More Cookie Day Recipes

[talon]

Here are some more cookie recipes. You can never have too many cookie recipes.

Raspberry Pinwheels

I love pinwheel and spiral cookies - they are easy to make and impressively pretty. You can fill them with practically anything, but the glowing red of raspberries against the cool pale almond cookie dough is very appealing.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup raspberry jam
½ cup flaked coconut
½ cup finely chopped pecans or almonds

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream the butter, sugar, egg, and extracts together thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients, mixing well. Work with your hands to smooth the dough, if needed. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper, lightly dusted with flour, to a 12x9" rectangle. Combine the jam and nuts. Spread evenly over the dough leaving a 1/2" border all around. Roll up tightly, jellyroll fashion, using waxed paper to help, starting from long side. Press the edge to seal and shape into a roll. Wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill overnight. Cut into 1/4" thick slices. Place them on parchment paper or quick release foil-lined baking sheets.

Bake at 375ºF for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Let cool 5 - 8 minutes before removing from cookie sheet as the cookie is a bit fragile when hot and will break.

Rolls can be frozen for later use, and thawed out overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and baking.


Cheesecake Slices

When you want cheesecake and something crispy, these cookies suit right down to the flavor and crunchy mouthfeel. They are great to make batches and batches ahead of time and freeze, then you can thaw and slice and bake as many or as few as you want. For Cookie Day, the benefit is being able to make these weeks in advance so on Cookie Day itself, all you have to do is slice and bake. Just because we love cookies on Cookie Day is no reason to be a slave to the mixing bowl!

3/4 cup butter
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon peel
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, finely crushed

Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add the sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat in the flour. Divide the dough into two portions. Shape each portion of dough into 8-inch long roll. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Combine the chopped nuts and graham cracker crumbs on a large piece of waxed paper. Roll the 2 dough rolls in this mixture, coating well. Wrap each roll in waxed paper and chill for at least 2 hours.

Cut the dough into 1/4 in slices. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375°F 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on racks. Makes about 5 dozen cheesecake cookies.

This dough can be frozen, then thawed the night before slicing and baking.


Hazelnut Palmiers

Flaky, crispy pastry and creamy delicious Nutella - this is the cookie of my heart. It doesn't travel well, so it never appears in the boxes of cookies I ship out. If you want these treasures, you'll either have to bake them yourself or come visit me when I make them.

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup butter, melted
½ cup Nutella
½ cup chopped hazelnuts
½ lb puff pastry (1 sheet store bought)
1 egg, beaten

Preheat an oven to 400ºF.

Stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter until it forms a paste. Roll the pastry dough into a large rectangle, about 15-inches by 12-inches. Using a pastry brush or spoon, spread the cinnamon sugar paste in a thin, even layer over the dough. Mix the Nutella and hazelnuts together and carefully spread over the cinnamon mixture. Lightly score the middle of the dough down the longest side. Starting at the long ends of the rectangle, snugly, but not tightly, roll each side inward until they meet in the middle at the scoring. To hold difficult pastry together, brush it with the egg, if needed. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm. Slice the pastry crosswise into 1/4-inch palmiers - they'll look like little scrolls - and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. They slice easiest with the cinnamon roll method, using dental floss slid under and wrapped across the slice them, although a cheese slicer works, too, kind of like a paper cutter. If the roll starts to soften and buckle under slicing, chill again until firm. Bake them for 12-15 minutes, until they puff and turn golden brown. Remove them from the baking sheet and serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 30 cookies.




Mocha Wands

Eh, we're Pagan. We need wands like witches need chants. And these almondy rich spritz cookies, dipped in mocha chocolate and decorated with sparkly edible pretties make for delicious wands any time of the year. They also don't travel well, breaking in transit no matter how well wrapped they are, but they are delicious during the in-House Cookie Day celebration.

¼ pound almond paste
1 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar
2 large eggs and 1 yolk
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups cake flour


Line two or three cookie sheets or jelly roll pans with parchment paper or foil. Set racks on the top and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325ºF.

In a bowl, soften the almond paste with the sugar and half of the eggs. Beat in the butter gradually, then gradually add the remaining eggs. Cream all of the ingredients until light. Add the flour all at once and mix until all the elements adhere. Do not over mix.

