=46rom IN Jersey

Crazy for cookies

Published in the Home News Tribune 12/17/03
These snacks sweeten the holidays
By SARAH FRITSCHNER
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

Christmas means cookies. It's a crazy time of year, when even nonbake=
rs scan
magazines and flip through file boxes to find old-favorite and new co=
okie
recipes to make for colleagues, teachers, neighbors, extended family.

No matter the recipient, cookies always seem appropriate as gifts.

The yearly ritual can run the gamut from old-fashioned to more contem=
porary.

If you're making a bunch of cookies, it is best to mix easy recipes (=
bar and
drop cookies) with more labor-intensive ones (cutout and cream-filled=
). A
tempting variety doesn't have to take your entire weekend.

With a few hours' commitment (and perhaps some overnight chilling), t=
hese
recipes can make a respectable showing on any cookie tray.

Barely chocolatey peppermint bars combine nicely with spicy ginger co=
okies.

Cutout sugar cookies are essential in homes with children (and delici=
ous
enough for all ages). And the cream wafers are exquisite.

Betty Crocker cream wafers: Precise technique pays off in flavor and
texture.

Gingersnaps: Simple, beautiful and spicy, they come out perfect every=
time.

@ @ @ @ @
CUTOUT COOKIES
This dough is soft but easy to work with.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons cream or sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
Decorations, including colored sugars, cinnamon candy, etc.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except decorations. B=
eat on
low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl often, until the dough is m=
ixed
well. Divide dough in half, smash each half into a disk no thicker th=
an one
inch, wrap in plastic and chill at least two hours.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of t=
he
dough pieces to one-fourth inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. P=
lace
one inch apart on cookie sheets and decorate with colored sugar, cinn=
amon
candy or other edible decorations if desired. Bake six minutes, or un=
til
edges are very light brown. Cool on racks.

Makes about four dozen cookies.

If you'd like to frost the cookies: Combine four cups powdered sugar =
with
one-half cup butter, two teaspoons of vanilla and three or four table=
spoons
of milk. Beat until smooth. Divide among bowls and add colors, if you
prefer.

_____

@ @ @ @ @
HOLIDAY PEPPERMINT BARS

For the crust:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk-chocolate chips
For the frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon peppermint flavoring
3 or 4 tablespoons milk
crushed peppermint candy, optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees. For the crust, combine sugar, butter and mi=
lk in a
medium bowl and beat until creamy and well combined. Stir in flour, p=
ecans
and baking powder until well combined. Press into the bottom of a
13-by-9-inch baking pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light brow=
n.

Sprinkle with chips and let stand two minutes. Spread the melted choc=
olate
chips over crust and set aside to cool completely.

To make frosting: Combine powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt =
and
peppermint flavoring in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping =
the
bowl often, until partly blended. Add a tablespoon of milk and beat l=
onger.
Beat in enough remaining milk to reach desired spreading consistency.=
Spread
on top of cooled chocolate and sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy=
, if
desired.

Chill one hour or set aside several hours for frosting to set up befo=
re
cutting into desired shapes.

Makes about four dozen.

_____

@ @ @ @ @
GINGERSNAPS

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup canola oil or corn oil
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Elinor Klivans has written many user-friendly dessert cookbooks. This
gingersnap recipe comes from her "125 Cookies to Bake, Nibble and Sav=
or"
(Bantam, 1998). She recommends measuring the oil in a measuring cup, =
then
measuring the molasses in the same cup; that way the molasses pours r=
ight
out. I like these cookies, but I double the amount of ginger listed i=
n the
recipe.

Position two oven racks in the lower middle and upper middle of the o=
ven.
Heat the oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg to=
gether.
Set aside.

Put the oil, molasses, brown sugar and egg in a large bowl and beat o=
n
medium speed until smoothly blended, about 30 seconds. On low speed, =
add the
flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Chill 30 minutes or longer.

Put the granulated sugar in a small bowl. Measure a tablespoon of dou=
gh.
Roll it between your palms into one and one-fourth inch balls. Roll e=
ach
ball in the sugar to coat. Place the cookie balls two inches apart on=
the
baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, reversing the baking sheets after =
four
minutes front to back and top to bottom to ensure even baking.

The cookies will be evenly brown and have large cracks across the top=
, and
will flatten toward the end of their baking time. Cool them on the ba=
king
sheet for two minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool compl=
etely.
The parchment may be reused for cookies.

Makes 32 cookies.

_____

@ @ @ @ @
BETTY CROCKER'S CREAM WAFERS

For the wafers:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup whipping cream
sugar (see directions for amount needed)
For the filling:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
food coloring (red and green)

This recipe comes from "Betty Crocker's Ultimate Cookie Book" (Prenti=
ce
Hall, 1992). They are beautiful, one-bite wonders. And, yes, the reci=
pe is
correct: There is no sugar in the actual wafer, though they are dippe=
d in
sugar before baking.

To make the cookies: Mix flour, butter and whipping cream. Cover and
refrigerate one hour or until firm.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one-=
third
of the dough at a time one-eighth inch thick. Cut dough into one and
one-half inch rounds with an appropriate cutter or a shot glass.

Cover a large piece of waxed paper with a generous layer of sugar. Us=
ing a
spatula, transfer cookie rounds to sugar. Turn each round to coat bot=
h
sides. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and prick each round with a fo=
rk
three or four times. Bake seven to nine minutes or just until set but=
not
brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely.

To make the filling: Mix powdered sugar, butter and vanilla, beating =
until
smooth. Thin with a little milk or water (a few drops) if necessary. =
Divide
between two bowls and color each with a few drops of food coloring to=
make
pink and light-green filling. Spread one-half teaspoon filling on a c=
ookie,
then press another cookie against the filling to make sandwiches.

Makes about five dozen.

_____

=A9 copyright 2003 Gannett News Service
=66rom the Home News Tribune
Published on December 17, 2003



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