Ginger molasses cookies

Ok, first off the bat, let me tell you how good these cookies are!  Then, I'll get to the rest of the info.  These cookies are the perfect amount of ginger and crisp edges/chewy centers and sugary coating!  I'm not going to lie, I ate 3 of them straight out of the oven last night when I was baking them.  They're that good!

These cookies come from the genius Sarah Kieffer of the Vanilla Bean Blog.  I want to say I came across her years ago through an article (I think in the New York Times) about her "pan banging method" for chocolate chip cookies (I  made them, they're worth the hype, and if I haven't posted that yet, I'll be sure to back track and get that up soon), and later again through an email with a link to her Neapolitan cookies.  I also own her cookbook, 100 cookies.  She's a baking genius, if you want my unbiased opinion, and I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of her recipes in the future here on JulieBakes.

These cookies also involve her "pan banging" technique, which gives the cookies a crispy edge and a chewy center.  They're probably not the best cookie to bake at 9:30 p.m. in a 2 bedroom apartment with a sleeping 5.5 month old, 2.5 year old, and guest on the couch -- oops! -- but at least the guest got some of these cookies fresh out of the oven when she woke from her nap.

I plan to include these in my yearly box of cookies for the holidays for our doormen*.  It's been a trying year, for sure, and they've been fielding the majority of my "I can buy it on Amazon" mentality of the pandemic (* yes, they're also getting a monetary tip, I just think cookies plus a tip is just a nice way to do things).

Pan-Banging Ginger Molasses Cookies

By Sarah Kieffer, Vanilla Bean Blog

* The holiday version calls for a glaze.  Truth be told, I haven't tried the glaze, because the cookies are so damn good on their own they don't need anything more, but if you want yours to look festive or you'd like glaze, click on the link above for directions and ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of cloves (I leave this out, as I don't like cloves)

12 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling

2 Tbsp mild molasses

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Adjust an oven rack to middle position

Preheat oven to 350F

Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves (if using).

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium until creamy.

Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.

Add in the molasses, egg, and vanilla.

Mix on low to combine.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low until combined.

Remove bowl from mixer.

Using a spatula, make sure that the molasses is completely combined into the dough and that it is a uniform color.

Form the dough into 2 ounce balls.

Roll balls into granulated sugar to coat.

Put 4 balls of dough on prepared baking tray.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 8 minutes, until the cookies are puffed slightly in the center.

Lift the side of the baking sheet up about 4 inches and gently let it drop down against the oven rack (so that the edges of the cookies set and the inside falls back down).

After the cookies puff up again in about 2 minutes, repeat lifting and dropping the pan.  

Repeat 3-4 more times to create ridges around the edge of the cookie.

Bake 13-16 minutes TOTAL, until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden brown but the centers are might  lighter and not fully cooked.

Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack.

Let cool completely before removing cookies from the pan

Whipped shortbread cookies

For the holiday pajama party that B and I went to this weekend, the theme of the drink-making contest was "night cap."  B and I decided on a White Russian.  One of our favorite bars in our neighborhood -- which we haven't been to in quite some time --  serves their heavenly White Russian with a cookie on the side.  I thought it was a biscotti, but B reminded me that it was more of a shortbread cookie (he was, in fact right).

So with all of the ingredients for our cocktail packed away to bring out to Long Island, I set about trying to find the perfect shortbread cookie recipe.  I literally had to look no further than Instagram to find a recipe posted this morning!  The recipe was for whipped shortbread cookies, which sounded delicious to me.  And seeing as I had the forethought to take some butter out of the fridge before we left to run errands this morning, I was ready to go when I got home.

It also happened to be that today was the first snow in NYC.  There's nothing that I love more than baking on a snowy day, with the warmth of the oven keeping the apartment toasty, and having cookies to sample warm out of the oven.

This dough is meant to be piped out onto the baking sheet with a piping tip and bag.  You can use a variety of tips.  Since I had the intent of serving these cookies on the side of our drink tonight, I used an Ateco 898 tip, which some people use to ice cakes.  I used the ridged side up for a little detail.  I think they came out adorable, and that they'd be perfect to rest on the top of the glass for a classy presentation!

P.S. I halved the recipe and I got over 5 dozen cookies

Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Recipe from SprinkleBakes

Makes 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups (6 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or you can substitute 2 tsp vanilla extract)

Optional decorations:
Assorted holiday sprinkles and candies
4 oz semisweet or dark chocolate, melted

Directions:

Combine butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Mix on high speed until mixture turns pale, about 2 minutes.

Add flour to butter mixture in 3 additions, mixing well on medium speed after each addition.
When flour is incorporated, add salt and vanilla seeds.
Beat on high speed for 5 minutes -- the dough should be pale and thick.
Transfer dough to piping bags fitted with decorating tips.  You can also used a small cookie scoop.

Line two or more cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Pipe or place mounds of cookie dough on prepared pans, spacing then a least 1 inch apart.
Add sprinkles, if using.
Transfer cookies on baking sheets to refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes or until cookies are firm to touch.

