STRESSCAKE

Day 2: Pecan Praline Bars

Day 3: Earl Grey Sandwich Cookies

Day 4: Butter Brickle Cookies

MAPLE GLAZED SPICED SWEET POTATO COOKIES

Base Butter Cookie Dough – recipe here

Preheat oven to 350ºF. On a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil, prick the sweet potato all over with a fork. Bake until tender, 1 hour. Let cool.
Once cooled, remove the skin and mash until smooth. Measure the amount needed. Use any extra puree in soups, pancakes, muffins and other baked goods (or anywhere you would use pumpkin.)
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the room temperature cookie dough, mashed sweet potato, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt until well combined.
Chill the dough at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Using a tablespoon sized cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on a parchment or silicone baking lined sheet pans 1” apart. (the dough can be frozen after rolling for up to 3 months.)
Bake 10-12 minutes until the tops firm to the touch but still soft and haven’t started to brown. Rotate halfway the pans halfway through baking.
Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
For the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, maple syrup and water together until smooth.
Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze and gently shake off any excess. Return to the sheet pan and top with a pinch of finely diced candied ginger. Let dry until set.
Do ahead: cookie dough can be frozen up to 3 months. Let defrost then scoop and bake as directed.

day 4 … Butter Brickle Cookies

Posted in 12 days of cookies, tagged 12 days of cookies, basic butter cookie dough, butter brickle, butter brickle cookies, butter cookie variations, butter cookies, Christmas cookie recipes, christmas cookies, holiday cookies, one dough 12 cookies, one dough many cookies, toffee cookies on December 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Butter and salt. Two flavors I adore in a cookie. And brown sugar. Definitely that as well. For the next cookie on the 12 Days list, we have all those things. A little dark brown sugar is added to the base cookie dough to bring out some caramel notes, a good measure of crushed toffee bits are thrown in too with a good pinch of flaky salt on top. Baked just to the point of crispy edges but a soft, chewy center and it’s just about perfect.

For the toffee bits, you can find those in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. The Heath brand, best known for the candy bar, usually has two options – one plain and another with milk chocolate. I prefer the plain one here but if you’d like to try the chocolate, who I am to stop you? If you can’t find the bits, a few Heath or Skor bars crushed up will work too. Freeze them first and they shatter in a way that’s kind of marvelous. Bashing frozen candy this time of year is good for your mental health. Trust me.

12 Days of Cookies from years past:

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles,

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars, Chocolate Banana Petit Fours

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes, Andes Mint Chip Cookies, Holiday Mallomars

This year:

Basic Butter Cookie Dough for all recipes

Day 2: Pecan Praline Bars

Day 3: Earl Grey Sandwich Cookies

BUTTER BRICKLE COOKIES

Base Butter Cookie Dough – recipe here

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the room temperature cookie dough, brown sugar, baking soda and toffee bits until well combined.
Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls. (if not ready to bake, freeze on a sheet pan until firm then transfer to a labeled ziploc bag and freeze up to 3 months).
When ready to bake preheat the oven to 350°F and line sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking liners.
Let the dough come to room temperature if cold or frozen, place the balls 1″ apart on the prepared sheet pans. Press to flatten slightly and top with a pinch of flaky salt.
Bake 9-10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through until tops are set and the edges are just barely golden brown.
Carefully slide the parchment or silicon sheets onto wire racks to cool.
Do ahead: it’s best to make and freeze the dough and bake as needed rather than freeze baked cookies. Frozen dough will keep up to 3 months.

Chocolate: Basic Chocolate Butter Cookie Dough, Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Cocoa Nib Wafers, Raspberry Chocolate Drops, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Espresso Crinkles, Cranberry Cocoa Nib Wafers, Chocolate Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies, Chocolate Lebkuchen, Fudge Tarts, Chocolate Marzipan Drops, Chocolate Coconut Bullseyes, Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, Chocolate Almond Crescents, Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

