Shortbread. Chocolatechip. Molasses. Rugelach. Hazelnut. Fig Cookies. Maybe not so photogenic, these cookies are amazingly good.
There are a lot of similar recipes around, and I, myself, have tried about four or five of them. But I’m not in search for the perfect recipe anymore, I’m quite content and happy with this one. I bake exactly the same cookies for three years in a row for Christmas (they are traditional Italian Christmas cookies) and every single recipient always raves.
They are a bit time consuming to make, but a prep, broken in stages, makes it relatively easy to put together. Adapted from Gourmet magazine Makes about 6 dozens For the filling: For the dough: 4 cups all-purpose flour1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar1 tablespoon baking powder1 teaspoon salt2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes2 large eggs, lightly beaten1/2 cup whole milk1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange For the icing: Make the filling: The filling can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered. Make the dough: Graham crackers. Let’s say I was an alien, or new here or something — er, not entirely impossible, if you consider that I woke up yesterday with small feet fidgeting way further up my rib cage than I thought anatomically possible, leading me to wonder what I actually know about anatomy, leading to an inadvisable, rash amount of Google Image searching, leading to my eyes popping out of my head and whoa, I’ve digressed mightily — and I asked you to explain to me what is this “graham cracker” flavor that you speak of, could you do it?
Because I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out what it was, and seeing the wide range of graham cracker — they’re something like digestive biscuits, for those of you across the pond — recipes out there, it’s not just me. There was the one I tried a couple years ago with rye flour, which I can assure you, was not the answer. Graham flour — a coarsely, exactingly ground whole wheat flour — would be the obvious answer, since they originate with one Rev. Vampire Cookies. Every year I see lots of Halloween cupcakes and cakes that are rather boring in their decorations.
Snickerdoodles. It's actually pretty surprising that snickerdoodles haven't ended up on this blog before now.
I love them! I have tried a few recipes and while they are all tasty, my favorite kind is more on the chewy to cakey side. These cookies (recipe from Martha Stewart) are not that. They do taste good, but they are more of the crisp to crumbly type cookie and for snickerdoodles that just isn't my favorite. The snickerdoodles this month were the winning vote for the Cookie Carnival - that monthly celebration of cookie goodness created by darlin' Kate over at The Clean Plate Club.
Oh, and you'll also notice that I got a little bit silly and decided to just mix in some M&M's to half of the dough, just for fun. Brown sugar cookies. I randomly stumbled upon this recipe last night while poking around on Chow.
Apparently the recipe is from Cooks Illustrated. I decided to make them because I had all the ingredients on hand, and people on Chowhound were raving. The only thing I regret about making these, is that I didn't double the recipe. Brown butter and brown sugar mixed together in a cookie…pure bliss. Bake at 350. Chocolate thumbprints. It’s been a while since I last made ice cream and, even with the cold days here, I sometimes feel like having a scoop or two...
:DNext time I make ice cream I know exactly where to go for inspiration: the issue #9 of Desserts Magazine is full of delicious ice cream recipes! And my sweet corn ice cream is there, too. :D In the winter, I’ll take any excuse to turn the oven on to get the kitchen warm and cozy, and that’s much better when there are cookies involved. This recipe comes from Martha’s website but it only worked out perfectly because of Lizzie’s comment about the extravagant amount of filling and the Food Librarian’s warning about burned thumbs. Chocolate thumbprints Cookie dough:½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature½ cup (70g) confectioners' sugar, sifted¼ teaspoon salt1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 ¼ cups (175g) all-purpose flour, sifted Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two baking sheets with baking paper. Great cookies. So, here's what we're gonna do: I'm changing this whole thing up a bit.
Instead of just posting my favorite cookie from the 10 most recent recipes, I'm going to organize them from the BEST to the NOT SO BEST (they're all good--no "worst"). Here we go, let's do this: 1st place: Pecan Bars This was a no-brainer right? I mean, seriously, if you tasted these--or even just read my entry on them, you'd know from the get go that these were winners. Super-indulgent, nutty and sweet and sticky, they were fantastic. Dark Chocolate Cookies. Dear Girl (that sat next to me on the plane last night), Hi.