While the cookies are chilling, preheat the oven to 275F.
Bake cookies 30-35 minutes, or until cookies are lightly golden around the edges and still pale in the center.  Since I piped my cookies thinner than the cookies on the original blog post, I started watching my cookies after 20 minutes.  They ended up taking 21-22 minutes to achieve desired doneness.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Drizzle with chocolate if using.
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.

Almond, tahini, and honey cookies

The fall is upon us, and while the fall may be synonymous with everything pumpkin spice for most, to me it means that the Jewish holidays are coming.  Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) starts on Wednesday, September 20th this year, and so I've started in on my holiday baking today.

First up were these almond, tehini, and honey cookies.  Honey is used in a lot of Rosh Hasahanah treats since it symbolizes a sweet new year.  Apples and honey, to be exact.  And while these cookies lack apples, they're full of sweet honey.  Another thing they're missing?  Gluten (so if you're looking for a gluten-free recipe on this blog, this may just be the first one -- or at least the first one labeled gluten-free). 

This dough comes together in literally a manner of seconds.  Whisk together the dry ingredients in own bowl, the wet in another.  Then, add the dry to the wet and mix together -- I did this with a whisk and some upper arm strength (thanks to my barre workout this morning).  Seriously, it took seconds!  They also bake up in no time!

Honey Almond Tahini Cookies
By The Gush Gourmet
Makes about 28 cookies

1.5 cups almond flour (finely ground almonds)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp tapioca starch OR 1 Tbsp corn starch (I used corn starch)
1/2 cup well-mixed tahini
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup sliced almonds (The recipe called for slivered almonds but I think she actually meant sliced almonds, but I bought slivered.  I actually went out and bought sliced almonds since I thought they looked pretty on her cookies.  Go with sliced almonds.)

Directions:

Whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and starch in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: tahini, honey, egg, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.  I added mine in 3 additions.

Place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place small scoops of the cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Make sure there is plenty of space between each one (they spread a lot!).
Sprinkle a little bit of sliced almonds over each cookie, pressing down slightly so they adhere.  Don't be shy with the sliced almonds -- since the cookies spread, they too will spread out as the cookies bake.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden brown.
Remove from the oven.
Cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.

Sugar cookie bars with flower buttercream

I came across a sugar cookie bar I really wanted to make, but didn't have sour cream at home.  We won't talk about the fact that I was at Trader Joe's earlier today -- before I found this recipe -- and reminded myself I wanted to get sour cream in case I made chocolate cupcakes later.  Great reminder, since I left the store without it!

But I digress.

I couldn't make the original sugar cookie bars I wanted to make, but that didn't stop me.  A quick internet search yielded a few other bar recipes (one used cream cheese, which I also didn't have), and I ended up choosing one from Lauren's Latest (remember those recent to die for chocolate chip cookies?  Yeah, those were hers, too, so I knew these bars had to be good!).

I made one and a half times the recipe for the icing, though, because I bought myself a little birthday gift today.  Well, really a few.  I've been eyeing those Russian flower piping tips for a while, and today at the baking store I bought myself 2 sets of them!  I decided that these would be the perfect decoration for the sugar cookie bars, and after I made a HUGE amount of frosting, I divided it up and dyed it different colors, so that I could have a flower garden on top of my sugar cookie bars!  Now all I need to do is perfect my icing leaves!

Sugar Cookie Bars with Flower Buttercream
Recipe from Lauren's Latest, Icing decorations by me

Ingredients:

For the Cookie Bars:

1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1.5 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups all purpose flour,
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

For the icing (remember, I 1.5 times'd the recipe, listed below is the original recipe):

1/2 cup softened butter
1 pound powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-4 Tablespoons milk
Sprinkles, if desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchement paper.
Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Stir in egg, vanilla, and almond extract.
Whip until fluffy.
Scrape the sides and stir again briefly.
Stir in remaining dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
It won't come together as a dough initially, but if you can grab a handful, it should hold it's shape.
Spread dough into prepared pan and press down evenly.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool completely.

Make the frosting.

Stir all ingredients together until smooth and fluffy, except for milk.
Start by adding 3 tablespoons of milk and work up from there until frosting is the desired consistency.
If making bars as I did, continue below at the *.
If making the bars as intended, Spread icing over cooled cookie bars.
Add sprinkles if using (if you can believe it, I didn't use sprinkles this time).
Cut into bars and serve.

Funfetti sprinkle cookies

When something isn't broken, you really don't need to fix it.  But play around with it a little, make some modifications, and make something different-but-similar?  That's totally OK!

See, I loved the flavor and texture of those heavenly chocolate chip cookies I made a week or so ago (and also a few months ago...you can read about it here), but I wanted to make something a little more *festive* for my upcoming birthday (although I'm not so excited about the actual day...you can read about that here).  So I thought FUNFETTI!  But, although I've seen recipes for chocolate chip funfetti things, I didn't want chocolate chips to overpower the flavor or pretty colorful specks of sprinkles.  So I opted for a funfetti/sprinkle cookie, and left the chocolate chips out.

