Stained Glass Wreath Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Day 12

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) tube sugar cookie dough
  
• 1 bag assorted round hard candies (recommended: Lifesavers)
• 1 small tube white decorating icing
• 1 package silver dragees
• 24 (8-inch) long pieces string or ribbon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with silicone baking pads.

Slice dough log at 1/4-inch intervals and place onto prepared baking sheets spaced 1 inch apart.

Press a 1-inch round cutter into the center of each cookie round. Remove the small circle of dough and replace it with a round hard candy.

Bake in oven 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from oven. While still warm, make a hole at the top of each cookie with a large straw. Place baking sheet on the cooling rack and cool completely.

When the cookies have completely cooled, use the decorative icing and evenly space 6 icing dots around the edges of each cookie. Lightly push the silver dragees into the icing dots. Allow icing to harden.

Place the 8-inch piece of ribbon through the hole at the top and tie the ends together.

Repeat with remaining cookies.

You can eat your cookies or hang them as ornaments on a Christmas tree or in a window.

Black & White Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Day 11

Click HERE for the instructional video

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• Vegetable cooking spray (not flavored)

Directions

Add dry yeast to warm or room-temperature milk, let stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.

Slowly add and combine the yeast mixture, and the extracts.

In a separate bowl whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour and salt and gradually add them to your mixture. Caution: Do not over mix, but make sure to keep your mixture homogenous.

Prepare a cookie sheet with pan spray and drop spoonfuls of dough 3 to 4 inches apart. Bake until the edges begin to brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature before decorating.

Ganache:

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 pound good dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 pound good white chocolate, chopped

Place chocolate into 2 separate bowls, 1 for dark and 1 for white. Slowly boil the cream in 2 separate pots. Pour 1 pot cream over the dark and 1 pot over the white and let chocolate melt. Whisk each until smooth.

To decorate: While the ganache is slightly warm, have fun with it. Maybe some of it will even end up on the cookies!

Snowflake Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Day 10

Click HERE for an instructional video by Miss Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• Edible Paint Icing, recipe follows
• Garnish: silver dragees, sugar pearls, sparkling sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extract until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until smooth. Wrap dough in heavy-duty plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with assorted snowflake cookie cutters and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Chill dough 15 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned. Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Paint cookies with Edible Paint Icing. Garnish with silver dragees, sugar pearls and sparkling sugar, if desired.

Edible Paint Icing:

• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 tablespoons meringue powder
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• Food coloring, optional

In a medium bowl, combine water and meringue powder; whisk until foamy. Whisk in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Add food coloring, if desired. Use immediately.

Candy Cane Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Day 9

Click HERE for a video

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  
• 3 drops red food coloring
• 3 drops green food coloring

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, add egg and lemon juice and continue to mix. Add dry mixture incrementally to wet mixture until fully incorporated.

Divide dough into 2 separate bowls; add 3 drops red food coloring to 1 bowl and 3 drops green food coloring to the other. Stir until colors are prevalent throughout.

Roll out both doughs on flour-dusted parchment paper to about 1/6-inch thick. Trim edges with a butter knife or pizza cutter to make a solid rectangle. Cut each color dough into 10 even strips, twist and wrap green dough with red dough and form candy cane shapes.

Place twisted dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart (they will spread) and bake for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Remove, cool and enjoy!

Chocolate Shortbread with White Chocolate Sauce

12 Days of Cookies - Day 8

Click HERE for the instructional video

Ingredients

Cookies:
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
2 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus a little extra for greasing the baking sheet
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

Sauce:
3/4 cup heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped or shaved into small pieces
1/2 cup sour cream, preferably at room temperature

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small metal bowl, combine the 2 types of chocolate and melt them gently over a pot of simmering water or a double boiler. Cool chocolate to room temperature.

Make the shortbread dough:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Blend until smooth and "creamed," 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in the cooled melted chocolate.
Sift the flour and add to the butter mixture and blend on low speed to incorporate the flour. Do not over mix . Remove the dough from the bowl and refrigerate for a few minutes to chill.

Make the chocolate sauce:
In a medium-sized pot, bring the cream to a gentle simmer. Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the white chocolate pieces. Allow the mixture to sit and cool for a minute. All of the white chocolate should easily melt into the cream. Whisk in the sour cream and taste for seasoning. Cook's Note: Sour cream is temperamental when heated, so take care that your mixture never gets overly hot. If so, cool a little before incorporating. Set aside at room temperature.

