These cookies taste like a combination of gingerbread and chocolate. They are even better the next day.
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup Dark Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons Chinese 5 Spice Blend
1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Cream softened butter in a bowl with dark brown sugar and white sugar until mixture is fluffy.
3. Add egg and vanilla to creamed mixture, beating until thoroughly blended.
4. Sift together flour, baking soda and Chinese 5 Spice blend and cocoa. Set aside.
5. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating well.
6. Using cookie scoop, place scoops of dough approx 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 12 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes and then remove to cookie rack to cool.
Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies.
Blue Cheese Walnut Cookie Recipe (Savory jam thumbprints)
By Kathleen Hardy
This recipe is for something really different. The idea just came to me when I gave a friend a gift of really good blue cheese and I saw her eating it with fig jam. Sometimes I let my guests know that the cookie will not be sweet, and sometimes I just surprise them. They can be served as an appetizer, but you can also serve them after dinner with fruit. You can also play around with the cheese and jam (cheddar and hot pepper jelly is good) but I think this combination is delicious and festive.
Savory jam thumbprints
1/4 lb (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
8 oz your favorite blue cheese at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper (I like to use a peppercorn blend)
1 tbsp water
1 cup finely chopped pecans (or your favorite nut)
fig jam
Cream together the butter and blue cheese until smooth. Add the all purpose and wheat flours, salt, and pepper and mix until it forms large crumbles. Add the water and mix just until combined. Form the dough into a ball, flatten slightly, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Form the cold dough into balls about the size of walnuts. Roll one half of each ball in finely chopped nuts, then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, nut side up, flattening slightly, about one inch apart. With your thumb or the handle of a wooden spoon, make an indentation in the center of each ball. Fill each indentation with fig jam (about 1/2 tsp each). Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking. Cool pans on racks for 10 minutes, then transfer cookies to parchment or waxed paper to finish cooling. Serve room temperature.
Makes about 5 ½ dozen cookies
As soon as I see egg nog in the grocery store I know that the holidays are near! These cookies have an incredible egg nog flavor but in a rich buttery cookie. They are super easy to make and my son always loves to help me! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!!!
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 TBS brandy
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Glaze:
Combine the following ingredients together and set aside
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
3 TBS egg nog
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg- plus more for garnish
Directions:
Heat oven to 350
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy- approx. 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, brandy, vanilla and nutmeg and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined- be careful not to over mix!
Scoop the batter onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes or until the outsides of the cookies are golden. Remove from oven and spread a small amount of glaze over the warm cookies and finish with a light dusting of freshly grated nutmeg.
Enjoy!
By Jill Richardson (inspired by Sunset Magazine)
This Florentine bar cookie recipe is not just fantastic tasting it is a jewel box to look at. It has it all, a perfect balance, rich buttery shortbread crust with sweet and tart dried fruit and almonds on top. I only make it once a year and no matter how busy have not missed a year since I discovered this recipe. They are always on my cookie plates I give to neighbors and friends at the holiday.
Ingredients
1 cup salted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 egg plus one egg yolk
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup plus 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
12 ounces sliced almonds
1/2 cup raisins, finely chopped
1/2 cup tart dried apricots (we prefer Blenheim), finely chopped
1/2 cup tart dried cherries, finely chopped
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, cream salted butter with 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk and beat to combine. Gradually add flour and mix well (dough will be very soft). Transfer to a floured 16- by 11-in. parchment paper. With a floured rolling pin, roll dough to same size as parchment. Trim any overhang, then transfer dough (on parchment) to a large rimmed baking pan. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven (leave oven on) and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together unsalted butter, remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar, honey, and cream. Cook mixture, stirring frequently, until it registers 250° on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat and stir in almonds, raisins, apricots, and cherries.
3. Using a spatula, gently spread warm topping over shortbread. Bake until topping is caramelized and almonds are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven; while still warm, cut into 2-in. squares. Cool completely.
This bar cookie is not just fantastic tasting it is a jewel box to look at. It has it all, a perfect balance, rich buttery shortbread crust with sweet and tart dried fruit and almonds on top. I only make it once a year and no matter how busy have not missed a year since I discovered this recipe. They are always on my cookie plates I give to neighbors and friends at the holiday.
By Nancy R. Wilson
This was developed one day from a recipe for Cherry Garcias, when I discovered that I had no dried cherries, pecans or white baking chips. The substitutions made a whole new cookie: an instant success (June 2008).
The Story: When the missionaries from New England landed in Hawai’i they brought cranberries, a few bits of chocolate and a modest supply of brandy (for medicinal use only). The natives greeted them with macadamia nuts, and the happy result of this encounter is recreated in these cookies. Aloha!
Ingredients:
2 cup dried cranberries
1 c brandy
1 tsp baking soda
3 c flour
1 c butter
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 T vanilla
1 c each dark chocolate chips and
chopped macadamia nuts
Process:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment.
Soak dried cranberries in brandy to cover. Let sit 30 minutes or while you mix the dough.
Whisk together flour and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until combined. Fold in cranberries, chips and nuts.
Refrigerate dough 30 to 45 minutes to firm up.
