theme: Cookie Swap

Recipes from our holiday cookie swaps over the years.

Posted on » by Ashley » Theme:

Dark Chocolate Dipped Pecan Sandies

Pecan Sandies
Smitten Kitchen

1 cup (about 110 grams) pecans
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (225 grams or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (80 grams) confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons (25 grams) turbinado (raw) sugar

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.

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Fauxreos (Oreo Clones)

I was very happy with how this came out. In my opinion they were pretty similar to Oreo’s and they were maybe a little better.

This is a mix of 2 recipes. I tripled the cookie recipe and doubled the filling recipe and I think that worked out just about perfectly. (may have been the other way around). Anyway in my opinion I over-stuffed a bunch of them (like double or triple stuffed Oreo’s). I think I used ½ inch round cookie cutter for this.

Makes about 24 cookies.

Ingredients

1 3/4 C (9 oz) all-purpose flour

1/2 C and 2 T (2 oz) brut or natural unsweetened cocoa powder. (I used Double Dutch Cocoa Blend which is apparently a dark blend of Dutch-process and black cocoas)

1/4 t Kosher salt

2 sticks (8 oz) room temperature unsalted butter

1/2 C granulated sugar 2 T light brown sugar 3 T honey

For the filling:

2 ounces shortening or unsalted butter at room temperature

5 ounces powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

To make the cookies

Whisk the flour, cocoa, and salt together in a bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugars, and honey together until fluffy, about four minutes. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, beating each until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half an hour and up to two days. The dough can also be made ahead and frozen for up to two months. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and working quickly, roll out the dough on a lightly (rolled in cocoa instead of flour) surface to 1/4 inch thickness. I roll the dough out on a piece of wax paper, and then flip it over onto another piece of wax paper and peel off the piece that is now on the top. This makes it easier to pick up the cookies intact to place them on the cookie sheet.

Gather up the scraps, roll them out, and make more cookies. You might have to put the scraps back into the fridge if it’s warm in your kitchen. Bake each sheet of cookies for 15-18 minutes, until the cookies are firm. Transfer them to a wire rack and let cool completely.

  1. To make the filling: With a hand or stand mixer, cream together shortening/butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Cream on medium speed for five minutes; use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl down periodically. The long mixing time aerates the filling, making it especially white and less gritty.

Using a spatula, transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip. Alternately, portion with a melon-baller sized ice cream scoop, or by using Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off as a makeshift pastry bag.

  1. To assemble the cookies: Flip half the wafers upside down. Onto each, pipe or scoop 1 teaspoon of filling (specifically: 1/4 oz for Double Stuf, 1/8 ounce for regular) directly into the center. To finish, top with remaining wafers and press down with your fingers, applying very even pressure so the filling will spread uniformly across the cookie.

Transfer cookies to an airtight container and refrigerate for several hours. This is crucial. After whipping the filling, it will be quite soft. Refrigerating it (especially if you’re using butter) will solidify the filling, restoring its proper texture, and bonding it with the wafers. Serve.

Posted on » by Ashley » Theme:

Bourbon Salted Caramel Candy

Bourbon Salted Caramel Candy
A Spicy Perspective

2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups California cream
1 cup salted California butter (2 sticks)
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup bourbon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Course or flake sea salt

Place the sugars, heavy cream, butter, corn syrup and bourbon in a large sauce pot. Attach a candy thermometer to the edge of the pot with the tip touching the ingredients, then place over medium heat.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to medium- low. Allow the mixture to simmer until it reaches 245-260 degrees F and is the desired color you like for caramel. If the temperature starts rising faster than the caramel is browning, lower the heat even more to give it time to caramelize.

Meanwhile, line a 9 X 13 inch baking dish with parchment paper and cut the corners so it folds into the dish neatly. Spray the parchment with non-stick cooking spray. Then prepare a cup of ice water to test the caramel. Once the caramel reaches at least 245 degrees F, use a spoon to drop a little bit of molten caramel into the ice water. Lift it out and test for texture. It should be firm enough to cut, yet soft enough to chew. If needed, simmer the caramel a little longer, but do not allow it to go over 260 degrees F. Once it’s ready, stir in the vanilla extract.

Carefully pour the molten caramel into the prepared dish and allow it to cool completely. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the dish in the refrigerator. Once cooled, lift the whole sheet of caramel candy out of the dish by the edges of the parchment paper and cut into 1 inch squares. Sprinkle generously with sea salt, then wrap each candy in small pieces of wax paper.

NOTE: “California” butter and cream are butter and cream that are made in California.