Cookies to make you drool

[FarmGirl]

All of the following recipes will use the "Basic Butter Cookies" recipe as a base.

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BASIC BUTTER COOKIES

These cookies are absolutely delicious made with regular butter, but they become downright amazing with Plugrá or Land O Lakes Ultra Creamy.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 5 hr (includes chilling)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Garnish: coarse or sanding sugar*; or melted chocolate (see cooks' note, below)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 6 with a handheld. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Form dough into a 12-inch log (2 inches in diameter) on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll up dough in plastic wrap. Chill dough on a baking sheet until firm, at least 4 hours. (To roll cookies into balls, see cooks' note, below.)

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.

Cut enough 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick slices from log with a heavy knife to fill 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging slices about 1 inch apart (chill remainder of log, wrapped in plastic wrap). If garnishing with coarse sugar, sprinkle slices with it.

Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes total. Cool on sheets 3 minutes, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough on cooled baking sheets.

Cooks' notes:
• Dough log can be chilled up to 5 days or frozen, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap, 1 month. If frozen, thaw dough in refrigerator just until it can be sliced.
• Instead of forming dough into a log and chilling, you can roll tablespoons of dough into 1 1/4-inch balls, then roll balls in finely chopped nuts (about 1 cup) and coarse sugar. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until bottoms are browned, about 15 minutes total.
• To garnish cookies with chocolate, melt 3 1/2 oz chocolate and cool slightly. Transfer to a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag and snip a 1/16-inch opening in 1 corner. Pipe chocolate evenly back and forth over cookies. Let chocolate set before storing cookies.
• Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

*Available at specialty foods shops and New York Cake & Baking Distributor (800-942-2639).

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[FarmGirl]

ALMOND SPICE COOKIES


Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 5 hr (includes chilling)

Ingredients for basic butter cookies
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 oz slivered almonds (1 cup)

Follow recipe for basic butter cookies and, when mixing in flour mixture, add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, then stir in almonds.

Form dough into a 12- by 2-inch rectangular log (1 1/2 inches thick) and wrap in wax paper before chilling.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[FarmGirl]

HOLIDAY CUTOUTS

The yield for these cutouts varies depending on the size and shape of the cookie cutters you use. We chose 4- to 5-inch cutters for the cookies on the cover, which makes the yield much smaller and increases the baking time by a few minutes.

Active time: 2 hr Start to finish: 4 hr (includes decorating)

Ingredients for basic butter cookies
Decorating icing (optional)
Food coloring in various colors (optional)

Special equipment: 1 1/2- to 2-inch holiday cookie cutters*; several small heavy-duty sealable plastic bags (not pleated)
Garnish: edible glitter and nonpareils (see cooks' note, below)

Follow recipe for basic butter cookies, forming dough into 2 balls (instead of a log) and flattening each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

While oven preheats, roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into a 9-inch round (slightly less than 1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, chill on a baking sheet until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart. If garnishing, sprinkle cookies with glitter or nonpareils.

Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes total, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely.

Gather scraps and chill until firm enough to reroll, 10 to 15 minutes. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once) and bake on cooled sheets.

If coloring icing, transfer 1/4 cup icing to a small bowl for each color and tint with food coloring (if using plain white icing, spoon into 1 bag). Spoon each color icing into a bag, pressing out excess air, and snip an 1/8-inch opening in 1 corner of each bag. Twist each bag firmly just above icing, then decoratively pipe icing onto cookies. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour, depending on humidity) before storing cookies.

Cooks' notes:
• Dough can be chilled up to 3 days.
• Cookies (with or without icing) keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.
• For this photograph and the cover, we thinned some icing for spreading, then covered the cookies with icing and sprinkled glitter onto the icing before it set. We also piped some decorative icing around edges and then sprinkled with nonpareils.
• The FDA objects to the consumption of any metallic colors (even those labeled "edible") in confectionery products because there is no evidence to support their safe use.

*Available at New York Cake & Baking Distributor (800-942-2539).

Makes 7 to 8 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[FarmGirl]

CHOCOLATE COOKIES


Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 5 1/4 hr

Ingredients for basic butter cookies
1/2 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10 1/2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), melted and cooled

Garnish: salted roasted pistachios, finely ground; Demerara sugar

Follow recipe for basic butter cookies, mixing in cocoa, baking soda, and melted chocolate after adding flour (dough will be stiff). Form dough into a 14-inch log (2 inches in diameter) on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll up dough. (Dough will be hard to slice and may crumble.)

If garnishing, roll edges of each slice first in pistachios and then in Demerara sugar.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[FarmGirl]

PINE NUT TASSIES


Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 3 hr (includes cooling)

For shells
Ingredients for basic butter cookies

For pine nut filling
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups pine nuts (1/2 lb)

Special equipment: 2 nonstick mini-muffin pans, each with 12 (1 3/4-inch) cups
Garnish: confectioners sugar

Make shells:
Follow recipe for basic butter cookies to make dough, then divide dough in half. Divide 1 half (keep remaining dough chilled, covered) into 24 pieces (about 1 1/2 teaspoons each) and form into 1-inch balls. Press each ball evenly onto bottom and up side of an ungreased mini-muffin cup to form a pastry shell (use a piece of plastic wrap to prevent dough from sticking to your fingers). Chill until ready to fill.

