My Baking Adventures

Well, here we are at Week 7 of the Twelve Weeks of Christmas Cookies.

I have good news………………. and bad news.

Which do you want first?

Being somewhat of an optimist, I’ll give you the good news first:

Anginetti Cookies – otherwise known as COOKIES YOU SHOULD MAKE NOW! Lemony rings of goodness, these are a Southern Italian specialty that I wish I had been formally introduced to before. They are light and tender – with the perfect amount of fresh lemon icing. Just a superb, little sweet cookie that deserves to be more well known.

You know what’s even better? They freeze well, even with the icing. Just ask David – he eats them straight from the freezer!

And now………….. the bad news. Well, it’s not bad news, but I have never harbored such ill-will and animosity toward cookie dough before.

I tried to make Cinnamon Bun Crunch cookies several years ago, but chalked up the wreckage to my inexperience with rolling dough. However, this was doomed from the get-go. I couldn’t get the dough to come together, but I persevered, smushed it into a circle, wrapped it up and prayed to the magical dough gods asking for it to please work this time.

Apparently, someone was off duty that day, because my calls for help went unanswered.

Frustrating doesn’t begin to describe how difficult it was to get the dough to cooperate. I tried putting it in a time out, threatened to take away TV privileges, cursed – you know, mature stuff -  but my efforts were for naught. It cracked while rolling, stuck to the plastic, misbehaved – and worse, I caught it giving me the side eye.

After a few bashes with the rolling pin, I was finally able to beat that dough into submission. I sliced off as many cookies as I could, trashed the rest, and called it a day.

And what, you might be asking, did I learn from all this? Besides the fact that I might need psychiatric counseling for threatening cookie dough, the end result was delicious – it tasted just like a cinnamon roll, but in a smaller, more manageable form.

However, the road to cinnamon bun goodness is long and perilous.

Make them if you feel like punishing yourself.

On a happier note, here are two really good recipes from last year:

Chewy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread and Chocolate Mint Cookies

Anginetti - adapted from epicurious.com
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
3 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
ICING
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons (or more) water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla extract and grated lemon peel in large bowl until blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition (mixture may appear curdled). Continue beating 1 minute. Combine flour and baking powder in small bowl. Add to butter mixture and stir to form soft sticky dough.
Spoon dough into pastry bag fitted with 3/8-inch-wide round tip. Pipe 2-inch-diameter rings onto prepared sheets, spacing apart. Using fingertips dipped into water, press ends of each ring together into smooth ring. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare icing.

Icing:
Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Add sugar, 2 tablespoons water, lemon juice and vanilla extract and whisk until sugar melts and mixture is heated through. Thin with more water if icing is too thick to brush.
Remove cookies from oven. Immediately brush warm icing over hot cookies. Cool iced cookies on sheets 2 minutes. Transfer on rack and cool completely. Store in airtight container, or freeze for longer storage.

Cinnamon Bun Crunch Cookies - adapted from One Smart Cookie

Dough:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
2 tablespoons liquid honey
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

In a medium bowl, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer for 1 minute, until well combined. Beat in egg white and vanilla until smooth.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the sugar mixture and stir by hand just until you have a soft dough.
Roll the dough between two sheets of waxed paper into a 12-inch square. Place on a cookie sheet in the fridge for about 30 minutes or in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
Remove dough from the fridge and peel off the top layer of waxed paper.
Drizzle honey evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts, going almost to the edges. Gently roll into a log, peeling back the bottom paper as you go. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours, or up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the log into 1/4-inch slices and place 1-inch apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until pale golden. Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

** Newsflash **  – eating these intensely chocolatey cookies may cause feelings of euphoria.

Or help soothe a broken heart.

I made them a few days after Sasha’s passing – I finished packing up her things and had David tuck them away safely in the garage. I didn’t want the other dogs to take over her stuff – is that weird? I mean, I know she’s gone but her things were still ……  hers. And someday, I will get another dog and pass on the coveted pink bed and pink Christmas sweater.

So after I had another good cry, I made cookies. And they helped. See, chocolate IS good for you!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies - adapted from Ina Garten

1 stick (4 oz)  unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield – about 12 cookies

I realized this morning that I probably should have posted these cookies last Friday, since they fall into the category of “holiday-type” cookies. Every year I see them on cookie trays, and everyone raves over them. I thought to myself, what’s so exciting about a chocolate cookie with a marshmallow middle and chocolate frosting?

Have I become that much of a cookie snob? Unable to conceive of spending time on such a simple cookie?

With a bit of ambivalence, I prepared a half batch last week. It wasn’t until I was able to wrestle the container away from the kids and their friends that I was finally allowed to try one.

Well, to quote The Monkee’s, “I’m a believer!” Now I see why these are so popular. Even though I’m not Jet-Puffed Marshmallow’s #1 fan, these are fun and tasty, and they really do surprise people when they bite into them.

Want to know what else I learned? That cutting them neatly for an interior shot bordered on insanity. I couldn’t get the chocolate frosting off the marshmallow to save my life.

It’s a good thing my life didn’t depend on it.

Speaking of frosting, you can use any kind of frosting you like, I just so happened to have Hershey’s chocolate frosting in the fridge, so I’ve included the directions for it.

Surprise Cookies - adapted from Martha Stewart

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp.  salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally

Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
Using a tablespoon or #30 cookie scoop, drop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begins to melt, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered.

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2/3 cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter, then stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Here we are at the halfway mark of our foray into the “12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies”.

And earlier in the week, I realized something really funny -

We’ve eaten all the cookies.

Seriously, I have maybe 2 or 3 stragglers left, but otherwise, they’re gone. Which can only mean one thing:

I NEED TO BAKE MORE!

And strangely enough, I’m ok with that.

So let’s dive headfirst into this weeks delicious bite: lemon sugar snaps. Crispy, lemony, sugary, snappy – stop me when you’ve heard enough. These are a lemon-lovers dream come true. Maybe they don’t exactly scream “Christmas”, but who cares? Let’s face it – after awhile, all the peppermint/chocolate holiday concoctions start to get a little….. tiring.

Consider these the perfect antidote.

Last year: Neapolitan Cookies and Meringue Stars

Lemon Sugar Snaps - adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar, plus additional for rolling
1 large egg
Fresh grated zest of 3 lemons
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg, zest, and lemon juice, beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until combined. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place additional sugar (about ½ cup) in a shallow bowl, and roll the dough balls in the sugar to cover completely. Place coated dough balls at least two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake until the edges begin to turn golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.