Christmas Cookies

And while we were getting ready to close, I managed to make Christmas cookies in my new kitchen.....which Jim and I really, really love. I made good use of my new little baking corner and at one point had both my kitchen aid mixers in action. It was cool.
But now on to the cookies! First up are Egg Nog Cookies. (recipe at the end of post)

Next up are Raspberry Nanaimo Bars. (recipe at the end of post)

The third cookie recipe I made is a Date Pinwheel cookie. (recipe to be added later)

And lastly, my favorite cookie to make for Christmas, Italian Tricolors. (recipe at the end of post)

Eggnog Cookies with Rum Glaze
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup purchased eggnog
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg*
5½ cups all-purpose flour
4 cups powdered sugar
5 to 6 tablespoons purchased eggnog
4 teaspoons dark rum or ¼ teaspoon rum extract
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
In large bowl, beat sugar and butter at medium speed until creamy. Beat in 1 cup eggnog, baking soda and nutmeg until blended. Gradually beat in flour until well-blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
Heat oven to 350°F. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut out with cookie cutters; place cookies on baking sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom. Cool on wire racks.
Meanwhile, in medium bowl, whisk together all glaze ingredients until smooth. Spread glaze over cooled cookies.
*If desired, a combination of ground cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg can be used.
Makes about 8 dozen cookies
Italian Tri-Colors
1 tube or can (7 to 8 oz.) almond paste
1¼ cups butter (2½ sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
10-15 drops red food coloring
8-12 drops green food coloring
1 jar (12 oz.) apricot preserves, strained
4 squares (1 oz. each) semisweet chocolate, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 15½" X 10½" jelly-roll pans; line pans with waxed paper, allowing waxed paper to extend over ends of pans. Grease and flour waxed paper.
In small bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites with ½ cup sugar until stiff peaks form; set aside.
In large bowl, with same beaters, and with mixer at medium speed, beat almond paste and remaining ½ cup sugar until well blended (there will be some small lumps of almond paste remaining). Reduce speed to medium-low; beat in margarine or butter until blended. Beat in egg yolks and almond extract until blended. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour and salt just until combined.
With rubber spatula, fold egg-white mixture into almond mixture, one-third at a time, until combined.
Remove one-third of batter (about 1½ rounded cups) from large bowl to small bowl. Remove half of remaining batter from large bowl to another small bowl. (You should have equal amounts of batter in each bowl.) Stir red food coloring into 1 bowl of batter until evenly blended. Repeat with green food coloring and another bowl of batter.
Spread white (uncolored) batter in 1 jelly-roll pan. With metal spatula (offset, if possible), spread batter as evenly as possible (layer will be about 1/8 inch thick). Repeat with red batter and another pan. Repeat with green batter and remaining pan.
Bake layers 10 to 13 minutes, rotating pans halfway through cooking time, until layers are just set. It is important to undercook this batter slightly to ensure moist cookie layers. (If you don't have enough oven space for 3 pans, you can bake 2 layers at once, and then bake the last layer separately.)
Let layers cool slightly in pans on wire racks, about 5 minutes. Invert layers onto racks, leaving waxed paper attached; cool completely.
When all 3 layers are cooled, remove waxed paper from green layer. Place green layer on serving tray or platter; spread with half of apricot preserves. Place white layer on top of green layer, waxed-paper side up; remove waxed paper. Spread with remaining apricot preserves. Place red layer on top of white layer; remove waxed paper.
With serrated knife, trim edges (about ¼ inch from each side). Spread melted chocolate on top of red layer (not on sides); refrigerate until chocolate is firm, at least 1 hour. If you like, after chocolate has set, cover and refrigerate stacked layers up to 3 days before cutting and serving.
To serve, cut stacked layers lengthwise into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 12 small rectangles. Store cookies in tightly covered container, with waxed paper between layers, in refrigerator.
Raspberry Nanaimo Bars
Bottom Layer:
1/4 cup (2 ounces) butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup seedless raspberry puree*
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups graham cracker wafers
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup coconut
Place the butter in a medium saucepan, and place it over medium heat until melted. Add the sugar, cocoa powder and raspberry puree and stir until smooth and well-combined. Add the egg and take the pan off the heat, stirring constantly to incorporate the egg. Once the mixture thickens, stir in the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Scrape the mixture into a 9x9 pan lined with aluminum foil, and firmly press it into an even layer.
Middle Layer:
1/4 cup (2 ounces) butter, room temperature
1/4 cup seedless raspberry puree*
3 tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups powdered sugar
Cream the butter in a stand mixer. Add the puree, pudding mix, and powdered sugar and beat for several minutes until fluffy and light. Spread the raspberry cream over the bottom layer and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Top Layer:
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp cream
1 tbsp seedless raspberry puree*
*To make seedless raspberry puree, blend fresh or defrosted frozen raspberries and pour them through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Or use a seedless raspberry jam.
Place the chocolate, cream, and puree in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds and stir. If the chocolate is not fully melted, microwave for an additional 15 seconds and stir until melted. Pour the chocolate over the raspberry cream and smooth it into a thin, even layer. Place the bars in the refrigerator until the top layer is set, about 20 minutes.
Labels: cookies
6 Comments:
Barbara, These were delicious. Jim brought them in to the office. I tried the Date Pinwheel cookie and the Italian Tricolors. VERY YUMMY!!! I'll add these to my new dessert recipes file that I started last year. THANK YOU!!!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!
Ramona
My youngest daughter just looked over my shoulder at the computer and said, "Those look really yummy." I, being the incredibly mature person that I am, smugly said, "They were!" "What?! You ATE those? And didn't bring any for US? You are SO mean!" Yup. :-)
i think i gained about 5 pounds from all the x-mas cookies i ate :( time to get a gym membership!
-jackie
mmmm - gotta love Christmas Cookies!
No-bake cookies sound wonderful- and raspberry... what a great combination!
These look fantastic! It's not too early for Christmas cookies right?
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