The only question?  How much many sprinkles should I use?  A cup seemed way excessive (but it's only half the volume of the chocolate chips), but I definitely wanted a pop of color!  So I started with 1/3 of a cup of sprinkles and went from there...eventually I ended up with 2/3 cup sprinkles.

Funfetti Cookies
modified from Lauren's Latest

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup sprinkles

Directions:

Stir melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well combined.
Add in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Mix until light in color.
Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and the bottom really well to ensure the batter is well mixed.

Hand stir the sprinkles into the batter.
Let dough stand for 20 minutes to let the flour soak into the rest of the batter.

Preheat the oven to 325 while the dough is resting.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop cookie dough onto prepared pans using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop.

Bake 10-11 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking (I totally skip this step.....shhh!).
When you take the cookies out of the oven, they will look cooked around the edges and undercooked in the center.

Leave the cookies on the hot baking pans for 5-7 minutes or until you can remove them without falling apart.  I let mine completely cool on the baking trays.
Place onto cooling racks.
Cool to room temperature before storing in airtight containers.

Ooops...I did it again!

I have a confession.  In the nearly 6 years that I've had this blog, I've never unintentionally made the same recipe twice...Until now.

In February, I made these soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies.  They were good.  Really good.  But then I forgot about them.  Let's blame wedding planning and the wedding.  But really, I don't know why.  You should always have a great chocolate chip cookie recipe up your sleeve -- and this one is really a winner because despite being super delicious, they don't require waiting for the butter to come to room temperature!

So, when I was looking at recipes recently, this aptly named actually perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe came across my eye again (I realized I had copied down the recipe before, just not that I had made them!).  And I made them right away.  And you know what?  It was worth it!  They were actually even better than I remember them this time.  Maybe it's because I used chocolate chips instead of chunks this time?  Or maybe they're just as delicious as last time?  Either way, this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Actually Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Lauren's Latest

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips (I used semisweet chocolate chips....although in retrospect I think I only ended up using 1 cup of chocolate chips total...but I'm not 100% sure....)

Directions:

Stir melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well combined.
Add in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Mix until light in color.
Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and the bottom really well to ensure the batter is well mixed.

Hand stir the chocolate chips into the batter.
Let dough stand for 20 minutes to let the flour soak into the rest of the batter.

Preheat the oven to 325 while the dough is resting.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop cookie dough onto prepared pans using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop.

Bake 8-9 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking (I skip this step).
When you take the cookies out of the oven, they will look cooked around the edges and undercooked in the center.

Leave the cookies on the hot baking pans for 5-7 minutes or until you can remove them without falling apart (I let mine cool completely on the tray before removing them)
Place onto cooling racks.
Cool to room temperature before storing in airtight containers.  Honestly?  They won't last that long!

Funfetti cookies

It's been a while since you've heard from me.  Like nearly two months.  I blame a lot of things.  There was the absence of me baking during the Whole30 (plus the 10 day reintroduction, which no one really seems to mention until you finish the Whole30 and then go "wait, what?!  I still can't eat most of those foods for the next. ten. days?!").  There are the full weekends devoted to wedding planning.  And there was Passover.  And a weekend away with my girlfriends for my bachelorette party, and one at a conference in Boston.  Oh, and I got strep somewhere in there, too.  Oh, and I have an actual full time job?  Right, there's that, too.  Anyway, I can blame a lot of things.  But the thing I need to blame the most.....is me.  I could've found the time to bake, and share the goodies with you, but I just didn't.  I have no one to blame but myself.

But....

Things are getting festive and celebratory around here in JulieBakes-land.  Like we're getting married in 38 days.  Thirty.  Eight.  Days!!  That's just over a month, people!  And because when things get exciting and festive, I like to bake.  And because I like to bake festive things for celebratory events, I decided to use sprinkles because, well, they're festive, and frankly #sprinklesmakeeverythingbetter.

Enter the funfetti cookie.  Chock full of not only sprinkles but also nonpareils (the recipe called for a total of 5 tablespoons....I rounded up), these cookies scream "PARTY!!!"  Because, we're getting married soon!!!!

** Update: I made these cookies three times.  The first time I was unimpressed with the way they looked, but they tasted great.  I made them a second time, but didn't refrigerate the dough as the recipe stated to.  The third time I made them was for guests we had coming over, three days after the wedding! **

Funfetti Cookies
Recipe from Sugar Spun Run

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 2/3 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sprinkles -- I used 4 Tbsp
2 Tbsp nonpareils -- I used 3 Tbsp

Directions:

Place the butter in a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave in 15-second intervals (stirring between) until butter is completely melted.
If the butter is too hot, allow it to cool for a few minutes before the next step.

Stir in the sugar.
Add eggs and vanilla extract.
Stir well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet, until completely combined.
Stir in sprinkles and nonpareils.

Transfer bowl of dough to the fridge.
Allow dough to chill for at least 30 minutes.  Once, I skipped this step.  Another time, I chilled the dough but then let it come to room temperature before baking it.