Pipe 1/2 inch finger or wand shapes onto the prepared pans with a 1/2 inch star tube. Bake for about 15 minutes. Cool on the pans. Dip one end in the Mocha Dip and then sprinkle on chopped nuts.





Mocha Dip



1 ½ cup powdered sugar

2 ½ tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1.2 teaspoons hot coffee

½ teaspoon salt



Beat together until well blended. Use more hot coffee to get the right consistency if it's too thick, and a bit more powdered sugar if it's too thin. Dip the wand cookies in the glaze, then sprinkle quickly with finely chopped nuts, coarse colored sugar crystals, or chocolate sprinkles.







Nutcracker Sweets

These are a bar cookie, almost a brownie in texture. It doesn't travel well, either, being too gooey and soft and it goes stale before it reaches its destination, but it's excellent for everything local.

1/3 cup butter
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 ½ cups brown sugar<http://www.recipegoldmine.com/chrcookh/nutcracker-sweets-recipe.html>, packed
2 eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting and Drizzle:
¼ cup butter
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (or Nutella)
4 cups (1 pound) powdered sugar
½ cup milk
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees; grease a 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan with butter

Cream the butter and peanut butter in a large bowl, using an electric mixer<http://www.recipegoldmine.com/chrcookh/nutcracker-sweets-recipe.html> on medium speed. Blend in the brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time; beat until creamy.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a measuring cup. Add the dry ingredients and milk alternately to the creamed mixture. Mix on low speed, scraping the bowl frequently, until blended. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool.

For the frosting, cream the butter and peanut butter in a large bowl on medium speed. Add the sugar and milk; beat until fluffy. Spread over the cooled cookies.

For the drizzle, melt the chocolate chips in a small saucepan over very low heat. Drizzle the chocolate from the end of a spoon back and forth over the frosting. Cut into squares. Refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes until the chocolate is firm.



Chocolate Dipped Neopolitans
If you love those chocolate, pink, and white coconut candies you can get in the bins from Brach's Candies, you'll love these cookies. They taste very similar to the candies, only crispy! They travel well and seem to stay fresh forever, but perhaps that's only because they get devoured so quickly.
1cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (1-ounce) unsweetened chocolate square, melted
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup finely chopped candied cherries
1 or 2 drops red liquid food coloring
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
Chocolate Dip
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating until blended. Gradually add flour, baking powder, and salt, beating until blended.

Divide dough into thirds; place each portion in a separate bowl. Stir chocolate and pecans into 1 portion; chopped cherries and red food coloring into second portion; and coconut and rum extract into third portion.

Line an 8-inch square baking dish with plastic wrap. Press chocolate mixture into dish. Top with rum mixture and cherry mixture, pressing gently. Cover and chill 8 hours.
Cut dough evenly into 5 sections. Cut each section into 1/8-inch-thick or ¼-inch-thick slices. Arrange the slices, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 375ºF for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Freeze up to 1 month, if desired. If you freeze the baked cookies, don't dip them in chocolate until after you thaw them and just before serving. Otherwise, melt the chocolate dip and dip one end into the melted chocolate. I buy the microwaveable chocolate dip that comes in those bowls.
Makes 8 dozen.




Clementine Shorties

A butterscotch type shortbread cookie flavored with the sweetness of clementines and served with a nilgiri tea, how yum can you get?

4 cups flour (stir or sift before measuring)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon finely grated clementine peel
2 cups butter

Mix flour, salt, sugar, and clementine peel. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Work the dough with hands until it holds together; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll the dough 1/2 inch thick between sheets of wax paper; cut out with floured cutters. I like cutting these out in leaf shapes, but if you've got an orange slice shaped cookie cutter, that would be ideal! Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Drizzle shortbread with chocolate glaze or icing or dip the bottoms or one end in chocolate dip, if desired.

Makes about 30 to 36 shortbread cookies.


Strufoli

When you need a nibble that is soft and crisp, warm sweet, gooey, crackly, and addictive, fry up a batch of these. They don't travel at all, and are best eaten very soon after being made. If you use red, greem and white sprinkles or non-pareils, they'll be Yuletide festive, just change the sprinkle colors to suit them to any holiday. Cookie Day doesn't have a specific color, so go wild, use all the colors you love best!