day 3 … Earl Grey Sandwich Cookies

Posted in 12 days of cookies, tagged 12 days of cookies, basic butter cookie dough, butter cookie variations, butter cookies, Christmas cookie recipes, christmas cookies, cookies for gifts, cookies that ship well, cookies with tea, earl gey cookies, earl grey ganache, easy holiday baking, holiday baking, holiday cookies, one dough 12 cookies, one dough many cookies, sandwich cookies on December 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Today we’re starting to build some variety into our 12 cookie collection. With that same basic cookie dough, we started with a simple butter cookie, made pecan bars and now add a sandwich cookie and some chocolate to the mix. Two buttery cookies with a dark chocolate filling makes for something quite lovely. The spin? The little something that makes it just a little bit different and special? Earl Grey tea. My favorite. A hot mug on a cold morning is heavenly. Earl Grey is quintessentially British, a black tea flavored with bergamot orange, a citrus fruit with the flavor somewhere between an orange and a lemon with a little grapefruit thrown in. It’s delightful and makes a particularly good cookie.

For this one, I add the tea right to the base butter cookie dough with a little extra sugar and some orange zest to accent the bergamot flavor. I used Twinings earl grey tea, readily available in grocery stores but any kind will do. If you opt for a loose leaf tea, give it a few buzzes in a spice grinder to break it down a little first. The filling is a simple ganache, just chocolate and cream, with the earl grey steeped into the warm cream first then removed.

Don’t forget my rule for cut out cookies: roll warm, cut cold. As soon as you make the dough, roll it into sheets between 2 pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap and chill. When firm, cut into neat shapes. You can bake right away or layer between pieces of parchment and freeze for later. The ganache filling can also be frozen and defrosted just fine.

12 Days of Cookies from years past:

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles,

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars, Chocolate Banana Petit Fours

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes, Andes Mint Chip Cookies, Holiday Mallomars

This year:

Basic Butter Cookie Dough for all recipes

Day 2: Pecan Praline Bars

EARL GREY SANDWICH COOKIES

Base Butter Cookie Dough – recipe here

For the cookies: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the room temperature cookie dough, sugar, and loose tea until well combined.
Divide the dough into 2-4 pieces and roll between sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to and even 1/8” thickness.
Transfer to a sheet pan and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days tightly wrapped. Dough sheets can be frozen up to 2 months, tightly wrapped.
When ready to bake preheat the oven to 350°F and line sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking liners.
Cut the chilled dough into neat shapes and transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat 1” apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until set on top and just turning golden on the bottoms. Cool completely.
Carefully slide the parchment or silicon sheets onto wire racks to cool.
Do ahead: it’s best to make and freeze the dough and bake as needed rather than freeze baked cookies. Frozen dough will keep up to 3 months.
For the ganache filling: place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.
Bring the cream to a boil and remove from the heat. Add the tea bag and cover the pot with plastic wrap. Let steep for 30 minutes.
Pour the cream over the chocolate, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, give it a little shake/swirl to fully submerge the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes. (If using loose leaf tea, pour the cream through a strainer to remove the tea).
Remove the plastic wrap and gently stir until the ganache is smooth. If the chocolate isn’t fully melted at this point, microwave in 30 second bursts at 50% power or place the bowl over a simmering pot of water, stirring until melted and smooth.
Let the ganache cool; it will thicken as it cools. Transfer to a piping bag or a Ziploc bag.
Turn half the cookies over, snip the corner of the piping bag and pipe the filling on top of the wrong sides. Top with another cookie, right side up and press gently to adhere.
Cookies will keep, tightly wrapped, for several days. They’re not great frozen and defrosted so if you want to work ahead, roll/cut/freeze the shapes up to 2 months and bake from frozen. The ganache can also be frozen up to 2 months.

day 2 … Pecan Praline Bars

What’s a holiday cookie spread without a pecan thing? It’s pretty much a requirement. I’ve made probably 50 different kinds of pecan bars, tassies, tarts and cookies over the years and this one, based on a recipe in the Washington Post based on a Maida Heatter recipe, caught my interest. A cookie crust topped with a brown-sugar-pecan mixture reminiscent of a New Orleans praline. Oh boy, there is little I love more than brown sugar and butter. It’s the best.

For this one, our butter cookie dough forms a thin, crispy base with pecans gently pushed in a pretty, even pattern. Brown sugar and butter is cooked together, with a little salt and vanilla and a bit of cayenne because I felt it needed a little zhuzhing up. It’s not spicy but adds a really nice depth of flavor, a bit of warming toward the end. Pop into the oven until the crust is golden brown and the topping bubbles up and caramelizes around the nuts in a praline-like fashion. Its sturdy, something to consider if you’re shipping cookies, and its tasty. Cut into little squares its everything a pecan bar should be. And then some.