Press the shortbread dough evenly into a 9 by 13 by 1-inch greased non-stick baking pan. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the dough is fairly firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow the shortbread to cool for about 10 minutes. Cut into 12 rectangles, 4 by 2 inches, and then cut diagonally across rectangles to form 24 long triangles for good dipping.

Arrange shortbread wedges on a tray with the white chocolate sauce in a bowl for dipping.

Cherry Berry Bars

12 Days of Christmas - Day 7

Click HERE to watch a video tutorial

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 lemon, zested
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup assorted frozen cherries, thawed, drained well, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup mixed berry preserves
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In large bowl with an electric mixer, mix butter until fluffy. Add half the flour, then add in order: brown sugar, lemon zest, juice and egg. To remaining flour add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves. Combine both mixtures until just incorporated. Fold in cherries and pour into an ungreased 8 by 8-inch baking pan. Using a spoon, equally dollop preserves on top of batter and using a toothpick or skewer, drag the tip through the preserves to create a swirl pattern on top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; cake will be moist to the touch. Once cooled, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar to serve.

Chocolate Covered Snow Peaks

12 Days of Cookies - Day 6

Click HERE to watch Tyler Florence's video on these cookies

Ingredients
4 large egg whites at room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons superfine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 225 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites on low-medium speed with the whisk attachment until the whites become foamy. Add the cream of tartar and turn speed up to medium, beating until just fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, so it incorporates into the whites slowly without collapsing them. Once all the sugar has been added, add the vanilla and increase the speed to high, whisking until the meringue is firm and glossy, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Place meringue mixture into a piping bag with a medium-sized nozzle attached. Pipe 24 bite-sized "kiss"-shaped meringues onto the trays and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour undisturbed then turn off heat and leave in the oven overnight to really dry out.

Melt chocolate over a double-boiler or in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds. Holding each meringue by the peak dip the bases in chocolate so the bottom half of the meringue is coated. Let any excess chocolate drop off before placing on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Allow to set at room temperature - do not put in the fridge. Once set, store in an airtight container.

Hazelnut Tea Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Day 5

Click HERE to watch Aida Mollenkamp's instructional video

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt

2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, plus additional for coating
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped

Directions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F and arrange racks in upper and lower third.

Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until aerated and evenly combined; set aside.

Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add sugar and vanilla and continue to mix until whipped and light, about 2 more minutes.

Add half of the nuts and mix until evenly incorporated and nuts are broken up, about 1 minute.

Add flour and mix until well combined, about 1 minute. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in remaining nuts.

Shape dough into 1 tablespoon balls and place on baking sheets, spaced at least 1 inch apart.

Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until underside of cookies are brown, about 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes on baking sheets.

Meanwhile, place some powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Once the cookies have cooled, roll them in the powdered sugar until just coated and tap off excess. Let cool completely and recoat in powdered sugar, tapping off excess sugar, before serving.

Giada's Peppermint-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Day 4

Click HERE to watch the lovely Giada show you how to make these!

Ingredients

• 1 (16.5 ounce) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Decorating suggestion: crushed candy canes or peppermint candies; white, red and green sprinkles; or red and green decorating sugar
• Special equipment: a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, and a 1/2-ounce cookie scoop

Directions

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, knead together the cookie dough and 1/4 cup flour until smooth. Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough. Knead together any scraps of dough and roll out again. Continue to cut out pastry circles until there are 24 pieces in total. Place the dough circles on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Reserve 1 parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Combine 1 cup of chocolate chips and the cream in a small bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the peppermint extract and refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour. Using a 1/2-ounce cookie scoop or a tablespoon measure, place the chocolate mixture in the center of the flat side of 12 of the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top and gently squeeze to distribute the filling evenly. Place on a baking sheet and freeze until the filling has set, about 25 minutes.

Combine the remaining chocolate chips and the vegetable oil in a small bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Dip the top of each cookie in the melted chocolate and return to the baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with crushed candy canes or peppermint candies. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight plastic container.

Gingerbread Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Day 3

Click HERE for a video tutorial on these cookies!

Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
• 6 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1 tablespoon ginger
• Pinch of salt
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, baking powder, spices and salt together in a large bowl, and set aside.

In a small saucepan combine the butter, honey, sugar, lemon juice and the lemon and orange zest. Bring this to medium heat and cook until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Let cool to about room temperature and beat in the eggs.

