Baking and Books discussion

I thought starting tomorrow I'd post one recipe a day for cookies! Anyone else can feel free to post something along with me as well.

Would you rather see them in one thread or in separate posts?

Daily cookie Dec 1

Here in the US there is a company called Pepperidge Farm that makes a cookie called an Orange Milano. These cookies are the homemade version of them.


Chocolate and Orange Wafers

from Real Snacks: Make Your Favorite Childhood Treats Without All the Junk

1/2 cup (60 grams) white whole-wheat flour or all purpose flour
1/2 cup (60 grams) white spelt flour or all purpose flour
1/2 cup (60 grams) ground millet or cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (110 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
2 large egg whits
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup (2 ounces) orange juice
1/4 cup (2 ounces) heavy cream
6 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, chopped
Zest from one orange

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F

Sift the white whole-wheat flour, white spelt flour, ground millet flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg whites and beat another minute until light. Stir in the vanilla and orange juice. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until incorporated.

Scoop the dough into a piping bag fitted with a medium plain tip (#806) and refrigerate for 5 minutes. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Pipe 1/2-by-2-inch ovals onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 1 inch between cookies (don't skimp on the room between cookies, as they will spread and rise as they bake).

Bake until lightly golden on the edges, about 8 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. Cool on a wire rack.

While the cookies are baking, make the filling. heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat just until smooth, then stir in the orange zest or peppermint oil.

Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the filling on the flat side of one cookie and then sandwich with the flat side of another. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

For gluten-free Chocolate and Orange Wafers, replace the white whole-wheat and white spelt flours with an equal amount of gluten-free all-purpose baking mix.

For vegan replace the butter with an equal amount of coconut oil; the egg whites with 1 teaspoon freshly ground chia or flaxseed mixed with 1/4 cup water; and the heavy cream with an equal amount of cooconut cream.

These cookies come from Fine Cooking Cookies: 200 Favorite Recipes for Cookies, Brownies, Bars & More

Double Chocolate Cookies

5 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 lb bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 lb. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into four pieces
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 oz (1 cup plus 2 TBs) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
3 oz. (3/4) cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Melt the unsweetened chocolate, 4 oz of the bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, and the butter in a small saucepan over low heat (or in a bowl in the microwave) and set aside to cool slightly.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the wish attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), whip the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until thick and light, about 10 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the melted chocolate mixture and the vanilla and mix until blended.

With a rubber spatula, fold in the flour, baking powder, and salt and scrape the bowl. Fold in the remaining chopped chocolate and the walnuts. Refrigerate the dough until it's firm enough to scoop, about 1 1/2 hours.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350F. Drop the chilled dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies are cracked on top and feel dry on the surface but still soft inside, about 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

December 3rd Cookie Recipe

Today's cookie is a Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie that I've made for my husband's boss a time or two. He has celiac disease and really misses cookies.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Enjoy!

December 4th Cookie Recipe



This Holiday season in the US is usually synonymous with Sugar Cookies. So today's recipe is the iconic sweet. This version is from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Classic Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups (219 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks or 170 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2 TBS cold vegetable shortening
2/3 cup (134 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, shortening, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until just combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

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

Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Unwrap the chilled dough, and put it directly on the work surface. Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. use your favorite cookie cutter to cut shapes in the dough, and transfer the cookies to prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, until they are set but not browned. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.

Ice as desired...

Note: I have used all butter in this recipe. The cookie is not as crisp as if you use some shortening per the recipe.

December 5th



Today's recipe is from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book

Cream Wafers

For the cookies:

1 cup (2 sticks or 227 grams) butter
1/3 cup (79 ml cream) whipping cream
2 cups (250 grams) flour
granulated sugar

Mix butter, cream and flour thoroughly. Chill 1 hor.

Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C. Roll dough 1/8 inch (about 1/3 centimeters) thick on a lightly floured board. Cut into 1 1/2 inch (about 3.8 centimeters) rounds. You can also cut into shapes as in the picture. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Prick in 4 places with a fork. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until slightly puffy. Put two cooled cookies together with filling.

Creamy Butter Filling

1/4 cup (57 grams) soft butter
3/4 cup (94 grams) sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Blend ingredients until creamy. Tint with red or green coloring if desired.

December 6th

Today's recipe comes from the Smitten Kitchen Blog. Author of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Gingersnaps

December 7th

Today's cookie come to us from One Girl Cookies: Recipes for Cakes, Cupcakes, Whoopie Pies, and Cookies from Brooklyn's Beloved Bakery

Lemon Shortbread with Fresh Rosemary

They're all so pretty :)

I apologize for missing a couple of days here. I had some issues that are better now. :)

December 8th



Today's cookie is from the Better Homes and Garden website

Chocolate-Mint Snow-Top Cookies

December 9th



Today's cookie is from the new book Better Homes & Gardens Very Merry Cookies

Now normally I wouldn't post a recipe that uses a cake mix. I would rather know exactly what ingredients are in my baked goods. But I know some people don't have time to do everything from scratch and I thought I'd use this opportunity to see if anyone had a German Chocolate Cake mix recipe. (Yes, I know what we Americans call German Chocolate cake isn't German.)

So if you do have a recipe... let me know!

Chewy Chocolate-Caramel Bars

ingredients
1 package 2-layer-size German chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 5 ounce can (2/3 cup) evaporated milk
1 14 ounce package vanilla caramels, unwrapped
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degreesF. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.

