Xmas / Holiday Cookies

Seasons Greetings...




Raspberry Jam Cookies







Left to Right: Coconut vanilla cookies, Raspberry Jam cookie, Chocolate Hazelnut cookie, Double Chocolate cookie sandwiches.


Yep, it's that time of year again! Bust out your cookie cutters and rolling pins. Spread cheer to your friends and neighbors in the form of butter cookies and drippings of chocolate and white vanilla glaze!
Cut-out cookies can be finicky. If the dough gets too soft or too dry you're in trouble. Either your cookies will be poorly shaped or the dough won't hold together when you roll it out. I used (of course), the America's test kitchen butter cookie recipe for these cookies. Don't trust any other recipe for something as technical as christmas cookies! You want a butter cookie recipe that has been tested over and over again. The only advice I can give when using this recipe is that if you have granite countertops, do not sandwich the dough between two pieces of parchment paper as directed. It will slide efverywhere and you will feel like a total baking reject! Instead use plastic wrap.
Make whatever fillings you want. The Baking Illustrated cookbook has recipes for things like vanilla glaze and coconut lime. I used nutella and toasted hazelnuts. Go wild! Go crazy! Happy Holidays. :)

Way Better than a Reeses...

Baking Illustrated's Chocolate Icebox cookie recipe w/ Peanut Butter filling...





Let's face it. Either you love peanut butter or you hate it. Australians hate peanut butter, but I'm not about to make a Chocolate Vegamite sandwich cookie.
This recipe is a cinch. Make the dough, roll it into logs, refrigerate it, take it out whenever you feel inclined, slice and bake.

Dark Chocolate Explosion Cookies- for the True Chocaholic!!

An Evie's Kitchen original...




Ingredients:

2 c bread flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 c cocoa powder
2 sticks melted butter
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 c light brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee
8 oz bittersweet chocolate (I recommend 2 x 4 oz bars of Ghirardelli 60% cacao)
4 oz semisweet chocolate (again, a 4 oz bar of Ghirardelli)

Directions:

Finely chop 4 oz bittersweet and 4 oz semisweet chocolate as shown. Set aside.




Break remaining 4 oz bar of bittersweet chocolate into about 20 pieces. This will be used as molten chocolate centers later.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars in a standing mixer. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, milk and instant coffee. Slowly add dry ingredients. Add the 8 oz finely chopped bittersweet and semisweet chocolate.
Refrigerate dough for at least 20 mins to chill. Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove dough from refrigerator, scoop out 8-10 cookies on each sheet. Flatten gently and place a small square of chocolate in the middle as shown:



Then place another flattened dough ball on top of that, press gently so they stick together:




Press each cookie in a small dish of granulated sugar if desired to coat the cookie tops. Bake at 350 for 12-15 mins until tops look dry and slightly cracked.
Serve warm, or allow to cool and store in tupper ware at room temp, but microwave at medium power for 20 seconds before eating to enjoy the molten centers!

Earl Grey Cookies Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Ingredients:

2 heaping Tbsp loose Early Grey tea (about 6 teabags)



2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 sticks of butter, cut into 16 pieces
2 tsp apple juice or apple cider
2 Tbsp cream cheese

For chocolate glaze:

4 oz bar of bittersweet chocolate, broken up into several small pieces.
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 Tbsp butter

Directions:

Put sugar and loose tea in food processor, process until tea leaves begin to become powdery, about 3 mins.



Add flour and salt, process x 10 pulses.
Add butter, 1-2 pieces at a time. Add cream cheese and cider, pulse in food processor a few more times until larger globs of dough begin to form and dough becomes well blended.
Turn out dough onto counter top and knead into smooth dough, shape into 2 discs, 4" diameter each. Wrap in plastic and place in fridge for at least 1 hr.
* you can use a standing mixer when you add the cider and cream cheese



Preheat oven to 375. Cover two baking sheets in parchment paper. Roll dough on floured surface x 1/8 inch thick. Use cookies cutters to cut as many cookies as possible and reform extra dough trimmings into a thick disc and roll out again to form more cookies. Repeat up to 3 times. Transfer cookie dough to sheets using a metal spatula.

