Cookies Archives - Page 14 of 16

Dutch Almond Cookies (It’s Crunch Time ) Day 1 Holiday Cookies

By threejamigos | December 12, 2016 | Comments 4 comments

One hundred and twenty-ish

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

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Dutch Almond Cookies Day 1: 12 Days of Cookies

Light, crispy, crunchy, almond cookies

Course cookies, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Dutch Almond Cookies

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 12

Ingredients

From Nick Malgieri's Ultimate Cookies

Butter for greasing pan

Da Dry Stuff-Combine and set aside

3 cups all-purpose flour 120-125gms/cup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Da Wet Stuff

3/4 cup 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons water
2 cups whole blanched almonds

Topping:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground 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.
Happy baking!

Notes

Recipe in the Orange County Register

Finding Dorie (Vanilla Polka Dot Cookies)

By threejamigos | November 25, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

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.

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.

(Coconut Cookie Sticks) Cuckoo for Coconuts by Alice Medrich

By threejamigos | September 6, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

I snappd this photo at Black Sand Beach on the Big Island. When I saw the sign on the tree, one of my favorite cookies just popped into my head, Alice Medrich’s Coconut Sticks. Hmmm….I wonder why? I love her coconut sticks. A riff on biscotti, they often end up in a holiday cookie tin or in a cellophane bag with a cute ribbon as an appreciative thank you gift.

Nowadays I often find myself using coconut in my cooking & baking. This is SO surprising since for as long as I can remember I have HATED coconut. As a kid the sight of coconut anything, cake, cookies candy elicited an automatic “Ewwww!” The feeling persisted well into adulthood. Maybe it’s age, but I have grown to like coconut right along with brussels sprouts and naps.

With my changed coconut conviction. I have jumped off the deep end. Curries without coconut milk, not happening. My Ranger cookies and World’s Best Cookies are made with shredded coconut, definitely bumping up the chewiness and flavor. And of course, every batch of homemade granola has flaked coconut for that extra zing and crunch.

It’s like a new found secret weapon

I love making and nibbling on these Coconut Sticks. Thin, crispy and buttery with shreds of coconut dancing through, they are the perfect foil for a steaming cup of tea or that morning latte. This recipe comes from Alice Medrich’s book Chewy, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-in-Your Mouth Cookies. If you love cookies add this book to your collection.

Did I mention these crunchy wonders are EASY to make? Well of course they are, you can make the dough by hand or in a food processor (ah, yes-thereby upping them to the STUPID EASY category). Another wonderful slice and bake refrigerator cookie. Press the dough into a loaf pan. Chill. Slice. Bake. Eat. Donzo. Easy Peasy.

What took me so long to become a coconut convert? I don’t know. Guess I will have to make up for lost time.

Life is good, dream coconuts.

Cuckoo for Coconuts (Alice Medrich's Coconut Sticks)

Buttery coconut cookie sticks from the chocolate maven herself, Alice Medrich

Course cookies, desserts

Cuisine American

Keyword Coconut Cookie Sticks

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (5.625 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour 159.5gms
2/3 cup (4.625 ounces) sugar 131gms
1 cup (~3 ounces) shredded dried unsweetened coconut 85gms
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

Prepare: A 5-x-9-inch loaf pan, lined on the bottom and sides with foil or plastic wrap
Put the flour, sugar, coconut, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend.
Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives until the butter is reduced to small pieces.
With the fingertips of both hands, lightly toss and rub the mixture together until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Combine the vanilla and cold water in a small pitcher or cup.
Stir the flour and butter mixture with a fork while drizzling the water and vanilla into the bowl. Continue to toss and stir lightly with the fork or your fingers until all of the dry ingredients are slightly damp. The dough should remain crumbly and stick together only when pinched.
Food Processor method: Place flour, sugar, coconut and salt in food processor bowl. Pulse 2-3 times to combine.
Cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes and scatter on top of flour mixture. Pulse until mixture reveals coarse meal. Small lumps are okay.
Combine water and vanilla extract in small cup. Continue to pulse the flour mixture and drizzle water into processor bowl.
Pulse into mixture starts to clump. It should not come together completely but will still be crumbly. It will stay together if pinched.
If using a loaf pan, dump the mixture into the lined pan and spread it evenly. Press it very firmly, making a thin layer. Or dump the mixture onto a piece of foil on a baking sheet and distribute it evenly over an area about 4 by 9 or 10 inches. Press it firmly, squaring up the edges, to make an even compact layer about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Fold the foil over the dough and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Unwrap the dough and transfer it to a cutting board. Use a long sharp knife to cut the dough crosswise into 1/4-inch (or thinner if possible) slices. Use the knife to transfer each slice to the lined or greased cookie sheets, placing the slices 1 inch apart. The slices will be fragile and require the support of the knife in transit; the results will be worth your careful effort.
Bake for 11 to 14 minutes (baking time will vary depending on thickness of cookie), until the cookies are golden with golden brown edges. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.
For lined pans, set the pans or just the liners on racks to cool; for unlined pans, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks. Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing.
May be kept in an airtight container for several days.

