Hi there sorry it’s been so long. The lovely folks over at Quirk Books were kind enough to send me “The Cookiepedia” by Stacy Adimando with photos by Tara Striano to look over.

I found the cookbook to be a fun read with a great assortment of recipes and luscious photos. It is pulled together nicely with categories listed as “Buttery, Chocolaty, Fancy, Fruity, Spicy, and Nutty & Seedy”, a fun graphic design and a user friendly spiral binding inside the covers. I have baked a few recipes from it and my favourite so far are these ”Mint Thins” cookies: (photo and recipe reprinted with permission from Quirk Books)

Mint Thins by Stacy Adimondo, makes: 3 dozen cookies

preheat oven to 350°F
 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
 1 cup powdered sugar
 1 egg
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
 2/3 cup cocoa powder
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
 1/4 cup unsalted butter
 ¾ teaspoon peppermint flavor

Nobody you know will not come by when you say you’re
 baking homemade mint thins. (If they don’t so much as
 ask, consider defriending them immediately.) The question
 is: Do you want to share?

The baking and dunking takes
 no time (especially if you’re tasting as you go), but these
 bite-size treats do hold up best (and taste yummiest)
 once the mint chocolate has had ample time to set. If
 you’re protective of your stash, store them in the freezer.

They’re best with a chill anyway.

1. Cream the butter until it’s light and fluffy.
 Add the powdered sugar and continue mixing,
 stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as
 needed. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
 Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
 Add the flour mixture by halves, beating to
 incorporate after each addition.

2. Turn out the dough onto a clean surface
 and form it into a disk with your hands. Split
 the disk in half and place them in the fridge
 to firm up for 1 hour.

Tip:

If you’re short
 on time, do 25
 minutes in the
 freezer instead.

3. Working on a floured surface (you’ll need
 a decent amount, since the dough is sticky),
 roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thick. Shape the
 cookies using a 1-1/2-inch round cutter and
 place them on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.
 Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, then let cool
 completely.

4. Break up the chocolate into a bowl and set it
 over a small pot of simmering water (make sure
 the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Add the butter
 and the peppermint flavor and stir the mixture
 steadily until it’s fully melted and looks glossy and
 smooth. Remove the bowl and let the chocolate
 cool slightly.

5. One by one, drop the cookies in the chocolate,
 then scoop them out with a fork to let the excess
 drip off. (Tap the cookies against the side of the
 bowl to help drain the extra chocolate.) Move
 them carefully to a wire rack or parchment-paperlined
 baking sheet. When they’re all coated, move
 the sheet to the refrigerator or freezer to set.

Mint thins, meet chocolate chip
 cookie dough. You’re a match made
 in heaven.

Mint-Thin-Stuffed Cookies

Prepare a batch of the mint thins
 and store them in the freezer. Then
 prepare a batch of the chocolate
 chip dough on page 43. When both
 are chilled, sandwich the mint cookie
 between 1 tablespoon each of the
 chocolate chip dough, then press the
 dough around the mint thin to cover
 it completely. Bake according to the
 chocolate chip directions.

Run out and get the book :$18.95 from Quirk Books, ISBN #978-1-59474-535-5 wherever great cookbooks are sold.   BTW check out lots of other great books from Quirk Books here.

Pink Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies

• 3 Cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 cups of granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter or (1/2 butter -1/2 non-hydrogenated shortening)
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients together and cut the butter into them, then mix in the eggs and extracts. Mix until a soft dough forms. Roll out on a lightly floured surface about 1/4 inch thick and cut with heart shaped cutters. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 8 minutes for small hearts and about 11 minutes for large. Watch them and don’t over bake- remove when just set through. Remove to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Browned Butter Frosting

• 6 Tablespoons butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup hot water
• a couple of drops of red food colouring, keep it pale and pretty
• pink sanding sugar (optional)

Brown the butter in a small saucepan over low heat until it is golden brown. Add remaining ingredients using a little more or less to get a spreadable consistency. Add the coloring slowly just until you get a pretty pink – keep it pale. If the frosting hardens a bit you can rewarm it over low heat. Frost the cooled cookies. Sprinkle with the sanding sugar if desired.

When you are in the mood for a nice spicy gingerbread type cookie- these should do the trick. I made this batch for Winter Solstice this week so that’s why they’re decorated as suns. Cut them out in whatever shape you desire and decorate or sprinkle with sliced almonds. They are a touch of  the holiday spirit for a cookie jar in my opinion.

Holiday Ginger Snaps

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons ground Ceylon Cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon groung nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound butter, cut into pieces
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Frosting (recipe follows) to decorate or sliced almonds

Place the sugar, molasses, spices-except the pepper- and 1/3 cup of water into a small saucepan. Simmer stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved and it comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the butter and the pepper. Stir until melted.  Cool to room temperature.  Combine the flour with the baking soda and gradually stir in until combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface  and  knead a few times until smooth and the flour is evenly incorporated. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and chill for at least an hour or up to a week.

Preheat the oven to 350F and roll out just a small portion of the dough at a time to 1/8″ thick (roll the dough thinner for very crisp cookies or thicker for softer cookies), cut into the shapes you desire with a cookie cutter. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets- anywhere from 6-13 minutes depending on how thick you have rolled the dough and how large you have cut the cookies. Watch them after the minimum time and remove when slightly brown and slightly firm to the touch. Let cool a minute on the pans, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes several dozen -again depending on size. Frost with a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip.

Frosting

• 2 egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• about 4 cups of powdered sugar

Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. Stir in the vanilla and the powdered sugar to make a medium stiff frosting. Frost as desired.

Happy Holidays!

xo

This recipe came from my Aunt B as Raspberry Almond Thumbprints-one of our favourite all time cookies. In fact, we served these as part of a cream tea for our wedding reception. 

 They are a delightful combination of short bread cookie with the almond playing a nice offset against the sweet-tartness of the jam center. As I made them for a treat this holiday I came across a jar of B’s homemade blackberry jam in the pantry. (She’s a lovely friend to have- always sharing the bounty of her kitchen!) So I thought I would try a variation. I’m glad I did because I think that these are just as good and the contrast is beautiful too.

Blackberry (or Raspberry) Almond Thumbprints                             (makes 3-1/2 dozen)

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup blackberry or raspberry jam

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 2-3 teaspoons water

For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking trays with parchment and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine the butter, sugar and almond extract.  Beat at medium speed until creamy, scraping the bowl often.  Reduce speed to low and add all of the flour at once. Beat until well mixed. Shape the dough into 1″ diameter balls or a bit smaller. Place 2″ apart on the baking sheets. Press your thumb into the center taking care not to push in too far or they will not be thick enough on the bottoms. Fill each indentation with a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Don’t be afraid if it looks quite full- the cookies will spread as they cook and the jam will thin out in the cookie to fill the center. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Let stand on the sheets for a minute then remove to a cooling rack. (If you find that the cookies spread too much when baking- chill the dough for an hour or add 1-2 Tablespoons of flour then proceed.)

When completely cooled, make the glaze by stirring together the powdered sugar and almond extract then adding enough water to make a medium stiff glaze. Place the glaze in a zig-zag pattern on the cooled cookies by using a pastry bag fitted with  a small round tip or as B says you can use a small sandwich bag with a small cut in one corner.  Store in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze for up to three  months.  (They never make it to the freezer at our house!)