I have been in a funk this holiday season. Every time I go to bake cookies I get de-railed. I thought I would make a final push and get a few done, but I was struck by the flu bug which put the big kabash on any last minute baking. This effectively ended all hope of any more scrumptious cookies. I have the dough for these wonderful crescents from Rose’s Christmas Cookies and for Mrs. Sugaya’s pecan tartlets chilling in the fridge. But they will have to wait until after Christmas.
But all is not loss. I did manage to make some homemade goodies that I hope you will try. I made favorite breakfast munchies, Juli’s granola and my cousin Bonnie’s spicy pecans. Cookies are little gifts of love, peace and hope and I just couldn’t bring myself to bake many. I wish everyone love and joy with family and friends during this holiday season even if a few of us are on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
So, what did I make instead of cookies? Who guessed booze? You would be right! I started a couple of weeks ago after searching for a homemade Kahlua recipe. Big mistake, there must be a thousand recipes for something so simple! So I came up with my own concoction that I think is pretty darn good and very easy. Couple of tips, you are using a boat load of sugar and coffee, DO NOT break the bank on the vodka or rum. I used the same vodka I used to make vanilla extract with last year, a brand from TJ’s. I picked it cause the bottle was cool looking. I had some Meyer’s rum so I used that too.
I started with 1/4 cup instant expresso (Medaglia D’Oror) and my first batch didn’t have enough coffee flavor so I made a second batch using 1/2 cup and mix the two batches. So I leave it to you to decide how much coffee flavor you want. I will keep you posted on the feedback!
Make your own coffee liqueur aka Kahlua, easy and sure to impress your friends and family!
Course Drinks
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword coffee liquer, easy to make, kahlua
Ingredients
Adapted from Creative Culinary
4cupswater
2cupsbrown sugar
2cupswhite sugar
1/3-1/2cupdried espresso
500mlvodka
250mlRum
2vanilla beanssplit
2shots of chocolate liqueur or 1 tablespoon cocoa nibs
Instructions
Combine the water, sugars and dried espresso in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil; turn the heat to low and simmer for a minimum of 1 hour.to reduce the mixture and make a more syrupy consistency. I had a final volume of approximately 3 cups.
Watch constantly and stir occasionally. It will boil over if not watched!!!
Remove from heat and let cool.
Add vodka, rum, vanilla beans and chocolate liqueur or cocoa nibs
Pour everything into a clean storage container. I love these Ball Jars.
Age for 3-4 weeks in a cool, dark location; stirring once or twice a week.
When ready to bottle, remove vanilla beans, bottle mixture and store. I strained the mixture into the bottle.
How easy is that?
Serve straight, over ice cream, mixed drinks
Variations on a Thumbprint Day 2: 12 Days of Cookies
Who doesn’t like thumbprints? Not me, my kids, my hubby, nor Santa (the thumbprints were always gone from Santa’s cookie plate on Christmas morning). While perusing the internet for holiday cookie recipes I came across the blog, Chew Out Loud. Their most requested cookie recipe (hands down winner) is for Buttery Jam Thumbprint Cookies. Really, is it so surprising? A buttery meltingly tender cookie filled with a “thumbleful” (get it? thumb + thimble) of sweet jam in the center, finished with a dusting of powder sugar. Heavenly.
So of course I included thumbprints in this year’s 12 Days of Cookies. My favorite recipe comes from an old copy of Ladie’s Home Journal (yes, I am that old). I have made these every year for as long as I have been baking Christmas cookies. The addition of ground walnuts to the dough gives these cookies a nutty edge and a slightly sandier texture. I like filling the centers with raspberry jam, its rich ruby red color playing off the surrounding cookie. The sweet and tart flavor of the jam compliments the cookie perfectly. You can substitute pecans for the walnuts although I prefer walnuts which have a bit of a bite that works really well. Did I mention they are super easy to make? Run, don’t walk to your kitchen and make these cookies now.