12 Days of Cookies from years past:

Basic Butter Cookie Dough: (see below)

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles,

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars, Chocolate Banana Petit Fours

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes, Andes Mint Chip Cookies, Holiday Mallomars

This year:

Basic Butter Cookie Dough for all recipes

PECAN PRALINE BARS

Base Butter Cookie Dough – recipe here

Preheat the oven to 350°F
For the cookie base: Line a pan (with at least 2” sides) with a crisscross of foil, pressing to make as smooth as possible. Parchment will work but foil works better with hot bubbling sugar.
Turn the base cookie dough into the pan and spread to form an even, level layer, pressing down to compact. The easiest way to do this is to crumble the dough into the pan, starting with the corners, and press to form an even layer. Then top the dough with a scrap of parchment and smooth with your fingers.
Cover the base with the whole pecan halves, flat sides down, giving a little push to adhere to the dough.
for the topping: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the butter, brown sugar, salt and cayenne, stirring with a spatula, until the mixture comes to a hard boil all over the surface.
Continue to stir for 30 more seconds, then remove the pan from the heat and pour the hot mixture over the pecans, tilting the pan as needed to coat the entire surface.
Bake for 20-23 minutes, until the butter and sugar caramelize and start to solidify around the nuts.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Using the foil, ease the bars from the pan, gently tugging as needed. Remove the foil then cut to desired size – thin strips or small squares.
Let the bars to come to room temperature before serving.
Make Ahead: The baked bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or frozen for several months. Separate the layers with wax paper.

day 1 … Sparkly Sugar Cookies

Here we go … Day 1 of 12 Days of Cookies, the 2022 Edition. Starting off slow and easy with these pretty, sparkly cookies. After the Thanksgiving crush, gift shopping and the general head spin that precedes December 1^st, an easy one is required.

First move: round up some pretty sugars or sprinkles. I particularly like the large grain sugars; they’re extra sparkly. These things are everywhere right now – grocery stores, craft stores, dollar stores, online. The best selection is right now and probably on sale too. You can also make your own colored sugar if the mood strikes. Just put ¼ cup sugar in a plastic bag, add 1-3 drops of gel/paste food coloring and smoosh/shake it to blend. Turn the sugar out into a clean sheet pan and let dry for several hours. Easy.

Once you have your sugars figured out, take the room temperature butter cookie dough, mix in a few simple things then roll it into tablespoon sized balls (or whatever size you like) and give it a good roll in that colored sugar to fully coat. Bake, giving them a gentle press halfway through to flatten. That’s it. Pretty. Easy. Delicious. It’s also a good one to turn to if you have scraps of dough left from an odd sized batch. And if your cookie tin needs a little color and sparkle, this is the one.

12 Days of Cookies from years past:

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles,

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars, Chocolate Banana Petit Fours

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes, Andes Mint Chip Cookies, Holiday Mallomars

This year:

Base Butter Cookie Dough

SPARKLY SUGAR COOKIES

Base Butter Cookie Dough – recipe here

Preheat the oven to 350°F, place the rack in the lower third of the oven and line a sheet pan or two with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the room temperature butter cookie dough, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Place the colored sugar or sprinkles of choice in small bowls.
Roll the cookie dough into tablespoon sized balls.
Roll the balls in the colored sugar to fully coat, pressing lightly to help the sugar adhere.
Place on the prepared sheet pan, 1” apart to allow for spreading, and bake for 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and give each cookie a gentle press to flatten a little. Return to the oven for an additional 5-7 minutes until the cookies are firm to the touch but still soft in the centers and golden brown on the bottoms.
Let cool.
Cookie dough can be rolled into balls and frozen up to 3 months. The colored sugars sticks best if the dough is soft.

it’s back … 12 days of cookies

Posted in 12 days of cookies, tagged 12 days of cookies, basic butter cookie dough, butter cookie variations, butter cookies, christmas baking, christmas cookies, easy holiday baking, easy holiday cookies, holiday baking, holiday cookies, one dough many cookies on November 30, 2022| 3 Comments »

So. Here we are. Twelve Days of Cookies. I thought after 48 cookie recipes (linked below) plus 12 for crackers (here) over the years, I was out of ideas. And I was, for a while. This year has been crazy busy and all my creative recipe brain space has been consumed with work projects but somehow, in a corner of my notebook, I’ve been scribbling cookie ideas here and there. Apparently, the idea portion of my brain takes a break and come back strong. So once again, here we are. A brand new set of Twelve Days of Cookies. Buckle up.