Bake x 10 mins.

Remove from oven and carefully slide paper with cookies to wire cooling rack.

Meanwhile, place chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in double boiler and melt over low heat, stirring often. Decorate cookies with chocolate glaze while it is still warm and liquid. Allow to cool.

Chocolate Cake made with Guinness Beer...

Legend has it this recipe is from a restaurant in Great Barrington, MA.

Chocolate Stout Cake
2 cups stout (Guinness)

2 cups unsalted Butter (4 sticks)

1 1/2 cups unsweetened Dutch coco powder...(preferably Dutch-process..Droste)

4 cups flour

4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1 1/3 cups sour cream

Icing

4 cups whipping cream

2 pound bittersweet chocolate or semi sweet chopped

For cake: Preheat oven to 350*F. Butter three 8 inch round cake pans with 2 inch sides. Line the pans with parchment paper, butter paper. Bring 2 cups stout and 2 cups butter to a simmer in a large heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Add coco powder and whisk until smooth. Cool slightly. This is very important...cool or the hot/warm mixture will start to cook the flour mixture.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl. Add stout coco mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and briefly beat slowly. Using rubber spatula fold mixture until well combined. Divide batter evenly into cake pans. Bake until tester comes out clean about 35 minutes. Cool on racks for 10 minutes...turn cakes out on racks and cool completely.

For icing: Bring cream to simmer in heavy sauce pan. Remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until icing is spreadable, stirring frequently about 2 hours. Make sure to whisk this in the refrigerator.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate. Spread 2/3 cup icing over cake. Refrigerate for a few minutes between each layer.. Top with second layer, spread 2/3 icing on cake. Top with final layer and spread remaining icing on cake. Refrigerate to set icing. You will have a bit of the frosting left....enjoy..but it is important to really spread the frosting on the layers and of course on top and sides..really lay it on..also DO NOT USE A STOUT BEER IN A CAN WITH A WIDGET. It ends up way too frothy and will overflow in oven...a real mess!!!

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Port Reduction

Tawny Port pairs well with chocolate...and strawberries...this is the cake recipe from the Moosewood cookbook that I mentioned previously.

For the Cake:
1 1/2 c unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 c brewed coffee or water (I used brewed instant decaf coffee, cooled to room temp and it worked very well)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp white vinegar


For the Strawberry Port reduction:

8 oz strawberries plus a few extra for decorating
1/2 c Tawny Port
4 Tbsp sugar



For the Chocolate Ganache:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate or 4 oz semisweet plus 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 c vanilla soymilk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, sugar, and baking soda.
Grease an 8x8 inch pan. In an electric mixer, combine oil, water or coffee, and vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients. When blended smoothly together, add vinegar, mix quickly.
The mixture should have pale swirls, indicating the baking soda is reacting with the vinegar.
Immediately pour into baking pan and bake for 25-30 mins, or until set (toothpick should come out clean to very slightly moist on the bottom). Allow to cool 10 - 15 mins. Turn out onto a wire cooling rack, allow to cool 10 more mins, cut into 2 pieces horizontally to make 2 layers. If it falls apart don't stress, it's going to be covered in chocolate ganache in the end.

To make the strawberry port reduction, mix together the strawberries, sugar and port in a medium saucepan. Cook at medium high heat until the alcohol is cooked off and the consistency is syrupy.

To make the ganache, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Stir in the warm soy milk and vanilla, stir until smooth.

Spoon the strawberry mixture on top of one of the layers, then place the other layer on top. Finish by frosting it with the chocolate ganache and top with strawberries.

Green Tea & Ginger Brownies

So they're not very pretty... sort of like the Incredible Hulk meets Duncan Hines!
It's a basic cream cheese brownie recipe with matcha powder added to the cream cheese swirl mixture. Then, after baking and tasting, I found that the brownies needed something to cut the plant-y flavor of the green tea. So I added a sugary glaze and some candied ginger on top.