Over the years I have found little tricks that help when making cookies. Ice cream scoops are the secret to uniform sized cookies and definitely speed up the process of scooping out the dough. I make the indentation for the jam with my wine opener (nifty huh) and creates the perfect sized circle in the middle of the cookie, much better than my thumb!
You can use any flavor jam you like. Put jam in a squeeze bottle and shoot approximately 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation made. As the cookies are cooling, you can add a spot more jam in the center if you wish. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. I use a wire mesh tea strainer for my powdered sugar, works like a charm.
And for your listening pleasure the King-Blue Christmas
Remember that number. Way back in January we took an impromptu trip to New York for my cousin’s birthday. My cousin’s wife Kathy, baker, crafter, home chef extraordinaire made all of the scrumptious desserts – birthday cake, lemon parfaits, and an amazing assortment of cookies for the shindig. We ate, we danced, we laughed. Not surprisingly I was enamored with all of the desserts Kathy made, one in particular, stood out. A cinnamon-y, crispy-crunchy cookie with almonds scattered throughout.
When we returned home from our NY jaunt I fired off an e-mail to Kathy.
Me: Hey Kathy, Great party! As usual delicious food, great company, and so much fun! Loved those crunchy almond cookies! Mind sending me the recipe?
Kathy: Still recovering from the party. Yep, those are good cookies. The recipe is from Nick Malgieri’s Cookies Unlimited, they’re called Dutch Almond Cookies.
Me: Wait, I think I have that book (surprise, surprise)
…I scurry off to find said book
Seize the Dough
The first time I made them was a total disaster. The recipe is actually pretty simple. Butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and a touch of water are heated until the sugar is melted. Once the sugar has dissolved toss in the whole blanched almonds. The almond mixture is then combined with the dry ingredients. All was fine until I stirred in the flour and bam! It seized and instantly transformed into a crumbly dry mess. Ugh. Disappointing. I tried to salvage it by pressing it into a baking pan and chilling it. Unfortunately, even after chilling, it was not workable and it ended up in my compost bin. Where did I go wrong?
I turned to my trusty laptop, googled Nick Malgieri, and fired off an e-mail lamenting my disaster. True to form and further validating how nice bakers are, I received a response from him shortly. After some mulling, he concluded that I had probably used too much flour.
One hundred and twenty-ish
When you try these bundles of crispy crunchy goodness use a scale if you have one. It may save you from the “un-malleable mess” I had the first time. If you don’t have a scale, be gentle with your flour, don’t pack it in the cup when you measure.
I revisited these cookies for the holidays 2021. This time I decided to go with the standard weight of 122gms for a cup of flour. Worked like a charm. I think anywhere between 120-125gms of flour should work for these cookies. If you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour and lightly scoop it into your measuring cup with a spoon. Don’t pack it.
Sugar, butter, almonds, mixture on the stove before adding the flour.
Added the flour, this is the step I always approach with trepidation…and where I implore you to get a scale!
This batch actually has a smidge to much flour…see the dry parts? But no seizing of the dough, Yay! Use parchment or heavy-duty foil with plenty of excess to grab, it was a b*tch trying to remove it, the regular-weight, too-short foil kept ripping.
Ready for the oven, be generous with the cinnamon sugar.
This time the dough did not turn into a chalky brick, instead, it was very thick and almost pourable. I put it in an 8×8 pan lined with foil (very important) covered it with plastic wrap and chilled the dough overnight. Once chilled it hardens and becomes easy to cut. Divide dough into 3 logs. Cut 1 log at a time leaving the remaining logs in the fridge. If it crumbles while cutting, just smoosh (a technical term used by all serious chefs) it back together. The recipe calls for 1/4″ inch slices. These are really crunchy cookies I would slice them a smidge thinner than 1/4 inch rather than more. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined sheet about 1 inch apart and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Make sure to bake the cookies until they are a rich golden brown and firm to touch. Once cooled the slices will be crispy-crunchy similar to biscotti. If under-baked the cookies will be chewy instead of crisp.
This recipe makes a ton of cookies, perfect for that upcoming holiday cookie swap. Delightful cookies, crunchy, airy, perfect with tea or coffee.