Make a well in the flour/spice mixture and add the egg/sugar mixture to the well. Using a fork, begin to gradually incorporate the flour into the egg mixture. When the flour has mostly been incorporated, turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and gently knead until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous. Knead in a little more flour if the dough seems sticky. Chill dough for 1 hour or overnight.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to an even thickness of about 1/4-inch. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cookies are firm and lightly browned. Let the cookies cool for 3 to 4 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

When the cookies are completely cool decorate, as desired.

Cook's Note: If you are planning to hang the cookies, make a hole for the string before baking.

Pistachio Linzertortes

12 Days of Cookies - Day 2



Click HERE for an instructional video by Paula Dean

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 cups ground roasted and salted pistachios
• Cherry jam
  

Directions

In a large bowl, beat butter and confectioners' sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in egg yolks until combined.

In a small bowl, combine flour, nutmeg and cardamom. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until combined. Beat in ground pistachios. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with a 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter. Cut out centers of half the cookies with a 1/2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter. Place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets, and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on pan for 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Spread cherry jam evenly over flat sides of uncut cookies. Top with flat sides of cutout cookies. Return to baking sheets, and bake for 2 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight containers.

Paradise Macaroons

It's December 1st and that means that it's time for our annual 12 Days of Cookies! This year the cookie recipes (care of The Food Network) all seem to have accompanying videos, which is great. They're only a few minutes long and will give you a quick tutorial.

Paradise Macaroons Video

Ingredients

• 2 (7 to 8-ounce) packages sweetened shredded coconut
• 2 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites at room temperature
• 5 ounces granulated sugar
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 ounce vegetable shortening
• 2 ounces finely chopped dry-roasted macadamia nuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the coconut with the sweetened condensed milk, salt and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to whip the whites until medium peaks form, 6 to 7 minutes.

Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Scoop tablespoon-sized mounds onto a parchment-lined half sheet pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately transfer the parchment with the macaroons to a cooling rack. Cool completely before topping.

Fill a 4-quart pot with enough water to come 2 inches up the side, set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Combine the chocolate chips and shortening in a small metal or glass mixing bowl and set over the simmering pot. Stir occasionally until melted, then remove from the heat.

Dip the cooled cookies in the chocolate mixture, sprinkle with the chopped macadamia nuts and place on parchment paper to set, about 30 minutes.

Photo Catch-Up

The snow storm hit, but not with nearly enough ferocity to keep me out of work. Such a shame too, because I really could have used an extra day to prepare for my family’s arrival on Saturday. B and I spent yesterday alternating between cooking and cleaning. And since I can’t go without blog photos for 3 weeks until I get the camera back, I’ve resorted to low res cell phone pictures. The first is of the Gingerbread House (note the marshmallow smoke!).

This is one of the several little banana bread loafs (with mini chocolate chips, of course) I made for my co-workers. The cute little ceramic pans were $1 at AC Moore. Thanks to my mom for such a great idea.

And these are the Lusikkaleivat cookies from Day 10 of the 12 Days of Cookies. They make a lot since they are only as big as a tiny teaspoon. Also, they’re fairly labor intensive, even though all of the steps are easy – again, probably just because all of the steps have to be repeated so many times! Since they only last a few days due to the fresh jam, I’m going to take their suggestion and freeze the cookies for a week and then defrost and assemble in time for our visit to Sweet Nothings (we’re staying at her house, 10 minutes from the football stadium, the night before the game) and for the family. Let me know if anyone makes one of the other cookies from the 12 Days of Cookies!

Tofu Success!

B and I made Tofu Stir fry last night and it was really great! We've been wanting to incorporate a little more tofu into the rotation but really don't know how to cook with it. We tried grilled tofu last summer and that was no good at all. But my ex-roommate gave us some of her tofu stir fry a year and a half ago and it was awesome. So we tried it last night but it was a total shot in the dark because we had no recipe, never made stir fry before, hadn't just watched a Food Network show about it for inspiration, etc. We literally just hunted through cabinets and grabbed things that looked like they could be in the dish... at one point I looked at B laughing and said "I couldn't have any less of an idea what I'm doing!"

We made it in two parts - stir fry and sauce. Into the hot pan with olive oil went broccoli, onions, green onions, about 9 water chestnuts that we had in the freezer, the marinated tofu, crushed up cashews, and some pineapple. The sauce was coconut milk, natural peanut butter, yellow curry powder, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, and the pineapple juice from the pineapple can. Stir-stir-stir...combine...done! I seriously can't believe it tasted so good, it's officially in the food rotation now. At least we have one tofu dish we like!

