Christmas Sweets

Cook 1

Cook 2 tackles some classic childhood recipes but for my post I thought I'd offer my experiences with finding some brand new Christmas cookie recipes to add to my repetoire.
As many Christmas seasons back as I can remember, my mom, a Jewish woman who married a Catholic, has baked a dizzying variety of totally delicious Christmas cookies. After a long day at work, she would rush home with bags of nuts, sugar and coconut, and set to work. On certain Saturday mornings in December, I would wake to the sound of frustrated muttering and the dull thud of metal on the countertop, and I would instantly know that my mom was making spritz cookies - and I would hide upstairs for awhile (sorry mom). This year I made my own spritz cookies and shared in her yearly annoyance with the hard-to-handle dough and the fickle spritz gun. I won't share the recipe here because I have not yet perfected a reliable technique for these delicious but finicky cookies.

This year I wanted to make my own cookies but did not know where to start. Generally speaking, I am a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas cookies, with a wish for spice, powdered sugar, and pretty design. The recipes that I will share with you below satisfied my desire for easy technique, delicious taste and authentic Christmas feeling - and I can call them my own and leave the fussy spritz cookies to my mother. Thanks Mom.

Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Sparkler Cookies




These tender little cookies crumble almost to the touch, with a sandy texture, subtle chocolate flavor, and restrained amount of sugar. They are perfect gobbled up after lunch, dinner or as a snack. In my opinion, these are best with a cup of coffee at breakfast while imagining oneself as a visitor to an Ottoman court, tasting the exotic flavors of cinnamon and cocoa for the first time. Store separately from other cookies to keep the nuanced flavor and tender texture intact.

Adapted by SeriousEats from Desserts by Pierre Hermé by Pierre Hermé and Dorie Greenspan
- makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
Sugar, for coating

Procedure:

1. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt together. Place the butter in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed to soften. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is smooth and creamy, but not airy. Reduce the mixer speed to STIR and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the ingredients are just mixed. Absolutely do not overmix. As soon as the last of the flour is no longer visible, divide the dough in half, shape each half into a ball, wrap the balls in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

2. Working on a smooth surface, form each piece of dough into a log that's about 1 1/2 inches thick and 7 1/2 inches long. To get a solid log, one without the commonly found hole in the center, use the heel of your hand to gently flatten the dough, then flatten the dough lightly each time you fold it over on itself to make the log. Assured that the log is solid, you can roll it gently under your palms to smooth it out. Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for 1 to 2 hours. (The dough can be made to this point, wrapped airtight, and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.)

3. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk until it is smooth and liquid enough to use as a glaze. Spread some of the sugar out on a piece of wax paper.

4. Remove the logs of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap them and brush them very lightly with a small amount of the egg yolk. Roll the logs in the sugar, pressing the sugar gently to get it to stick, if necessary, then, using a sharp slender knife, slice each log into cookies 1/2-inch thick. I threw out the very ends for fear of burning them because my logs were uneven and the ends were much smaller than the rest of the log. Arrange the cookies on the baking sheets, leaving about an inch of space between each cookie, and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans front to back and top to bottom at the midway mark, until the cookies are just firm to the touch. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to room temperature.

Keeping: The unbaked logs of dough can be frozen for up to 2 months, but once they're rolled in the sugar, they're unsuitable for freezing because the sugar will melt. Once the cookies are baked, they can be kept in an airtight tin at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.