Added bonus, a holiday tune to go along with these scrumptious cookies. From Peanuts Christmas- Linus and Lucy
3/4cup1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
1cupfirmly packed light brown sugar
1cupgranulated sugar
6tablespoonswater
2cupswhole blanched almonds
Topping:
1/2cupgranulated sugar
1teaspoonground cinnamon
Instructions
Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil; butter foil. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside.
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar, granulated sugar and water. Return to heat and bring to boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar melts. Remove from heat and stir in almonds.
Pour sugar-almond mixture into a large bowl and stir in dry ingredients. Press dough into prepared square pan, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight or until firm.
About 20 minutes before you are ready to bake cookies, set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Prepare topping: thoroughly combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; set aside.
Unmold the "brick" of cookie dough from the pan and place on cutting board. Cut brick into three bars, each 8-by-2 1/2-by- 1 1/4 inches (bars will be just a little more than 2 1/2-inches wide). Wrap 2 bars in parchment paper, wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate. Cut remaining brick into 1/4-inch thick slices. As you cut cookies, place them on prepared sheets 1 inch apart in all directions.
Just before putting sheets in oven, sprinkle tops of cookies generously with the cinnamon sugar. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, or until they are golden and firm. Slide the parchment with the cookies on top onto cooling racks. Cookies will crisp as they cool. Repeat with remaining bars of dough.
Store cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. If freezing the bar(s), it is best to thaw dough overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and baking.
Rock and rollers, Tom Cruise, that Bieber Kid, they all have their groupies. I am a Dorie groupie. Yep, not ashamed to admit it. Dorie is the bomb. Are you wondering-who? Not that hilarious little blue fish in Finding Nemo? No. “You mean Ellen DeGeneres who voices that cute little fish?” Nope. I am a fan of Dorie, Dorie Greenspan-cookbook author, dessert queen, cookie connoisseur and baker extraordinaire.
The Real Deal
I recently drove up to the City to see her at Omnivore Books, one of many tour stops (how does she do it?) for her newest book, Dories Cookies. A hefty compendium of deliciousness that, yes, is all about the cookie. Her recipe for Jammers, a buttery sable’ topped with jam and streusel alone makes it worth getting. I don’t know Dorie on a personal level, but she is gracious, humorous and generous-one of the nicest souls you’ll meet. This comes across when meeting her in person and in her writing.
Here I am with Dorie!
All this, and her cookbooks are REALLY, REALLY good. The recipes are well written, easy to follow, and the results are YUMMY. Before heading to the book signing I spent an agonizing few minutes trying to pick which book of hers I wanted her to sign (I literally have all of them). I went with the first Dorie book I ever bought, Paris Sweets. It contains her iconic recipe for Korova Cookies, aka World Peace Cookies and has the loveliest illustrations.
As I waited in line, I talked to Dorie’s husband Michael. Wouldn’t you know it, he is just as nice! The list of recipes I have tried from Dorie’s books grows ever longer and this newest book will definitely add to it. Right about now is when I start looking in earnest for cookie recipes for the holidays. I opened the book and bam, Vanilla Polka Dot Cookies caught my eye. The cookie starts with a buttery, vanilla laden dough made with egg whites. The dough smelled so delicious, I had to stop myself from dipping my finger in the bowl and popping a swirl of dough in my mouth.
The dough comes together quickly and can be used for this recipe immediately. Scoop, roll and dip. Place the balls on a lined baking sheet press to flatten and bake. How easy is that?
The dough does not spread so press the cookies to desired thickness. I wanted a flatter thinner cookie, a smaller cookie, approximately 2.5 inches in diameter. I used a tablespoon ice cream scoop to portion the dough. The cookies took only 14 minutes to bake, well short of the suggested 20-22 minutes. My cookies were much smaller which accounts for the shorter baking time. Watch the cookies carefully when baking, they brown very quickly. All in all these fit the bill for a crispy, buttery festive cookie perfect for the holidays. I brought them to Thanksgiving dinner and the kids gobbled (get it?) them up.
