Brandied Eggnog Cookies

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. This post is a little late, but I am still reminiscing. I wanted to thank all the Google communities of wonderful bakers and cooks that inspire me. I now am in the job realm of baking, but I still continue with my passion on my own time with this blog.

To start this year, I bring you a recipe for a delectable sandwich cookie. The crunch of a sugar cookie sandwiched together by a brandy nutmeg filling. All the flavor of eggnog in a sweet gem of a treat. Next year try putting these cookies out for Santa-it will definitely insure that you are on his nice list!

Brandied Eggnog Cookies
adapted from the Good Cookie

Ingredients/Cookies
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter (softened)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar

Ingredients/Cream Filling
1 cup plus 2 tbs confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs brandy
3 tbs butter (softened)

Ingredients/Topping
Coarse sugar
Grated nutmeg

For the cookies, fill the bowl of a stand mixer with butter and sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the vanilla,  nutmeg, egg yolk and salt. Pour into the butter/sugar mixture and beat until thoroughly blended.

Remove bowl from stand mixer and fold in the flour, incorporating it into the batter in 1/2 cup intervals. Once combined, place a large piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Transfer the dough to the plastic and flatten into a rectangle. Completely cover dough and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour and maximum of 3 days.

When you are ready to form and bake cookies, lightly sprinkle a flat work surface with flour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and divide in half. Place one half back in refrigerator and the other half on the work surface. Dust with flour and roll dough out in a mass about 1/8 of an inch thick. Using a cutter (I used linzer cookie cutter) about 1 1/2 inch square, cut dough into shapes. For the center hole, use a 1/2 inch round piping tip to form the window or hole. This step is to be completed on only half of the cookies, the top cookie will have the window and the bottom cookie will be solid.

Then transfer cut outs to a baking sheet, placing the solid cut outs together on one sheet and the cut outs with the window on another. The baking time for the cut outs with the window takes about one minute less than the others. Sprinkle each cookie with coarse sugar. Place cookies in the oven and bake each sheet separately, for about 9-11 minutes. Cookies should be be a light golden brown on the bottom, the tops should not change color. Once baked, transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Repeat the process of rolling the dough and cutting out shapes by re-using the scraps and the second piece of dough in the refrigerator. If the dough gets too sticky in the process, return it to the refrigerator to firm up. Once firm, you can start the rolling and cutting process again.

For the filling, fill a small bowl with the butter and beat until smooth and silky. Add 1/2 a cup of the confectioners's sugar and beat until no dry powder remains. Using another bowl, whisk together the brandy and vanilla extract. Add it to the butter/sugar mixture and blend until evenly distributed. Lastly, mix in the remaining confectioners' sugar until creamy. It should have a frosting consistency.

Spread about 3/4 of a teaspoon of filling onto each solid cookie. Then lightly press the cookie with the window on top. Grate or sprinkle the top with nutmeg.

Tips and Notes:
1. Another method for forming the cookies is to roll the dough on parchment paper, making sure the dough can fit into the baking sheet. Then cut out dough on parchment lined baking sheet and remove the outer scraps, leaving the cut outs on the baking sheet. This keeps you from having to transfer the cut out from the flat surface to the cookie sheet, so it insures the perfect shape. Also, if the dough gets too sticky or soft, it can be chilled quickly in the refrigerator on the baking sheet.

2. Feel free to use the liquor of your choice. I used gingerbread spiced whiskey.

3. The recipe states it makes 30 cookies, I ended up with about 24. My 1/8 of an inch thickness was not consistent, so I had less cookies.

4. The filling of 3/4 of a tsp may not seem much. Due to the strength of the brandy, not much filling is required to get a nice flavor pairing with the cookies.
                                       **LAST YEAR:Cocoa Almond Pound Cake**

Shortbread Squares

If you have been the host for the holidays this year, I am sure you are ready for some time to relax and unwind. The manner in which we do this varies from person to person. Some of the methods people have chosen may be bizarre or unbelievable. You will not find me building small houses out of pennies or washing my car. My method is actually pretty simple- enjoying a hot cup of coffee or tea with a shortbread cookie while sitting in a comfortable chair. The whirlwind of stress and anxiety just melts away.