If you’ve played along in the past, you know the drill. If you’re new to this game, we start with one good, solid butter cookie dough and divide it into four, maybe eight, maybe only two pieces. Maybe even something in between. Then you add various things to those blocks of dough – brown sugar, cocoa, nuts, chocolate; all kinds of things – then roll, press, fill and cut to turn them into different cookies. Turning one basic dough into several completely different cookies is the solution to alleviating your holiday baking stress. Works remarkably well unless you try and bang out all 12 cookies the Monday before Thanksgiving like me. That brings a certain amount of aggravation into your life but is do-able if you have to. Sometimes you do what you have to do.

I did a recap a few years back on how to think about your selections and getting organized here and below is the basic dough recipe that starts every cookie. Make a batch or two to start and every other day until Christmas, I’ll throw a new cookie recipe at you in a few different batch sizes. There are a few bars this year, that workhorse of easy holiday baking. A filled cookie, some shortbread. Some are easy, some more involved. Plus don’t forget about the archive of years past – 48 other options to peruse. It’s a choose your own cookie adventure.

12 Days of Cookies from years past:

Basic Butter Cookie Dough: (see below)

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles,

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars, Chocolate Banana Petit Fours

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes, Andes Mint Chip Cookies, Holiday Mallomars

BASIC BUTTER COOKIE DOUGH

Makes dough for 2 or 4 or 8 batches of cookies

Vanilla has come down in price from years past (thank god) but if it’s still out of your price range, raid the liquor cabinet. I’ve used bourbon and dark rum as decent substitutions.

1 pound unsalted butter, softened (4 sticks)

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

In a standing mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Scrape the bowl and with the mixer running on medium-low, add the yolks one at a time, then the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape the bowl.
With the mixer on low, gradually mix in the flour until combined. Scrape a final time and turn the dough onto a work surface and gently knead to incorporate all remaining flour.
Divide the dough into two, four or eight equal pieces (a scale is ideal here) and use as is for a delicious butter cookie or proceed with one or several of the variations that will follow in the next twelve posts (or the forty-eight posts from year’s past).

Tips:

Dough can be made ahead and refrigerated, tightly wrapped, for 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Let return to room temperature before continuing.
If using salted butter rather than unsalted, decrease the salt in the recipe to ¾ teaspoon.

Day 12 … Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Posted in 12 days of cookies, chocolate, cookies, holidays, tagged 12 days of chocolate cookies, 12 days of cookies, andes mint chip cookies, butter cookie variations, butter cookies, chocolate almond crescents, chocolate banana petit four, chocolate cookie variations, chocolate lebkuchen, chocolate marzipan cookies, chocolate peanut butter sandwich cookies, Christmas cookie recipes, christmas cookies, coconut bullseyes, cranberry cocoa nib wafers, dulce de leche sandwich cookies, fudge tarts, holiday cookies, holiday mallomars, one dough 12 cookies, one dough many cookies on December 20, 2020| 2 Comments »

Remember those chocolate covered cherries that always made an appearance on Christmas Eve at your Grandma’s house? Cherry cordials I believed they’re formally called. Sometimes, if you were really lucky, she had those little chocolates shaped like bottles filled with “liquors” and you were excited because you thought you were “drinking booze” (though usually only Drambuie was left by the time you found the candy bowl.) Ah, good times! Today’s cookie, to cap off the 12 Days of Chocolate Cookies, is inspired by those funny little memories of holidays past. The Day 12 cookie is a Chocolate Covered Cherry.

They look like plain little chocolate balls but they hide a secret surprise. There’s no weird white goo, and there’s no questionable booze but that cherry is there, a bright red maraschino cherry wrapped in chocolate cookie dough and then glazed. And for fun, I stuffed a little more chocolate inside that cherry. It’s a cookie that will make you smile and toast your Grandma. Enjoy, my friends!