Ingredients for brownie base:

1/3 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 stick of unsalted butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for Green Tea Swirl:

8 oz Cream cheese
2 + 1/2 tsp green tea matcha powder
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 egg yolk


Ingredients for the ginger topping:

1/2 c confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Roughly 1/3 c Candied Ginger pieces


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Line an 8 x 8 " baking dish with tin foil so that edges of foil overhang by 2". Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Set a double boiler over low heat and melt chocolate and butter together.
Whisk in sugar.
Set aside and allow it to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, soften the cream cheese in the microwave on low power for about 2 mins. Place in an electric mixer and beat in the sugar and egg yolk. Add matcha powder and vanilla and beat until well combined.
Add the eggs one at a time to the chocolate mixture and whisk well. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until well incorporated. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Drop evenly spaced 1 Tbsp dollops of green tea swirl batter on top of the brownie batter. With a table knife, run through each dollop vertically and horizontally a few times to make a swirl pattern.
Bake for 50-60 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Prepare the glaze: put confectioners sugar in a small bowl. Add Cream, 1 Tbsp at at a time. (Depending on the humidity in your kitchen, you may need to add more or less cream to achieve desired consistency). Add vanilla extract.
Spread glaze over brownies when they are cooled and top with candied ginger pieces.

I Can't Believe it's Vegan Chocolate Cake-

I found this recipe in The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook. It is called
"Six Minute Chocolate Cake" and it's vegan.


For the Cake:
1 1/2 c unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 c brewed coffee or water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp white vinegar

For the Chocolate Ganache:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
3/4 c hot water or vanilla soymilk (vanilla soymilk lends a better texture)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, sugar, and baking soda.
Grease an 8x8 inch pan. In an electric mixer, combine oil, water or coffee, and vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients. When blended smoothly together, add vinegar.
The mixture should have pale swirls, indicating the baking soda is reacting with the vinegar.
Pour into baking pan and bake for 25-30 mins, or until set (toothpick should come out clean to very slightly moist on the bottom). Allow to cool.

To make the ganache, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Stir in the warm soy milk and vanilla, stir until smooth. Spread the ganache over the cooled cake.
Top with fresh raspberries or strawberries and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with Vanilla Tofutti.

Velvety Mexican Chocolate Cookies

Hot & Spicy Chocolate cookies... will be featured on the Bake Guru Application for iPhone/iPod Touch


Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cayenne
3/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks of melted butter, cooled to luke warm or room temperature
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For Chocolate Glaze:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
4 T butter
2 T light corn syrup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325. Melt butter and allow to cool to about room temperature.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, cayenne and cinnamon.
In electric mixer, combine melted butter and sugars. Beat until well incorporated. Add egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

On low speed, slowly add dry ingredients. With small ice cream scoop, scoop 2T dough each on ungreased cookie sheets. Covering the baking sheets with parchment paper yields the best results.
Bake for 15 mins or until cookies appear dry and cracked on top.

Make the glaze:

In a double boiler, combine chocolate, butter, and corn syrup. Over low to medium heat, stir until completely melted and combined.
While glaze is still very liquid, drizzle over cookies with a small metal spoon. If glaze begins to harden, simply microwave it on low heat for a minute or two.

Honey Cashew Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 sticks of butter, melted and cooled to about room temperature
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/3 c cashew butter
1 and 1/2 cups of milk chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
*3/4 cup of toasted chopped cashew nuts

*grind nuts in a food processor and spread on cookie sheet. bake for 3-4 mins at 325 degrees, or until slightly browned and fragrant

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.
Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Cream butter and sugars together in an electric mixer. Add egg, honey, cashew butter and vanilla extract. Slowly add flour mixture.
Add milk chocolate chips and cashews.
Using small ice cream scoop or 2 spoons, spoon dough balls on ungreased cookie sheets. (cookie sheet covered in parchment paper works best). Place on middle and top rack of oven and bake for 15 mins.