If you have not found the key to unwind yet or are just looking to take a break from your day, these cookies may be the right choice. Outside of that special buttery, melt in your mouth factor that shortbread cookies have to offer, they are easy to make with a few simple ingredients. A great return for such a little investment of time. This recipe makes about 10 dz one inch squares and uses a 9x13 inch pan.

Shortbread Squares
adapted from My Great Recipes

Ingredients
4 cups and 2 tbs of flour
2 cups or 1 lb of butter (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
Sprinkles, decorative sugar or powdered sugar for topping (optional)

Prepare a 9x13 inch cake by by buttering the interior. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Reserve a sheet of wax paper, a size just big enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

Cut the butter into cubes and place in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes on medium speed, stopping at intervals to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Once the blend is smooth add all of the flour.

Combine the flour with the sugar mixture by using a wooden spoon. After all the flour is incorporated into the dough, empty it into the prepared baking pan.  Take the wax paper and use it as a barrier between your hands and the dough as you press the dough down to fit the pan. Make sure the dough is even and reaches all sides and corners.

Remove wax paper. Using the tines of a fork, make small indentations on the top of the dough. This will keep the dough from bubbling up when baked.

Place pan in oven and bake until golden on sides and bottom. This should take about 1 1/2 hours. After the bake time, turn the oven off and remove the pan. Cut the shortbread into squares or triangles (depending on your preference) about 1 inch wide. Place pan back in the oven and let rest until the oven has cooled.

As a last step, sprinkle sugar topping on the surface of the shortbread. Let cool completely before removing from pan.
                                     **LAST YEAR:Chocolate Tangerine Cannoli Cupcakes** 

Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

Sometimes a person is in the mood for cookies. Today's wishes are not for chocolate chip cookies or buttery shortbread, but something a little bit more healthy. Something more along the lines of oatmeal cookies would squelch my craving.

Not just any oatmeal cookies will do. Seasonal flavors would have to be included with this cookie recipe. I came across a recipe that included pumpkin puree and spices-which just what I was looking for. For even more seasonal flavor, I tweaked the recipe a bit to include dried cranberries and walnuts.

The cookies turned out to be chewy in texture with a bit of crunch from the walnuts. Also, they are a very hearty cookie full of fall flavor. As you know, oatmeal cookies fall under comfort food-so for that special category I consider this recipe a keeper. Another bonus is that the time it takes to create these cookies is minimal. The recipe makes about 2 dozen.

Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies
adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup raw sugar (extra for sprinkling)
2/3 cup of oats (old fashioned, not quick cooking)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup flour
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, allspice and baking soda into a medium bowl. Stir in the oats and set aside. Take out another bowl and fill with both types of sugars, vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir until thoroughly combined together. Then fold in the sifted ingredients in 1/3 increments. Mix just until no more dry streaks remain.

Lastly, add the dried cranberries and chopped walnuts. Stir together until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Using a scoop, place mounds of the dough on one of the baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Dip the bottom of a glass in water and flatten each mound, creating a 2 inch diameter with the dough. Then sprinkle on some of the raw sugar.

Bake each pan of cookies in the oven separately until done. Cookies should be firm and lightly browned on the edges when done, approximate baking time is 17-20 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and transfer cookies to a rack and let cool.
                             **LAST YEAR: Triple Caramel Mudcake**

Butternuts

Russian Teacakes, or otherwise called Mexican Wedding Cookies have graced many a dessert table around the holiday season. Since it is a favorite, there are many recipes that spun off from the original. 

This particular cookie is just that, pulling in the flavors of butterscotch and rum. I know, a bag of butterscotch chips seem to be the remaining orphan at the grocery store. The ones that get all the attention are the chocolate chips, which are the first to go. Even though butterscotch may not be as popular as chocolate, these cookies are a reminder that this flavor can be just as delicious when the right recipe comes along.

So as you are walking down the baking aisle, please consider the butterscotch chips. All they need is a good home.

This recipe makes about 3 dz cookies.

