The Smart Cookie

This is for all the kids and Nanas who have or want to have a tradition of holiday cookie baking because warm memories of virtuous activity are the gift of a lifetime, the real joy of Christmas. I've put together a few easy, very different cookie recipes that will fill tins, plates and hearts during this cold, dark time of year.

Snowy Almond Butter Balls

Sometimes called Greek cookies or Mexican wedding cookies, these elegant little butter balls melt in your mouth and stay a long time in a tin.
Makes 5 dozen

1lb sweet (unsalted) butter
3 1/2 c confectioners' (powdered) sugar
1 egg yolk
1 jigger cognac or brandy
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 c chopped almonds
4+ c flour

 Preheat the oven to 300º. Heavily butter a cookie sheet or two or line with parchment or silicone matting.
In a mixer or food processor cream the butter and 1/2 c powdered sugar. Add the yolk, brandy, vanilla and almond extracts, and chopped almonds. Process until the almonds are paste and the mixture is well blended.
Gradually add the flour to make a soft dough. It should be firm, no crumbly or sticky. Use flour to adjust.

Flour your hands and roll the dough into walnut size balls. Place them on a prepared cookie sheet 1" apart. Work as fast as you can so the butter stays firm. Otherwise the cookies melt and lose shape. Refrigerate 10 minutes if you want to.  Bake at 300º 20 minutes or until the cookies are lightly brown.
Cool them 10 minutes on a rack. Then put 3 c confectioners sugar in a medium bowl and roll each cookie to coat it as if with snow. Shake over the bowl.  Cool completely and store in airtight tins.

Gingerbread Angels or whatever mold you have

Tis the season for the spices known to heat the body and ginger is tops among them. Ergo gingerbread houses and cookies for Christmas. You can cut this dough into any shape. It's not sweet, a bit chewy and thus perfect with tea or breakfast on the run.

How many cookies this makes depends on the size of the cutters you choose to use. If you use the large ones, count on getting 12-14, small ones 30-34.

2 sticks plus 2 tbsp butter (18 tbsp butter)

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup molasses ( I have always used the brand called Grandma’s)

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

4 tbsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

7-7 1/2 cups King Arthur flour

1 1/8 c light cream ( you can’t buy light cream on the West Coast so you have to blend skim milk and heavy cream)

DECORATING OPTIONS:

Soak 2 doz black raisins in rose or orange blossom water or plain water to plump slightly. These can be eyes or buttons on gingerbread people and angels. You can also used dried cranberries.

Cut tiny strips of orange zest and brush lightly with honey if you want lips. 

You can also buy white icing in tubes.

Preheat oven to 375º. Grease two cookie sheets or better yet line with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add molasses and beat to blend.

Mix spices and baking soda with 4 cups of flour.

Add that to the wet mix and beat just enough to blend. Do not overbeat.

Add 1/2 cream and blend.

Add 3 c flour, the rest of the cream and quickly blend. If the dough is too crumbly to roll into a ball, add a bit more cream or milk.  If it is too wet, add a tbsp of flour at a time. The dough should not be sticky to the touch but moist enough to roll.

Cut a piece of waxed paper about 15" long. Lightly coat it with flour, roll the dough ball (you can make half the dough into a ball to start) in the flour, cover it with another piece of waxed paper (this saves cleanup) and with a rolling pin make the dough into an oval or circle 1/4" thick. It can be a little thicker if you like softer chewier cookies.  Cut out your chosen shapes and lay them on the cookie sheets, collecting the scraps and incorporating them into a new dough ball, starting again and again until all the dough is cut. Decorate the cookies if and as you choose. Press the raisins/cranberries/zest firmly into the dough. 

Bake at 375º 12-16 minutes until the cookies are hard enough not to accept your fingerprint when you test them. They bounce back. Cool on racks and store in tins or foil.

a 5 yr old's version

Thekua
These are a special treat from southern Nepal where they're fried in ghee. I've found a way to make them like cookie cutter cookies, which is great news because these have unique flavors and very nutritious ingredients with no bad ones attached. They're buttery and not sweet.
Makes 12-14 cookies 

1¼ c whole-wheat flour plus 2 tbsp for rolling

6 tbsp turbinado or raw or brown sugar

½ tsp ground cardamom

¾ c plus 1 tsp ghee*

1 tbsp fennel seeds

¼ c shredded unsweetened coconut

*now available at Trader Joe’s as well as Middle Eastern and Indian markets and Whole Foods Markets for much more $$

Preheat oven to 350º.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (This makes cleanup a snap!)

In a medium bowl, using a spatula or wooden spoon, combine 1¼ c flour, 2 tbsp sugar, cardamom and ¾ c ghee into crumbly dough. (It won’t be perfect yet.)

In a small saucepan, combine 4 tbsp sugar,1 tsp ghee and 2 tbsp water. Bring to a boil and boil 3-5 minutes or until it just starts to thicken slightly. This caramelizes the sugar. Let this cool a bit.

Add 3 tbsp of sugar syrup to the dough mixture. Add fennel seed and shredded coconut and quickly blend into dough. If it is still too crumbly, add 1-2 tbsp. of the sugar liquid, saving some for the finale. Roll the dough into a ball and slightly flatten.

Sprinkle 1 tsp whole-wheat flour over a piece of wax paper twice the size of the dough disk. Sprinkle 1 tsp whole-wheat flour on top of the disk. Cover with waxed paper and either using your hands or a rolling pin, make a circle ¼” thick. (Err on the higher side.) Be sure it is level all around. Using a 1½” round biscuit/cookie cutter cut circles, remaking the scrap dough into a ball and rerolling and cutting until nothing’s left. You should get 14-15 cookies. Place the circles on the prepared cookie sheet in a single layer no closer than 1” apart.

Bake at 350º 15 minutes. Turn oven up to 425º. Remove cookies, lightly brush each with the remaining caramelized sugar and return to the oven 2-3 minutes.  Remove immediately, put the cookies on racks to cool. Enjoy! 

Jammy Thumbprint Cookies 

Another kids' favorite as you can see in the photo. They can be more delicate and pretty with a little adult care. They are a great way to show off homemade jam.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine salt

3/4 c unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened

2/3 c sugar, plus more for rolling

1 large egg

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from pod, or 1/8 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 c raspberry, cherry or strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 350º. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

In another bowl, whip the butter and the sugar with a hand-held mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing just until incorporated.

Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls with a cookie or ice cream scoop and roll in sugar. Place about 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Slightly flatten each cookie, then press a thumbprint into the center of each  about 1/2" deep. Fill the indentations with jam. Put the cookies in the fridge for 15 minutes so the butter hardens a bit and the cookies won't lose shape so badly. 

Bake at 350º 12-15 minutes until the cookies are crisp and lightly browned. Cool on racks.