Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup applesauce, recipe follows
1 1/2 cups raisins
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Cooking Recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the brown sugar and continue creaming. Then add the eggs and applesauce mixing well. Gradually add the dry ingredients for preparation and raisins to make dough.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet (save those butter papers!) and bake until light golden brown, about 9 to13 minutes. The cookies do not brown very much. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Applesauce:
6 apples, McIntosh preferred
1 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

Peel and core apples and cut into quarters. Place them in an enamel sauce pan with the water and lemon juice then bring to a boil then turn the heat down slightly and simmer 30 minutes to break them down and get them to thicken. Take off the heat and stir in the sugar and cinnamon, if using.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Approximately 3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Icing, recipe follows
Silver balls
Gold balls
Icing:
2 tablespoons egg whites*
2 cups powdered sugar
Red food coloring

Cooking Recipe:

Cream the butter. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and combine. Sift together 1 cup of the flour with the baking powder and mix it into the batter. Add some or all of the additional flour depending on how much the dough can handle. Form into a disk, cover in plastic and chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours. Roll out on a lightly floured surface about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out hearts with various sized cookie cutters and place on a greased sheet pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes until very light golden brown. Let cool on the pan.
Icing: Whisk together the egg whites and powdered sugar to form a slightly loose icing. It should flow a little bit but not too much. Transfer a small amount to a separate bowl and add a tiny amount of red food coloring to make pink icing. Pipe a rim of pink icing around the edge of the cookie and then fill in the center with white icing, or just pipe decorative designs on the surface. Embellish with silver or gold balls. Let dry and package up in cello bags tied with a ribbon.

*RAW EGG WARNING
Take caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.