Butternuts
adapted from Just a Pinch website

Ingredients/Cookies
1 cup finely chopped pecans
6 oz butterscotch chips
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter

Ingredients/Topping
1 tsp rum extract
1/2 cup pecan pieces
3 powdered sugar
3-4 tbs milk or water

Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Sift 1/2 cup of powdered sugar into a small bowl and whisk in the salt. Add the sugar blend to the bowl of a stand mixer. Then cut butter into cubes and drop cubes into sugar mixture. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Next, fold in the flour in increments until a dough is formed. Then add pecans and butterscotch chips, blending with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Take the dough and measure out into teaspoons. Shape each into a round ball and place on prepared cookie sheet. Since the cookies do not expand very much, they can be spaced about 1/2 inch apart. Bake in oven until lightly browned on the bottom, about 15-17 minutes. Do not let cookies turn brown on top, that is a sign they are over baked. 

Remove sheet from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. After all the cookies are baked and cooled, place cookies on a plate. Now it is time to start on the glaze.

Place a sheet of wax paper under the cooling rack. Pull out a small bowl and add milk (or water) and extract. Whisk together. Take out a larger bowl and sift all of the powdered sugar into the bowl. Then mix the liquid mixture into the powdered sugar.

To glaze each of the cookies, dip the top into the glaze and swirl to let the excess drip back into the bowl. Place cookie back on rack and put a piece of pecan on the top. Repeat the process until all cookies are topped as stated. Let rest one hour for glaze to set up, then they are ready to enjoy.
 
                                         **LAST YEAR:Cherry Dr Pepper Cupcakes**


 

Lime Press Cookies

The cookie recipe states to pipe these cookies, using a #3 star tip to form these into a circle.  However, I decided to pull out the cookie press.  It has been packed away for some time.  The reason for that was due to the template or stencil of the cookie press breaking under the force of cookie dough.  The cookie dough was a recipe that was made for the press.  The main lesson here is that it is best to invest in a cookie press with metal templates-not plastic.

After making these cookies, I am glad to say that the press is back in my favor.  The dough was one that did not require chilling and it worked like a charm.  Being a blogger, I am somewhat picky when it comes to giving food out that I have made.  I recently made a candy bar cookie recipe in which the caramel candy in the cookie batter exploded when baking.  Believe me, no amount of parchment paper or wax paper could help in this situation and the cookies looked like just a pile of cookie pieces.  Someone had stated that I still should have brought them, because they would have even eaten the cookie pieces!  Nice of them to say, but no.

The recipe for the cookies included 1 3/4 tsp of ground cloves and they have no glaze or icing on them.  My modifications included glazing the cookies and eliminating the clove spice.  After baking these cookies, I noticed that they had a lime flavor but it was subtle.  So instead of adding another flavor with the glaze, I added lime zest.  Per my taste tester, the plain cookies went from an "ok" to a "really good" once the glaze was added.  With the pop of lime, these crisp buttery cookies can be addictive.  Not to mention the fact they are small in size, which is a good excuse to eat another.  This recipe makes about 5 dz cookies.

Lime Press Cookies
adapted from Desserts by Nancy Silverton

Ingredients
2 tbs and 1 1/2 tsp lime zest
2 cups flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs sugar
1 tbs lime juice
7 oz or 1 and 3/4 sticks of butter 
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  If you are using a pastry tip to form these, the recipe states to line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.  For a cookie press, the pans do not require any preparation.  Lay a piece of wax paper underneath a cooling rack on a flat surface.

Add the butter and lime zest to the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat on medium high for 5-8 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  After beating the mixture should be very light in color and silky.  Add the sugar and beat for another minute then turn off mixer.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and the lime juice.  Add this mixture to the cookie dough in the stand mixer.  Beat for 30 seconds.  Then remove the bowl and fold in the 2 cups of flour. 

To form the cookie using a pastry tip, spiral the dough in a circle, leaving a very small opening.  The cookie should be about 1/4 inch in height and the dough should barely overlap where ends meet.  For the cookie press, follow the manufacturers instructions.  Once one cookie sheet is filled, place in oven to bake for about 15-17 minutes.  The cookies will be golden brown on the edges when done.