The recipe for these cookies can be found here along with her recipe for World Peace Cookies, courtesy of the Star Telegram. If you are a Dorie fan like me, take a photo of any of Dorie’s cookies you make from her book, post it on Twitter or Instagram, and tag it with #Doriescookies and @Cookies4Kids. This will automatically trigger a 5 dollar donation to pediatric cancer research, woohoo! Thanks and HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
New Year’s Eve! I have never been one to celebrate New Year’s Eve on a big scale. Every year we talk about going into the City, watching the countdown and toasting in the New Year with the throngs..and yet we ultimately find ourselves staying home, watching a favorite movie and falling asleep! We manage to toast in the new year with a glass of bubbly and something yummy to nosh on, but that’s about it. Since I have one more cookie for my 12 Days of Cookie bucket list, why not a festive cookie to bring in the New Year and to complete the list? The aha moment, let’s make shortbread. It goes well with champagne and you can dress them up easily. I had been eyeing a recipe from Christina Tosi ofMomofukufame so here was my opportunity to try it. A quick jaunt over to Sur La Table for cookie cutters in the shape of a champagne flute and a bottle and for sprinkles, I’m good to go. On the return home I popped in the movie The Holiday (put it in your Netflix queue now, its worth it just for the score by Hans Zimmer and Eli Wallach’s performance) and settled in to bake and bring in the New Year.
This is a simple shortbread made with just four ingredients, butter, flour, brown sugar, and salt. That’s it! The cookie is the perfect foil for the icing which is made with sparkling wine. I added a tiny pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla to round out the sweetness of the icing. The cookie is elevated to a festive bite with the Rose’ icing and sugar sprinkles). The icing’s a hint of pink and grown-up flavor courtesy of the Rose’. I generally don’t decorate cookies (you might have noticed) but if not on New Year’s Eve, when else? I realize my New Year’s resolution should be to practice decorating cookies well before next New Year’s Eve!
Now that I have a beautiful platter of festive cookies the least I could do is share them. So breaking with our usual tradition of a movie and falling asleep, we are headed to our friends Lisa and Mike’s house, cookies in hand plus the rest of the bottle of bubbly, to ring in the New Year!
Christina Tosi’s Cut-out cookies with Champagne Glaze can also be found on Leite’s Culinaria. Another great site for cooking tips and recipes!
Happy New Year everyone here’s to 2016!
A song to bring in the new year. Here Comes the Sun as performed by James Taylor and Yo-Yo Ma
2sticks8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2cuplight brown sugar
2 1/4cupsall-purpose flourplus more for the work surface
1/2teaspoonkosher salt
For the Champagne glaze
2cupsconfectioners’ sugar
1/4cupChampagnebrut or rosé, plus more as needed
Sprinkles
Instructions
Cut-out cookies
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until well incorporated.
Add 2 1/4 cups flour and the salt and mix on low speed until well incorporated, about 1 minute. Flatten the dough into 2 evenly shaped disks or pancakes. Wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. (Don’t skip the chilling. It’s essential for the dough to be workable.)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove 1 disk of dough from the refrigerator, dust on both sides with a sprinkling of flour (about 1/4 cup total) and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness with a rolling pin.
Cut the dough into your desired cookie shapes—I used Champagne flutes and bottles
Carefully transfer them to the baking sheet. (Lightly flour an offset spatula to make cookies easy to transfer from the counter to the baking sheet before baking.) The colder the dough, the easier it is to cut and transfer to the baking sheet, so work quickly. Repeat with the remaining disk of dough.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges. Let cool to room temperature. (You can freeze the cooled, undecorated cookies for up to 1 month.)
Make the Champagne glaze
Dump the confectioners’ sugar in a largish bowl and slowly whisk in the Champagne. If the glaze seems too stiff, add a little more Champagne, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved. Whisk in the food coloring, if using.
Frost the cooled cookies with the Champagne glaze and, if desired, bring on the sprinkles.
