CHERRY LINZER BARS

Old-time Christmas recipes, IMHO, are the best.  Case in point:  these linzer bars, which are a variation of the classic Linzer Torte.  Born in Linz, Austria, sometime in the 1600’s, the Linzer Torte is a very short, crumbly flour-and-nut pastry with a strange ingredient, hard-boiled egg yolks.  It may sound odd to use hard-boiled egg yolks in pastry dough – stranger yet to press them through a sieve – but the end result is a very rich yet light pastry.

Traditionally, hazelnuts are used for Linzer Torte, but almonds or walnuts can be used.  Any tart jam will work.  Modern variations on the Linzer Torte omit the hard-boiled egg yolks and use whole raw eggs with good results, but every baker should make the traditional recipe with hard-boiled egg yolks at least once to note the difference.   Don’t fret about what to do with all those leftover hard-boiled egg whites.  Add them to salads, or eat them as a snack.  You can fill them with hummus, Pimiento-Pecan Cheese Spread or Baba Ghanoush for tasty snacking.

Cherry Linzer Bars Adapted from Family Circle Magazine, 12/7/82 Rating:  10 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup dried sweetened tart cherries 1/4 cup orange juice 2-1/2 cups tart cherry jam* 1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks, 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened 1/4 tsp. Diamond kosher salt 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 large egg 5 hard-boiled egg yolks, pressed through a sieve 2-2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring 1 cup finely ground almonds with skins (about 2/3 cup whole almonds)** About 1/4 cup powdered sugar Combine dried cherries and orange juice in small saucepan and heat to boiling; cover; steep for 1/2 hour to 1 hour.  When cool, stir in cherry jam.  Set aside. Combine butter, salt, sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon, whole egg and sieved yolks in work bowl of food processor; pulse till well combined and fluffy.  Add half the flour and half the almonds; pulse till just barely mixed.  Repeat with remaining flour and almonds, pulsing till well combined.  Scrape dough from work bowl onto plastic wrap, mixing with hands any bits of flour or egg that were not incorporated into dough.  Roll plastic wrap up around dough and refrigerate at least one hour, or until dough is chilled and firm enough to handle easily. Heat oven to 350F.  Press 2/3 of the dough in an even layer on bottom and up sides of an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan.  Spread jam evenly over dough.  Roll remaining dough, a small portion at a time, with palms of hands on a floured surface into very thin strips, about 1/4” in diameter.  Arrange strips on jam to form a diamond pattern.  Bake 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Cut into 2” x 1-1/4” rectangles to serve. TIP:  An easy way to sprinkle powdered sugar is to spoon it into a small sieve, then gently shake the sieve over the pastry.

LEMON-TOPPED MOLASSES CRINKLE COOKIES

Soft and chewy, sweet and spicy, topped with a lemon-sugar mixture, these cookies will become one of your favorites.  They’re easy to make and easy to eat.  The secret to the soft, chewy texture is baking the cookies only till they’re barely set.  If you haven’t done this before, you will swear the cookies are raw inside.  Take a blind leap of faith and take them out anyway.  This is one good cookie!

Lemon-Topped Molasses Crinkle Cookies  Rating:  9.5 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup Crisco all-vegetable shortening, room temperature 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, soft 1 cup light brown sugar 1 large egg 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses 1-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour 2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. Diamond kosher salt 1/2 tsp. powdered cloves 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. powdered ginger 1 cup finely chopped candied ginger 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1-1/2 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest  In bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening, butter, brown sugar, egg and molasses.  Sift together flours, soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon and powdered ginger.  Add the flour mixture gradually to the shortening mixture using lowest speed of mixer.  Stir in candied ginger.  Chill dough at least one hour, or overnight if possible.  Heat oven to 375F.  Line a baking sheet with greased parchment.  In a small bowl, using your fingers, combine granulated sugar with lemon zest.  Using a level tablespoonful of dough, roll into walnut-sized balls.  Dip tops in lemon-sugar mixture; place sugared side up on baking sheet.  Bake about 7-8 minutes, till cookies are just barely set and still soft.  (They will look undone.)  Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  Yield:  about 42 cookies TIP:  If desired, spritz the cookies lightly with water before baking to enhance the crackled appearance.  (Purchase a small sprayer in the cosmetics department.)

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED PECAN CRESCENTS

This cookie has been a family favorite for thirty years.  It’s my hubby’s favorite cookie of all time.  A tender pecan shortbread is shaped into logs, or tubes, then curved to form crescents.  The baked, warm cookies are rolled in granulated sugar.  When cool, the cookie is dipped into melted chocolate and finely chopped pecans. 