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

Once the dough has chilled, scoop in into 2 Tbsp-sized balls (I rolled them and then slightly flattened them, so they were like a thick disc).
Place at least 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 1 minutes (I took mine out after 11 minutes, so watch them).  The cookies will still seem slightly underdone; this is OK, they will continue to cook on the cookie sheet as they cool.

Allow cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheet before enjoying.

Soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies

I'm a sucker for a good chocolate chip cookie.  I prefer soft and chewy ones (although recently I did have a delicious crispy one, too), so when I caught a glimpse of these aptly named "actually perfect" chocolate chip cookies, I knew I had to try them.

And trust me when I tell you that I was right!

These cookies are perfectly soft and chewy in the center, with just the slightest crisp at the edges, and packed with chocolate chips (I used half chunks, half chips).  They are actually perfect.

Of course, I already have a few ideas on how to doctor these a little (browned butter?  a sprinkling of sea salt?  a dash on cinnamon?), but for now I'm just going to enjoy these in all their perfectionism in their original state.  And then I'm going to promptly package them up for B to bring to work and some going away parties he has :-)

Actually Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Lauren's Latest

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips (I used semisweet chunks instead)

Directions:

Stir melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well combined.
Add in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Mix until light in color.
Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and the bottom really well to ensure the batter is well mixed.

Hand stir the chocolate chips into the batter.
Let dough stand for 20 minutes to let the flour soak into the rest of the batter.

Preheat the oven to 325 while the dough is resting.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop cough dough onto prepared pans using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop.

Bake 8-9 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking (I didn't read that part before baking).
When you take the cookies out of the oven, they will look cooked around the edges and undercooked in the center.

Leave the cookies on the hot baking pans for 5-7 minutes or until you can remove them without falling apart.
Place onto cooling racks.
Cool to room temperature before storing in airtight containers.

Cream cheese sugar cookies -- two ways!

The holidays are rapidly approaching (or at least it seems that way), and with Channukkah and Christmas falling at the exact same time this year (remember Thanksgivukkah, when Channukkah fell on Thanksgiving?  Just to jog your memory...), I have double baking duty: Channukkah treats for my family, and Christmas treats for my doormen and favorite baristas.

So I started early this year.  I was thinking of making my butter cookies or even cut-out sugar cookies, but then I came across this recipe for cream cheese sugar cookies, and I thought that they just sounded perfect (and they were).  But here's the thing -- this recipe makes a TON of dough.  So much so that I ended up freezing half of it and still got an insane amount of cookies.  Like, I shouldn't have been surprised -- the recipe called for over 5 cups of flour!

Knowing my antsy and unable-to-delay-gratification self, and not wanting to wait at least 2 hours for the dough to chill. I went ahead and used the soft, fresh dough to make spritz cookies - i just added a few nonpareils on top before baking.  They held their shape and they were delicious.  I packaged them up (after a little sample for each of us) for B to bring to work, since I knew I'd be making more of the dough later in the form of cut-out cookies.  After (not so) patiently waiting for the dough to chill (and baking another kind of cookie....don't worry, they'll be up soon), I went ahead and made adorable little cut-out cookies in hearts and stars.  These cookies would really be awesome decorated with royal icing, but I was pressed for time, so I drizzled these with white chocolate and then sprinkled a few more nonpareils on top.  But remember that dough that I froze for later?  Yeah, those'll be decorated with royal icing.

Those other cookies, you must be wondering...what are those?
Well, my friends, those will be up shortly.... :-)

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
From Cookies & Cups

Ingredients:

1 8oz brick of cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups of butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
5 1/4 cups flour

Nonpareils for decorating

White chocolate, for drizzling

Directions:

If making spritz cookies, preheat oven to 350F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy, about 2 minutes.
Scrape sides as necessary.

Add sugar and beat for an additional 3 minutes.
Mixture should be fluffy and pale in color.
Turn mixer to medium-low.
Add in egg yolks, vanilla, and salt.
Mix until combined.

Turn mixer to low.
Slowly add in flour.
Mix just until all flour is incorporated.

If making cut out cookies, wrap dough in disks in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Continue below at the *.

If making spritz cookies, transfer dough to a cookie press or a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip.
Pipe dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
Sprinkle with nonpareils or sprinkles. 
Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

* If making cut-out cookies, remove dough from fridge.
In portions, roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness on a floured surface.
Using cookie cutters, cut the dough.
Place cut cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes.  If making smaller cookies, like I did, start checking them at 7 minutes.  My mini cookies took 8 minutes to bake.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

If icing cookies, wait until completely cooled before icing cookies.
I'll post my royal icing recipe when I post the decorated cut out cookies later.  

Drizzle with white chocolate and sprinkle with nonpareils.  
NOTE: Cookies can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Rosemary, pecan, and parmesan cookies

I can see you. Through the computer. With that quizzical look. Rosemary + Parmesan, in a cookie?  She's for sure lost it this time.

But I haven't.  Nor has the creator of this cookie, Dorie Greenspan. (She's kinda like THE cookie goddess, if you don't know who she is.)  Nor has the person who recommended them to me, and told me that despite all the Thanksgiving baking I still had left to do, these cookies definitely needed to be made. 