XXX cookies. The word "adult" is a curious word.
Logically, it should mean the opposite of childish. Being an adult should mean that you've put away childish things and are ready to buckle down to tackling the weightier issues of life. But put the word "adult" in front of the words "bookstore" or "theater" and you've got a whole different meaning. Wouldn't you think that an adult bookstore would be one that carries the collected works of Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, and Thomas Paine? And perhaps volumes of the New York Times crossword puzzles. Instead, adult bookstores and theaters are all about porn, smut, and leather. Sandwich cookies. Cocoa Wafers. Cocoa Wafers These are the cookies I always use for my cheesecake crusts since they are so easy to make and the flavor is nothing comparing to store bought cookies.
Crispy throughout, the wafers are also great accompany to a cup of coffee or ice-cream. Use a good quality cocoa for the best result. The recipe is from Alice Medrich. Viennese Chocolate Sablés. Viennese Chocolate Sablés Recipes from Pierre Hermé guarantee a success. Don’t they? Checkerboard Cookies. This is an old classic, not really original – just simple chocolate and vanilla dough put together.
Yet it always surprises me how people react when I offer them the cookies (or maybe they are just easily impressed here :) Kids simply go crazy over them. The recipe below makes an enormous amount of cookies. But it’s easier to work with a fair amount of dough. It’s good to have plenty of it to wrap the checkerboard logs around with rather than trying to patch small pieces together or rolling the dough thinner that it’s supposed to while sweating profusely during the process.
Sugar Gems. Brown Sugar Sandwich Cookies. My intention was to bring a little baggie of these snappy, chocolate-stuffed sandwich cookies on the plane to Philadelphia last week. Unfortunately, I ran out of time (having clean clothes trumped having cookies this time around) and had to wait until after my trip to bake them off. That being said, they are an effective travel tool, perfect for establishing goodwill with the stranger(s) sitting next to you.
The poppy-flecked, brown sugar dough has a mellow sweetness, and it is my feeling that the butter browns just enough in the oven to bring the flavors together full circle. The chocolate functions as binding bridge between two wafer-thin coins. Kolackys and Chocolate Cookies. Tuesday was my Great Grandmother's birthday. I don't remember her at all, but I do remember my mom making these cookies for us when we were little. My mom remembers her in the kitchen, always with a cheerful smile, making delicious treats. We decided to make these cookies to remember her and to honor her birthday. The Kolackys were one of my favorite treats as a child and making them brought back a flood of great memories. They are small, but so rich and buttery, with just a touch of powdered sugar and fruit filling on the top.
Double Chocolate Cookies. Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookie. Subscribe to Cookie Madness by Email. Big Time Chocolate Cookies. Me Love Cookies! Chocolatey Butter Bites. Chocolate lace cookies. Ranger cookies. Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Shortbread Fingers. Ingredients:1 cup butter, at room temperature2 cups flour1 cup semisweet miniature chocolate chips*, divided use1/2 cup confectioners' sugar1 1/2 teaspoons vanillapinch salt Directions:Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat the butter, salt, sugar and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. Add in the flour, one cup at a time, until a dough forms. Sticky Fingers Triple Chocolate Cookies. Thank god for Jill O’Connor and her book, Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey. Every recipe in that book is full of mouthwatering outrageous and over-the-top treats that are bound to spike your blood sugar through the roof. Double Dog chocolate pie. One of my favorite movies, A Christmas Story, has a scene on the playground in winter where an escalating series of dares leads to a boy touching his tongue to the metal flagpole.
It stuck and the fire department had to come rescue him. Giant chocolate sugar cookies. Do you remember my del.icio.us resolution? Martha and her cookie of the day series are not being much helpful here. Chocolate meringue pie. Dark Chocolate Soufflé Cakes With Espresso-Chocolate Sauce. Homemade oreo cookies. No-bake oatmeal chocolate fudge cookies. Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps. Ranger Cookies. Double Chocolate Crackle Cookies.