2. In large bowl, combine cake mix, melted butter and 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread half the dough in prepared baking pan; set aside remaining dough. In a heavy large saucepan combine caramels and remaining 1/3 cup evaporated milk. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Pour evenly over dough layer in pan. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate pieces. Crumble remaining dough evenly over nuts and chocolate pieces.

3. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 48 bars.

December 10th



Today's recipe is from Good Housekeeping The Great Christmas Cookie Swap Cookbook


Mexican Wedding Cookies

This site has a metric conversion button for those of you outside the US!

December 11th

Today's cookie comes from the The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook A James Beard Award Winner

Lace Cookies

December 12th



Today's recipe comes from The Art of the Cookie: Baking Up Inspiration by the Dozen

Peppermint Sticks

Makes about 24
Note: These delicate, rolled cookies can be filled with vanilla buttercream, too.

3/4 cup (94 grams) flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (127.5 grams) sugar
3 large egg whites
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Gel-paste food coloring in red and brown

1. Whisk together the flour and salt.

2. Using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add egg whites and peppermint; beat on low speed until completely incorporated. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture, beating until just incorporated.

3. Place 2 tablespoons of the dough into each of 4 small bowls. Color each a different shade of red, starting with pale pink and ending with dark burgundy. To make burgundy, use the tip of a toothpick to add a tiny bit of brown to deep red. Spoon the dough into 4 pastry bags, fitted with 1/8-inch round tips. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 325F (163C) degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. To form each cookie, use a small offset spatula to spread 2 teaspoons of the uncolored dough on the prepared sheets into a 3 1/2 by 4 1/2 -inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. Pipe a diagonal line of red dough over each rectangle from one corner to its opposite. Continue to pipe lines, spacing them 3/4-inch
apart, using different reds and varying the width of the lines.

5. Bake until the edges are firm to the touch, but have not turned golden, 15-17 minutes. Immediately use a metal spatula to remove each cookie and invert it onto a work surface. Roll the hot cookie around a chopstick, then remove the chopstick. Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely, about 15 minutes. If the cookies become too cool and fragile to roll, return them to the oven for 1 minute. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

December 13th



Since the cookies I've been posting are pretty American-centric I asked Seawood if she'd help me find some that were from the other side of the Atlantic. So the next few days I'll post some that are more European-influenced!

Here's a lovely one called Zimtsterne.

It's a German cinnamon biscuit. (For those of you who may not know, what we American's call Cookies are called Biscuits in Britian.)

December 14

Today's biscuit is another lovely one from Seawood

Vickis Bickies

December 15

Today's recipe comes from the blog Very Berry Handmade

Sultana and Oat Biscuits

December 16



Today's recipe comes from the book Sugar, Sugar: Every Recipe Has a Story

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 warm batch Kossuth Cake Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or use nonstick cooking spray). In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and baking soda until all lumps are dissolved. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.

Place the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until creamy. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg and vanilla. Add the melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Add half of the flour mixture and blend. Slowly incorporate the milk mixture. Add the second half of the flour mixture and blend until smooth.

Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between cookies. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cookies spring back when touched. Make the frosting while the cookies bake. Remove the cookies from the oven and cool for 1 minute.

Lift the edges of the parchment paper and transfer the entire sheet of cookies (still on the paper) to a wire rack. If you did not bake the cookies on parchment paper, place wax paper on the rack to keep the frosting from dripping all over, and transfer the cookies individually. While the cookies are still warm, drizzle a teaspoon of the chocolate frosting on each and use the back of a spoon to spread the icing around.

We like to keep some of the underlying cookie exposed because it is so unusual. Let cool until the frosting sets.

Kossuth Cake Chocolate Frosting:
2 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons hot water, or more as needed
2 egg yolks, beaten (one leftover from the dough recipe)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler (or in a metal bowl nestled in a saucepan of boiling water) over medium heat, stirring regularly. When the chocolate is melted,
stir in the sugar. Add the hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until smooth. Remove from the heat and gently mix in the egg yolks, vanilla, and salt, stirring after each addition. Blend with a handheld electric mixer on low speed (or by hand) for 1 minute, or until the frosting is smooth. If the frosting is too thick to pour, add more hot water, a little at a time, to achieve a consistency
that allows for drizzling.

December 17



Today's cookie is from the book Rose's Christmas Cookies

Almond Crescents

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup blanched, sliced almonds
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

In a food processor, process the almonds and sugar until the almonds are ground very finely. Cut the butter into a few pieces and add it with the motor running. Process until smooth and creamy.

Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and sprinkle the salt on top. Pulse it just until the flour is incorporated.

Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press it into a thick disk and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 2 hours.

For the topping, stir together the sugar and cinnamon until uniform in color.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Divide the dough into 8 portions. Work with 1 section at a time, keeping the remainder of the dough refrigerated. Knead the dough between floured hands until malleable. Pinch off a portion of the dough and roll it into a 1-inch-round ball.

On a lightly floured counter, roll each ball into a cylinder with tapered ends, about 3 inches long by 1/2 inch thick. Form each cylinder into a crescent shape and place on an ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. The cookies will require two cookie sheets, one for the middle rack in the oven and one for the lower one.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until set but not brown. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking period.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 10 minutes. While they are still warm, use a small angled metal spatula or pancake turner to lift them from the sheets and dip them, one at a time, in the cinnamon sugar, turning gently to coat all over. Finish cooling the cookies on wire racks.

To store, place the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month or freeze for as many as several months.

December 18th



Today's recipe is Chocolate Crinkles