"There are cookies everywhere!" said Verne and Maria when they came in—said Joan when she came in—said Tom when he came in—said each guest who came in.
And, yes, there were plates of cookies and bowls of cookies and platters and baskets and racks of cookies—on the card table in the living room, on the sewing machine cabinet, on the table between the two rooms, on the trunk by the couch, on the little square crock table. There were tens of dozens
of cookies)—date bars and rum balls, cathedral window cookies and chocolate cream-filled Christmas cutout cookies. There were bight yellow cornmeal diamonds and dark brown marshmallow fudge brownies, perfectly round peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and crescents of rugelach with cranberry filling. There were gingerbread men to satisfy any requirements of cultural diversity—men in pants and women in skirts and androgynous children, light ones and black ones (one batch baked too long), one with only one eye, one one-legged one, grouchy ones with turned-down mouths, exuberant ones with arms and legs flying, and every one of them decorated with chocolate trim. There were, however, no hazelnut meringues—or, more accurately, there were hazelnut meringues in the garbage can.
For days I had pored over recipes, choosing so that every kind of cookie was different from the others—cutout cookies, bar cookies, filled cookies,
 |
| Rugelach |
For days I had pored over recipes, choosing so that every kind of cookie was different from the others—cutout cookies, bar cookies, filled cookies,
 |
| Chocolate chip peanut butter |
And the organization it took! I had to consider the doughs that had to be refrigerated and to make cookies in descending order according to baking temperature requirements. While making one batch, I had to think about the next: was the butter softening behind the stove; were the eggs out? I had to make sure I wouldn't run out of propane in the middle of a baking. It was two long days of tightly controlled chaos.
 |
| Truffle cookies (2019) |
It was all a fabulous success. After everyone left, I fell exhausted onto the couch, smiling triumphantly and thinking I should have a Christmas cookie party every year. But that was two years ago. Ever since then, when Christmas comes around, I wonder where I ever found the energy—and the madness—to do such a thing.
Next week: "Red, White, and Green Christmas Dinner"
Recipes from this post, posted below
Coogle family date bars
Gingerbread men and women
Rum balls
Cathedral window cookies
Truffle cream cookies
Recipes from this post, posted tomorrow
Cornmeal diamonds
Marshmallow fudge brownies
Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
Christmas rugelach
Hazelnut meringues
COOGLE FAMILY DATE BARS
yield: 25 or 32, depending on pan size
Ingredients
1 stick butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1 cup dates
powdered sugar
Preparation
Chop walnuts (or pecans). Cut up dates. Grease and flour either an 8-inch square pan or a 9x13x2-inch pan. Preheat oven to 350º.
To make
Beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add flour and salt, then fold in vanilla. When all is well mixed, stir in nuts and dates. Place in prepared pan and bake at 350º for 30 minutes. (The smaller pan may take longer.) Do not overbake, or the cookies will be hard instead of soft and chewy. Cut while still warm. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
GINGERBREAD MEN AND WOMEN
yield: 2 dozen
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
4 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 teaspoons dark corn syrup
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Preparation
Grate orange peel. Lightly flour a working surface and a rolling pin. Preheat oven to 375º.
To make
Cream butter and sugar. Add egg; beat till your arm drops off. Mix in orange peel and corn syrup. In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients before stirring them into the butter and sugar mixture. Set dough on back porch or in refrigerator until well chilled. Roll into 1/4-inch-thick rectangle and cut out with gingerbread-man and -woman cookie cutters. Place on uncreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Bake at 375º 8-10 minutes. Don't overbake. Let sit on cookie sheet for one minute before removing to cool on a wire rack.
To finish
Suggested ingredients
1 square semisweet chocolate or 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Raisins
M&Ms
Powdered sugar, for icing
Milk, for icing
Cutup bits of dried fruit such as pineapple, papaya, apricots, etc.
Colored sprinkles.