Absolutely Best Brownies from Friends

By threejamigos | August 30, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

I know, I know…who would have thought, delicious brownies from a cookbook based on the TV show Friends…go figure! Trust me they are really good.

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Absolutely Best Brownies

Kid friendly brownies! Let them cool and rest before eating!

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Servings 16

Ingredients

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate like Ghiradelli's, no need to use $$$ stuff
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips mini-chips preferred
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter an 8 inch square pan and line with parchment.
Melt butter and chocolate together. Mix in sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and the 2 eggs. Mix well and then add flour mixture (flour, salt, baking powder) and stir until combined. Do not overmix. Fold in chips and nuts.
Spread in pan and bake approximately 25 minutes. Brownies are done when a toothpick inserted halfway between the edge of the pan and the center comes out clean. Try not to overbake!
Special occasions call for a chocolate ganache made with 1:1 heavy whipping cream and melted semi-sweet chocolate blended and poured over the top and left to set. Totally boss.

All Things Reconsidered (Raspberry Diamants)

By threejamigos | August 22, 2016 | Comments 2 comments

Not all was amazing during our impromptu trip to New York for my cousin Mike’s surprise party in January (here is the good stuff though, from my The Big Apple post). After visiting Ground Zero, we headed to Payard’s, a well known French bakery with an outpost on Houston Street. All I can say is maybe it was an off day, but the pastries were disappointing at best. We ordered a lemon tart, an oatmeal cookie and a Napoleon. The Napoleon and cookie weren’t memorable at all, which is a good thing because the lemon tart was memorable because it was NOT good. The crust (I love crust) was so tough we had to use our knife and fork to chisel through it.

Ugh, so Disappointing

I went up to the counter (ok, never said I wasn’t obnoxious) and asked “what one item in here would prove to me that Payard is worth his reputation. To her credit she laughed and gave me a complimentary slice of the Payard Tart. It was ok, definitely better than the lemon tart.

Anyway You Slice It

When we first arrived I spied his book Payard Cookies on display and my reaction was oh nooo, not another cookbook and its about cookies! My cookbook addiction was about to rear it’s ugly head since I seldom pass up the opportunity to add to my collection.

After trying the desserts I walked out without a copy.

You might be asking where is this story going? Well, having put Payard Cookies out of my mind I was perusing a favorite blog, Ipso-Fatto recently and to my surprise she had posted glowing reviews of a couple of cookies from Payard. Well, maybe we did catch Payard on a bad day. I tried the Raspberry Diamants and you know, they’re pretty darn good and a breeze to make.

It is a slice and bake cookie which I love, so flippin’ easy. You can make the dough in advance and leave it in the fridge. You can bake as many or as few as you want and freeze the remaining dough for a rainy day. These cookies are a riff on sables’, the French version of shortbread cookies. Diamont, French for diamonds, refers to the sparkly edge on the cookies created by rolling the dough in coarse sugar before baking. Description done, let’s go make some delicious cookies!

It’s Berry Good

Adding raspberry jam makes this cookie a little softer than a classic sable’. Which gives the cookies a sweet tart flavor and flecks of red color. Payard adds red food coloring to the dough to make the cookies pink but I didn’t. Use jam with seeds, it adds a bit of crunch. You can kick these cookies up a notch by making a sandwich cookie using raspberry jam for the filling or a raspberry buttercream. Oh snap.

Uh-oh looks like I may be adding yet another cookbook to my collection.