These cookies are savory -- a savory shortbread, almost closer to a cracker, with a fine crumb (they're so crumbly, but in the best way possible) and just the teensiest hint of sweetness.  So much so that they're called -- get this -- cocktail cookies!  Not in the sense that there's booze in them (how can we make that happen?!), but in the sense that you eat them with booze.  White wine was mentioned somewhere, so was some champagne.  I could definitely get on board with that!

So yeah, these cookies.  It's probably too late for you to make them for this Thanksgiving, but Christmas is right around the corner....so is New Year's...or just any random Friday (or Tuesday) night!

A few thoughts about these cookies:

- They come together super easily!  Like all in the bowl of a food processor. No warming of the butter to room temperature.  Literally a few whirls in the food processor. That's it, people!

- Please, freshly grate your Parmesan. Don't use the stuff from the container from the grocery store.  I just feel like the freshly grated stuff is worlds better when it comes to baking.
- I'm toying with the idea of adding a few grinds of fresh black pepper next time.  I might also up the cheese just a little bit. 

- Lastly, don't be lazy like yours truly. Not wanting to take out your food processor because it's in the back of the cabinet behind a lot of other stuff is a pathetic reason to half the recipe so that you can use your mini-prep (which is way more accessible), yielding half as many delicious cookies, and just necessitating that you make another batch sooner.

Rosemary-Parmesan Shortbread Cookies
These were recommended to me by a friend, who has Dorie's new cookbook.  She even sent me pictures of the recipe from the book, but the flash got in the way, so a not-so-quick, very specific internet search yielded me the recipe linked above.

For a more crumbly texture, Dorie recommends not grating your cheese too fine.

Yields about 60 cookies

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp granualted sugar
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated and lightly packed
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small chunks
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

Special tools:
1.5" round cookie cutter

Instructions:

Season the sugar:
Working in a small bowl, run the sugar and rosemary together with your fingertips until the sugar turns moist, aromatic, and maybe even tinged green (mine was not green, and my fingers killed from all the mixing, so I left mine aromatic and moist, but still white)

Toast the pecans:
I did mine in a toasted at 400F.  
Watch closely, mine took about 5 minutes.  
Do not let them burn 

Prepare the dough:

Combine the flour, pecans, Parmesan, salt, and rosemary sugar in a food processor.
Pulse to blend.
Add in the pieces of cold butter.
Pulse until the mixture turns crumbly.
Slowly and gradually pulse in the beaten egg yolk.
Then continue to pulse the mixture until it turns to a moist dough that forms clumps and curds.

Roll the dough:

Turn the dough out and divide it in half.
Pat each half into a disk.
Working with one disk at a time, place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.
Roll the dough out to a 1/4-inch thickness.
Repeat with the other half.
Without removing the parchment paper, slide both disks onto a baking sheet -- you can stack them -- and freeze for at least 1 hour.  (Freeze?  Haha.  My freezer is FULL TO THE MAX.  Literally.  I could not fit a baking sheet into it if I tried.  So I refrigerated mine overnight.)

Position your oven rack to the center of your oven.
Preheat to 350F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
Have your cookie cutter on hand.

Cut the cookies:
Working with one slab of dough at a time, peel away the top sheet of parchment paper.
Use the cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as you can.
Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.
Leave about 1 inch between cookies.
Combine the scraps from both portions of dough.
Re-roll the dough.
Freeze and repeat the process with the remaining dough.
Always make sure that you start with a cool baking sheet.

Bake the cookies, for about 15 minutes, or once they turn golden and have set.
Rotate your baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through the baking time.
Once done, let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Bake the remaining cookies.

To store:
If wrapped well, the rolled out dough can be frozen and stored for up to 2 months.
Simply cut out the dough and bake directly from the freezer.
Baked cookies can be kept in a covered container for up to 1 week at room temperature.

Serve with a crisp glass of white wine or champagne.  (or the whole bottle....this is a no judgement zone!)

Momofuku Milk Bar's blueberries and cream cookies

A long time ago, before I had eaten at a Momofuku restaurant (hard to believe, right?!), I had seen these cookies via a foodie website that I followed.  I saved the recipe immediately, as I often do, and then it sat in a cyber folder on my computer.  I've since become obsessed with certain Momofuku restaurants and in particular that they serve a rotating variety of Momofuku Milk Bar cookies at one restaurant.  B and I loved these blueberries and cream cookies when we had them (our latest Momofuku Noodle Bar trip -- yesterday! -- wound up with a different but also delicious confetti cookie for dessert), and that started the wheels turning in my head.  We needed some blueberries and cream cookies STAT (and by "we," I mean I needed to send them to work with B).

Just an FYI, these cookies involve 2 steps -- 3 if you include the difficult-to-delay-gratification waiting time of 1 hour to SEVEN days-- but they are SO worth it!  The original recipe says it makes 12-17 cookies, but I got 20 (with just a little extra to make a mini tasting cookie ;-)).

