The 12 days of Cookies (recipes)

[nitengale]

From the Food TV Network..

Ginger Spice Cookies

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 1 hour
Inactive Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Yield: about 3 dozen cookies, depending upon shape
User Rating: No Rating

1-inch knob peeled fresh ginger or 2 tablespoons prepared ginger juice
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly and finely ground black pepper
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature cut into pieces
1 cup superfine sugar
2/3 cup molasses, preferably sorghum
Icing:
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons egg white powder
2 cups confectioners' sugar
Food coloring, sprinkles, candies, or colored sugars as desired


Puree the ginger in a mini food processor with 2 tablespoons water. Squeeze and strain juice through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer. Discard the ginger pulp. Reserve the juice.
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and spices into a medium bowl, then whisk in the pepper; set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar with a handheld mixer until light and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the molasses and ginger juice and beat until evenly incorporated, about 2 minutes. (Stir together with a spatula if needed.) Gradually blend the dry ingredients on low speed into the butter mixture until you have a crumbly mixture. Bring the dough together by hand pressing and kneading lightly until moist, but not tacky. Divide into 2 equal portions, press into disks about 1/2-inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Position racks evenly in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Dust the dough and a work surface with flour. Roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies into desired shapes. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until the cookies are a rich tawny brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack.

For decorating: Whisk the water and egg white powder in a medium bowl until foamy and smooth. Gradually whisk in the confectioners' sugar to make a smooth icing. For multiple colors divide the icing into batches and add a food coloring as desired. Spread or pipe the icing onto the cookies. Finish with sprinkles, or candies. Let rest on a rack until the icing sets, about 30 minutes.

Cook's Note: For a chewier cookie, roll them 1/3 to 1/2-inch thick and bake for 16 to 20 minutes.

 

[nitengale]

Maamoul: Stuffed Date-Orange Cookies

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 20 cookies
User Rating: 5 stars

Filling:
1/2 pound pitted soft Medjool dates
2 tablespoons water
Pinch fine salt
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, plus about 1/2 to 2 cups more for dusting
Pinch fine salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), plus 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil, such as canola
1/4 cup milk


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
To make the filling: Puree the filling ingredients in a food processor until evenly combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and set aside. Clean the processor bowl.

Put the flour, baking powder, the 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, and salt in the bowl of food processor and pulse 3 to 4 times to mix. Add the butter, oil, and milk pulsing until the dough just comes together. Take care not to overwork the dough; it will be slightly wet.

Remove dough from the processor, and roll into 20 equally sized balls. In the palm of your hand, press and pat each ball of dough into a 2 3/4-inch round. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of each round and draw the edges up and around the filling. Pinch the dough together to make a sealed ball, and then carefully roll the cookie between your palms to make a smooth round ball. Press gently to flatten the cookie slightly, then place them seamed side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Gently prick the cookies with a fork or a wooden skewer in a decorative pattern taking care not to pierce the dough to the filling.

Bake the cookies until firm and slightly puffed, and the tops are pale but the bottoms are just beginning to turn slightly golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Dust generously with confectioners' sugar, cool and dust again.

Other fillings we love:
Apricot Golden Raisin Nut Filling:
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped (other nuts can be substituted)
1/3 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons apricot jam
Pinch fine salt

Puree in a food processor until evenly combined.


Quince-Walnut Filling:
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup quince jam
Pinch fine salt
Puree in a food processor until evenly combined.

Source: Food TV Network (!2 Days of Cookies)

 

[Slick]

you had me going there for a minute...

 

[cookiejar]

you had me going there for a minute...

*snort*

 

[Guest]

*snort*

lol... Morning Cookie and Slick

 

[cookiejar]

lol... Morning Cookie and Slick

morning sweet Lily.

 

[nitengale]

Citrus Shortbread

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 32 cookies
User Rating: *

3 clementine oranges or small tangerines, washed and dried
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 pound unsalted butter (3 sticks), softened

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 12 1/2-inch baking sheet pan, line with parchment paper, and butter the paper.
Finely grate the skin (zest) off all 3 clementines, making sure you peel only the orange skin and not the bitter white pith. Puree the zest with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a food processor until minced, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Whisk the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar on medium, until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add the clementine-sugar mixture and beat for another minute. While mixing on low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Do not overwork the dough. Transfer dough to prepared pan, spreading it out as evenly as possible. Cover with plastic wrap, then press and flatten using your hands over the top to smooth and even out the dough. Cut the dough into bars about 1 by 3 inches with a sharp knife, while still in the pan. Prick a decorative pattern in the shortbreads with a fork or a wooden skewer. Bake until golden, about 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes and then re-cut the bars along the previous cuts. Let cool completely on racks. Store the cookies in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.


Source

 

[nitengale]

Welsh Cookies

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen
User Rating: No Rating

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cold and diced, plus more for cooking
3/4 cup currants
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 to 3 tablespoons buttermilk
Melted butter, for cooking

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, zest, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks sandy. Stir in the currants. Beat the eggs and 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk together. Stir into the dry ingredients to make a shaggy dough, add more buttermilk if the dough is dry. Gather dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll the dough on a floured workspace into a piece about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into 2 to 3- inch rounds.
Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium-low heat. Brush the pan surface with butter. Cook the cookies until slightly brown and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a rack, sprinkle with sugar and cool. Store in a cookie tin.


Source