All Things Reconsidered (Raspberry Diamants from Payard)

Prep Time 20

Total Time 45

Ingredients

Adapted from Payard Cookies

14 tablespoons 200gms unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup 80 gms powdered sugar
1 large egg yolk reserve egg white
1/4 cup 60gms raspberry jam with seeds (I used TJ's)
1-3 drops of liquid red food coloring optional
1 3/4 cups 225gms all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup 200gms granulated sugar or sanding sugar

Instructions

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat softened butter with powdered sugar until fully combined. Add egg yolk, raspberry jam, and food coloring. Mix until well combined.
Add flour and salt and mix only until dough comes together. Careful to not overmix.
Place dough on piece of parchment paper and roll into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Freeze dough for approximately 2 hours, or until log is chilled all the way through. You can freeze dough for up until one month.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment.
Remove dough from fridge. Put granulated sugar in a large rimmed baking sheet.
Brush the reserved egg white on the outside of the cookie dough.
Roll in granulated sugar until completely coated. Return to fridge for 5 minutes to chill.
Remove from fridge and slice roll into 1/4 inch slices. Place on parchment lined sheet approximately 1 inch apart.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies just begin to turn color and the edges are golden brown.
Remove cookies from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Italian Jam Crostata

By threejamigos | April 30, 2016 | Comments 3 comments

I almost skipped this recipe but I’m glad I didn’t. The fancy name, Italian Jam Crostata, and its veil of preserves and almonds threw me off. Behind the name and hidden under the jam lies a buttery, crumbly cookie crust that melts in your mouth. A clever play on my absolute FAVORITE cookie, shortbread. So good and so easy to make! I found the recipe on the blog site Bake or Break. Great site, worth a visit.

The shortbread base screams of buttery goodness (did I mention that already?) not too sweet with just a hint of almond. The dough is soft much like cookie dough and easily pressed into a tart pan (use one with a removable bottom) or a springform pan. My tart pan has a dark finished which probably contributed to the shorter baking time than posted. Next time I’ll lower the baking temperature and check it before the suggested baking time elapses.

The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup of jam. I used a bit more, almost 1/2 cup which covered the crust to within 3/4 of an inch from the edge. The crostata is finished off with sliced almonds and a crumble topping made from a portion of the dough. Pick your favorite jam . I used raspberry jam this time, next time I will try pineapple preserves with macadamia nuts and flaked coconut. Sounds intriguing right?

This is really a great dessert. Your friends will be oohing and aahing, only you will know how easy it was to put together.

Italian Jam Crostata

Tender buttery shortbread crust topped with your favorite preserves and almonds. It’s easy to make and yummy to eat!

Course cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword crostata, strawberries

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Equipment

1 10 inch fluted tart pan or springform pan

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (12 tablespoons)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup jam use your favorite!
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Variations:

Pineapple preserves and flaked coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy on medium speed. Add vanilla & almond extracts and salt to mixture. Mix until combined.
On low speed, add flour to butter mixture, blending just until mixture comes together. Do not overbeat, the dough should be crumbly.
Remove 1/2 cup of dough and press onto a plate or pan (~1/4 inch thick). Cover with Saran Wrap and place it in the freezer.
Press remaining dough into a 10-inch tart pan or springform pan. You can press the dough in with a glass, covered with saran wrap or with your fingers. Flour your fingertips to prevent sticking. If using a fluted tart pan, press dough to fill to fluted edge but not up the sides! I made that mistake without thinking that I wasn't making a tart!
Spread jam over the dough leaving approximately a 3/4 - 1-inch border.
Sprinkle almonds and reserved dough (crumble it with your fingers or a fork) evenly over crust.
Bake approximately 40 minutes or until the edge is golden brown. Cool completely before taking it out of pan.
Cut into wedges.

Good Cookies-A Winter SOS from Nashville

By threejamigos | January 26, 2016 | Comments 2 comments

We received an SOS from our kid Jorge who goes to school in Nashville. For a California kid, 19 degrees (Fahrenheit!) and snow deserves a care package from home when requested. If I could box some warm California sunshine I would send that too but he will have to settle for cookies and treats.

Yes, I Have a Food Saver 🤦🏻‍♀️

Care packages are quite a production for us (self-imposed of course). We bake cookies, scour our local Asian market for a particular brand of ramen, and make homemade granola and candied nuts. It doesn’t end there. We freeze the cookies and vacuum pack them. No stale smooshed cookies for my kids, nope. I bet you think this woman is nuts…..you might be right.

What? Make Cookies?

Still reeling from the holiday cookie baking extravaganza, I enlisted the hubs to bake cookies. Two things Wes bakes and he has perfected them both, carrot cake and his version of oatmeal raisin cookies. I am off the hook for making birthday cakes as Wes’s Carrot Cake is the uncontested family favorite. Birthday cake and Carrot Cake are synonymous in our house.

Good Cookies, that’s his other specialty. That’s their name, Good Cookies. But they live up to the name. They are really good. Think of them as oatmeal raisin cookies that have attained Nirvana. Chewy and soft with a little bit of crunch from the addition of Life cereal. Over the years he has tinkered with his recipe and has added tart dried cranberries and fresh rosemary which elevates these cookies from good to Awesome. Like his carrot cake, these cookies have become a tradition, the unequivocal munchie-favorite during midterms and finals.

