Ingredients

• 1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 2/3 c. flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. walnuts, very finely chopped
• 1/3 c. jam/jelly/preserve/fruit butter/etc.

Preparation

1. Cream butter using a mixer with a paddle attachment on medium. Add sugar, beat until smooth. Add egg, yolk, vanilla one at a time, mix until incorporated.

2. Combine flour, salt, and ground walnuts in a separate bow and mix. Slowly add to the butter. Mix until dough pulls away from the slide of the bowl. Knead a few times, wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease or parchment a cookie sheet.

4. Roll dough into 1" balls. Place on cookie sheet 2" apart. Make an indentation in the center of each with your thumb. Fill with a generous 1/4 tsp. of jam.

5. Bake until edges are golden brown, 14-15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for a minute before transferring to a rack to cool. Top with additional jam if desired.

Makes 3 dozen.

Stonewall Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• Raw sugar

Preparation

Whisk flour, cardamom, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in finely grated orange peel and vanilla. Add egg; beat to blend. Add 1/3 of flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Add remaining flour in 2 additions, beating on low speed just until blended. Refrigerate until firm enough to shape, about 1 hour.

Divide dough in half. Form each half into ball. Flatten into disks and wrap in plastic. Chill until firm enough to roll out, about 45 minutes. DO AHEAD: Dough can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let chilled dough stand at room temperature until soft enough to roll out, about 15 minutes.

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to generous 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out cookies using festive cookie cutters. Carefully transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Gather dough scraps into ball. Flatten, cover, and freeze dough until firm enough to roll out again, about 10 minutes.

Bake cookies until light golden brown, about 16 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking for even cooking. Carefully slide parchment paper with cookies onto racks to cool completely. Let baking sheets cool completely, then repeat process with remaining dough, lining sheets with fresh parchment between batches. DO AHEAD: Cookies can be made 3 days ahead. Store cookies in airtight containers at room temperature.

Bon Appetit, December 2009

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Zest of one orange
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup walnuts, ground coarsely
• Ground cinnamon for sprinkling

For the syrup:

• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3-4 whole cloves
• 1-2-inch piece lemon rind
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, using your fingers, combine the orange zest with the sugar – rubbing the grains as if you were playing with sand to release the orange oils into the sugar.

Using an electric mixer, beat the oil with the orange sugar until well mixed. In a separate bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the orange juice and brandy to mixer and mix well.

Slowly incorporate the flour cup by cup until the mixture forms a dough that is not too loose but not quite firm either. It will be dense and wet but not sticky. Once the flour is incorporated fully stop mixing.

To roll cookies, pinch a portion of dough off about the size of a walnut. Shape in your palms into a smooth oblong shape, almost like a small egg. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Shape and roll cookies until the sheet is filled.

Press the tines of a large fork in a crosshatch pattern in the center of each cookie. This will flatten them slightly in the center. The cookies should resemble lightly flattened ovals when they go in the oven.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes until lightly browned. (The cookies will darken when submerged in syrup.)

While the cookies are baking, prepare the syrup.

In a saucepan, combine the honey, sugar, water, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon rind. Bring the mixture to a boil then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the cinnamon, cloves, and lemon rind and stir in lemon juice.

Place the ground walnuts in a shallow plate or bowl next to the stove top. When the cookies come out of the oven and while they are still very warm, carefully float the cookies in the syrup and allow the cookies to absorb syrup on both sides.

Using a fork or small spatula, remove the cookie from the syrup and place on a platter or plate. Press ground walnuts lightly into the tops of the cookies (syrup will help it adhere) and sprinkle lightly with ground cinnamon.

Do not refrigerate Melomakarona as they will harden. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Lynn Livanos Athan, About.com

Ingredients

Waffles:

• 300 g caster/superfine sugar
• 450 g butter
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 600 g flour
• cinnamon
• salt

Syrup:

• 600 g cane-sugar syrup (or light corn syrup)
• 300 g butter

Preparation

Mix the sugar with the eggs, milk, flower, cinnamon, salt and the butter sliced in pieces. Make 12 small balls.

Preheat the waffle iron [CP: this needs to be an old-fashioned, cast iron waffle iron that makes relatively thin waffles, not a Belgian/American waffle iron]. Squeeze a paste ball in the iron. Bake the waffle in about 30 seconds.