After 2 minutes, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to completely cool.  Repeat the forming and baking of the dough until nothing remains of the dough except baked cookies.  Once all are cool, they are ready to be glazed.

Satin Lime Glaze
adapted from Betty Crockers Cookie Book

Ingredients
4 tbs butter
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tbs water
1 tbs lime zest

Brown the butter in a small saucepan.  Let it cook until golden, but be careful that it does not burn.  Remove from heat and then stir in the powdered sugar. Stir in enough water to reach the correct consistency.  Lastly, mix in the lime zest.

Using a squirt bottle, drizzle glaze over top of the cooled cookies.  Do not worry about perfection, the consistency of the the glaze will allow for it to spread and run over the sides of the cookie. Let the cookies sit for about 2 hours to make sure the glaze is set before storing.

Tips and Notes:
1. The glaze will start to set up in the bowl if you prepare in advance of the cookies being baked. You will need to stir in more water to maintain the consistency.
2. These cookies are delicate, so take care when removing from cookie sheet and transferring to cooling rack.
3. Using the cookie press would seem to be more forgiving than the pastry tip.  If a cookie shape does not turn out, you can remove from the pan and put in dough bowl to be pressed out again.  Not sure if that method would work as well using the tip and parchment paper on the cookie sheets.
                       **LAST YEAR: Brown Butter/Cream Cheese Carrot Cupcakes**
 

Maraschino Snowball Cookies

They say it is all about quality ingredients.  When I think of all the different things I have bought and ordered for the sake of creating something in the kitchen, there is a lot of unique as well as imported ingredients I can recall.  There is probably a blogger in another country that has the same situation.  The grass is always greener so we find ourselves coveting ingredients from another country who regards that ingredient as commonplace.

This particular recipe requires maraschino cherries which are imported from Italy.  I have made cookies before with maraschino cherries, called Cherry Bon Bon Cookies.  Between the two, I prefer this recipe over that.  This recipe has the added flavor of almond but the vast difference in the maraschino cherries is what won me over. The cherries in the US are more of a neon color and are stored in a watery liquid.  The Luxardo ones are black and packed in a syrup. The cherries taste much sweeter and stronger, which melds nicely with almond flavor of the cookie. I am hooked, so there are no plans to go back the red neon maraschinos that are so easy to find in the states.

I am adding this one to my holiday cookie recipes. Below you will find the original recipe as well as the tips and notes.  This recipe makes 2-2 1/2 dozen.

Maraschino Snowballs
adapted from Elizabeth Morris via Saveur Magazine

Ingredients
1 egg 
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup or about 30 pitted Luxardo cherries, drained
1/2 cup almond paste
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups white sparkling sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and powdered sugar.  Add the almond paste, vanilla extract and egg.  Beat until all is blended and batter is fluffy.  Set aside.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder in another bowl.  Add 1/3 of sifted ingredients to butter mixture and mix in with wooden spoon.  Repeat the process two more times until all the dry ingredients are mixed into the batter.  The end result is cookie dough that should easily clump together with your hand.

Separate the dough into 30 pieces.  Center one cherry inside each piece of dough and form into a ball. Roll each cookie in the sparkling sugar and place 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  Cookies will toast on the bottom and the edges will turn golden when done.

Remove and let cool on pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.

Notes and Tips:
1.  For less leftover ingredients, I doubled the recipe so my can of almond paste would be used as well as the complete jar of Luxardo cherries.
2. The amount of decorative sugar used application is based on preference and method.  In doubling the recipe and keeping about 3 tbs or less in a shallow bowl at any time for rolling only required 1 cup of sparkling sugar.  However, more of the sugar will increase the crunch and sparkle to your cookies.
3. These are a crumbly cookie so they should be bite sized.  They are best eaten by popping a whole one into your mouth.
4. For more color to your cookies, try colored sugar or drops of food coloring to the batter.
5. Amazon.com was the resource for the Luxardo Cherries
                                 **2 YEARS AGO: Hendrix Pie**