Thanks for playing along this year. I hope between these twelve recipes and all those of years past, you’ve made some great cookies. Have a lovely holiday, be smart and be safe.

36 One Dough/Many Cookies from years past:

Fruity: Jam Thumbprints, Jam Streusel Tarts, Raspberry Linzer Squares, Lemon Poppyseed Buttons, Orange Sesame Crisps, Cranberry Pistachio Coins, Almond Raspberry Strips, Orange Sandwich Cookies, Apricot Rosemary Shortbread, Coconut Lime Sticks, Bourbon Glazed Fruitcake Buttons, Lemon Cornmeal Biscotti, Blueberry Lime Buttons, Date Swirls

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles,

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Chocolate: Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Cocoa Nib Wafers, Raspberry Chocolate Drops, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Espresso Crinkles,

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes

2020 One Dough/12 Days of Cookies line up to date:

Day 6: Fudge Tarts

Day 9: Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Day 10: Chocolate Almond Crescents

Day 11: Holiday Mallomars

DAY 12: CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY COOKIES

Start with the base chocolate dough – recipe here. I used a dutched cocoa powder for this one. If you make the smallest batch, with 1/8 piece of dough, the measurements get a little funky. A scale will help – one whole large egg white weighs about 1 oz/30 grams.

Drain the cherries and pat dry with paper towels.
Stuff a chocolate chip into the center of each cherry.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the room temperature base cookie dough, baking soda, baking powder and egg white(s).
Mix on medium speed until well combined.
Roll the dough into Tablespoon sized balls.
Press chocolate chip filled cherry into the center of the cookie dough, pressing to enclose the dough around the cherry. Give it a little roll on the counter to make sure the cherry is fully enclosed.
Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (the cookies can be frozen on a sheet pan until firm, transferred to a Ziploc bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Bake directly from the freezer.)
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2-3 sheet pans with parchment or silicone baking sheets.
Place the chilled cookie balls on the prepared sheet pans, about 1 ½” apart.
Bake 8 minutes until the cookie edges are just firm to the touch, rotating the pans halfway through baking (top to bottom, front to back.) It’s best to slightly underbake this one.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the glaze: melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave (50% power in 45 second bursts), stopping just before the chocolate is fully melted.
Stir to fully melt the chocolate, add the oil and stir to combine.
To coat: Line a sheet pan with a clean sheet of parchment.
Dip each cooled cookie into the glaze to fully coat as much as possible.
Turn and place on the prepared pan and leave to sit for several hours to allow the glaze to fully set.

Day 11 … Holiday Mallomars

Posted in 12 days of cookies, chocolate, cookies, holidays, tagged 12 days of chocolate cookies, 12 days of cookies, andes mint chip cookies, butter cookie variations, butter cookies, chocolate almond crescents, chocolate banana petit four, chocolate cookie variations, chocolate lebkuchen, chocolate marzipan cookies, chocolate peanut butter sandwich cookies, Christmas cookie recipes, christmas cookies, coconut bullseyes, cranberry cocoa nib wafers, dulce de leche sandwich cookies, fudge tarts, holiday cookies, one dough 12 cookies, one dough many cookies on December 18, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Alrighty folks! It’s Day 11 of these 12 Days of Chocolate Cookies and I’ve got a project for you. Mallomars. Yes, indeed. It’s the week before Christmas; I think we’re ready for a project. Or perhaps a distraction. A chocolate cookie is topped with marshmallow, dipped in a chocolate glaze and topped with some sprinkles. Making this one is a sticky messy affair but it’s so delicious I think it’s worth it. Some form of this confection is available all over the world as the combination of cookie-marshmallow-chocolate is irresistible (I looked it up; fascinating) so let’s make our own. Technically, mallomars have a graham base but we’re using chocolate (obviously) and just going with it.

