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Ladylocks

Ladylocks

Ladylocks

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Ladylocks
5.0 rating based on 12,345 ratings
5/5 (7)
Course: Filled CookiesCuisine: ItalyDifficulty: Difficult
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This is the traditional way to make cream-filled puff pastry cookies, also known as Cream Horns or Clothespin Cookies, by making homemade puff pastry. If building all those layers of dough & shortening are too much work, then try our simplified Easy Clothespin Cookies!

Ingredients

  • For the pastry dough:
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour

  • pinch of salt

  • 1-1/2 cups water

  • yellow food coloring

  • solid vegetable shortening

  • For the cream filling:
  • 2 cups water

  • 10 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup margarine or butter

  • 1 cup solid vegetable shortening

  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow fluff or cream

Directions

  • Make the dough:
  • In a large bowl, place the flour and salt. In a small bowl, place the water and add a few drops of yellow food coloring. Dump the water into the flour all at once and knead with your hands until you have a smooth dough. Divide this into fourths. For each fourth: roll out onto a floured board into a rectangle. Keeping it as much as a rectangle as possible. Spread with a layer of shortening, as if you were buttering toast. Fold down 1/3 and spread this side with shortening. Fold up the bottom 1/3 spread this with shortening. Fold over the other 1/3 side and spread with shortening. Then spread the front and back with shortening and wrap this package in plastic wrap. Repeat with the other fourths of dough. Refrigerate these for at least 2 hours. For each fourth, repeat the whole process of rolling, spreading shortening, and folding once more. The purpose is to build up many layers of dough/shortening, which is what gives the pastry its flakiness. Refrigerate for at least 2 more hours. Repeat the rolling and folding steps a third time, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 375F and prepare several old-fashioned style clothespins (such as these) by wrapping them in aluminum foil. Alternately, set out cream horn molds (available here). Roll out each package of dough onto a floured board into a rectangle. Cut into 1/2″-3/4″ strips. Wrap each strop around clothespins or molds, overlapping as you twirl, to form a tube or cone. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375° for about 15-20 min or until very lightly browned. Remove from clothespins or molds immediately after removing from the oven.
  • Make the filling:
  • Combine water and flour in a saucepan, stir well and cook over medium heat until thickened; set aside. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, shortening, vanilla and marshmallow cream. Add the thickened flour mixture to the marshmallow mixture and beat until smooth and creamy.
  • Assemble the Ladylocks:
  • With a pastry bag or cookie decorating apparatus, fill each cooled cone with creamy filling. If desired, roll in powdered sugar before serving.

Notes

  • You will need something to form these cookies with. The traditional way is to wrap the old-fashioned all-wooden clothespins with foil (thus the name Clothespin Cookies). Some people just use wooden dowels cut down and wrapped in foil. You can also use inexpensive cream horn molds that are made specifically for these cookies.
  • Reviewers, please help us out and note the yield. Thanks!

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Reviews

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Review

★★★★★
Use Butter Crisco and you don't need the yellow food color and it give's them a little better taste.My Mom and me bake them a couple time's a year they are my favorite.
- Jacque

★★★★★
this is a great recipe my mother-in-law made these and past it on to me and the daughter-in-laws it is my 14 year olds favorite cookie i tried not to make it this year and here it is 12-27 and i am making now for him guess they don't forget a cookie this good
- A Baker

★★★★★
I got this recipe out of a Sunday paper back in the 70's. Misplaced my recipe.Glad I found this one. It has the same ingredients as the one I misplaced except for the yellow food coloring. 
- Bernadine Dally

★★★★★
Great recipe. This is the old-fashioned one that gives the flakiness that the newer recipes that substitute sour cream for the layering/refrigerating process do not retain. They are faster, but not nearly as good.Thanks for sharing!!!
- A Baker

★★★★★
I grew up eating these at weddings in Pittsburg Pa. They were always a staple at a wedding. I love the idea of the yellow food coloring it gives the cookies a great amber look. To make it go faster I used dowel rods the thickness of a dime,about 10 inches long. This way you can place about four on a stick, don't forget to foil the dowels and grease them.
- Judy Stamer

★★★★★
I have been looking everywhere for a recipe that was different from all the others and I have finally found it. I love the filling. Everywhere I look I am unable to find one that has a good filling and this is the one that beats them all. Thanks Alot! Jamie
- Jamie Coleman

★★★★★
When I was a kid, my grandmother made these every Christmas. But, when she died I never got the recipe from her. Now I'm a chef, and I looked all over the Internet for hours. Thanks...I love them!
- Robert Schmidt
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