You can store the cookies in an airtight container on the counter or in the fridge for up to several days or in the freezer for up to several weeks.
You can make and bake the undecorated cookies ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month. Let the cookies thaw completely and then slather with the Champagne glaze.
My brother-in-law’s mother passed away unexpectedly a few days ago. Through the years we would see her at family functions and exchange pleasantries. Every Christmas we were the lucky recipients of one of her signature pink cake boxes filled with a variety of delicious homemade holiday cookies. We all had our favorites. Me, I loved her almond cookies. They were just like the ones in the windows of Chinatown bakeries, crumbly, full of almond flavor and finished with an almond pressed into the center.
Unfortunately I do not have her recipe but I do have one by Belinda Leong of B patisserie in San Francisco. Bursting with almond flavor and buttery goodness this is an amazingly delicious cookie that for me pays tribute to Mrs. F. Baking these lovely morsels conjures up the image of her pink boxes stacked on the holiday table. Most of all it reminds me of her warm smile and her kind and generous spirit. She will be missed.
Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace)/Auld Lang Syne performed by Yo- Yo Ma and Chris Botti
The recipe for these wonderful almond cookies is from Andrea Nguyen’s blog post Viet World Kitchen. The recipe was first published in the book Chef’s Table by Carolyn Jung. There were some glitches in the recipe and luckily food people are of the most generous spirit. No sooner had I emailed Ms. Nguyen she responded answering all my questions and updating her website. Here is the link to the recipe on her blog, Viet World Kitchen. I weighed the flour using the 8.75 ounces and used 1/2 cup volume measurement for the sugar. Start checking the cookies early. My batch only took 12 minutes to bake. If you like crisp, buttery, almond flavored cookies..BAKE THESE, you won’t regret it.
Buttery, crispy, full of almond flavor. These cookies from B's Patisserie are a winner.
Course cookies
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Almond Cookies
Ingredients
1 3/4cups8.75 oz / 250 g all-purpose flour
1/4teaspoonbaking powder
1/2teaspoonfine sea salt
1/2teaspoonbaking soda
4ounces120 g almond paste
1/2cup3.5 oz / 100 g sugar
2sticks8 oz / 225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
4ounces120 g sliced or chopped slivered almonds
Powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F (180 C / gas mark 4) with a rack in the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and soda. Set aside.
Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to make the dough. Cut the almond paste into thick slices or big chunks. Put them in the mixer with the sugar. On low speed, mix the ingredients together until the almond paste has broken up into big pea-like pieces.
Pause to add the butter. On medium-low speed, beat the ingredients until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until just combined (you no longer see flour bits). Add the almonds and use the lowest speed (“Stir” on a Kitchen Aide) to mix into the dough.
Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small bowl or on your work surface. For slightly gnarly/textured cookies, pinch off balls of dough – each the size of a big cherry tomato (1.5 inch / 3.75 cm wide). Roll in powdered sugar, then place on the prepared sheet pan, spaced 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Flatten each ball slightly as you work. (If you want neater cookies, squeeze and roll the dough into a fat log and cut crosswise into pieces. Roll them into balls, coat in the sugar, etc. See the photo above.)
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown at the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for several days.
Halfway There! Pecan Sandies Day 6 Holiday Cookies
Day 6 of #holidaycookies! Another one bite wonder, this time brought to you by the delightful blog Smitten Kitchen. I have to admit, I love SK but she is making me feel like a slacker. As I struggle to get my 12 days of holiday cookies completed, multiple posts pop up daily from SK. She must have a band of elves that help her every night or perhaps she spent summer trying winter holiday recipes that she is now posting. I have this vision of her baking gingerbread in July in her apartment in one hundred degrees and the AC is broken. I think the Holiday Cookie Countdown is turning me into Grinch.
The recipe is from The Last Course by Claudia Fleming which unfortunately is not in print anymore. If you ever see a copy grab it, the Caramel Chocolate Tarts are worth the purchase alone. Smitten Kitchen + Claudia Fleming + Pecans = Appointment baking.
