Congratulations to Clara, winner of my cookbook giveaway for Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful! Clara submitted her recipe for No Roll Sugar Cookies, featured below:
Makes about 60 cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat sugar, butter, coconut, and vanilla until well combined. Add flour, soda, and salt. Stir together. Scoop with cookie scoop (or use a teaspoon), then roll into even ball. Place 3 inches apart on ungreased sheet. Use a measuring cup or the bottom of a glass to flatten each cookie. I press the bottom of the glass into the dough first to make it sticky, then dip it in sugar before flattening each cookie slightly. Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden. Let them cool slightly on pan, then remove to wire rack.
Thanks to everyone who entered. I enjoyed reading through all the recipes. So here are a bunch for your eyes to feast on. Happy cooking this holiday season!
If you're still reminiscing about autumn, try these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies submitted to me from my friend, Phil. Consider yourself lucky, foodies. Phil says these are "top secret."
Phil's Top Secret Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375°.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the pumpkin puree and beat to combine. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Fold into the pumpkin mixture. Add the chocolate chips.
Drop onto cookie sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Chances are you'll be hosting or attending a holiday party. And while this next recipe from Eshawn isn't a traditional "dessert," it's so decadent you may not need anything else after a delicious Christmas ham dinner.
Eshawn's Chimney Cocktail
1 oz. Amaretto liqueur
1 oz. bourbon whiskey
1 oz. vodka (Goldschlager can be used in place of vodka for a nice cinnamon bite)
Splash of Godiva Original liqueur
Pour ingredients into rocks glass over rocks. Top with eggnog. Stir well. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.
When I was little, my mom and I used to make Martha Stewart's almond crescent cookies every Christmas. This recipe for Greek shortbread cookies from Christina reminds me of those and sound buttery and delicious for a the holidays.
Christina's Kourabiethes (koo-rah-BYEH-thes)
Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Makes about 40 cookies
Ingredients:
1 lb. unsalted butter, softened
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, plus more for dusting (about 2 cups)
2 tbsp. ouzo
1/2 tsp. vanilla powder (substitute two tsp. vanilla extract)
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped very finely
1 lb. cake flour (about 3 1/2 - 4 cups)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Whole cloves for decoration (optional)
Preparation:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add egg yolks and confectioner’s sugar. Mix well. Add the ouzo, vanilla, and the toasted chopped almonds.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda together. With the mixer on low, add the flour to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. You don’t want to over mix the dough because that will toughen the cookies.
Chilling the dough for about half an hour makes it easier to handle and roll.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
They are shaped into crescents. To make a crescent, take a piece of dough about the size of a walnut. Roll it into a log and then curl the ends in and pinch slightly to make a half-moon or crescent shape.
Stud each cookie in the center with a whole clove and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until just beginning to brown.
When the cookies are still very warm, dredge in confectioner’s sugar. (Handle them with care!) The sugar layer will almost melt and coat the cookies. After the cookies cool a bit, add another dusting of confectioner’s sugar. (Remove the clove before consuming unless you like to chew on whole cloves!)
This next recipe for rugelach with a chocolate and walnut filling comes from Kate, who used to make this every year with her best friend growing up. Something about rugelach says winter to me.
Kate's Rugelach
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 lb butter (softened to room temperature)
Crumble above ingredients, then add:
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cold water or orange juice (Kate uses orange juice)
Divide dough into 4 balls and put in refrigerator for 10 minutes. On floured board or table, roll out dough, not too thin.
For topping:
1/2 stick butter melted
Combine in a bowl-
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbls. cinnamon
Combine in another bowl-
8 ozs. chopped walnuts
1 pkg mini choc chips
Spread melted butter on rolled out dough
Spread cinnamon sugar mixture over dough followed by walnut/chip mixture.
Cut into 8 pieces (like a pizza)
Roll each piece up like a croissant
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min until golden brown.
And if at the end of the holiday season you find yourself with random items in your pantry from all the baking you've done, try Lori's Kitchen Sink Bars.
Lori's Kitchen Sink Bars
The following amounts will yield a large sheet pan or about 4-5 dozen bars.
3 packages graham crackers
2-3 sticks of butter, melted
3-4 12oz bags of chocolate chips (white chocolate, milk, dark, swirls, peanut butter, butterscotch, etc.)
2 bas of coconut
2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped mixed nuts (or more if desired)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grind up the graham crackers in a food processor until they are of a fine consistency. Start with 2 sticks of butter melted and add it to the ground up graham crackers in a large bowl. The mixture should resemble moist sand, and easily we able to press into a pan. Add more melted butter to gain this consistency.
Spray a sheet pan liberally with cooking spray. Lori suggests not using a nonstick pan (or if you do, make sure it is not one of your favorites... as these bars are pretty sticky!)
Press the graham cracker mixture onto the bottom of the sheet pan to make the crust.
Sprinkle the chips, nuts, and coconut all over the crust in 2-3 layers, ending with coconut on the top layer (much like when you make lasagna).
Pour one can of the milk over half the layered bars, and do the same with the second can of milk on the other half.
Bake bars for about 25-30 min, or until the sides start to brown up.
Cool bars completely, then cut into little squares (about 1inchx2inch pieces). These are very sweet, so a little goes a long way.
Sometimes I will put the bars in the fridge and wait to cut them when they are cold.. They stay together easier.
Lori's other variations of these bars:
Use white chocolate, cranberries, slivered almonds, butterscotch chips, and coconut--Rasperry Bliss Bars
Use dark chocolate, nuts, white chocolate, and crushed up candy canes--True Xmas bars
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, foodies!