Vanilla Kipferl

First of all, sorry for the crappy photography, the cookies are not tinted yellow - it's just my poor camera skillz. Similar to Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cookies, these vanilla kipferl have a dough composed of ground nuts, sugar and lots of butter. No egg (which means you can eat the dough raw without any guilt other than that of excessive caloric consumption). What sets this apart from other recipes is the luxurious coating of vanilla sugar after the cookies have come out of the oven. Fragranced with the sultry perfume of vanilla bean, these crescent shaped butter cookies melt on the tongue and are seductive in smell, shape, taste and texture. The hardest part of the recipe is the self-restraint needed to avoid eating all the buttery dough.

makes 57 cookies -Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.
Ingredients
For the dough:
7/8 cup (1 3/4 sticks, 7 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (3 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
Scant 2 1/3 cups (7 1/2 ounces) almond flour (ground almonds), preferably toasted
For the vanilla sugar
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) superfine or castor sugar
1/2 to 1 vanilla bean

Procedure
1. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour and almond flour, stirring to make a cohesive dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
3. Break off walnut-sized pieces of the dough, and roll them into short (about 2-inch) logs. Shape the logs into crescents, then gently press to flatten them slightly. Place the cookies on the prepared sheets.
4. Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let cool on the pan for 10 minutes.5. While the cookies are cooling, process the sugar and vanilla bean in a food processor or blender until the bean is thoroughly ground. Place the vanilla sugar in a shallow bowl. While the cookies are still warm, gently roll them in the vanilla sugar. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Pre-baked cookies - not so pretty before their bath in vanilla sugar. But then doesn't everyone look better after being covered in sparkles and annointed with perfume?

Happy Holidays from A Tale of Two Kitchens!

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Cook 2
As Christmas grows near we want to share some of our favorite recipes to satisfy your holiday sweet tooth. We actually got together to make cookies 2 weeks ago, but were having so much fun catching up that we forgot to take pictures!

This year I made sugar cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, almond tuiles and chocolate balls. The pretzels are my go-to treat for holiday gifts (especially good for bringing to work--fast, cheap, yummy, and pretty enough, especially with the addition of some red and green sprinkles). My first attempt at tuiles was not very successful: the dough wasn't thin enough and was too sweet. But they were still delicious broken up over chocolate ice cream! I'll keep working and when I find a good recipe I'll post it.

My favorite family tradition (apart from decorating the Christmas tree while listening to Dr. Demento's Christmas album) is frosting cookies while watching Its a Wonderful Life or A Christmas Story. This year I took a more unique approach and watched that old Christmas classic, Twin Peaks...maybe that's why all of my cookies look a bit wacky!

My Family's Traditional Christmas Cookies
(Thanks for the recipe Mom...and for making them all these years and putting up with the overuse of sprinkles and undercooked cookies!)

3/4 cup Crisco shortening (I used butter instead)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla thoroughly. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to shortening mixture. Chill at least 1 hour (I recommend over night).

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface (don't worry about getting it too thin...it's easier to get the cookies off if they are thicker and I think they taste better). Cut with your favorite cookie cutters, holiday themed or not (the bunnies are my favorite). Bake 6-8 minutes or until cookies are a delicate golden color. Makes about 4 dozen.

Quick Cream Icing
Blend 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla, and enough cream, milk or half-and-half (2-3 tbsp) to make a thin icing that sets up after several minutes. Be sure to leave it slightly thicker if you're going to use food coloring.

New (to me) Chocolate Balls
(Thanks to Ed's mom for her mother's recipe...these were a great help in getting us through exam season!)

2 sticks margarine (I used butter)
1/2 lb graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups Angel Flake coconut
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 large bag chocolate chips
1/2 bar paraffin (optional)

Dump everything except the chocolate chips into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Shape into balls. (Be sure to leave enough in the bowl for stressed-out boyfriend to clean). I recommend chilling them in the freezer for an hour. Melt chocolate chips and paraffin (the paraffin isn't necessary but will make the chocolate coating prettier...I skipped it this year) in a double boiler. Drop balls in chocolate and roll until covered. Place on wax paper to cool. Makes about 4 dozen.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Food of the Pilgrim's Pride

Cook 1


For me, Thanksgiving is all about pride. It's important to take a moment to recognize that we have all earned this day off - this day to relax and feast and drink and forget about work. I'm glad to have a day to take pride in my family, in my freedom as an American and in the delicious food that I helped prepare. Mostly, I'm proud that we are all still here, celebrating our perseverance, so many days after the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving. Despite the wars, the economy, and the nagging fear that yes, humans really are that terrible, Americans are still taking a day at the end of November to cook some turkey and eat together.