Drop dough by scoop or tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets (I always use parchment paper . . makes clean-up so easy!), about 1-1/2 to 2 inches apart. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. (Test: firm at the edges, soft on top, no longer glossy.) Cool 10 minutes on cookie sheets before removing to racks to cool completely. Store in a covered container.
Yield: about 36 good-sized cookies.
Notes:
Recipe can easily be cut in half for smaller (or fewer) cookies(or multiplied, of course).
I have been soaking the cranberries longer . . . up to a couple of days. When I am short of time, 30 seconds to a minute in the microwave also softens them and makes them absorb the brandy. I soak them in a pint jar, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon. You can add some of the extra brandy to the cookie dough if it seems too stiff. You’ll probably have cranberry-flavored brandy left over; we call it “crandy”. Not a bad liqueur, served over ice. If you don’t want to use brandy, I suppose you could soak them in apple juice or cranberry juice to plump them up a little.
For a dairy-free version you could use butter-flavored Crisco sticks, since it now has no trans-fats, but add a little water (according to instructions on the Crisco package).
Chilling the dough is optional . . . worked fine without it.
Always looked forward to the holidays as the whole family would enjoy Nona’s delicious Persimmon cookies. Hope you enjoy them as much as we have over the years. Nona has since passed but we try to keep the tradition going.
Enjoy!
Lynne and Nadyne
1 Cup Persimmon Pulp use soft persimmons like Hachiya
1 Egg
1 Cup Sugar
½ Cup Shortening
2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Cloves
½ teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Salt (optional)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Cup Raisins
Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and baking soda.
Separate bowl mix pulp, shortening and egg
Combine with dry mixture, then add nuts and raisins
Preheat oven 350
Drop on greased cookie sheet
Cook 20 – 25 minutes
Yields 4 dozen
These cookies are so flavorful and chewy. They stay nice and soft because of the coconut…perfect to hand out during the holidays!
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
¾ cups unsalted butter
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2 cups flour
½ baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg and 1 yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips
Directions:
In a medium skillet heat the butter until browned and nutty smelling then set aside to cool slightly. In the same pan that the butter was cooked in toast the coconut until golden…set aside to cool. Heat the oven to 350.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Cream together the browned butter and sugars, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Add the dry mixture then once mostly combined add the white chocolate chips and toasted coconut. Scoop out the cookie dough using a small cookie scoop and bake for 10-12 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Enjoy!
If you know me you know that my favorite spice is cardamom. I put at least 1 cardamom cookie in every cookie box I pass out during the holidays! The browned butter in these cookies definitely kicks it up a notch (or two)!
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
¾ cups unsalted butter
2 cups flour
½ baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg and 1 yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup toasted cashews- coarsely chopped
Directions:
In a skillet heat the butter until browned and nutty smelling then set aside to cool slightly. Heat the oven to 350.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cardamom then set aside. Cream together the browned butter and sugars, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients then add the toasted cashews. Scoop out dough using a small cookie scoop and bake for 10-12 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Enjoy!
Grandma’s Butter Cookie, the winner of the 2014 BiteClub Holiday Cookie Contest
EDITOR’S NOTE: Multiple bakers have had issues with this recipe. I’m working on getting this sorted out with Karey, who baked them with us on site at the Bake-A-Thon using the recipe she submitted. Until we’ve resolved it, please hold off on using this recipe. Apologies.
Grandma’s Butter Cookie, the winner of the 2014 BiteClub Holiday Cookie Contest
The 2014 Holiday Cookie Contest Winner: Grandmas’s/Mom’s Butter Cookies
Heat oven to 350. In a stand mixer (my mom still does it by hand) cream butter and sugar. Add egg then vanilla and cream together. Next add flour one cup at a time and cream together. Once all ingredients are combined (now here’s the tricky part) the cookie dough is spooned into a cookie press with the crinkle disk.
Pump dough onto cookie sheets in long strips about 4 per sheet. Cut into desired size approximately 3″ long and sprinkle with colored non perils. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Remove from cookie sheet immediately before they begin to crisp or they will stick. You may use parchment paper if you like.
Karey says: “These are the best delicate crisp cookies ever and with colored sprinkles they are a kids/adults delight to the eyes I am still to this day drawn to beautiful colored sprinkled goodies. My mom has been making these cookies since I can remember and my grandmother before her. I still use the cookie press that was my mom’s because it makes the cookies the perfect thinness. I will let you know that this cookie press is no longer made and even harder to find. I know this because my mom and I have spent hours searching for them online. Not too long ago a friend of my mothers was going through her mothers things and found the exact cookie press still in the original box untouched. She gave the press to my mom because over the years had enjoyed these butter cookies…and to my delight, at that time my mom passed down her cookie press to me and I no longer had to borrow, it was great! I have tried to use other cookie presses, but the cookies come out to thick and do not bake as well. Growing up my mom would spend hours baking and freezing these cookies every holiday and still does today. They are requested by many and enjoyed plenty. As I began to bake these delicious crisp buttery cookies, they soon became a favorite amongst my friends as well. I call them the “perfect coffee cookie” and when you dunk them in a fresh cup of hot coffee morning or night you will know why. These cookies still keep their crunch and then melt in your mouth and it is way to easy to consume many because of how thin, crispy, and addicting the cookies are. I often tell my mom that someday we will become famous for these cookies and they will be in every coffee shop in town.”
