Good cooks know their strengths, which is why I thought Julia Moskin would understand she had no business making Christmas cookies. Christmas cookies are the pop-culture expression of the biggest Christian holiday in America. A good cookie plate is built on a delicate mix of tradition, community and deliciousness. There must be the cookie for Santa, the cookie you grew up eating and the extra special ones to give as gifts. Cookie plates can also be competitive, a point no one who has been to a Christmas cookie exchange party would dispute.My dear friend and cooking competitor knows not of the Christmas cookie. She was raised Jewish in New York City. I was raised a Roman Catholic in the South and Midwest.
Sure, she may have eaten a few Christmas cookies at the office, or at least one of those Star of David sugar cookies with blue icing that Christians make this time of year as a kind of peace-talky gesture. That does not a Christmas cookie expert make.Still, she wanted to rumble. Fine, Moskin. I pity the fool. I like a Christmas cookie plate that says this a house filled with holiday cheer, where guests are welcomed and good neighbors are celebrated. So, after consulting some of the best holiday cookie bakers I know, I made my plan.
For my three cookies, I went with a balance of simple and special, traditional and modern.
The delicate linzer tree screams Christmas but in a delicious and sophisticated way. The dough, made with ground roasted almonds, is at once buttery and toasty.Each tree has two thin cookies pressed together, the top cookie punched with holes so that jewel-colored jam will ooze up and evoke Christmas ornaments. They came from Allison Dykes, a friend and neighbor who spent an afternoon teaching me the precise technique. They are the cookies you give only to your closest friends and favorite neighbors. I grew up with fudge on my family plate, so I also wanted something chocolate but more complex. My chewy chocolate snowcaps, rich with cocoa and chopped chocolate and studded with roasted pecans, hit that mark. They get a dip in crushed sugar cubes right before baking so they come out of the oven looking like glossy little chocolate mountaintops.The best part? They are gluten-free without screaming gluten-free. This was my ace in the hole. Last, I went deep into my family's own tradition. I grew up standing at the stove with my mother's pizzelle iron, turning out the delicate, subtle waffle-like wafers that we would store in coffee cans until it was time to refresh the cookie plate.Anise-scented pizzelles offer a palate break from all that sugar and butter and go nicely with tea. They were the perfect cookie to round out my trifecta of awesomeness. As a child of an Italian mother, making pizzelle was a rite of passage, a handing down of history and a symbol of love and holiday like no other. Who could argue with tradition like that? Not even Moskin.Linzer Trees
Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus chilling time1 1/4 cup unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks), softened
2/3 cup/145 grams sugar
2 1/3 cups/308 grams cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup/70 grams finely ground, roasted almonds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup/8 ounces good-quality raspberry jam, preferably seedless
Powdered sugar for dusting1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment or silicone baking mats.2. In a bowl or stand mixer, mix butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, cinnamon and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients, a half-cup at a time, to butter mixture.3. Divide dough into three balls. Place each ball between parchment paper (nonstick works best) and roll into a thin circle, about 11 inches in diameter and just over 1/8-inch thick. Refrigerate flat for at least 15 minutes.4. Working quickly with one sheet of dough, remove top layer of parchment, then flip onto a clean sheet and remove the bottom layer. Using a tree-shaped cookie cutter, cut 30 shapes for the bottoms of the cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Reserve scraps to reuse for more cookies.5. Bake cookie bottoms for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown. Rest for a couple of minutes on the tray, then carefully transfer to a cooking rack. Repeat the process to create the tops, using a pastry tip or a straw to cut out five to seven holes on the trees to resemble ornaments. Open any holes that close during baking.6. Meanwhile, melt jam with 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar and boil lightly for about a minute. Cool slightly. Assemble cookies by flipping the bottoms, spreading them with a scant teaspoon of jam, dusting the tops lightly with powdered sugar and then gently pressing the tops onto the bottoms. Store airtight between layers of wax paper or parchment for 3 days. Freeze for up to a month.Yield: About 30 cookiesChewy Chocolate Snowcaps
Time: 45 minutes3 cups/300 grams confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup/90 grams dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon/6 grams kosher salt
5 ounces/135 grams 72 percent chocolate, preferably with nibs, chopped
1 1/2 cups/135 grams chopped, toasted pecans
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup/100 grams sugar cubes, crushed, for the tops1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together sugar, cocoa and salt. Stir in chocolate and pecans. Add egg whites and stir just until incorporated. (Do not overmix.) You can use a stand mixer on low or a sturdy spoon and a large bowl.2. Crush sugar cubes and place in a shallow bowl. Using a small ice cream scoop or a melon baller, spoon up dough to create a scoop about the size of a golf ball. Lightly dip the top of the cookie into the sugar and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.3. Bake until cookie tops are dry and crackled, about 12 to 15 minutes. Rotate sheets if using more than one at a time. The cookies should be dry and crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside and capped with a nice sprinkling of chunky sugar.4. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely. Can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.
