Posts Tagged ‘christmas cookies’
double mint chip cookies
My favorite response to these cookies was definitely when a chef friend of mine tried them and simply said, “Your cookie kung-fu is strong.”
The awesomeness of being a baking ninja aside, this batch is definitely the favorite of the holiday cookie bake-a-thon so far.
Originally I wanted to make these cookies using Nestlé’s dark chocolate and mint morsels and of course had my hopes dashed when I learned they aren’t carried within 200 miles of where I live. So I went to the store determined to find suitable replacements and did. Sort of. I ended up combining two different kinds of baking chips to achieve what I imagined the Nestlé morsels would be like – strong semi-sweet chocolate and cooling mint with a fudgey, chewy texture.
These cookies not only taste fantastic, but get bonus points for coming together super easily and freezing incredibly well. I only needed about 2 dozen when I made these, so I froze half the batch on sheet trays and then transferred them to a freezer storage bag. That way whenever I want the second batch I’ll just pop them on a sheet tray and bake. Way better than that refrigerated dough you can buy in the store (if I do say so myself)!
cocoa coffee shortbread
Time for cookie #2 in the holiday baking extravaganza! Moving on from a spin on the classic oatmeal raisin to something a little more elegant, a little more refined. Something to take delicate bites from while sipping espresso con panna.
I’ve had these cookies bookmarked for ages and wanted to make them last year for my mom’s cookie exchange but was (sadly) vetoed. Oh well! More for me, just a year later.
I’ll be honest in saying the big thing that drew me to this cookie (besides the idea of coffee-flavored shortbread) was the shape. It was dainty and cute and a simple way to make a traditional cookie a little more special. But why have a coffee-flavored shortbread cookie be a pale yellow color? Why not oomph up the color and flavor by making it cocoa-based? Plus, every good baker knows that coffee brings out chocolate flavor in anything, so it was a revision made in heaven.
I changed the recipe a bit by adding a little more sugar, replacing a bit of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder, and adding some vanilla extract. The flavor isn’t overly sweet, but pungent and almost bitter in that great coffee way. It has that perfect dissolve-on-your-tongue shortbread texture and the size is just right to sit on a saucer next to a great cup of coffee or whatever you fancy.
oatmeal raisin pecan cookies
Bakers, start your ovens!
That’s right, y’all. It’s cookie season! Thanksgiving is over. Christmas time is here. And for many bakers that means it’s time to bake dozens upon dozens (upon dozens) of cookies.
I decided to kick off cookie season with something I’ve wanted to try for ages: an oatmeal raisin pecan cookie. I had a few different recipes bookmarked and torn out of magazines, but in the end I of course relied on Ina because, well, she’s never let me down before. And this is definitely no exception since these are, hands down, the best oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever eaten.
If you like a chewy cookie (which frankly when it’s oatmeal raisin of any kind why would you want anything else?), be sure to let them cool completely on the baking sheet. They’re so plump and moist from the raisins with fantastic texture from the oats and pecans… whoooo-whee, it’s a good way to kick off the season.
chruscikis
Here it is. The ultimate. The #1. The quintessential dish that is pure Christmas to me. Chruscikis.
Traditional Polish fried cookies which resemble either a bow-tie or angel’s wings (depending on your heritage/what your grandma says…) which seem simple on the surface, but in the end are some of the messiest, and somewhat labor intensive cookies ever. Yet they’re worth every drop of splattered oil and puff of powdered sugar that ends up on the floor.
This is probably the oldest recipe we have in our family, which we know goes back to my great-grandma Jean who immigrated to the US when she was about 7 in the late 1800′s, and it probably goes back even farther than that. The ingredients are dead simple (eat your heart out, Martha) and the dough comes together very easily, it’s just all about rolling the dough incredibly thin and working very quickly once you get to the frying part. But they’re just so good warm, I cannot begin to describe it. I mean yes, they are basically fried dough, but come on – we all know how awesome that is.
So Wesolych Swiat! to my fellow Poles, and I hope you all enjoy the most cherished part of my Polish culinary heritage!
Mommie Dearest on the hunt for the recipe…
Found!
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cranberry-pistachio biscotti
Get ready folks, I’m about to all Martha Stewart on you.
I’m a huge fan of giving gifts. I’ve always been the type who gets so excited about the presents I’ve picked out, I sometimes forget about the receiving part. And although this year I’m still the same, it’s slightly different. Like a broken record of everyone else I know, money is crazy tight this year and my ability to buy presents has been, well, somewhat hindered. But that doesn’t stop me, oh no.
Baking cookies and goods for people and packaging them yourself is one of the cheapest, easiest, and still thoughtful things to do around the holidays, especially if you have a rather large list of people you’d like to treat. It takes time, effort, and thought – 3 things that can be more meaningful than the ability to swipe your credit card. And come on, who doesn’t love to get a bag of homemade goodies? Especially when they’re cranberry-pistachio biscotti.
I chose these cookies not only for their festive colors and flavors (red cranberries, green pistachios), but also because biscotti are one of the best things to package and hold up for a very long time, which makes them the ideal thing to mail. Plus they’re the perfect thing to accompany coffee or tea, which almost everyone I know enjoys.
So happy (economical) holidays and I hope you all enjoy!
One of my least favorite ingredients in the world, but a necessity for biscotti.
Zest + microplane (one of my all-time favorite tools).
Mmmm, dried cranberries.