The cookie dough is simple enough, a few additional ingredients to the base dough including a little extra espresso powder to kick that flavor up a notch. I like these on the smaller side – 1 ½” rounds – baked nice and crisp as they’ll soften up over time due to the marshmallow. Now then, we’re back into persnickety territory on these marshmallows. It seems like a lot of ingredients, weird quantities and if you’re making the largest batch with a ½ batch of dough, I recommend making the marshmallow twice; don’t attempt a double batch. If you’ve topped all your cookies and have extra fluff, pipe it onto a sheet of parchment that’s been lightly sprayed with cooking spray and make some marshmallows for your hot chocolate. A helpful tip: this stuff is sticky. Once piped, let the marshmallow set for a few hours to firm up a bit. They’ll become less sticky and easier to handle with a little time.

Then we’ve got the glaze. I wanted to avoid tempering chocolate, because while ideal, I’m not sure who has time right now to muscle through that. Maybe we’ll get to that post holiday. Anyway, I have a simple glaze of chopped chocolate and vegetable oil that works very well if you take care. Use a higher quality bar chocolate and avoid chocolate chips (the ingredients that make the chips hold that shape tend to screw things up). Melt the chocolate slowly; I use a microwave on 50% power and melt in slow bursts stopping just before the chocolate is fully melted and stirring until smooth. Give the glaze time to set up – like overnight. Let it cool slowly and gently. I tried to rush things and got some streaky blooms which is a bummer but doesn’t affect the flavor in any way.

36 One Dough/Many Cookies from years past:

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles,

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Chocolate: Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Cocoa Nib Wafers, Raspberry Chocolate Drops, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Espresso Crinkles,

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes

2020 12 Days of Cookies line up to date:

Day 6: Fudge Tarts

Day 9: Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Day 10: Chocolate Almond Crescents

DAY 11: HOLIDAY MALLOMARS

Start with the base chocolate dough – recipe here. I used a dutched cocoa powder for this one. If you have a scale, now is the time to use it. FYI, one standard package of Knox gelatin = 7g. Marshmallow were adapted from this recipe.

For the cookies: In the bowl of a standing mixer combine the water and espresso powder until dissolved.
Add the room temperature cookie dough, cocoa, sugar and baking soda and mix with the paddle attachment until well combined.
Divide the dough into four/two/one piece(s) and roll each between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper to a flat sheet about 1/8” thick.
Stack the sheets on a sheet pan and refrigerate at least an hour or overnight. The dough sheets can be refrigerated up to 3 days (or frozen up to 3 months) but tightly wrap first to make sure the edges do not dry out.
When ready to bake preheat the oven to 350°F and line two sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking liners.
Remove one sheet of dough from the refrigerator and remove the top sheet of plastic wrap or parchment.
With a 1 ½” round cutter, stamp out as many circles as possible and transfer to the prepared baking sheets, ¾” apart.
Continue with the remaining dough sheets, rerolling/chilling the scraps as you go.
Bake 8-10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until baked through and firm to the touch. Ideally this cookie should be on the crispier side.
Let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the marshmallow: Combine gelatin with the water and let sit 5 minutes to bloom (aka rehydrate).
Combine corn syrup, honey, sugar, and water in a heavy saucepan; cook until mixture reaches 245°F on a candy thermometer.
Take off heat let cool down to 225°F, about 5 minutes.
Add the gelatin and stir until dissolved.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg white(s) until stiff peaks form.
Slowly stream the syrup down the side of bowl into egg whites while beating on low, avoiding the whisk.
Increase the speed to high and continue beating until stiff peaks form and meringue is cool to the touch, about 5 minutes. The mixer will sound noticeably different when the marshmallow is at its proper consistency, almost as if its straining just a bit.
Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 1” open round plain pastry tip (spray a spatula with cooking spray to make this a bit less messy).
Pipe 1 Tablespoon dollops onto all of the cookies as quickly as you can. Place the piping tip upright on the cookie, squeeze to release the marshmallow as you slowly pull up, then stop squeezing and quickly pull straight up. You may need to give the bag a little flick to release. this takes a little practice so don’t fret if the first few look a little odd; they’ll look fine glazed and sprinkled. Try to avoid touching the piped marshmallows as you go as it is sticky as all get out; use a few sheet pans if needed. (Leftover marshmallow filling can be piped into more kisses onto a piece of parchment lightly sprayed with cooking spray.)
Let rest for 2-4 hours to set completely. The marshmallow is quite sticky when freshly piped but will dry out a bit over time and is much easier to handle at that point.
For the glaze: combine chocolate and vegetable oil in a heatproof glass bowl over a double boiler or my preferable method of the microwave at 50% power in 60-45 second bursts, stirring between, until the chocolate is not quite melted. Stir until smooth.
Add the vegetable oil and stir until fully combined.
To glaze and decorate: Line a sheet pan with a clean piece of parchment paper.
If needed, transfer the glaze to a narrow deep bowl, deep enough to accommodate the mallomars.
Grabbing a mallomar by the cookie bottom, dip into the glaze to the cookie edge. Lift up and let excess glaze drip back into the bowl, giving a little shake to help it along.
Quickly flip upright and place on the prepared pan, trying not to touch any freshly glazed cookies.
Let sit several minutes to allow the glaze to set then decorate with holiday sprinkles, jimmies or very finely crushed/chopped peppermints. Avoid decorations that are a little too large or heavy as they have a tendency to slide right off. The glaze will stay wet for quite a while so there’s no hurry to get those sprinkles on. Give it a little time.
Let set, slowly in a moderately cool place, until the glaze is set. Overnight is best.
Cookies will keep several days tightly wrapped.
Cleaning hints: marshmallow is incredibly sticky so the best approach to cleaning your bowl/tools is to soak them in warm water for a while to dissolve the goo then wash. For the sugar syrup pot, fill with water and bring to a boil to dissolve.

