If you follow us on Instagram (@allthefinn), then you know we’ve been doing quite a bit of baking this week. And by “we,” I mean “I.”
Honestly, I can’t quite think of anything else that so appropriately signals the end of my school semester (just submitted final grades–wut, wut?!) and the beginning of holiday break that a few marathon days of back pain-inducing cookie making.
I’m taking a break from binge-baking today, but I thought I’d share a little about what I bake–and how I tackle it all.
Each year, I have a few standards that I always make. Then, I like to mix things up with some newer recipes. All in, I typically bake 8-10 different kinds of cookies, and we usually end up with around 500 cookies in total.
Fun fact: I don’t even really like cookies. But I like baking for people who do like cookies. So, I go crazy.
Between family visits, a wife who is a cookie fiend (and now a preggo wife who is a cookie fiend), a toddler, and various get-togethers, we end up eating our fair share at the homestead. Sona also takes several batches to work, and we hand them out as gifts (just dropped off two tins at our local UPS store, today).
This is the haul from my first day baking, this week:
(Excuse the crappy iPhone photos. When you bake this many cookies, you could care less about fussing with a fancy camera.)
Starting at the top left, there are:
Pecan Snowball Cookes: These are new this year. I’ll be totally honest in admitting that I only did them because I wanted a round cookie to add variety–and because they are fairly easy.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip: Okay, if you click on this link, the first thing you’ll notice is that my cookies look NOTHING like the ones pictured. Something went wrong, y’all. These are still a very good basic chocolate chip, and brown butter makes everything better, but I kind of wish I would have made the Nutella-Stuffed Brown Butter Chocolate Chip cookies that I’ve made for several years. I was just being lazy. The latter are definitely superior. Maybe I’ll make them next week.
Almond Cream Cheese Spritz: These have become a must-have, and they are Sona’s favorite. (My third favorite.) The recipe is straight out of the instructional booklet that came with the cookie press I bought last year. (I checked to make sure this blogged version is the same.) I add 2 tsp of almond extract because DUH. It makes everything better. I’m obsessed with this OXO cookie press. You can make like 30 cookies in 3 minutes, and they always look professionally made. It took a few trials to get the cookie press cookies perfect, but here is the trick: everything must be cold! Use a silicone baking mat on your cookie sheet (I never cook without out). Put the baking sheet (with mat) either in the fridge or, if you live somewhere as cold as Chicago, on the porch. Let it get reallllllly cold–like 10-15 minute. Then, the spritz cookies will perfectly stick to the baking sheet–and not the press–when you punch them out. Then, after your cookie sheet is full of perfectly-shaped cookies, chill them again for another 5-10 minutes. Making sure they are really cold before baking ensures that they will hold their shape. I always split my dough in half and do two different colors/shapes.
Spicy Chai Snickerdoodles: This is the base recipe I used, and then I added a ton of spices. I didn’t measure, if I’m being honest, but I added roughly a 1/2 tsp of each of the following: white pepper, cardamom, clove, allspice, ground ginger. I also added a full tsp of cinnamon into the batter, in addition to what I used to roll the balls in. They are really, really good, but I wonder if they’d be even better had I added extra spices to the rolling mix (cinnamon/sugar), too.
And here’s the haul from last night:
Peanut Butter Kisses: These are my favorite, and they are the cookie I most associate with the holidays. They also happen to be the easiest. Counting the Hershey kisses, these cookies only have 4 ingredients. I follow the linked recipe, and I usually add a tbsp or two of flour. I just think the texture is better that way. That said, my cookies ALWAYS crack. I think PB cookies are kind of supposed to crack, though. So, I don’t really mind. A lot of people add the kisses after baking, but I really prefer to add them before. They taste kind of toasty–and delicious–that way. One tip: DO NOT use fancy, homemade, “natural” peanut butter. You want the classic stuff, otherwise they will be an oily mess.
Rosemary Orange Shortbread: These are my second favorite cookie. I follow the recipe linked, but I add the zest of an orange. You can also use the same base recipe–minute rosemary and orange–and add Earl Grey tea and lavender. SO GOOD. They do need to be rolled and cut, which is the biggest PIA, but I follow the same chilling tips as with the spritz: chill pan, chill cookies before baking. That way, they are easier to cut and they hold their shape.
Almond Joy Chocolate Crinkles: Follow recipe and add 2 tsp almond extract and 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes. These are so fudgy and rich. They are also pretty easy–easy enough that I let Finn help me with the final steps. (See photos of him covered in powdered sugar.) Since I love almond/coconut anything, these may have to go into the regular rotation.
Here are a few more that I still plan to bake:
Cherry Almond Thumbprints: I make these every year. They don’t keep as well. So, I’ll wait and make them a little closer to Christmas. I like to use sour cherry preserves instead of raspberry, and if I’m feeling extra spunky, I’ll do a dark chocolate drizzle.
Coconut Brown Butter Cookies: Enough said.
Ginger Pecan Oatmeal Crisps: These were some of the first cookies I started baking, and they were Sona’s original favorites. I could never get perfect squares, as pictured on the website, but they are delicious and texturally very different than any of the others.
Christmas Crack (AKA Saltine Cracker Toffee): It just ain’t Christmas without it.
What are your favorite holiday recipes?