Blueberry & Cream Cookies
Momofuku Milk Bar (you have to click on the link up top for the cookies...there's no direct link)

Ingredients:

For the milk crumbs:

1/2 cup milk powder
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt (I crust it between my fingers when I add it to the recipe)
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup milk powder
3 oz white chocolate, melted

For the cookies:

16 Tbsp butter, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup glucose (I didn't have any....I used light corn syrup and they were great!)
2 eggs
2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp kosher salt (I like to crush it between my fingers as I add it in)
1/2 recipe milk crumbs
3/4 cup dried blueberries

Directions:

Make the milk crumbs:

Preheat the oven to 250F.

Combine the 1/2 cup milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
Toss with your hands to mix.
Add the melted butter and toss, using a spatula, until the mixture starts to come together and form small clusters.

Spread the clusters on a parchment- or silpat-lined sheet pan.
Bake for 20 minutes.
The crumbs should be sandy at that point, and the kitchen should smell like buttery heaven.
Cool the crumbs completely.

Crumble any crumbs that are bigger than 1/2 inch in diameter.
Put the crumbs in a medium bowl.
Add the 1/4 cup of milk powder.
Toss together until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Pour the white chocolate over the crumbs and toss until the clusters are enrobed.
The continue to toss them every 5 minutes until the white chocolate hardens and the clusters are no longer sticky.
Try not to eat them all.

[The crumbs will keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 month.]

Make the cookies:

Combine the butter, sugars, and glucose/corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Cream on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the eggs.
Beat for 7-8 minutes.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute.
Scrap down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

While still on low speed, add the milk crumbs and mix until they're incorporated, no more than 30 seconds.
Chase the milk crumbs with the dried blueberries, mixing them in for 30 seconds.

Using a 2 3/4 oz ice cream scoop (or a 1/3 cup measure), portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Pat the tops of the cookie domes flat.
Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 week.

Heat the oven to 350F.

Arrange chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on a parchment- or silpat-lined sheet pans.
Bake for 18 minutes (mine were ready after 15-16 minutes....watch them carefully).
The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread.
After 18 minutes they should be very faintly browned on the edges yet still bright yellow in the center.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring them to a plate or to an airtight container for storage.
At room temp, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for up to 1 month.

Tahini chocolate chunk cookies

You know when something on the surface sounds weird, but it just calls to you?  That's totally the case with these cookies!  Tahini to me, at least in my mind, has always been associated with savory foods.  In fact, I had tahini in the apartment from when I made hummus (which I need to make again REALLY soon!).  But something about this cookie just called to me.  I can't explain it to you, but it did.  And it was sad, but it sat on the back burner through all of Passover, and then another two weeks after.

Today, however, I rectified that.  B thought I was a little crazy (I'm sure he's not the only one, like I said, I get that they sound a little weird, at best), but just one bite and he was convinced.  These cookies are goooood!  The tahini gives them a nuttiness that is more muted and subtle than peanut butter or almond butter.  And the little bit of cinnamon?  It just rounds out the deliciousness!

Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies
From The Little Epicurean

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar (I had planned to use light brown sugar but mine was dried out and hard, so I used dark instead)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup tahini
10 oz (2 cups) dark chocolate chunks (I only had 6 oz so supplemented with some extra dark chocolate chips)
White sesame seeds, to top dough as needed

Directions:

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Set aside.

Cream butter.
Add sugars.
Mix until smooth.
Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
Add eggs and mix until incorporated.
Add in tahini and mix until combined.

Add flour mixture.
Mix until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour.
Fold in chocolate chunks until evenly distributed.

Cover cookie dough with plastic wrap and place in fridge.
Allow dough to chill for an hour (until it is slightly cool to the touch) -- I went out for a long walk and dinner, so I let mine warm up a little before baking them.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Use a #24 cookie scoop to portion out the dough.
Place dough on a parchment-lined tray at least 2 inches apart from each other.
Sprinkle sesame seeds over the dough.
Bake for 14-18 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the middle is still a bit soft.
Allow to cool on pan until cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack to cool.

Unicorn bars

Sometimes a recipe just calls to me, and I feel compelled to make it, even if I don't have a reason/event to make it for. I saw these "unicorn bars" a while ago and wanted to make them.  Time got away from me, and the other day I received a shipment of sprinkles (gorgeous, stunning sprinkles that I ordered from the amazing sweetapolita!) and realized they'd look stunning on these bars!

So I set out to make them.  I realized that my new sprinkles (given their varying sizes, textures, and make-up (some have sixlets (chocolate-filled candies) in them) probably wouldn't mix into the bars well, so I used rainbow sprinkles for the bars themselves, and topped them with the fancy sprinkles.  (And I had fun playing around with my macro lens for my iPhone and took these close-ups of the sprinkles!)

Basically, they're a glorified funfetti cookie base covered in vanilla buttercream (in fun colors!!) and then topped generously with beautiful sprinkles (I used a combination of 4 different kinds of sprinkles -- some regular rainbow sprinkles and 3 different pretty sprinkles mixes that I had bought [in even amounts, because I'm OCD], minus the few sixlets that I picked out and ate while I was making the icing.....but shhhh, no one else needs to know that!). 