But all seriousness aside, I am mighty proud of the food that my family and I put together this year. The turkey was brined and boy was it juicy. I used to hate turkey - or maybe I just hated the idea of a bland, brittle and dessicated piece of meat - but this year I changed my mind. Our bird was glossy and bold, as you can see in the picture above, and quite flavorful. My parents get all the credit for the turkey (my mom as chef de cuisine and my dad as the sous chef).
I'm now going to take you through a few highlights of our meal.

First up is a dish with which I have a love/hate relationship. These so-called 'Best Brussels Sprouts' take forever to make because of the intensive prep required (must finely dice carrots and bacon, quarter and core the sprouts, toast the pine nuts, etc.). Yet. YET. These are the finest sprouts in the land and I make them every year. Just fry up in a big skillet, 6 slices of bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces, then throw in the sprouts and minced teaspoon of garlic, the cup of carrots and the half cup of pine nuts and coat with the bacon grease. Let cook with the lid on for 5 or so minutes, until the sprouts are wilted but still green, shaking the pan every so often. Add parsley and voila!
And then there were the sweet potatoes with toasted marshmallows. And uh, I do mean sweet. But if you can't eat dessert during dinner at Thanksgiving, then when can you? I also love how unabashedly American this dish is. It screams, 'I'm here...I'm a formerly healthy vegetable covered in marshmallows...get used to it!'
The next dish is a new-comer to our table this year, but came highly recommended by a friend. Parker House Rolls, which originate from the historic Parker House Hotel in Boston, were easy to make and drew rave reviews. They were plenty buttery, but not overly dense like a brioche, nor overly light like a biscuit. The crumb was yeasty enough to absorb a good amount of gravy and best yet, the rolls were divine spread with some strawberry jam the next morning. I used the Gourmet recipe, found here.

We also had creamed spinach, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, cornbread and challah stuffing, gravy, mashed turnips and celeriac, and creamed onions and peas. For dessert there was chocolate cake, pumpkin pie, apple pie and pecan pie. I used the Cook's Illustrated vodka crust this year and I will never try another pie crust recipe again. Here's the link to this very trust-worthy recipe.
And with that, I'll turn the cursor over to Cook 2, who will give us a taste of her family's Thanksgiving.

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Cook 2

For me, Thanksgiving is all about family. Don't get me wrong--I love the food but with my sweet tooth I prefer Christmas cookies slathered with icing to the savory traditions of Thanksgiving. So I decided to make my post more of a collection of pictures without any recipes this time.

The big Thanksgiving lover in my family is my brother, David (you'll see his plate later). Last year I hosted my family in New York and when I suggested a non-traditional menu of roasted chicken and updated sides David wouldn't hear of it. So I measured my mini New York oven, my mom bought the smallest turkey she could find, and we had a delicious traditional feast. This year we were all in North Carolina (me, David, his (Canadian) girlfriend Kelley, our cousin Ben, and of course my parents) so my mom whipped up an impressive meal without even breaking a sweat. Remembering the chaos of preparing Thanksgiving dinner last year (even with my mom's help) I can't believe she's able to make it look so effortless!

This year I was very lucky and got to enjoy 2 Thanksgiving dinners, about 6 hours apart! First I ate with my family around 2, and then I joined my boyfriend's family and his sister's in-laws for dinner around 6. Needless to say I was stuffed and very glad I'd run a 5k that morning! Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera for the 2nd dinner, but it was absolutely beautiful (especially the southern coup de grace--orange jello cool whip salad! It kindof looks like this and tastes amazing). Enjoy the photo montage!

My dad, Ben and Kelley enjoying a lively game of Kings in the Corner waiting for dinner.

My mom carving the delicious turkey.

Infinite mini pumpkin muffins

David's 1st plate!

The menagerie: Charlie the cat, Bandit the shiba inu (with his back to the camera as usual) and Arne the terrier mix.