December 1 – A Gift of 25 Recipes – Gingerbread Men and Spritz Cookies

 from the candy cane collection yesterday

Thank goodness that rain is gone!  I know we are in dire need of rain but these past two days were *****.  That, of course, didn’t stop me from running around outside with my camera.  I happened upon these candy cane collection roses, all drenched but still gorgeous on 11/30.

Wow, those 11 months went by very quickly.  And, those last three days went by quickly, too.  I have to confess I haven’t made any progress yet on my new cookie recipe – the Amaretti with Peppermint Chunks.  I spent a little while discussing Almond Meal vs Almond Flour with a few people in Whole Foods yesterday.    I have ground my own almonds at home many time but the recipe I want to try to work with says to buy store-bought Almond Meal so I went out in search.  Stay posted.

I am going to start with two cookie recipes here.   You, of course don’t have to – pick whatever suits your fancy and you think your recipients do or will love.  Kids love to play with dough and, rolling, cutting and decorating can be such a great activity to do together, especially on a cold and snowy afternoon should you have any.  It was 51F here this morning – not feeling too Christmas-y!   I do believe it was snowing in northern Maine yesterday, though.   If you have never baked together with your kids or grandkids, try it.  I think you’ll have great fun!   There may be a big mess to clean up but, oh the memories!   My kids, I have to say, would rather participate in just the eating part these days.  But, I’m hoping that some day they’ll want to bake their own and that they’ll want these recipes.

A few words here about cookie baking at this time of year.  First, at least for me, December brings in a huge wave of nostalgia.  I am instantly transported back to my Mom’s kitchen where she baked batch after batch of about 10 recipes each year.  Then, my paternal Grandmother and her sisters made batch after batch of Struffoli and “Ribbons”.  There were always plates of these honey-drizzled treats on their tables or they brought them in hand to all of our family gatherings.  All of these combined to make an atmosphere of magic that has stuck in my mind for all these years.  I will never forget them.   The point I am trying to make here is that there are about a zillion cookie recipes out there.  Some of them are very fancy-looking, elegant and sophisticated.  Others are basic.  Choose those that you love and that you’re happy to make, regardless of their simplicity.  Some cookies are involved and take time.  Remember that some doughs need refrigeration overnight so read all of your recipes ahead.  They don’t have to all be beautiful artistic expressions- they only have to feed your sense of delight and your tummy!

For those of you who want to play along this month, here goes.  Today, I am beginning my list of recipes – following up on my post, “A Gift of 25 Recipes”.   Today’s gift will also involve a cookie cutter.  So, go online and order one or run out to your favorite baking supply store.  Wrap it in tissue paper, tie with a ribbon and put it in the recipient’s stocking!

Here is the first recipe for today.  It is courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction, a very popular baking website.  I think these are definitely one of the quintessential cookies of the season!

 photo courtesy Sally’s Baking Addiction – aren’t they adorable?

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/12/01/my-favorite-gingerbread-men-recipe/

And, because there are really only 24 days before you are going to wrap everything up, today will be the day of 2 recipes.  Here is my favorite recipe for Spritz cookies.  Every year I make several batches of these.  Ryan always takes them to his room and hides them from someone else in our house!

By the way, this is the day to replace your spices and baking powder, so, for all the spices you didn’t replace for last week, run out to the store and get new ones.  This is really important for best-tasting cookies and baked goods.  Buy whole spice wherever possible and grind them yourself.  Make sure your extracts are of the highest quality.  And, of course your butter!   You’ll find a great variety of holiday sprinkles right now.  Pay a visit to the New York Baking Co on 22nd Street.  I’m still missing the Broadway Panhandler so much these days!  Whatever else you need you can find online.  

One thing I love to do in my kitchen is to make flavored sugars.  Try mixing some sugar with lemon, orange, (bergamot if you can find them) or even lime zest and sprinkle it on your cookies – especially the spritz.  Or mingle sugar with finely ground nuts and a pinch of cinnamon and/or nutmeg.  And, I adore Star Anise at this time of year.  So play around here – you don’t have to use store-bought red and green sprinkles if you don’t want to.

SPRITZ COOKIES – adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookies for Christmas

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder (make sure it is fresh)

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

1 egg, room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

sprinkles of your choice  

Preheat oven to 400F.  

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment , beat the butter until softened.  Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add the egg, vanilla and almond extracts and beat well.  Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until well mixed.  To ensure easy passage through the cookie press, do not chill the dough.  Using the cookie press of your choice (I still use an old hand-crank one) force the dough through the press onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  It is important that the cookies stick to the surface of the pan here so I don’t use parchment or Silpats for these.  Decorate as desired with the sprinkles of your choice.  

Bake for 7-8 minutes or until the cookies are just lightly browned on the edges.  Remove from the oven, cool on the cookies sheets for a minute and remove to cooling racks.  Makes about 60.  

Here’s a little bonus from one of my favs, Manuela Darling-Gannser – her blog post today: http://www.manuelafoodandtravel.com/gluten-and-dairy-free-christmas-biscuits

photo courtesy Manuela Darling-Gansser

Have a lovely day!