Christmas Cookies

[NCPaul]

Coconut Macaroons

I liked this recipe very much with its use of large flake unsweetened coconut
http://food52.com/recipes/16667-alice-m ... -macaroons
Two teaspoons:

Baked:

Finished with dark chocolate:

[wheels]

Wow, lookin' good!

Phil

[NCPaul]

Lebkuchen Bars
From Cook's Illustrated

4 T unsalted butter
4 T vegetable shortening
3 c AP flour
1 T cinnamon
1 t baking soda
1 t cardamom
3/4 t ginger
1/2 t salt
1 c sugar
1 c molasses
2 large eggs
Glaze
1 t lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 c confectioners' sugar
3 T milk

Bake at 325F in a 9 X 13 foil lined dish for 40 minutes.

[NCPaul]

Almond Cloud Cookies

From here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/ ... ies-recipe

10 oz. almond paste
1 c sugar
2 lg egg whites
1/4 t almond extract
1/8 t bitter almond oil
confectioners' sugar

Bake tablespoons at 325 F for 20 minutes.

These are wonderful; crisp outer shell and a chewy center with intense almond flavor.

[NCPaul]

Two new ones this year:
Kolachkes (or kolacky, different names depending on place of origin)
1 c unsalted butter
8 oz. cream cheese
2 c flour
¼ t salt
¼ t baking powder
1 egg yolk
Cream cheese filling
4 oz. cream cheese
1 egg yolk
¼ c confectioners’ sugar
½ t vanilla extract
Powdered sugar to dust

These cookies are rich without being sweet and can also be filled with walnuts or jam.

[NCPaul]

The second new cookie is Classic Jammers from the book Dories Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. This is a book well worth having as she has a great number of interesting cookies and new variations to consider.
The recipe can be found here (and elsewhere):
https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-dorie- ... ies-238118
One obstacle to making these is the right pan, I used a pan sold for small 2 inch cheesecakes the has removable bottoms like this

A two inch round of sable dough is placed in the bottom, the streusel is pressed along the rim, then a small bit of jam is added to the center. After the cookies are baked and cooled, they are pressed out from the bottom. These three components allow for multiple variations to be easily made.

The finished cookies can be seen on the left of the box and the kolachkes are on the right:

Both of these cookies are best eaten warm or re-warmed. Who doesn’t like a warm cookie?

[NCPaul]

This year's version of jammers used milk crumbs from Christina Tosi as the strussel component and blueberry jam. Before and after baking:

[NCPaul]

New this year was Little Viennese Almond Crescents or Wiener Mandelgipferl from Cookies Unlimited by Nick Malgieri (a very good book on this topic).

18 T unsalted butter
1 c confectioner's sugar, plus more to finish
2 t vanilla extract
4 oz. blanched almonds finely ground
2 1/2 c AP flour

Bake at 350 F on parchment paper after forming into crescents (warm hands help). Dust with powdered sugar immediately out of the oven.

[NCPaul]

Final box:




Christmas coming soon!

[NCPaul]

Here's one I've wanted to make for some time from "Bravetart" Stella Parks.

Cocoa Nib Florentines

1/2 c butter
1/2 c honey
1 1/2 T Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 1/4 c sugar
1/4 t salt
Melt in a sauce pan then cool.
2 t instant espresso
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
3/4 c AP flour
1 1/4 c finely chopped pecans
1/2 c cocoa nibs

Mix and drop by 1 1/2 t on parchment lined sheets. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes (burns easily!) turning half way.

[NCPaul]

Another new one for me was Leckerli. I followed Dorie Greenspan's recipe in Dorie's Cookies. She says the recipe dates back to the mid-1400s and is associated with the city of Basel Switzerland.

2/3 c honey
1/2 sugar
1/2 c candied orange peel
zest of 1 lemon

Heat in saucepan until sugar is dissolved, let cool.

2 c + 2 T AP flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1/2 t cloves
1/4 t black pepper
1 c sliced almonds
2 T orange liquor

Mix everything by hand (it is too sticky to mix with machine or with a spoon). Roll out to about 1/3 inch in roughly square or rectangle shape between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Cool overnight. Peel off top paper and bake in middle of a 400F oven for 14 minutes turning at the half way point. when it is somewhat cool, glaze with:

1/2 c confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 T water
1 T orange liquor

Cut into bars of 3/4" X 3"

[NCPaul]

Baci di Dama (Italian hazelnut cookies)

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

3/4 c hazelnuts, toasted and partially skinned
2/3 c flour
1/3 c sugar
1/8 t salt
6 T butter
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate

Grind nuts, I used a rotary hand cheese/nut grinder. Mix then portion using a melon baller into 5 g hemispheres. Bake at 350 then sandwich with chocolate.

[wheels]

...and the ladies verdict?

Phil

[NCPaul]

She liked them, I made her crack all the hazelnuts for me.

[wheels]

Brave man!