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Posts tagged ‘Christmas’

May 13

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Tasting Jerusalem: Hot Cross Buns in Cookie Form

ottolenghi spice cookies jerusalem | dailywaffle

My love for hot cross buns is well documented in the pages of this blog. But I only ever seem to think of them around Easter, when really, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be enjoying sweetened yeast buns with just a hint of spice, currants and candied fruit any ol’ time.  Which is what made these Spice Cookies my first choice for this month’s baking theme for Tasting Jerusalem.

You get the flavors of hot cross buns, the spice, the currants, the citrus in cookie form. And while it may seem slightly odd to be making spice cookies in the spring, because the truth is they do taste like the holidays, I couldn’t resist.

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Dec 10

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Quick Hit: Betty’s But Better – Cinnamon-Chipotle Snickerdoodles

I’ve mentioned before that Betty Crocker’s Snickerdoodles are a mainstay of my holiday baking repertoire. It’s a cookie I’ve loved since I was a kid and it’s one of Wolf’s favorites, too.  While he was in NYC this weekend, sending me jealous-making photos from Momofuku Noodle Bar and Il Laboratorio del Gelato, I was in the kitchen whipping up these cookies. (Good man, he brought me some Milk Bar cookies).

With just a quick tweak, you get the cinnamon you’re expecting in a snickerdoodle, but with a slow building smoky heat from the chipotle.  Two additional changes I do make to the original recipe — add 1/2 t. vanilla and up the salt to 1/2 t. as well.

Betty’s, but one better.

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Oct 23

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Cookie Time: Chocowalnos aka German Chocolate Cookies

Every Christmas, I find myself making the same cookies. For every other holiday, it’s ok to add new dishes, but at Christmas, there’s something comforting about tradition, about knowing that there will be snickerdoodles and chocolate crinkles and that my mom will probably send me a batch of candy cane cookies. But if tradition is just something you’ve done more than once, these chocolaty, coconutty, walnut-studded “brownie meets German chocolate cake” cookies are going to be a new holiday tradition.

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Dec 14

Yes! More Cookies: Anzac Biscuits Dressed Up for the Holidays

Originally, I was thinking about making these No Sugar Oat Drops, but it being the holidays I decided they were maybe a little too close to a granola bar…a little too healthy (yes, I’m crazy). I even bought the overripe bananas at the grocery in anticipation of making them, but then settled on a batch of Anzac biscuits.

Anzac biscuits are a brilliant invention all their own. Coconut, oats, brown sugar, butter, Lyle’s Golden Syrup and a little baking soda and water. What’s not to like? But since the holidays are all about gilding the lily, I thought I’d dress ‘em up a little. By altering the recipe, it’s not strictly an Anzac biscuit anymore, but it’s an oaty, coconutty drop of delicious, that’s for sure, and with a couple of additional tweaks, it just gets better. So coconut, oats…plus what?
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Oct 25

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Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Is it wrong to be thinking about Christmas cookies in October? Every year holiday decorations seem to appear in stores earlier and earlier. I’m always that person who complains and shakes her head. Why can’t we enjoy fall and give Halloween and Thanksgiving their due before Christmas barges in and takes over? But then again, I don’t have kids yet, so Halloween passes by without much notice and for me Thanksgiving is more about the whole meal, so I’m giving myself a pass. It’s ok to be thinking about Christmas cookies right now.
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