We definitely made these cookies in December. You’re probably thing to yourself, ‘Self, it’s February. Are they really just now putting these cookies up on their blog?’ Well, we can’t deny just how delayed this post may be. Honestly, there’s no excuse for it. We’re sure that many of you understand how your cooking/writing ration can occasionally be very uneven. Between the two of us cooking on our own and cooking together, it gets a bit crazy, and we have to play catch up. Maybe you’ll remember that we did share the molasses pepper cookies that were on the same table with these bad boys. Well now, we’re showing you a couple more cookies that we shared with our friends. Although we actually made them several weeks ago, they could easily be made and eaten year-round.
Our original cookie exchange involved a table full of favorites and quick and easy varieties. Here, you see one of each kind. We love making our own spreads, so the linzers were a no-brainer. With a mix of strawberry and raspberry fillings, they were totally worth the effort. As for the Oreos…well, come on. You can’t get much easier than melting chocolate and dipping a cookie into it. You could tweak those to fit any taste. Use a dark chocolate and top with toffee or try milk chocolate sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt. Like we said, these were cookies made for the holidays, but you could eat them anytime you want.
Strawberry and Raspberry Wine Linzer Cookies (adapted from Joy of Baking) – Approximately 2 dozen cookies
Cookies
1 1/4 cups almonds and pistachios, toasted and ground
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon
Powdered sugar
Strawberry Wine Jam
1 pint strawberries, chopped
1 1/2 cups red wine
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
Raspberry Wine Jam
1 pint raspberries, whole
1 1/2 cups red wine
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1. Make the jams. Drop strawberries, wine and 1/2 cup sugar in a wide sauce pan. Allow to cook down and thicken, approximately 15-20 minutes. Mash strawberries occasionally as you stir. Dip your finger in and taste as you stir, adding a bit more sugar if it’s not sweet enough.
2. Carefully pour strawberry mixture into a food processor or blender. Zap until smooth. Set a small bowl down and pour liquid mixture through a sieve to eliminate any potential seeds. Mixture may be thick, so use a spoon or a flat utensil to scrape underside of sieve. Allow to cool and place in fridge until ready to use. For raspberry jam, follow directions similarly as above in a separate pan and allow to cool.
3. For cookies, toast the nuts on a baking sheet for about 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Once the nuts have cooled, place in a food processor and process with 1/4 cup of the sugar from the recipe until finely ground. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
5. In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, egg yolks, and zest. Add the ground nuts, then the flour mixture beating just until incorporated.
6. Divide the dough in half and shape into two logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
7. When ready to bake, roll out one log of dough to 1/4″ thick. Use a 3″ cookie cutter to cut shapes out of the dough. Use a smaller cookie cutter approximately 1″ in size to cut out the ‘window’ for half of the cookie shapes.
8. Remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator, roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until browned. Cool on a wire rack.
9. To assemble, layer a bit of jam on the flat side of a solid cookie and top with a ‘windowed’ cookie. Dust with powdered sugar.
Peppermint White Chocolate Oreo Cookies – 2 1/2 dozen
1 package Oreo Cookies
12 ounces white chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup peppermint candy or candy cane pieces
1. Melt white chocolate (and butter, if using) over a bain-marie. Stir in extract. Transfer to a cup with a pour spout.
2. Arrange Oreos on wax or parchment paper on a flat baking sheet or pan.
3. Gently pour chocolate mixture over each cookie, covering it completely.
4. Sprinkle tops with candy pieces. Let refrigerate for at least 90 minutes before serving.
Click HERE for the printable recipes.
No comments:
Post a Comment