The key to these cookies is toasting the pecans. It’s a good cookie not great. Like many shortbread cookies they may benefit from sitting a day for the flavor to develop. I sprinkled some sanding sugar on them but I think I may make a blend of Fleur de Sel and sugar to sprinkle on my next batch (my sweet salty fixation) or maybe dip them in chocolate. The cookies are cut into 1 inch squares and 3/16 of an inch thickness. I would prefer the cookie a little larger, say 1.25 inches square and 1/4 inch thick just to give the cookie a little more substance. My little cheats call for using a ziplock bag to roll the dough in for straight edges and a pizza cutter to cut the squares, nifty huh. Still a lovely cookie to present on a platter with other nibbles.
Smitten Kitchen in July + Sand-ies which makes me think of beaches = a tropical holiday song! Mele Kalikimaka by the Brothers Cazimero. Enjoy!
1cup225 grams or 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3cup80 grams confectioners’ sugar
2teaspoons10 ml vanilla extract
1teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonbaking powder
2tablespoons25 grams turbinado (raw) sugar (I used white sanding sugar)
1teaspoonsof Fleur de Sel
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts out in one layer on a baking sheet and bake them, stirring occasionally, until they are well browned, 10 to 13 minutes (they will smell toasted and nutty). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool.
In a food processor, grind the nuts with 1/4 cup of the flour. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat well. Sift together the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour, the salt, and the baking powder, and add it to the dough, mixing until just combined. Stir in the nut mixture. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Roll the dough between two sheets of wax paper to 3/16 inch thick (a rectangle approximately 10 x 14 inches). Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-inch squares, then cut the squares on a diagonal into triangles (I skipped the last cut into triangles). Sprinkle the cookies with the turbinado sugar. Place them 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets (do not reroll the scraps). Prick the cookies with a fork and bake until pale golden all over, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
It isn’t intentional and may be a blogosphere faux pax for all I know. Like posting multiple pics on Instagram on a single day which my kids tell me I shouldn’t do. But after posting Sally’s Sesame Cookies I stumbled across another recipe for sesame seed cookies on of all places the Huffington Post. I did a bit of sleuthing as I am prone to do and found that the recipe was created by Dorie Greenspan and first published in Food & Wine magazine. That made this recipe a no brainer. After all Cookies + Dorie Greenspan is a slam dunk as far as I am concerned. So here it is a second sesame seed cookie!
This is perfect for cocktail hour. These cookies are salty with just a touch of sweetness and would compliment any happy hour libation. They have the fine crumb of shortbread and ooze buttery goodness. Totally my kind of cookie plus I love the black and white sesame seeds. To top it off they are quick and easy to make. See? SLAM DUNK.
I chose a duet to go along with this cookie since it has 2 kinds of sesame seeds and drinks are mentioned in the song. Its a classic with about a billion renditions out there. I like the version by a favorite artist of mine James Taylor. Here it is, JT (the original one) with Natalie Cole, Baby It’s Cold Outside.
A food processor makes quick work of the dough (snap) which is then chilled for couple of hours (time to cyber-shop). I originally thought I would cut the dough into little bars but they look better round. I used a 1.5 inch cutter which made them the perfect one bite cookie. Don’t be alarmed by the amount of salt, it is suppose to be salty but is not overly so. The recipe in Huffington Post calls for adding water to help the dough clump but Food & Wine does not. I was able to get the dough to clump without using water. I poured the dough into a ziplock bag and smooshed the dough just until it came together. Don’t overmix! Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness using the sides of the bag to create a nice straight edge. It may not fill the entire zip-lock bag but at least you will have 3 even sides. Chill dough until firm. If the dough gets too soft as you are cutting out the cookies, place in fridge or freezer for a couple of minutes to firm it up. You can find almond meal in most markets now a days thanks to the gluten free movement. Two pound bags are available at Costco and are quite reasonable. Black sesame seeds can be found at most Asian markets and probably at Whole Foods.
