theme: Cookie Swap

Recipes from our holiday cookie swaps over the years.

Posted on » by Ashley » Theme:

Goat Cheese Sugar Cookies

Goat Cheese Sugar Cookies

Goat Cheese Sugar Cookies
Love and Olive Oil (Adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

Yield: 36 cookies
Total Time: 1 hour

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup (3 ounces) soft goat cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
nonpareil sprinkles or sanding sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

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

Combine sugar, goat cheese, and melted butter in a large bowl and whisk until mixture forms a smooth paste (a few lumps are ok). Whisk in oil. Add egg, milk, and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Fold in flour mixture until incorporated and no dry ingredients remain.

Pour sprinkles or sugar into a small bowl. Dough will be soft, but should still be workable. If not, refrigerate it for 15 to 20 minutes until it is. Use a small cookie scoop to portion out about 1 tablespoon of dough, then roll in sprinkles/sugar to coat. Arrange on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies are just set and slightly cracked. Cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Lemon-Ginger Wafers


I was surprised that the cookies weren’t very gingery. Next time I will add more ginger. I added 1 TB of jarred fresh ginger (is that a contradiction?) I decided to make them lime instead of lemon and I got really positive feedback (unless no one wanted to make me feel bad)
Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine 

Total Time:
3 hr 0 min
Prep
2 hr 45 min
Cook
15 min

Yield:
about 60 cookies
 

Ingredients

1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled (I used 1 TB)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chopped crystallized ginger, for topping

Directions

Finely grate the ginger into a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Press with the back of a spoon to squeeze out the juice (you’ll need 1 tablespoon juice); set aside. Whisk the flour, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat the butter and 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, the vanilla and ginger juice. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.

Divide the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; form into two 1-by-9-inch logs. Wrap and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Unwrap the logs and slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds; arrange 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the edges are golden, about 13 minutes. Let cool5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Make the icing: Put the remaining 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar in a bowl; stir in 2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice, a little at a time, until the icing is spreadable. Spread on the cookies and top with crystallized ginger; let set 30 minutes.

Posted on » by Ashley » Theme:

Nut Crescents

From Christine:

I adapted grandmas and combined it with this one: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/12/09/nut-crescents/

Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1¼ cup walnuts, toasted
1½ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar *
1 teaspoon vanilla

*1 cup powdered sugar or granulated sugar for coating. (Traditionally uses granulated)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor (I used the Ninja) combine ½ cup flour with walnuts, and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Make sure there are very few chunks. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour-nut mixture and the remaining 1 cup flour and the salt; set aside.

3. Beat the butter and ½ cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla (here’s where I would add the lemon). Slowly add the remaining flour/nut mixture in divided doses.

4. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a 3-inch log. Using your fingers, shape log into a crescent. Repeat with remaining dough, placing crescents about 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Freeze or refrigerate until crescents are very firm, about 30 minutes (IMPORTANT)

5. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden, 16 to 18 minutes. If rolling in powdered sugar, cool first. Granulated sugar can be sprinkled immediately.