Also yesterday was another private pilates session. And it occurred to me in the middle of it how mental of a workout it is. Just about every exercise they have you do can be accomplished easily if you're using the wrong muscles (using your hamstrings to lift your legs instead of your obliques, etc), but the whole point is to do your movements with your proper muscles. It's also interesting for my hypermobility problem. Because of my increased flexibility, there are a lot of movements I can do by relying on the flexibility of my spine, but the whole point is to find the tiny spinal muscles deep under your abdominals and use those. All very interesting... They say that "you'll feel different after 10 sessions and you'll look different after 30" so I still have a ways to go (I'm at 4!).

I'll leave you with the "Bonus Cookie" from the 12 Days of Cookies...

Coconut Peanut Marias

Versions of these cookies — named for a Grand Duchess of Russia after her wedding — are popular all over the world, but especially so throughout Spain as well as South and Central America. Packaged versions tend to be more biscuit-like; ours is nutty and textured: easy, kid-friendly, delicious and perfect for the holidays or any other time.

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup flaked or shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup chopped unsalted roasted, skinless peanuts

Position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (If you only have 1 baking sheet, let it cool completely between batches.) Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
Melt the butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the brown sugar with a wooden spoon. (The sugar will get soft and saucy, but there may still be a layer of butter on top; don't worry, the mixture comes together as you add the rest of the ingredients.) Stir in the egg, then the flour mixture, taking care not to overmix. Stir in the coconut, oats and nuts to make a textured cookie dough. Set aside until it gets to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
Using a tablespoon-sized ice cream scoop (#60), scoop balls of the dough onto the prepared pans, arranging them about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are golden brown with toasted edges, about 12 minutes.
Cool cookies in the pans for a couple minutes. Then transfer with a spatula to racks to cool. Serve.
Busy baker's tips: You can store unshaped dough for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Store the cookies in airtight containers for up to a week. Freeze for 1 month for longer storage.

12 Days of Cookies - Day 12

Pistachio Melbas

This biscotti-like cookie is derived from the Eastern European/Jewish cookie Mandelbrot. Australians adopted it, and renamed it Mandel-Melba, due to its textural similarity with the Australian favorite Melba toast (named, of course, for the opera singer Dame Melba). We've used pistachios here, with lemon and orange zests to brighten the flavor. They're not super-sweet; they're more of a cookie to have with your tea or coffee. The key to this is to slice it super-thin so it crumbles in the mouth.

• Unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup sugar
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons (about 1 tablespoon, packed)
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange (about 2 teaspoons, packed)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole raw peeled pistachios

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Brush a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust it with flour.

Whisk the flour and salt together in a bowl.

In another medium bowl, rub the citrus zests into the sugar with your fingers until the sugar is fragrant and takes on a bit of the fruit color. Beat the eggs into the sugar with a wooden spoon until blended. Stir in the flour mixture to make a smooth, sticky but pourable batter. Stir in the pistachios. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the surface lightly with a spatula.

Bake until the loaf is lightly browned and pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 40 to 45 minutes. A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean, and the loaf will look like a not so great pound cake. Let stand for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a rack for 1 hour.

Wrap the loaf in plastic and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Slice the chilled loaf as thin as you can — 6 to 8 slices to the inch. (It helps to mark the loaf lightly with a serrated knife every half-inch and use that as a guide.) Lay the slices flat on 2 baking sheets and bake until brown, 10 to 15 minutes. (Take care — the cookies can go from pale to dark brown quickly.)

Let stand overnight or for at least 12 hours on a rack to cool and crisp up. Serve. Store in a well-sealed jar or other container.

Busy baker's tips: The loaf can be stored well-wrapped at room temperature for a week, or frozen for a month. The melbas are best stored in an airtight container, away from moist cookies and cakes. Freeze slices double-wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 1 month. Defrost in their wrappers.

12 Days of Cookies - Day 11

Mazurkas

We tasted cookies from all over Eastern Europe, and these bars really stood out — they were beautiful, satisfying, sweet and colorful, and the dried fruit really sings Christmas. They're usually made on Christmas Eve, but their portability would make them great for bake sales or cookie swaps.
Cookie:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, soft, but still cool
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Fruit:

• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, quartered
• 1/2 cup dried dates, quartered
• 1/4 cup dried cherries, each halved
• 1/4 cup dark or golden raisins
• 3 tablespoons candied orange peel, diced
• 1/2 cup raw peeled pistachios
• Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with butter or nonstick spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

For the cookie: Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl, with an electric mixer, at medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat well, and then scrape down the sides.

