a constant part of my childhood.
When I was younger, my mom would make Millie cookies with thinly cut, elegant strips of almonds, and I would spend a lot of time eating carefully around them, proving that, even from an early age, I was discerning. If they are well made, these cookies can be delicious. Thin and brittle, they crumble in your mouth, dissolving in a haze of brown sugar, cinnamon, and fat.
I had a little bit of trouble with the Brunswick Apartment's oven, though. At home, I usually bake these cookies for 12 minutes at 375 degrees. But in my oven at Bowdoin, the cookies had started to burn after only seven minutes. So definitely watch them carefully and check on them regularly.
Make sure to chill the dough for a long time, too, so that you can cut the cookies thinly and evenly. The great thing about icebox cookies is that you can store the dough, and just make three or four cookies at a time, whenever you feel like eating them. If you were to make them all at once, one recipe makes about two dozen thin cookies.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups flour
1 jumbo egg (or 11/2 large eggs)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 lb. brown sugar
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
(optional)
Step One:
Cream the butter really well.
Step Two:
Add the sugar and egg. Beat until smooth.
Step Three:
Add the flour in four additions, mixing well after each one. Then add almonds (optional).
Step Four:
Roll into one or two logs, depending on their length and thickness, and wrap well in wax paper or aluminum foil. Place in freezer overnight.
Step Five:
Slice the cookies thinly, and place them about two inches apart on an unbuttered cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for from seven to 12 minutes. Watch them carefully. Let cool for about 10 minutes before eating.