Day 10 … Chocolate Almond Crescents

Posted in 12 days of cookies, chocolate, cookies, holidays, tagged 12 days of chocolate cookies, 12 days of cookies, andes mint chip cookies, butter cookie variations, butter cookies, chocolate banana petit four, chocolate cookie variations, chocolate lebkuchen, chocolate marzipan cookies, chocolate peanut butter sandwich cookies, Christmas cookie recipes, christmas cookies, coconut bullseyes, cranberry cocoa nib wafers, dulce de leche sandwich cookies, fudge tarts, holiday cookies, one dough 12 cookies, one dough many cookies on December 16, 2020| Leave a Comment »

No holiday cookie baking session is complete without some sort of nut cookie rolled in a cloud of powdered sugar. Fact. There are many versions: Mexican wedding cookies, Italian wedding cookies, snowballs, Russian tea cakes, polvorones, nut crescents, sandies. There’s probably a few other names out there for the same basic cookie: a buttery crumbly dough, ground nuts of some type, maybe a little spice and a double dip in powdered sugar while warm. The first to melt a bit from the heat of the cookie and create a sort of powdery icing seal and the second dip to fully coat and guarantee you cannot eat these on the sly. The telltale powdered sugar trail down the front of your shirt is always a dead giveaway.

We’re nearing the end of this season’s 12 Days of Cookies so I thought it was a good time for a chocolate version of this classic. Cocoa powder and ground almonds (and a good dose of butter) make up the base and I’ve tossed a bit of cocoa into that final powdered sugar dip. For a little surprise, I added a few mini chocolate chips too. Shaped into little crescents you’ve got a riff on a classic and a new shape for that cookie platter. Have at it.

36 One Dough/Many Cookies from years past:

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles,

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Chocolate: Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Cocoa Nib Wafers, Raspberry Chocolate Drops, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Espresso Crinkles,

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes

2020 One Dough/12 Days of Cookies line up to date:

Day 6: Fudge Tarts

Day 9: Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

DAY 10: CHOCOLATE ALMOND CRESCENTS

Start with the base chocolate dough – recipe here. I used a natural cocoa powder for this one but I think I’d prefer the darker color of a dutched cocoa on this one.

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2-3 baking sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper.
In a standing mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, combine room temperature chocolate cookie dough, smaller measure of powdered sugar, baking powder, chopped almonds, chocolate chips, cornstarch, salt and water on medium speed until thoroughly combined.
Shape 2 teaspoons of dough into 2 ½” logs and bend into a crescent shape. Place 2” apart on the prepared sheet pans.
Bake 10-12 minutes until firm and just firm to the touch.
While the cookies are baking, sift the larger measure of powdered sugar and cocoa powder together in a medium bowl.
Let the cookies cool for a minute or two until still warm but firm enough to handle. Right out of the oven the cookies are quite delicate.
While the cookies are still warm, drop a few a time into the bowl, shaking to fully coat cookie.
Gently remove the cookies and shake a little to remove excess sugar.
Transfer to parchment lined sheet pans to cool completely.
If desired, give the cookies another toss in the powdered sugar mixture for an additional coat.
Cookies, tightly wrapped, will keep for several days. If you’d like to make ahead, shape the cookies and freeze on a sheet pan. Once solid, transfer to a Ziploc bag labeled with the cookie name and cooking time/temperature and store up to 3 months in the freezer. Bake directly from the freezer, adding a few minutes to the baking time and proceed with the recipe as directed.