Make filling:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together brown sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, and salt until blended, then stir in pine nuts. Fill each pastry shell with about 2 teaspoons filling.

Bake tassies until filling is bubbling and pastry is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Run a sharp thin knife around edge of each pastry, then transfer pan (with cookies) to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Remove tassies from pans and transfer to rack to cool completely. Make more tassies with remaining dough and filling.

Cooks' note:
Tassies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[FarmGirl]

COCONUT COOKIES


Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 5 hr

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
Ingredients for basic butter cookies
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Garnish: sweetened flaked coconut and coarse sugar

Pulse coconut in a food processor until finely ground.

Follow recipe for basic butter cookies, mixing in coconut and almond extract after adding flour. (To roll cookies into balls, see cooks' note, below.)

If garnishing, sprinkle cookies with flaked coconut and coarse sugar before baking.

Cooks' note:
Instead of forming dough into a log and chilling, you can roll tablespoons of dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until bottoms are browned, about 15 minutes total.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[FarmGirl]

CARAMEL PECAN COOKIES


Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 4 hr (includes cooling)

For crust
Ingredients for basic butter cookies

For caramel pecan topping
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pecans (1/2 lb), toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped

Make crust:
Grease a 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan, then line with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both ends, and grease foil.

Follow recipe for basic butter cookies to make dough (do not chill), then press dough evenly onto bottom of baking pan, using plastic wrap on top to prevent dough from sticking to your fingers, and chill until firm, about 20 minutes.

While crust chills, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Bake crust until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 20 minutes. (Leave oven on.)

Make topping while crust cools:
Cook sugar in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted to a deep golden caramel. Tilt pan and carefully pour in cream (caramel will harden and steam vigorously). Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until caramel is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla, salt, and pecans.

Immediately spread topping over cooled crust and bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack, about 2 hours.

Run a heavy knife under hot water, then wipe dry and cut confection into 2-inch triangles, diamonds, or squares.

Cooks' note:
Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[FarmGirl]

PETITE LEMON CURD COOKIES


Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr (includes cooling)

For cookies
Ingredients for basic butter cookies
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar for dredging and dusting

For lemon curd
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks

Special equipment: a 1 1/4-inch round cookie cutter; a pastry bag fitted with small plain tip or a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag (not pleated)

Prepare cookie dough:
Follow recipe for basic butter cookies, forming dough into 2 balls (instead of a log) and flattening each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Make lemon curd:
Simmer lemon juice, zest, sugar, butter, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Lightly beat yolks in a small bowl, then add 1/4 cup lemon mixture, whisking. Add yolk mixture to remaining lemon mixture, then reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, then cover surface with plastic wrap and chill while rolling out dough.

Roll out dough:
While oven preheats, roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into a 9-inch round (slightly less than 1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, chill on a baking sheet until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible with cutter.

Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Dredge warm cookies in confectioners sugar until coated and transfer to a rack to cool completely. Make more cookies in same manner.

Transfer lemon curd to pastry bag or plastic bag (snip an 1/8-inch opening in a corner of plastic bag). Put 1 cookie upside down on work surface and pipe about 1/2 teaspoon lemon curd onto cookie, then top with another cookie, right side up, to form a sandwich. Make more sandwiches in same manner.

Just before serving, sift some remaining confectioners sugar over tops of sandwiched cookies.

Cooks' notes:
• Cookies (baked and coated with confectioners sugar but not filled with lemon curd) keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.
• Lemon curd (before filling cookies) can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Sandwiched cookies (without additional confectioners sugar) keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment in an airtight container, chilled, 4 days.

Makes 6 to 7 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[FarmGirl]

LEMON COOKIES


Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 5 hr (includes chilling)

Ingredients for basic butter cookies
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

Follow recipe for basic butter cookies, mixing in lemon juice and zest after adding flour.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[FarmGirl]

BROWNIE SQUARES


Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 3/4 hr (includes cooling)

For crust
Ingredients for basic butter cookies

For brownie filling
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
10 1/2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups walnuts (6 oz; optional), toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped

Make crust:
Grease a 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan, then line with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both ends, and grease foil.

Follow recipe for basic butter cookies to make dough (do not chill), then press dough evenly onto bottom of baking pan, using plastic wrap on top to prevent dough from sticking to your fingers, and chill until firm, about 20 minutes.

While crust chills, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool crust in pan on a rack 20 minutes. (Leave oven on.)

Make brownie filling while crust cools:
Melt butter and chocolate with brown sugar in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat, then whisk in eggs and vanilla until combined well. Whisk in flour, cocoa, and salt, then stir in walnuts (if using).

Spread brownie batter over cooled crust and bake until set, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

Run a heavy knife under hot water and wipe dry, then cut confection into 1-inch squares.

Cooks' note:
Squares keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Gourmet
December 2003

[HeavenLeigh]

oooohhhhhhhh Caramel Pecan :lick: Those sound de-lish!