This recipe can be easily halved or doubled depending on your need. You can omit the rosemary if that doesn’t appeal to you but try it at least once. You’ll have your friends wondering what is in that delicious cookie.

Good Cookies

Delicious drop cookie, think oatmeal cookies on steroids, so good.

Course cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter, cornflakes, cranberries, Good Cookies, life cereal, oatmeal

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 12

Equipment

1 Fugly Goldenrod Large Tupperware bowl from the 60's optional but....

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 pound salted butter (2 sticks) softened
1 cup light brown sugar packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs slightly beatened

Dry Ingredients:combine in small bowl and set aside

2 cups all-purpose flour Gold Medal or Pillsbury AP preferred, but use what you have
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Adds

1/4 tsp fresh finely chopped rosemary optional, but pretty darn good
1/2 cup cereal, crushed (Wes uses Life cereal or sometimes cornflake crumbs)
1-1/2 cups Quick Quaker Oats old fashioned would work, DO NOT USE instant
1.5 cups raisins Wes uses a combination of raisins/cranberries at a ratio of 75%/ 25%

See notes to use a stand mixer

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients plus oatmeal. LITERALLY, Wes uses his hand to knead the ingredients together.
In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients (except the raisins).
Add dry mixture to wet and mix thoroughly but do not overwork your dough if using an electric mixer
Add raisins and cranberries
Place heaping tablespoons on an un-greased baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes until edges are golden brown.
Makes around 5 dozen.

Notes

Wes actually makes these cookies by hand, no mixer. At most a spatula or wooden spoon to mix the dough and a beat-up fugly goldenrod Tupperware bowl 😂

Classic drop cookie instructions. On medium speed, cream butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy. You do not need to beat until light and fluffy, which will make it a little cakier. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Add flour, oatmeal, cereal and rosemary if using. Combine on low speed until no flour is visible. Stir in dried fruit and rosemary. To form the dough use a #40 ice cream scooper (1.75 tablespoons)

Happy New Year! Champagne Shortbread

By threejamigos | December 31, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

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 of Momofuku fame 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

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Champagne Shortbread Christina Tosi

Ingredients

CHAMPAGNE GLAZED SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE

Quick Glance 45 M 2 H
Makes about 2 dozen

For the cut-out cookies

2 sticks 8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for the work surface
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Champagne glaze

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup Champagne brut 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.

Its a Dog’s Life

By threejamigos | December 28, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

I was so confident I would plow through my Holiday Cookie List. After all, I usually make a ton of holiday cookies. But blogging about each recipe threw me for a loop..that and 20+ people for Christmas dinner! But I am doggedly determined to complete my 12 days of Cookies even though Christmas has passed. Finding myself in the doghouse for not completing my list made me think of Sammy which of course made me think of dog biscuits. I found a really easy recipe on a favorite site, Use Real Butter. Urb was one of the first blogs I started following and has definitely served as inspiration for my blog. Absolutely gorgeous photos, great recipes and entertaining writing, it has it all. A bonus of the blog are posts about their beautiful dogs, first Kaweah and now Neva both black labs. If I were a dog I would want my family to be Jen and Jeremy, well, after us of course.

These treats contain pumpkin, peanut butter, whole wheat flour and eggs thats it. Simple, just four ingredients. Your mixer does all the work. The dough is easy to roll out and cut. Pop them in the oven and 20-30 minutes later you have treats for your favorite four legged friend. Some dogs have allergies and this recipe does have wheat flour-just a heads up. Various followers on Use Real Butter have used oat flour or rice flour with success.
Sammy, being part lab gobbles up almost everything we give him, these were no exception! We baked them for 30 minutes for a nice crunchy biscuit. Baking them less would yield a soft chewy biscuit that lasts approximately 3-5 days. The drier version will last a bit longer.

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Pumpkin Peanut Butter Treats

Ingredients

From Use Real Butter

2 1/2 cups whole Wheat flour
2 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
3 Tablespoons peanut butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place ingredients in mixer bowl, blend on low speed until dough comes together and forms clumps. Remove from mixer and knead until it comes together. Add a little more flour if it seems too sticky.
Roll to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on parchment or a silpat 20-30 minutes. 20 minutes will yield a soft chewy cookie while 30 minutes will a drier crunchy cookie. Store soft cookies in refrigerator or freezer. Drier cookies can be left out overnight to insure dryness and then stored in a container.