Candy Cane Pinwheels

Candy Cane Pinwheels

From Cook's Country | December/January 2008

Why this recipe works:

This Candy Cane Pinwheel recipe features the flavors of a candy cane in a pretty cookie and makes a perfect addition to any holiday dessert table. We found the trick to the Candy Cane Pinwheels recipe was to add the food coloring one drop at a time until we got the desired color. (We could always add more coloring, but it’s not possible to take much out.) It was also helpful to sandwich the dough between sheets of parchment or waxed paper when rolling it out to ensure the dough didn’t stick to the rolling pin.
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Makes about 4 1/2 dozen

Grind the peppermint candies in a food processor until they are pulverized.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup finely ground peppermint candies (about 20)
• 6 drops red food coloring

Instructions

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg until incorporated. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until dough forms, about 1 minute. Remove half of dough from bowl and reserve. Add extracts, candy, and food coloring to remaining dough and mix until combined.

2. Place reserved dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll into 14 by 8-inch rectangle. Repeat with peppermint dough, then place on top of plain dough and press gently to adhere. With long side facing you, roll dough into log. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

3. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice chilled dough into 1/4-inch rounds and place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until edges are just golden, 12 to 14 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cool 10 minutes on sheet, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.)

Hermit Cookies

Why this recipe works:

Most recipes for Hermit Cookies we tested involved creaming the butter, but this produced dry, biscuitlike cookies. Melting the butter delivered a chewier, moister cookie. We took melting one step further by cooking the butter in a saucepan until light brown and fragrant, which added a nutty flavor to the hermits. Tasters settled on the simple, yet potent, combination of cinnamon, allspice, and ginger. Adding these spices to the browned butter bloomed their natural flavor, which allowed us to use less. This avoided a dusty texture from too much ground spice. We steeped the raisins in melted butter to soften them, and pureed them with crystallized ginger into a rough paste. This helped distribute raisin flavor into every bite, while the pureed ginger lent pungent sweetness and chew. When it came to shaping them, we found that hermits baked in logs and then sliced were much chewier and moister. (less)

Makes about 18 cookies

For this recipe, we prefer using mild (or light) molasses instead of the robust or blackstrap varieties.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup packed (5 1/4 ounces) dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. 1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Process raisins and ginger in food processor until mixture sticks together and only small pieces remain, about 10 seconds. Transfer mixture to large bowl.
2. 2. Heat butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat, swirling pan occasionally, until nutty brown in color, about 10 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir butter mixture into raisin mixture until well combined; let cool to room temperature.
3. 3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Stir brown sugar, molasses, and eggs into cooled butter-raisin mixture until incorporated. Fold in flour mixture (dough will be very sticky) and refrigerate, covered, until firm, at least 1 1/2 hours or up to 24 hours.
4. 4. Divide dough into quarters. Transfer 1 piece of dough to lightly floured surface and roll into 10-inch log. Transfer to prepared sheet and use ruler to neatly square off sides. (Each sheet will contain 2 logs.) Repeat with remaining dough. Bake until only shallow indentation remains on edges when touched (center will appear slightly soft), 15 to 20 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let logs cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; transfer parchment to wire racks and let cool completely.
5. 5. Whisk orange juice and confectioners’ sugar in small bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze onto cooled logs and let sit until glaze hardens, about 15 minutes. Cut logs into 2-inch bars and serve.

Lofthouse sugar cookies

Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients
3 cups *cake flour (4 if rolling the dough out)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla (or one vanilla bean)

Directions
In a medium bowl combine cake flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. 

Using an electric mixer cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time stirring after each addition.  Stir in sour cream and vanilla until combined.  Gradually add in flour mixture combined.  

Chill dough for at least one hour in refrigerator. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  

Round cookies: Roll 3 tablespoons of dough into a ball.  Use flour on your hands if needed.  Place ball on baking sheet and flatten to about 1/2 inch thick, molding sides to keep round shape if necessary.  Continue with remaining dough, placing each 2 inches apart.  

If rolling: roll dough out onto a silicone baking mat to 1/4 inch thickness. These are best rolled out pretty thick. Flip rectangle of dough over to transfer to a baking sheet. Cut out cookies and remove scraps. Re-roll and cut more cookies.

Bake in preheated oven for 10. Cool for a 2-3 minutes on baking sheet, and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  

Cream cheese Frosting

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, soften
1/2 pkg cream cheese
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
food coloring (optional)

Directions
Using an electric mixer whip cream cheese and then butter together. Add vanilla. gradually add in confectioners sugar. blend on medium until fluffy.  Add in food color if desired. 

*substitute 1/4 cup corn starch plus 3/4 cups flour for cake every 2 cups of cake flour.

Chewy and Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups AP or bread flour (bread flour improves the texture)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter, butter flavored shortening, and sugars. Add eggs and blend. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir until well blended. Mix additional 1-2 min to develop some chew. ( gluten)

Measure out tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into balls. Place 3 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Make criss-cross pattern with fork dipped in sugar. Let chill in the fridge for 5-10 minutes

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) 8-10 minutes until set, but not hard. Do not overbake. Leave on sheets for 2 minutes before removing. Cool, and store in covered container.

Lactation Cookies or just really healthy cookies that are DELISH!!

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp flax seed meal (I used Bob's Red Mill)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp brewer's yeast
3 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 cup Ghiradelli white chocolate chips
1 cup golden raisins

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mix flax seed meal and water and let sit for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, salt and brewer's yeast and set aside.

In a stand mixer, fitted with a flat beater, combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add eggs, mixing well after each one. Add flax seed meal and vanilla. Mix well. Slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir in oats. Fold in white chocolate chips and raisins.

Scoop rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let sit on baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

ENJOY!
These cookies are kinda sweet, if you prefer less sweet cut the white chips and raisins in half. Do not try to low fat this recipe. I tried and yuck! They are really yummy, and the flax and brewers yeast are great for milk supply and overall health.