These really are gorgeous bars, and super tasty, too!  I made sure to package up a bunch for B to bring to work this weekend, and some others for drinks I have dinner plans with for tomorrow evening.

Unicorn Bars
from Cookies & Cups

Ingredients:

For the bars:

1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 tsp kosher salt (I recommend crushing it between your fingers as you add it)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sprinkles

For the frosting:

1 cup butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp milk
Blue food coloring
Pink/red food coloring (I ended up using some pink and then a drop of purple to get a richer purple)
Sprinkles for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Line a 9 x 13" pan with foil, and coat the foil with nonstick spray
Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar.
Add in the vanilla, eggs, and salt.
Whisk until smooth.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in the flour until just combined.
Finally, stir in the sprinkles.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are set. 
The bars might seem underdone, but allow them to cool completely.

Make the frosting.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes until it's smooth.
Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar.
Next, add in 2 tablespoons of milk.
Mix on medium speed until it's creamy, scraping the sides as necessary.
If the frosting is too stiff, add in 1 more tablespoon of milk until the desired consistency is reached.
Finally, add in 1-2 drops of blue food coloring.
Mix until a pale blue color is reached and evenly mixed.
Remove half of the frosting and place in a piping bag.  I chose not to use a piping tip on it, but you can use any tip that you'd like.
To the remaining frosting in the bowl, add 1-2 drops of pink/red food coloring or purple (if you have) and mix again until a pale purple/lavender color is reached and evenly mixed.
Add purple frosting to another piping bag.

Pipe or spread the frosting on top of the bars.
The original blogger piped rich swirls of frosting on the bars before cutting them  I was afraid that it would get too messy, so I cut them and then piped a little dallop of either the blue or purple frosting on top.

Garnish with more sprinkles, if desired.  Definitely, definitely liberally apply sprinkles!

Note: If you pipe the frosting on the uncut bars, with glorious swirls as the original blogger did, you will need to double the amount of frosting.  If you pipe it as I did, half the frosting recipe should be enough, but I'd make a full batch of frosting depending on how big you cut the bars (mine were quite small, about 1 x 1").

Bouchon Bakery chocolate chip and chunk cookies

The past few weeks have been a bit hectic in our apartment.  In summary: 2 people with the flu, one medication adverse effect, four pots of chicken soup, gallons of Gatorade, and a delicious cookie from a bakery.  

See, I had to run some errands and while doing so, in an attempt to kill time before a meeting, went into Bouchon Bakery in Rockefeller Center.  There I bought a chocolate chip cookie that was mind-blowingly amazing.  So amazing, in fact, that when I went back two days later to pick up something I had dropped off on my last trip there, I picked up one for B.

The first day I had that cookie, I googled the recipe when I got to work. I found a few versions online.  I thought I was so smart!  Until I got home and remembered that I actually had the Bouchon Bakery cookbook...and the recipe was in it!

So at the tail end (I hope!!) of the week plus of illness, I set out to make these cookies. It was kinda my way of telling the germs that I was celebrating their demise, intimidating them into leaving our home for good!  Good riddance, germs!  And welcome, delicious cookies!!

The recipe for these cookies said it made 6 giant cookies.  I ended up making 3 giant cookies, and in realizing just how giant they were, made the next two batches smaller.  I sent them to work with B, and they were met with lots of "oohs" and "aaahs" -- the same exact response that we gave them here in the apartment!

Bouchon Bakery Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies
From the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups + 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 3/4 tsp unsulfured blackstrap molasses
1/2 cup + 1 tsp granulated sugar
2/3 cup 3/8" chocolate 70-72% chocolate
Scant 1/2 cup chocolate chips
5.9 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 Tbsp + 2 1/2 tsp eggs

Directions:

Place flour in a medium bowl.
Sift in the baking soda.
Add the salt (I recommend crushing it between your fingers when you add it).
Whisk together.

Place the dark brown sugar in a bowl.
Add the molasses and granulated sugar.
Mix well, breaking up any lumps.
The mixture will not be smooth.

Place the chocolate chunks in a strainer and tap the side to remove any powdered chocolate (it would cloud the cookies).
Mix with the chocolate chips.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Turn to medium-low speed and cream the butter, warming the bowl if needed, until it is the consistence of mayonnaise and holds a peak when the paddle is lifted.
Add the molasses mixture.
Mix for 3-4 minutes, until fluffy.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add the eggs and mix on low speed for 15-30 seconds, until just combined.
Scrape the bowl again.
The mixture may look broken, but that's fine.

Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing on low speed for 15-30 seconds after each, or until just combined.
Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled there.
Add the chocolates and pulse on low speed about 10 times to combine.

Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Line two sheet pans with silpats or parchment paper.

Using an ice cream scoop (recommended: 2 1/2 inch ice cream scoop), divide the dough into 6 equal portions (150 grams each).  I made some large ones and then made the rest of the dough into smaller ones (see pictures above).
Roll each into a ball between the palms of your hands (you can shape the dough in advance).