Day 9 … Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Posted in 12 days of cookies, chocolate, cookies, holidays, tagged 12 days of chocolate cookies, 12 days of cookies, andes mint chip cookies, butter cookie variations, butter cookies, chocolate banana petit four, chocolate cookie variations, chocolate lebkuchen, chocolate marzipan cookies, Christmas cookie recipes, christmas cookies, coconut bullseyes, cranberry cocoa nib wafers, dulce de leche sandwich cookies, fudge tarts, holiday cookies, one dough 12 cookies, one dough many cookies on December 14, 2020| 1 Comment »

Why do peanut butter and chocolate go so well together? Is it the deep rich notes of the chocolate, contrasted against the salty, creamy notes of the peanut butter? I really don’t know but I can tell you, in a cookie, I just really like it. So today for Day 9 of the 12 Days of Chocolate Cookies, that’s what we have: Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies.

A few basic things are added to the base dough to make it a little firmer when baked then it’s rolled thin and cut into cut shapes. I went with fluted squares because I like them. Nice and neat and tidy. I also used that special black cocoa here because I wanted that really dark color that looks so nice against the filling. Remember the cardinal rule of cut out cookies: roll warm, cut cold. This one warms up fast as you go so keep rotating pieces in and out of the fridge as you work. Now let’s talk about this filling. It is utterly delicious – creamy peanut butter with a bit of honey, sugar and salt, it’s got that whole salty-sweet thing going on that I find irresistible. Between two dark cookie layers? It’s even better.

36 One Dough/Many Cookies from years past:

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles,

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Chocolate: Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Cocoa Nib Wafers, Raspberry Chocolate Drops, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Espresso Crinkles,

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes

2020 12 Days of Cookies line up to date:

Day 6: Fudge Tarts

DAY 9: CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH COOKIES

Start with the base chocolate dough – recipe here. I used a black cocoa for this one, mixed 60/40 with a dutch cocoa for best flavor.

For the cookies: In the bowl of a standing mixer add the room temperature cookie dough broken into small pieces, cocoa, sugar and baking soda and mix with the paddle attachment until well combined.
Divide the dough into four/two/one piece(s) and roll each between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper to a flat sheet about 1/8” thick.
Stack the sheets on a sheet pan and refrigerate at least two hours or overnight. The dough sheets can be refrigerated up to 3 days (or frozen up to 3 months) but tightly wrap first to make sure the edges do not dry out.
When ready to bake preheat the oven to 350°F and line two sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking liners.
Remove one sheet of dough from the refrigerator and remove the top sheet of plastic wrap or parchment.
With a 2” cutter of whatever shape you wish, stamp out as many shapes as possible and transfer to the prepared baking sheets, ¾” apart.
Continue with the remaining dough sheets, rerolling/chilling the scraps as you go.
Bake 8-10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until baked through and slightly firm to the touch.
Let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the pb filling: in a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or for smaller quantities, in a bowl with a rubber spatula), beat the filling ingredients together until combined and smooth.
Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round or open star tip, if you like. Truly, a tip isn’t necessary, but it makes for neater edges. (A Ziploc bag will work too).
To assemble: Flip half the cookies over and pipe about 1 Tablespoon of the filling onto the backside of each cookie.
Top with another cookie, top side up, pressing slightly to adhere.
Store between layers of parchment in an airtight container up to 3 days.
Do ahead: it’s best to make and freeze the dough and bake as needed rather than freeze baked cookies. Frozen dough will keep up to 3 months. You can freeze the dough then let come to room temperature and proceed at step #8 or I find it much easier to roll/chill/cut and freeze the cut rounds of cookie dough between layers of parchment. Then just bake the cut frozen cookies as you like. The filling can also be frozen for up to 2 months but needs to be room temperature to pipe.