Preparation
If you're using chocolate trim, melt the semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips in a double boiler. If you're using white icing, mix enough milk into enough powdered sugar to make a consistency like that of melted chocolate. Cut up dried fruit into small bites.
To decorate
Dribble chocolate or white icing onto the gingerbread people with a knife. Use other ingredients to make eyes, mouths, and noses. Indicate skirts and pants. Be imaginative and have fun. Let the children do it, too.
RUM BALLS
yield: 6 dozen
Ingredients
1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
1 cup pecans, chopped fine
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Dutch cocoa
1 1/2 tablespoons white Karo syrup
1/4 cup or more rum or bourbon
Preparation
Crush vanilla wafers with a rolling pin util reduced to fine crumbs. Chop pecans finely.
Mix all ingredients together. Dust hands with powdered sugar. Taking about one teaspoon of dough at a time, form dough into small balls. Roll balls in more powder sugar. Keep your hands and fingers well powdered with powdered sugar to keep the dough from sticking to them. Store rum balls in an airtight container several weeks. (Of course, they can be eater sooner, but they are best if they ripen for a few weeks.)
Variations
Try using gingersnaps or crushed chocolate wafers instead of vanilla wafers. Omit the cocoa if you use chocolate wafers. Try almonds or hazelnuts instead of pecans, or roll the balls in cocoa instead of in powdered sugar. My favorite is still the original recipe.
CATHEDRAL WINDOW COOKIES
yield: 30
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-6 ounces red and/or green hard candies (for Christmas; any color, otherwise)
Additional sugar
Preparation
Set the butter out to soften. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Grate lemon peel. Treating colors separately, finely grind candy in food processor or crush with rolling pin Set aside in separate bowls and cover.
To make
Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Beat in egg yolk, lemon peel, and vanilla extract. Add flour and salt all at once and mix thoroughly until dough begins to clump together. (I like to use my hands.) Divide into three parts. Make each part into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap and chill at least two hours.
After chilling
Flour a working surface and rolling pin.
Roll out one disk at a time (keep the others refrigerated) on floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out cookies with either a 2 1/2- or a 2 3/4-inch round cookie utter. Cut out center of each cookie with a 1-inch cookie cutter. Transfer cookie to parchment-covered cookie sheets. Fill cutout parts of each cookie with crushed candy. Sprinkle cookies with additional sugar. Make more cookies with scraps of dough, rerolled and recut. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes, till they are firm and light golden with translucent centers of melted hard candy. Cool completely on baking sheets.
Storage
The cookies will last up to a week if stored in an airtight container and kept away from eager fingers. Or, if you have a freezer, you can freeze them for up to a month.
TRUFFLE CREAM COOKIES
The dough
Ingredients
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter
3/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 cup fruit juice concentrate
12 egg
2 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
To make
Beat butter till creamy. Add sugar, and cream well. Add fruit juice concentrate and egg, and beat till the mixture turns light in color. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together. Add to butter mixture in three stages. Dough will be soft. Lift onto plastic wrap and shape into a disk. Chill well, either in refrigerator or on back porch.
The truffle cream
Ingredients
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups (12 ounces) malt-sweetened semisweet chocolate chips
To make
Cook cream until bubbles appear at the edges. Pour hot cream over chocolate chips and let stand till chips are softened (about 5 minutes). Whisk smooth. Cool.
Assemblage
 |
| In my new house (2019) |
Preparation
Butter cookie sheet. Lightly flour a working surface and rolling pin. Preheat oven to 375º.
Baking
Remove half the dough from the chilling place and let stand for a few minutes to soften. Generously flour a rolling pin and rolling surface. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch. Cut with cookie cutter—stars, trees, circle—whatever shape appeals. Place on baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart and bake at 375º for 8-10 minutes. Cool on racks.
Finishing
Spread truffle cream between 2 cookies. Press together lightly. Chill well and keep chilled until cookies are served.
No comments:
Post a Comment