While mixing on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 batches. Scrape down the bowl between each addition, and mix until just blended.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake until light golden brown with spots of darker golden brown and darker edges, about 30 minutes. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the fruit: Whisk the cornstarch and sugar together in a small saucepan. Whisk in orange juice until mixture dissolves. Stir in the fruits and candied orange peel. Bring to a simmer over medium, stirring often; continue to cook, stirring until thickened into a compote, about 3 minutes more. You should be able to draw the spoon along the bottom of pan and see the pan with no liquid seeping back. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Stir in the nuts and lemon zest.

Spread fruit evenly over the top of the cooled crust.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake mazurkas until golden brown around edges and fruit sets but is still slightly glossy and jewel-like, about 10 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.

Cut, using an oiled knife, into 24 bars. Serve.

Busy baker's tips: When double-wrapped, the cookie base keeps at room temperature for 3 days or frozen for 1 month. The fruit compote can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated. Store completed cookies in an airtight container, layers separated with parchment paper, for up to 5 days.

12 Days of Cookies - Day 10

Spoon Cookies: Lusikkaleivat

Scandinavia is known for all kinds of cookies, mostly flavored with anise or lemon. The flavor we found most compelling in cookies from all over Scandinavia, however, was brown butter — it's nutty, rich and delicious, and pairs perfectly with a tart fruit jam. These cookies get their elegant shape from the teaspoons used to form them.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch fine salt
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup jam, such as a berry, plum or cloudberry
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Melt the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter browns lightly and smells slightly nutty, about 15 minutes. Transfer the butter to a medium bowl -- be sure to get all the tasty brown bits -- and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another medium bowl.

Whisk the egg yolk, sugar and vanilla into the cooled browned butter.

Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture to make a uniform but crumbly dough that looks like wet sand.

Scoop out dough with a small teaspoon (the kind you set the table with, not the ones you measure with). Rock spoon gently back and forth against the side of the bowl, packing the dough into the spoon, then scrape/slide the spoon against the inside of the bowl to make spoon-shaped cookies. Trim excess dough with your fingers and slide out onto the prepared pans, preserving their shape. (Try to make sure you form an even number of cookies, since these sandwich together.)

Bake cookies until just browned, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool almost completely on the baking sheets, and then transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

When cool, spread 1/2 teaspoon jam on the flat side of a cookie, and then sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat until all cookies have met their match. Lightly dust the cookies with the confectioners' sugar. Serve.

Busy baker's tips: The dough can be prepared several hours ahead and stored at room temperature. Freeze baked cookie halves wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil for up to 2 weeks. When ready to serve, defrost at room temperature and assemble as desired. Store sandwiches in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Do not store with crisp cookies, as moisture from the jam will soften the texture of other crisp cookies.

Saturday Alone... And 12 Days of Cookies - Day 9

B has taken off to Philadelphia for a beer pong tournament - yes, you read that right - so it's just me and the kitties this weekend. B's friends from college have lots of time and money on their hands and therefore do things in very grand style. Visit ponggods.com if you'd like to entertain yourself with the crazy details of this little tournament. There was a block of hotel rooms, a shuttle, ranked seatings, brackets of play, very specific rules, a registration fee, etc. They're ridiculous. Oh, and if you're dying to know what "uniform" (AKA: matching t-shirts) B and his best friend S will be wearing, feast your eyes on this:

Handsome, huh? It's a wonder my eye doesn't wander more.

I haven't received the latest cookie email, but if I do, I'll post it. Otherwise I'll just be here working on wedding stuff.

Movie Trivia - I'm sitting here watching What About Bob and realized that the daughter is Kathryn Erbe of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Oh my gosh!!! Did you all know that?? I know there are some movie buffs who read this, so I was just wondering.

Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bar

There are a number of stories as to where this cookie came from. It's thought to be native to Nanaimo, British Columbia (hence the name), and it gained widespread popularity in the 1950s. Whatever its origins, we loved it. We added the twist of peanut butter to make a simple, delicious, no-bake bar cookie that's super kid-friendly and freezes well.

Cookie:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup finely chopped blanched almonds

Peanut Butter Filling:

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Chocolate Glaze:

• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan or casserole with aluminum foil, with long flaps hanging over each edge.