The cookies are very large; only bake 3 per sheet.
Stagger the cookies on the pan.
Allow the dough to warm up to room temperature before baking.

Bake until golden brown, 14-16 minutes in a convection oven, 18-20 minutes in a standard oven.
Reverse the positions of then pans halfway through baking.
Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5-10 minutes, then transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.
The cookies are best the day they are baked, but can be stored in a covered container for up to 3 days.

Spritz cookies

This fall, I signed up for my second The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.  In case you missed my post last year, here's a quick rundown: It's really a fantastic event -- a cookie swap of epic proportions, so to speak.  The premise is this: sign up.  Get 3 matches emailed to you.  Bake 3 dozen cookies.  Mail 1 dozen cookies to each match.  Receive 1 dozen cookies from 3 bloggers who received your name as their match.  Blog about your cookies.  And the best part (the other best part, the best part besides receiving 3 dozen cookies mailed.  to.  your.  door!)?  Your $4 admission fee goes to Cookies for Kids' Cancer -- which really helps combine two of my passions: baking and helping kids (I am a pediatric nurse practitioner, after all!).

So last year I made some killer cranberry shortbread cookies.  They were awesome.  I actually made them four different ways, and ended up deciding the cranberry ones were the best.  This year I went with a classic spritz cookie.  A delicious crumbly not-to-sweet butter cookie that I topped with just a sprinkling of colorful nonpareils for a pop of color.  b and his mom were more than happy to be my taste testers for these a few days before I made my cookie swap cookies.  His coworkers were huge fans, too!

Spritz Cookies 
From America's Test Kitchen Step by Step Holiday Baking

Ingredients:

1 large egg yolk
1 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
16 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 cps all-purpose flour

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position.
Heat oven to 375F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Set aside.

Whisk egg yolk, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl until combined.
Set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Scrape down bowl as needed.
Reduce speed to medium.
Add egg yolk mixture.
Beat until incorporated.

Reduce speed to low.
Gradually beat in flour until combined, scraping down bowl as needed.
Give dough a final stir by hand.

If using cookie press, follow directions on the press.  If using pastry bag, insert star tip and fill bag halfway with dough.  (I used different tips to make different shapes.)
Hold the bag at a 90 degree angle about 1/2 inch above the prepared tray.
Pipe cookies, spacing them about 1.5 inches apart.
Refill cookie press/pastry bag as needed.
Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until light golden brown, 10-12 minutes.
Rotate sheet halfway through baking.

Let cookies cool on sheets for 10-15 minutes.
Transfer to wire rack to cool.
Let cool completely before serving (or packaging up to mail ;-)).

Sugar cookie donuts

With tonight being the first night of Channukkah, and preexisting plans for tonight, I wanted to make donuts but didn't have the patience to try deep frying for the first time.  A while ago I had seen someone make donut shaped cookies and thought they were adorable, but was saddened to read that people who made them were unhappy with the way they tasted.

So I went on a google search and found these cookies, which looked good and pretty tasty, too.  I went a little crazy with the decorations because, well, why not?

Sugar Cookie "Donuts"
From Lovely Little Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extrat
2 Tbsp Greek yogurt (I was out, so I used sour cream)
2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

For the glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbsp half and half (I used cream, and I needed more than 6 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp cocoa powder (I used Dutch press)
1/4 tsp almond extract (I used vanilla extract instead)
Food coloring, if using
Nonpareils, sprinkles, other decorations

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg and mix.
Add vanilla and almond extracts, and Greek yogurt.
Beat until smooth and creamy.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and baking soda.
Gradually add dry ingredients to the batter and mix until combined.

Place tablespoon sized balls of dough into each section of a mini donut baking pan.
Press the dough around the donut mold, making sure to push it into the mold and to make sure that the center piece is visible.

Bake for 7-8 minutes.
All to cool for another 7-8 minutes in the pan before removing.
To remove, gently twist the donut to loosen the edges.
Turn the pan upside down and the cookies should come right out, if not, then give the pan a firm whack on the counter.

Make the glaze.
I wanted some chocolate glazed and some vanilla, so I did the following:
Place 1 cup of powdered sugar in 1 bowl with 1 Tbsp cocoa powder.
Add in 3 Tbsp of half and half or cream.
Mix well until you get a glaze-like consistency.
If too thick, add cream/half and half 1 tsp at a time to thin it out until you get the desired consistency.

In another bowl, add 1 cup of powdered sugar.
Add in 3 Tbsp of half and half or cream and the 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract.
Mix well until you get a glaze-like consistency.
If too thick, add cream/half and half 1 tsp at a time to thin it out until you get the desired consistency.

Dip the top of the cooled cookies into the glaze of your choice.
Allow the excess to drip back into the bowl before placing them on a cooling rack.
Sprinkle with nonpareils/sprinkles/decorations while the glaze is still wet.

You can also drizzle glaze on top of dipped cookies, as I did with some. 
Allow the dipped cookies to dry slightly.
Place contrasting colored glaze in a ziplock bag with a small corner cut off .
Drizzle icing onto cookies.