12 Days of Cookies 2008

My mouth is watering!!! Mmmmm

OMG Shelley - send me some cookies!!! YUMMMMM

Alex Guarnaschelli's Chocolate Shortbread with White Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

Cookies:

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate

2 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus a little extra for greasing the baking sheet

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

Sauce:

3/4 cup heavy cream

8 ounces white chocolate, chopped or shaved into small pieces

1/2 cup sour cream, preferably at room temperature

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small metal bowl, combine the 2 types of chocolate and melt them gently over a pot of simmering water or a double boiler. Cool chocolate to room temperature.

Make the shortbread dough:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Blend until smooth and "creamed," 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in the cooled melted chocolate.

Sift the flour and add to the butter mixture and blend on low speed to incorporate the flour. Do not over mix. Remove the dough from the bowl and refrigerate for a few minutes to chill.

Make the chocolate sauce:

In a medium-sized pot, bring the cream to a gentle simmer. Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the white chocolate pieces. Allow the mixture to sit and cool for a minute. All of the white chocolate should easily melt into the cream. Whisk in the sour cream and taste for seasoning. Cook's Note: Sour cream is temperamental when heated, so take care that your mixture never gets overly hot. If so, cool a little before incorporating. Set aside at room temperature.

Press the shortbread dough evenly into a 9 by 13 by 1-inch greased non-stick baking pan. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the dough is fairly firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow the shortbread to cool for about 10 minutes. Cut into 12 rectangles, 4 by 2 inches, and then cut diagonally across rectangles to form 24 long triangles for good dipping.

Arrange shortbread wedges on a tray with the white chocolate sauce in a bowl for dipping.

Candy Cane Cookies

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

3 drops red food coloring

3 drops green food coloring

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, add egg and lemon juice and continue to mix. Add dry mixture incrementally to wet mixture until fully incorporated.

Divide dough into 2 separate bowls; add 3 drops red food coloring to 1 bowl and 3 drops green food coloring to the other. Stir until colors are prevalent throughout.

Roll out both doughs on flour-dusted parchment paper to about 1/6-inch thick. Trim edges with a butter knife or pizza cutter to make a solid rectangle. Cut each color dough into 10 even strips, twist and wrap green dough with red dough and form candy cane shapes.

Place twisted dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart (they will spread) and bake for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Remove, cool and enjoy!

Paula's Snowflake Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Edible Paint Icing, recipe follows

Garnish: silver dragees, sugar pearls, sparkling sugar

Preparations Directions

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extract until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until smooth. Wrap dough in heavy-duty plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with assorted snowflake cookie cutters and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Chill dough 15 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned. Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Paint cookies with Edible Paint Icing. Garnish with silver dragees, sugar pearls and sparkling sugar, if desired.

Edible Paint Icing:

1/4 cup cold water

3 tablespoons meringue powder

2 cups confectioners' sugar

Food coloring, optional

In a medium bowl, combine water and meringue powder; whisk until foamy. Whisk in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Add food coloring, if desired. Use immediately.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Duff's Black and White Cookie

Ingredients

1 tablespoon dry yeast

1 cup milk

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

2 1/2 cups cake flour

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Vegetable cooking spray (not flavored)

Preparation Directions

Add dry yeast to warm or room-temperature milk, let stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.

Slowly add and combine the yeast mixture, and the extracts.

In a separate bowl whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour and salt and gradually add them to your mixture. Caution: Do not over mix, but make sure to keep your mixture homogenous.

Prepare a cookie sheet with pan spray and drop spoonfuls of dough 3 to 4 inches apart. Bake until the edges begin to brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature before decorating.

Ganache:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 pound good dark chocolate, chopped

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 pound good white chocolate, chopped

Place chocolate into 2 separate bowls, 1 for dark and 1 for white. Slowly boil the cream in 2 separate pots. Pour 1 pot cream over the dark and 1 pot over the white and let chocolate melt. Whisk each until smooth.

To decorate: While the ganache is slightly warm, have fun with it. Maybe some of it will even end up on the cookies!

Sandra's Stained Glass Wreath Cookies

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) tube sugar cookie dough

1 bag assorted round hard candies (recommended: Lifesavers)

1 small tube white decorating icing

1 package silver dragees

24 (8-inch) long pieces string or ribbon

Preparation directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with silicone baking pads.

Slice dough log at 1/4-inch intervals and place onto prepared baking sheets spaced 1 inch apart.

Press a 1-inch round cutter into the center of each cookie round. Remove the small circle of dough and replace it with a round hard candy.

Bake in oven 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from oven. While still warm, make a hole at the top of each cookie with a large straw. Place baking sheet on the cooling rack and cool completely.

When the cookies have completely cooled, use the decorative icing and evenly space 6 icing dots around the edges of each cookie. Lightly push the silver dragees into the icing dots. Allow icing to harden.

Place the 8-inch piece of ribbon through the hole at the top and tie the ends together.

Repeat with remaining cookies.

You can eat your cookies or hang them as ornaments on a Christmas tree or in a window.

Shelley, what a great selection of cookies for the holidays or any occasion when a treat is necessary. I'm going to pass them along to the baker in my family, who will be delighted.

Happy holidays,

Andre

Good Lord those all look so delish and pretty at that!!! I am definitely gonna try some out, although I think I felt my ass getting fatter just looking at them, hehehe