Yield: 24 cookiesAunt Phillomena's Pizzelle
Time: 1 hour1 3/4 cups/210 grams flour, plus a little more if batter is too thin
2 teaspoons/15 grams baking powder
1/2 teaspoon/6 grams salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup/150 grams sugar
1/4 pound/113 grams butter, melted
1 teaspoon/5 milliliters vanilla
1/2 teaspoon/2.5 milliliters anise extract1. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat eggs and sugar until blended and slightly fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly add cooled, melted butter, vanilla and anise and mix until incorporated well. Mix in dry ingredients a cup or so at a time, until batter is smooth but thick.2. Using two spoons, one to scoop up the batter and the other to ease it onto the iron, drop batter onto the center of a well-heated pizzelle maker. For smaller, 3-inch pizzelles, use a generous teaspoon of batter. For the 5-inch, use about a tablespoon.3. Cook for 30 to 40 seconds, or until just lightly brown. Gently remove to a rack or plate to cool.Yield: About 4 dozen© 2014 New York Times News Service
Sure, she may have eaten a few Christmas cookies at the office, or at least one of those Star of David sugar cookies with blue icing that Christians make this time of year as a kind of peace-talky gesture. That does not a Christmas cookie expert make.Still, she wanted to rumble. Fine, Moskin. I pity the fool. I like a Christmas cookie plate that says this a house filled with holiday cheer, where guests are welcomed and good neighbors are celebrated. So, after consulting some of the best holiday cookie bakers I know, I made my plan.
For my three cookies, I went with a balance of simple and special, traditional and modern.
The delicate linzer tree screams Christmas but in a delicious and sophisticated way. The dough, made with ground roasted almonds, is at once buttery and toasty.Each tree has two thin cookies pressed together, the top cookie punched with holes so that jewel-colored jam will ooze up and evoke Christmas ornaments. They came from Allison Dykes, a friend and neighbor who spent an afternoon teaching me the precise technique. They are the cookies you give only to your closest friends and favorite neighbors. I grew up with fudge on my family plate, so I also wanted something chocolate but more complex. My chewy chocolate snowcaps, rich with cocoa and chopped chocolate and studded with roasted pecans, hit that mark. They get a dip in crushed sugar cubes right before baking so they come out of the oven looking like glossy little chocolate mountaintops.The best part? They are gluten-free without screaming gluten-free. This was my ace in the hole. Last, I went deep into my family's own tradition. I grew up standing at the stove with my mother's pizzelle iron, turning out the delicate, subtle waffle-like wafers that we would store in coffee cans until it was time to refresh the cookie plate.Anise-scented pizzelles offer a palate break from all that sugar and butter and go nicely with tea. They were the perfect cookie to round out my trifecta of awesomeness. As a child of an Italian mother, making pizzelle was a rite of passage, a handing down of history and a symbol of love and holiday like no other. Who could argue with tradition like that? Not even Moskin.Linzer Trees
Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus chilling time1 1/4 cup unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks), softened
2/3 cup/145 grams sugar
2 1/3 cups/308 grams cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup/70 grams finely ground, roasted almonds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup/8 ounces good-quality raspberry jam, preferably seedless
Powdered sugar for dusting1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment or silicone baking mats.2. In a bowl or stand mixer, mix butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, cinnamon and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients, a half-cup at a time, to butter mixture.3. Divide dough into three balls. Place each ball between parchment paper (nonstick works best) and roll into a thin circle, about 11 inches in diameter and just over 1/8-inch thick. Refrigerate flat for at least 15 minutes.4. Working quickly with one sheet of dough, remove top layer of parchment, then flip onto a clean sheet and remove the bottom layer. Using a tree-shaped cookie cutter, cut 30 shapes for the bottoms of the cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Reserve scraps to reuse for more cookies.5. Bake cookie bottoms for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown. Rest for a couple of minutes on the tray, then carefully transfer to a cooking rack. Repeat the process to create the tops, using a pastry tip or a straw to cut out five to seven holes on the trees to resemble ornaments. Open any holes that close during baking.6. Meanwhile, melt jam with 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar and boil lightly for about a minute. Cool slightly. Assemble cookies by flipping the bottoms, spreading them with a scant teaspoon of jam, dusting the tops lightly with powdered sugar and then gently pressing the tops onto the bottoms. Store airtight between layers of wax paper or parchment for 3 days. Freeze for up to a month.Yield: About 30 cookiesChewy Chocolate Snowcaps
Time: 45 minutes3 cups/300 grams confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup/90 grams dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon/6 grams kosher salt
5 ounces/135 grams 72 percent chocolate, preferably with nibs, chopped
1 1/2 cups/135 grams chopped, toasted pecans
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup/100 grams sugar cubes, crushed, for the tops1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together sugar, cocoa and salt. Stir in chocolate and pecans. Add egg whites and stir just until incorporated. (Do not overmix.) You can use a stand mixer on low or a sturdy spoon and a large bowl.2. Crush sugar cubes and place in a shallow bowl. Using a small ice cream scoop or a melon baller, spoon up dough to create a scoop about the size of a golf ball. Lightly dip the top of the cookie into the sugar and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.3. Bake until cookie tops are dry and crackled, about 12 to 15 minutes. Rotate sheets if using more than one at a time. The cookies should be dry and crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside and capped with a nice sprinkling of chunky sugar.4. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely. Can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.
Yield: 24 cookiesAunt Phillomena's Pizzelle
Time: 1 hour1 3/4 cups/210 grams flour, plus a little more if batter is too thin
2 teaspoons/15 grams baking powder
1/2 teaspoon/6 grams salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup/150 grams sugar
1/4 pound/113 grams butter, melted
1 teaspoon/5 milliliters vanilla
1/2 teaspoon/2.5 milliliters anise extract1. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat eggs and sugar until blended and slightly fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly add cooled, melted butter, vanilla and anise and mix until incorporated well. Mix in dry ingredients a cup or so at a time, until batter is smooth but thick.2. Using two spoons, one to scoop up the batter and the other to ease it onto the iron, drop batter onto the center of a well-heated pizzelle maker. For smaller, 3-inch pizzelles, use a generous teaspoon of batter. For the 5-inch, use about a tablespoon.3. Cook for 30 to 40 seconds, or until just lightly brown. Gently remove to a rack or plate to cool.Yield: About 4 dozen© 2014 New York Times News Service
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