Cut the waffle in two thin waffles and spread the waffle with the mix of syrup and butter.

www.stroopwafelshop.com

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preparation

Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

Combine sugar, brown sugar and butter in large mixing bowl; beat on medium speed until well mixed. Add milk and egg; beat until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, ground ginger and baking soda; beat on low speed until well mixed. Gently stir in cranberries, pecans and crystallized ginger.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; cool on wire rack.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Ocean Spray

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of ground coriander
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lime
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup finely chopped macademia nuts (don’t be afraid to use salted nuts)

Preparation

Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt and coriander.

If you want to get a little more flavor out of the lime zest, put the sugar and zest in the mixer bowl and, using your fingertips, work the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moist and the mixture fragrant.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and zest on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Add the coconut and nuts and pulse to incorporate them. There will probably be some dry ingredients in the bottom of the bowl–don’t work them in with the mixer, just reach into the bowl and knead them in.

Transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9-x-10 1/2-inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days.

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the dough out onto the board (discard the bag), and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut it into 32 squares, each roughly 1 1/2 inches on a side. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them, and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies to the sheet.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and fromt to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack and cool to room temperature.

Makes 32 cookies.

Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours, pg 145, from Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups chopped macadamia nuts
• 1½ cups white chocolate chips
• coarse sea salt (for topping)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

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

3. Beat together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the egg, then beat in the egg yolk, then beat in the vanilla.

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture until just moistened. Stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips by hand with a rubber spatula.

5. Roll into balls or drop by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets, and press down on the cookies with your palm a bit to flatten (not too much!). Sprinkle tops of cookies with sea salt.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges look golden brown and the middles don’t look quite set. Allow to finish cooling on the baking sheet.

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

Shortbread:

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool, divided
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch, divided
• 1 large egg, separated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) chopped hazelnuts
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 heaping teaspoon coarse fleur de sel or sea salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Preparation

Place 1/2 stick of butter (4 tablespoons) in small saucepan over moderate heat. Melt and cook until butter stops foaming, smells toasty and begins to brown, about 10 minutes. The browner the butter, the deeper the flavor, but don’t let it blacken or burn. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Place the remaining butter (12 tablespoons) in a bowl. Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat until creamy. Add the sugars and salt and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and cooled brown butter. Mix to combine. Then add flour, 1 cup at a time, and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Chill the batter for 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with oven rack in the middle. Butter a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan. Divide dough into 8 rough portions and arrange them evenly in the pan. Press dough into an even layer to fill the pan.

In a small bowl, beat the egg white with a pinch of salt. Brush mixture evenly over the dough. Sprinkle hazelnuts over the top; press down lightly. In another small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle over nuts. Sprinkle fleur de sel or sea salt over the top.

Bake, rotating the pan once halfway through baking, until golden brown and crisp, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and cut into 1- to 2-inch squares or diamonds. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Using a very small-tipped pastry bag or the tines of a fork, drizzle the chocolate over the tops of the shortbreads.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1/3 c. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 stick plus 3 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small bits

Preparation

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together in small bowl; set aside. Beat the butter until smooth in bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed. Add the sugars, vanilla and salt; beat 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated but still crumbly, and being careful not to overwork the dough. Stir in the chocolate pieces.

2. Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface; squeeze it so that it sticks together in large clumps. (If you need to, it’s okay to lightly flour the work surface.) Gather the dough into a ball; divide in half. Shape each ball into a log 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap logs in plastic wrap; chill at least 1 hour.

3. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Gently slice logs into 1/2-inch rounds using a serrated knife (some will crumble; simply press broken bits back onto cookie). Place 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

4. Bake, one sheet at a time, 14 minutes; cookies will not look done or be firm. Cool on pan 5 minutes; transfer to cooling rack. Cool to room temperature.

Ingredients

• 3 c. flour
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 c. each, chopped: almonds, dried cranberries
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 c. canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the flour, 1 c. of the sugar, almonds, cranberries, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed; slowly beat in the eggs, oil, vanilla and orange zest.

2. Scrape dough onto a lightly floured wooden board; knead until well mixed. Roll into ball; divide into four pieces. Roll each piece into a log about 10 inches long and 3 inches wide. Bake logs, 3 inches apart, on lightly oiled foil-lined cookie sheets until lightly brown and firm, 30-40 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, mix together the remaining 1/4 c. of the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Remove logs from oven; slide onto cutting board. Let logs cool 5 minutes. Gently cut each log into 12 pieces using a serrated knife. Return cookies, cut side up, to cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mix. Return to oven, bake 5 minutes. Turn off oven; leave cookies overnight to dry out.

Chicago Tribune