Did you know in Norway, in order to have a proper Christmas, tradition states every household HAS to make seven different types of cookies? It is true you can look it up. This does not include candies and cakes, so I guess I had better get busy since I am behind this year and have not made any cookies or candy.
So seven cookie recipes... yep I am trying to cheat, if I give you seven and I only make three maybe it might work.
The first is a recipe that is popular in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. This recipe does not have any eggs in it, so those who are allergic to eggs should be ok, but if you are also allergic to milk, you might skip this one.
This is a Pepper Cookie or Pepparkaker. It would be Norway’s answer to our gingerbread. You can either slice this dough or use your cutters to make cute shapes.
I cut this recipe down, to make 2 dozen cookies instead of 5. I also added cloves; I found a different Pepparkaker recipe.
Ingredients:
14 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of butter
¾ cup plus 2 teaspoons of white sugar
3Tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon of heavy whipping cream
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 ½ cups plus 2 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¾ teaspoon of baking powder
Directions:
Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the cream.
Add the baking soda to the butter mixture.
Sift the spices, baking powder and flour
Blend sifted flour mix into the butter mixture.
Roll dough into a log about 2-1/2 inches in diameter wrap tightly and let dough chill thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 375° F
Remove chilled dough and cut into thin slices.
Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 6 to 8 minutes, cool on wire rack.
The next cookie recipe comes from a friend of my family, thanks Mrs. Huntley! These little beauties are two wafer cookies with cream sandwiched between them. If you would like you, can color the cream, go right ahead and chose the food coloring of your choice.
Cream Wafers
Wafer Ingredients:
1 cup of butter or margarine
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups flour
Sugar
Directions:
Mix all ingredients except sugar
Chill one hour
Preheat oven 375°F
Roll on floured board to 1/8 inch thick cut out circles,
Put sugar on wax paper and pat circles in the sugar then place on a baking sheet
Prick each circle twice with a fork bake for 7-9minutes, Do Not Brown
Cool on wire racks.
To fill the cookies, I would use a pastry bag or a zipper bag with a corner cut out. Place cream on the bottom of one cookie and top with another.
Cream Filling:
1/3 cup soft butter
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 egg yoke
1 teaspoon vanilla
You could almost eat these cookies for breakfast. With whole-wheat flour, peanut butter, and oatmeal you could do a lot worse with a doughnut or fast food. Makes 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon instant espresso coffee powder
1 Tablespoon water
1 ½ cups chunky peanut butter
½ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2cups rolled oats
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup dark chocolate pieces
1 cup hazelnuts (filberts) toasted and chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
In small bowl stir coffee and water until dissolved
In large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter for 30 seconds on high
Add brown sugar, baking soda and salt, beat until combined
Beat in eggs, vanilla, and coffee mixture
Add oats and beat in as much flour as you can with mixer.
With wood spoon stir in any remaining flour, nuts and chocolate.
Using a ¼ measuring cup, drop mounds of cookie dough on 3 inches apart on on ungreased cookie sheet
Slightly flatten the dough mounds
Back 13 – 15 minutes or until light brown. **Cool on sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool**
** I would suggest instead placing the cookies on parchment paper, slide paper off the cookie sheet on to the wire rack
Who does not like Maple syrup? When you make these, use pure (real) maple syrup… no to Mrs. Butterworth or the Logcabin. The cookies won’t taste right if you skimp on the real thing, most of the commercial syrups are not maple syrup but maple flavored corn syrup and sugar.
I would suggest when you serve these, either frost them, sprinkle some raw sugar on top before baking.
They can be bland, so I turned them into thumbprint cookies and topped with my Blueberry Grand Marnier jam and they were yummy!
To make thumbprint cookies, roll into 1-inch balls, push a well into the middle of the ball with your thumb. Fill the well with your favorite jam.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
½ cup maple syrup
2 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F
In a bowl beat butter and maple syrup together until smooth
In different bowl, stir flour and salt together
Gradually mix flour to butter mix until well blended
Form mix into small two inch balls and gently flatten
Arrange on baking sheet and cook for 10 to 12minutes or until lightly brown
The next recipe is for Rosettes. These again are from Scandinavia and are a traditional cookie. I have not had these in years. My mom would make these sometimes for Christmas, and would sprinkle powdered sugar on them. I think they would good too if they were sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar. To make these you need a Rosette iron, for these cookies are not baked but fried. This recipe comes from Linda Larsen over at about.com. Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 17 minutes
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
peanut oil for deep frying
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Preparation:
Beat eggs slightly. Add 1 tablespoon sugar and salt. Add flour and milk alternately, blending until smooth. Stir in vanilla. The batter should be about as thick as pancake batter. If it isn't, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time. If it is too thick, add a teaspoon of milk at a time.
Heat 3" of oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees. (A deep frying thermometer is very helpful, and I highly recommend it.) Place a rosette iron in the hot oil for 60 seconds. There's no way to take the temperature of the iron; it just has to be hot.
Dip the hot iron into the batter, making sure NOT to let the batter run over the top of the iron. If you do, the rosette will be impossible to remove. Immerse the coated iron in the hot fat and fry 25-30 seconds until light brown. Slip off onto a paper towel.
On large plate, combine 1 cup sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Dip rosettes in this mixture while still warm. You can also sprinkle them with powdered sugar. Don't skip this step - the cookies aren't really sweetened until they're coated in some kind of sugar! Makes about 36 rosettes
Nothing screams Christmas like Gingerbread cookies, but have you ever made them? I found this recipe by accident today from the San Jose Mercury News webpage.
Gingerbread Cookies With Lemon Glaze,
yield: about 50 cookies Time: 3 hours, mostly unattended (or longer, depending on how long you refrigerate the dough)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond flour or finely ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup molasses
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Oil or butter for greasing the pans
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1. Combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, and white pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Beat the butter and brown sugar with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer (or with a handheld electric mixer) until light and fluffy. Add the molasses, eggs, and vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture and stir gently to combine. Wrap the dough in foil or plastic wrap (or simply cover the bowl) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease one or two baking sheets. Drop the dough by the rounded tablespoonful onto the baking sheet(s), leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake until the cookies are firm and their edges are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer the cookies to wire racks or paper towels to finish cooling. Repeat with the remaining dough.
4. When the cookies are completely cool, whisk together the powdered sugar and the lemon juice. Drizzle or spoon the glaze over the cookies. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a few days.
Cookie number seven is from Taste of Home website. A few tips for making these cookies: chilling the dough will make it easier to work with. For quick frosting changes consider using store bought frosting in the tube. Use a melon-baller to get consistent size cookies. These can be a bit dry like Sandies or Mexican Wedding cookies if you do not measure your flour out correctly.
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Cherry Bonbon Cookies
36 maraschino cherries
1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
3 teaspoons Spice Island® Pure Vanilla Extract
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Christmas Glaze
1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Red and green liquid food coloring
Colored sprinkles
Chocolate Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons water
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon Spice Island® Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Pat cherries dry with paper towels; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioner's sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.
Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each cherry, forming a ball. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 14-16 minutes or until bottoms are browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
For Christmas glaze, in a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and enough water to achieve a dipping consistency. Transfer half of the glaze to another bowl; tint one bowl green and the other red. Dip the tops of nine cookies in green glaze and nine cookies in red glaze, then decorate with sprinkles. Let stand until set.
For chocolate glaze, in a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and enough water to achieve dipping consistency. Stir in chocolate and vanilla. Dip the tops of remaining cookies in glaze, then sprinkle with nuts. Let stand until set. Yield: 3 dozen.
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