In a food processor, pulse the flour, almond meal, sugar and salt until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms large clumps.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead gently until it comes together. Divide the dough in half and press each half into a disk. Roll out each disk between 2 sheets of wax paper to 1/4 inch thick. Slide the wax paper–covered disks onto a baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour, until firm.
Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with one piece of dough at a time, peel off the top sheet of wax paper. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out the cookies as close together as possible. Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Lightly brush the cookies with the egg and sprinkle with the black and white sesame seeds.
Bake the sesame cookies for 17 to 20 minutes, until they are lightly browned; shift the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
MAKE AHEAD
The rolled-out frozen cookie dough can be wrapped in plastic and kept frozen for up to 2 weeks; thaw the dough slightly before using. The baked cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
NOTES
Almond meal is available at health food stores and at many grocery stores. To make your own, process 4 1/2 ounces blanched almonds until finely ground.
SUGGESTED PAIRING
Green-appley California sparkling wine: NV Scharffenberger Brut
Day 4 of the 12 Days of Cookies..surprisingly I’m on schedule…I think
I wanted to choose a song that fit this cookie recipe but instead, I picked a beautiful song that is so relevant to what is happening in our world right now. Someday at Christmas sung by Jack Johnson.
When it comes to cookies I border on obsessive. If a recipe doesn’t turn out as expected, I turn into Sherlock Holmes. The game is afoot to solve the mystery of why a cookie doesn’t taste quite right, why it spreads too much or too little. I tried different baking sheets and tested parchment versus Silpat. Maybe it’s the butter, did I cream it too much or too little? Auugh, enough to drive me bonkers. I do have a few friends that I commiserate with who will leave no cookie unturned. My friend Kristine is like that. In another life we would both be happily ensconced in America’s Test Kitchen furiously measuring, testing, mixing, tasting.
Swap Cookies and Tips
For our cookie exchange, Kristine made her always-popular sesame cookies. The recipe was given to her by her mother-in-law Sally. Much like Benne wafers of the South, these little gems are crispy, buttery, and jam-packed with sesame seeds, a sesame flavor bomb. Kristine first shared Sally’s cookies and recipe at our inaugural preschool cookie exchange. I loved them. I made a batch but they just weren’t the same. The bottom looked lacey with lots of holes, the texture was different, and the cookie was much too crunchy.
This happens randomly with both tried and true recipes and new recipes. I would then e-mail the author of the recipe, call King Arthur Flour’s hotline, or run it by fellow bakers. At our most recent exchange, though we hadn’t seen each other in quite a while, Kristine and I immediately launched into a conversation about the texture change in my batch of cookies. Obsessive? Crazy? You be the judge.
Luckily, Kristine’s batch was perfect!
This is the perfect holiday recipe. It is a slice-and-bake cookie. You can make the dough in advance, throw it in the fridge or freezer, and bake off cookies when you need them. It makes a boatload of delicious cookies (~ 100 of those bad boys).
Also known as Bennes, these southern favorites are crisp, light and redolent of sesame
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Benne Wafer, black sesame seeds, cookies, slice and bake, Southern
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Ingredients
1lb.butter4 sticks
1 ½c.sugar.
3c.all purpose flour
1c.sesame seeds
2c.Angel flaked coconutsweetened
½ - 1c.chopped almonds or walnuts.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300F.
Cream 1 lb. butter and 1 ½ c. sugar until blended and smooth. Do not over overmix.
Add all purpose flour, sesame seeds, coconut, chopped almonds or walnuts. Mix well. Chill; divide dough into four equal logs. Wrap each roll in plastic and keep refrigerated (may be frozen).
Take out one roll at a time and slice ¼ inch. Leave ½” space between cookies.
Bake for approximately 30-min. being careful not to over brown. I’ve never baked them the full 30-min.
But all is not loss. I did manage to make some homemade goodies that I hope you will try. I made favorite breakfast munchies, Juli’s granola and my cousin Bonnie’s spicy pecans. Cookies are little gifts of love, peace and hope and I just couldn’t bring myself to bake many. I wish everyone love and joy with family and friends during this holiday season even if a few of us are on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
