Monthly Archives: December 2009

I was a little hesitant about making these again this year.  Last year was my first attempt and they turned out *okay* at best.  I loved the idea of having a thin, less sweet, counterpart to all the rich, heavy cookies in my collection.  And while the taste was there, the almonds were not….at least, they weren’t as soon as you picked up a piece!  I couldn’t figure out why the almonds wouldn’t stick to the dough…..

And I still don’t.  As I took them out of the oven and transferred them to a cooling rack the almond slices began flying off.  Frustrated, I didn’t know what to do.  I decided to take out the Ghirardelli Dark Cocoa Chips in my cupboard and melt some.  (Trust me, good chocolate is worth the money….no matter what you are using it for.) I then drizzled the divine chocolate lightly over the individual squares and ????……  The chocolate kept the almonds on the dough.    yay!  PLUS – I think the little bit of chocolate added an extra hint of decadence to these cracker-like treats.

Dutch Almond Thins

from Cuisine at Home’s Holiday Cookies magazine

Ingredients -

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped

1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy.

2 - Add four, milk, and salt; mix just to incorporate.  Sppon the dough onto the back of an ungreased 11 1/2×161/1-inch baking sheet.

3 - Dip a large offset spatula into hot water and spread the dough over the baking sheet.  Clean off the blade and dip into water as often as needed to achieve a thin, even layer.

4 – Sprinkle almonds over the batter, pressing them lightly to adhere.  Bake until the edges turn golden and the dough is set but the center is still pale, about 18 minutes (dough will drip down the sides of the pan).  Remove the pan from the oven.

5 – While hot, trim the edges using a pizza cutter, then cut into diamonds.  Return pan to the oven and bake 5-10 more minutes, or until golden.  While hot, transfer to the cookies ot a rack using a thin-bladed spatula. (Be very careful as it will easily burn!  *She says from experience….*)

6 - Microwave dark chocolate in a bowl on High power for intervals of 30 seconds.  Stir vigorously after each interval until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Drizzle over individual squares with a spoon.  I’m not exactly sure how much chocolate I used.  Just start off with 1/4 cup or so and melt more if you need to.  And while I opt for high quality chocolate…any semi-sweet will work just fine!)

Not even close to being worth the time and effort to make them.  The coconut outside lacked in flavor and became a gooey mess even when stored properly in an air-tight container.  And the milk chocolate kiss is so bland that you barely notice its there.

I’m not even going to reprint the recipe here.  I love macaroons and will keep looking for a good recipe as this was certainly not it.  I am most disappointed as I got this from the Cuisine at Home book in which every other recipe has turned out fabulously!  Shame on them for including such a lack-luster recipe amongst a collection of all-stars…..

Well, mine are technically Chocolate PECAN Truffle Bars….but same diff. 

These require a little time, but are not terribly difficult to make.  They are extremely rich and I cut mine up into 1.5″ x 1″ bars.  You know people are going to be trying at least a few different types of holiday treats, so you want to create serving sizes that are big enough to allow the eater to fully appreciate the flavor and texture of each treat (whether it be a bar or cookie or candy) but not so big that a person gets full (or worse…sick!) from it.

This is the second year I’ve made them and while I do enjoy them, I think next year I will probably try some sort of chocolate-covered toffee bar just for something different.  But again, these are good.  Good enough that a co-worker stopped me in the hall to tell me so!

Chocolate Walnut Bars

from Cuisine at Home’s Holiday Cookies magazine

For the Crust –

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold

For the Filling –

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 Tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. espresso powder or instant coffee granules (Use the espresso if possible.)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. dark rum (I used rum extract in a slightly lesser amount.)
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped (I used pecans.  And while I did toast them first this time, I didn’t last year and they still tasted delicious.)
  
• Powdered sugar (I skipped this.)
  

1 - Preheat over to 350 degrees, line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, then coat with nonstick spray.

2 - Stir flour, brown sugar and salt for crust in a bowl.  Cut in butter using a pastry blender or 2 knives until thoroughly mixed (dough will be dry and sandy).  (Okay – maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I just use my hands to mix in the cold butter.  I don’t have a pastry blender and I’ll be darned if I know how to properly cut in butter with just two knives.  I have used the *clean hands* method for all sorts of pastries, including pie crusts, and it works out beautifully.  It takes more time to work in the butter and get that crumbly mixture that you’re after, but it will happen!)

3 – Press dough over the bottom of the prepared pan.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until barely golden.  Cool completely.  (I stick mine in the fridge so that it is cool by the time I finish making the filling.)