2 ½ cups flour
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
¼ cup shortening
½ tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
dash salt
½ teaspoon lemon zest
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
1 ½ cups honey
1 teaspoon orange zest
colored non-pareils

Place flour on board, making a well in the center. Place eggs, egg yolk, shortening, sugar, salt and lemon peel into the well. Mix well, working the dough with your hands. Shape into very small balls, the size of marbles.

Let the dough balls rest about 15-20 minutes, covered with damp paper towels, while you heat the oil in a deep stock pot. Drop the balls, a few at a time into the hot oil (350 degrees) until golden brown. They'll float, just turn them around a bit for even browning.

Melt honey in a saucepan and add orange zest. As soon as the balls are fried, take them from the oil directly to the honey pot. Let them float around in there for about 30 seconds.

Lift them out of the honey with a slotted spoon, placing them on a serving platter, piling them into a conical shape.

Sprinkle with non-pareils while the honey is still warm. Eat while warm, although they can be stored up to 3 days. These are perfect party food for sitting around and talking or watching a movie or nibbling on as you do other tasks - like bake more cookies for Cookie Day!



HootyCreeks

These are a drop cookie that has you giggling as you make them - the name alone will do that and if your brain is as warped as ours, the off-color jokes just flow in the kitchen. That they are also delicious is a happy bonus - and the travel well so you can share the glee.

5/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until fluffy. Add the entire jar of ingredients, and mix together by hand until well blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Flaming Arrows

Since Cookie Day comes during the Sun Sign of Sagittarius, these cookies were developed just for it. You don't have to use raspberry jam - cranberry, cherry, or any other red filling will work, too. The red color is kind of important for the presentation. They don't travel well.

1-1/2 cups butter
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 to 2 drops yellow food coloring
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 12-ounce can raspberry pie filling, or raspberry jam
semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or quick release foil or lghtly grease them. Bring all the ingredients to room temperature.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and food coloring until fluffy. With wooden spoon, stir in egg, then milk and, finally, the flour. The dough will be stiff. Place the dough in a large (8-inch) pastry bag fitted with large star tip (we use number 4). Squeeze dough onto prepared pans, making large tear drop-shaped strips, about 2 1/2 inches long. Leave 2 inches between cookies. (If a smaller pastry bag is used, more dough must be squeezed out to make the shape. Hold the pastry bag upright and squeeze a drop of dough onto the cookie sheet. Then bring pastry bag sideways and continue piping dough in a straight line -- to resemble an arrow tip and the arrow shaft.) Do not fill the pastry bag too full with dough; it is easier to use if not too full. Try to make all the cookies the same size, for even baking.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned around edges and just set; the tops do not brown. Transfer to racks; let cool completely. When cookies are cool, turn them bottom-side up. Spread raspberry filling on bottom side of half of cookies; top with other cookies, with bottom sides facing filling, to make sandwich cookies.

Melt chocolate on top of stove or in microwave oven. Dip large end of each cookie about 1/2 inch into melted chocolate. Transfer to racks or waxed paper until chocolate sets. Store cookies in refrigerator.




Krusczyki

Makes about 36. This is the cookie to make when you make Angel Food Cake - you can use up all the egg yolks at once! It's another fried cookie, so they are best eaten quickly. Oddly enough, they taste very good coupled with Angel Food cake - the soft sponginess of the cake complements the crispness of the cookie.

14 egg yolks
2 cups sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
8 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups shortening or vegetable oil for frying
1/3 cup powdered sugar (or more)

In a large bowl, cream together the yolks, sour cream, vanilla, salt, and butter. Beat in the flour. Stir into a ball, then turn dough out onto a floured surface . Knead dough for 1/2 hour. It needs the work to make a light, crispy dough. If you have a mixer with a dough hook attachment, mix for about 15 minutes. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into strips that are 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. In the center of each strip, cut a 1 inch slit, lengthwise. Pull one end of the strip through the slit to form a bow. In a frying pan or an electric skillet, melt shortening and heat to about 350ºF. Place cookies in hot oil. Cook on both sides until lightly browned then remove to a paper towel. Drain well, pat dry if needed. Dust cookies with powdered sugar. The powdered sugar may absorb some of the oil, so you may want to dust them several times.

You can flavor the powdered sugar with cinnamon, cardamom, rose water, orange peel, or cocoa.

And that's it for this batch of cookies. I still haven't a clue which ones I'll bake for Cookie Day.