For the cookie: Put the butter in a heatproof medium bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer over medium-low heat. Set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Once the butter is melted, add the sugar and cocoa, and stir to combine. Add the egg and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until warm to the touch and slightly thickened (it should be about the consistency of hot fudge), about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in graham crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press the dough firmly into the prepared pan. (Save the pan of water for melting the chocolate.)

For the filling: Beat the butter, peanut butter and confectioners' sugar together in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light. Spread over the cookie and freeze while you prepare the chocolate glaze.

For the glaze: Put the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl, and set over the barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. (Alternatively, put the chocolate and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue to heat until completely melted, about 1 minute more.). When cool but still runny, pour the chocolate layer over the chilled peanut butter layer and carefully smooth out with an offset spatula. Freeze 30 minutes.

To serve, remove from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Pull out of the pan using the foil flaps and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Busy baker's tips: Finished bars can be wrapped in the pan in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and frozen for up to 1 month.

12 Days of Cookies - Day 8

Had another pilates session today. It's interesting to see how the sessions progress - today's movements (all done on the Reformer machine) seemed very close to ballet and dance moves. I don't feel any soreness now, but we'll see how I feel tomorrow. And now for Day 8!

Chocolate Oat Cakes

These are our take on the classic British digestive biscuit. We added chocolate to highlight the richness of the oats, and hazelnuts for texture and crunch. We love that they aren't too sweet, making them the perfect match for afternoon tea. Baking them in muffin tins gives them a gorgeous tea-cake shape, but they're also delicious as drop cookies.

• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup rolled old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 mini muffin tins with mini muffin liners, or set out 20 mini muffin liners on a baking sheet. Lightly spray liners with nonstick spray and sprinkle the hazelnuts into the bottom of each muffin liner. Whisk the flour, cocoa, wheat germ, oats, spices and salt together in a medium bowl.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar in another bowl until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and beat together. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Scoop a tablespoon of dough (about 3/4 ounce) into the mini muffin tins or liners, on top of the nuts. (Alternatively, drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and top with chopped nuts.) Bake until the cookies are cooked through and nuts are toasty, about 15 minutes (drop cookies will bake slightly faster). Transfer cookies to a rack to cool. Serve.
Busy baker's tips: Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Freeze formed dough in cups for up to 1 week. Baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 2 weeks.

12 Days of Cookies - Day 7

I'm very sleepy, so this will be quick. I was up until midnight (midnight!!!) with my good friend D. from high school. He brought the movie he made one summer in college that he finally finished editing. A good part of the movie was filmed at my house, but that was the summer that Feather Nester and I lived in Virginia so we weren't around for any of it except a brief cameo at the end. I have to say, the movie was very good! Funny, well shot, well edited, etc. His DVD burner broke or else I would have received a copy.

It was also really nice to just sit around with some wine and catch up. I don't talk to too many people from high school and it was really nice to chat with someone from the past who you have nice memories of.

Other than that I had my first "real" private pilates session yesterday - the first one was spent mostly on postural analysis. Again, I have to say "wow!" It's so interesting how specific the movements are and how much the proper technique can make all the difference. With one small adjustment an exercise would go from simple to challenging. Another interesting thing is that it didn't really feel like I was working out and yet I'm so sore today! Tomorrow is another session. Here are your cookies, though they don't seem very cookie-like to me.

Sesame Rings

These Sephardic Jewish cookies are usually served at Shabbat (Sabbath) dinners and on holidays. We loved the savory sesame flavor so much that we added tahini to the dough to help showcase it. They store well, so they're excellent cookies to keep around in case of unexpected guests.

• 4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 large whole eggs, at room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Sesame Glaze:

• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup hulled raw sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment, or coat them with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.
Beat the eggs and yolks with the sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the tahini, oil and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture until combined to make a soft dough. Cover the dough and set aside for 5 minutes before forming into rings.
Pinch off a walnut-sized piece of dough and roll it into a rope that is about 5 inches long and 3/8-inch thick. (Dust your hands and the parchment lightly with flour if the dough is sticky.) Pinch the ends of the rope together to form a ring. Repeat until all the dough has been formed into rings.
To glaze the cookies: Put the sesame seeds on a small plate. Whisk the egg white and honey together, and then brush each ring with the mixture. Then immediately dip the ring into the sesame seeds. Place the rings seeds side up, on the prepared baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.
Bake rings until lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Serve.
Busy baker's tips: These cookies keep for a couple weeks stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They can also be double-wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to a month.