4 – Melt chocolate, corn syrup, sugar, butter, cocoa, espresso powder, and salt in a bowl in the microwave on High power in 30-second intervals.  Stir after each interval until smooth.  Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition and then blend in rum.  Pour chocolate mixture over cooled crust.

5 - Sprinkle walnuts over the chocolate and press into batter.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or just until set.  Cool completely.

6 - Holding onto the foil, lift bars out of pan and onto a cutting board.  peel foil away from the sides and cut into bars.

7 - Dust with powdered sugar.  (I skip this….they don’t need more sugar and look more attractive without it.)

Kiflins are a wonderful cookie of Scandinavian origins.  You will sometimes see them formed in full circles, but I think they are most traditionally crescent-shaped…which makes them a beautiful addition to the cookie tray.

These are very simple and very heavy on the almonds and butter.  While they are thick and dense, they have a nice texture and are never hard or chewy…but rather break off easily as you bite and then proceed to melt into heavenly sugared-almondness in your mouth….

Kiflins are my favorite Christmas cookies.  There’s something so wonderful about their simple, yet rich flavor and the way they make me feel connected to the ‘old world’….when things were always made by hand with love and patience.

Kiflins

from Cuisine at Home’s Holiday Cookies Magazine

For the Vanilla Sugar -

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, chopped (I didn’t have a vanilla bean so I did the alternative…which is to add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the cookie dough and then just roll the crescents in plain powdered sugar at the end.)

For the Dough -

• 2 cups slivered almonds
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1.5 cups)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

1 - Process the powdered sugar and vanilla bean in a food processor until the bean is completely ground; set sugar aside.  (Vanilla sugar may be made up to 1 month ahead and stored in an airtight container.  The flavor will deepen the longer it sits.)

2 - Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely ground.  (Make sure you don’t over-process the almonds.  Nuts contain a lot of oil and you just want to process them to a cornmeal-like texture…not into a paste.) Transfer almonds to a bowl, then add butter, sugar, and salt.  (This is where you would also add your vanilla if you are not making vanilla sugar.) Cream with a mixer until blended.

3 – Add flour and mix just until combined.  Chill dough for at least 30 minutes until it’s easy to mold.  (I think at least an hour is ideal.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

4 - Rolled chilled dough into 1-inch balls, then mold each into a crescent shape.  (It will take a few tries to find your rhythm in making the crescents.  The dough is crumbly and will require some patience on your part.  Also, do not go for perfection!  These cookies look most beautiful when they look the most *home-made* ) Arrange on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.  Bake 12-14 minutes, or until cookies are just set and golden on the bottowm.

5 - Cool cookies on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

6 – Roll cooled cookies in vanilla (or plain) sugar to coat.

Ah…the Eggnog Tea Cookie.  It looks so little, plain….unsuspecting really.  But one small bite – heck, just one small sniff – and you will realize that these pack quite the punch.  Its heavy-handed dose of nutmeg and rum flavoring make it extra *eggnoggy* and often produce a surprised look on the eater’s face.  Its never a look of disgust, but rather, one of tasting something truly different from the chocolate covered biscuits and peanut butter balls they’ve been eating off the cookie tray all night.

I ADORE eggnog……I always purchase a little soy eggnog carton to appease my cravings.  (Too much dairy gives me a sour stomach, hence, the soy.)  And I love these cookies.  They are the kind you nibble on slowly to fully appreciate the flavor.  And anything that gets me to slow my intake of cookies during this season is a good thing. 

Eggnog Tea Cookies

From Cuisine at Home’s Holiday Cookies magazine

Makes three dozen (2 inch) cookies

Total time: about 1.5 hours + chilling

For the Cookies -

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp. grated or ground nutmeg (I used ground)

• .5 tsp. salt

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1 cup)

• .75 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Icing -

• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

• 2 Tbsp. milk

• .25 tsp rum flavoring or light rum

Directions -

1. Stir flour, nutmeg, and salt together for the cookies in a bowl; set aside.

2. Cream 2 sticks butter and sugar together in another bowl with a mixer until smooth.  Add egg and vanilla; beat until incorporated, then mix in the flour mixture just until blended.  Cover and chill dough for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

3. Preheat over to 350 degrees.

4. Rolls dough into scant 1.5 inch balls.  Arrange on prepared baking sheets spacing 2 inches apart.

5. Bake 10 minutes, or until firm to the touch and light brown on the edges.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

6. Blend powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp butter, milk, and rum flavoring together, using a hand mixer.  Frost cooled cookies.