If you’re a rough-and-tumble person, skip these.  The baked cookie must be handled with kid gloves.  No kidding, they break almost when you look at them.  Of course, the broken pieces are just as delicious as a whole cookie, so the baker has the advantage of eating all the discards.

Chocolate-Dipped Pecan Crescents Adapted from Family Circle Magazine, 12/7/82 Rating:  10 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: 7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, soft 1/8 tsp. Diamond kosher salt 2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. granulated sugar + 1/4 cup sugar for rolling 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla extract) 1/2 cup + 2-1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped pecans 1-1/3  cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted 1/2 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans In work bowl of food processor, combine butter, salt, 2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. sugar and vanilla.  Pulse till well combined and smooth.  Add 1/2 cup + 2-1/2 Tbsp. pecans and half the flour; pulse till combined.  Add remaining flour and pulse till well combined and pecans are very finely chopped.   Refrigerate dough 1 hour, or up to 3 days. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350F.  Line baking sheets with parchment.  Using 1 rounded teaspoon of dough (about the size of a small walnut), roll dough on lightly floured surface to 2-1/2” lengths.  Curve into crescents.  Place 1” apart on prepared baking sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes, till very lightly golden.  Place 1/4 cup sugar in small dish.  Roll warm cookies in the sugar, being very careful not to break the cookies.  (They are very fragile, so treat them accordingly.)  Cool on wire racks.  When cookies are cool, one at a time, dip both ends of cookie in melted chocolate, then in chopped toasted pecans.  Place on wax paper.  Let stand till chocolate hardens, or place in freezer for 15 minutes to set the chocolate.  Yield:  about 3 dozen

WALNUT HORNS (aka Rugelach or Kiflis)

A rich dough made from cream cheese, butter and flour is filled with a not-too-sweet walnut mixture.  The filled dough is then rolled in granulated sugar, which keeps the filling from oozing everywhere.  The finished product is a tender, flaky cookie with a slightly crisp exterior and a rich walnut filling. 

This recipe, from Taste of Home Magazine’s December/January 2010 issue, features a quick and easy make-ahead dough that will keep in the fridge for up to seven days.  Though the title of “walnut horn” is catchy, this cookie is really a walnut rugelach.  Since the dough is curved to form a crescent shape, you could also call it a kifli, though the traditional kifli dough is made with sour cream and eggs.  It is one of our favorite cookies.

Walnut Horns (aka Rugelach or Kiflis) Adapted half recipe from Taste of Home Magazine, December/January 2010 Rating:  10/10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

DOUGH: 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, soft 4 oz. cream cheese, soft 1/8 tsp. Diamond kosher salt 1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, scooped and leveled In work bowl of food processor, pulse butter, cheese and salt till well combined.  Gradually add flour, pulsing till combined.  Divide dough into three portions; form into discs; cover each with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to seven days. FILLING: 2 cups ground walnuts 6 Tbsp. +1/3 cup sugar, divided use Big pinch of salt 1/4 cup milk 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla extract.) 1 tsp. unsalted butter, melted In work bowl of food processor, combine walnuts, 6 Tbsp. sugar, salt, milk, vanilla and butter.  Pulse till well combined and walnuts are finely ground.  ASSEMBLY: Heat oven to 350F.  Line baking sheets with parchment; spray parchment with nonstick cooking spray.  Roll out each dough disc into 8” circle.  Spread one third of filling over each circle, to 1/2 inch from wide end.  Cut each circle into 12 triangles and roll up, starting from wide end.  Roll each in remaining sugar.  Place, point side down, onto prepared baking sheets.  Curve ends of each cookie to form crescents.  Bake 27-30 minutes, or till very lightly browned.  Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.  Roll warm cookies in remaining sugar again. Yield:  36 cookies

QUADRUPLE-ALMOND TEA CAKES

If you’re tired of the typical vanilla-flavored butter balls, try this delicious variation.  Toasted, chopped almonds, almond extract, almond flour and Amaretto (almond liqueur) deliver a mild almond flavor.  And here’s a nice bonus:  you can make the dough easily in your food processor.  (You should first chop the almonds in a nut grinder, or put them in a plastic bag and pound them with a meat mallet – they are a hard nut and would tax your food processor blades if you leave them whole.) 

Quadruple-Almond Tea Cakes Rating:  9.5/10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

1 cup toasted chopped almonds 1 cup (2 sticks, 8 oz.) unsalted butter, soft 1/4 tsp. Diamond kosher salt 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla powder or extract (I used my homemade vanilla powder.) 1/2 tsp. almond extract 2 tsp. Amaretto 1/2 cup almond meal*, scooped and leveled 1-1/2 cups unbleached all –purpose flour, scooped and leveled In work bowl of food processor, pulse almonds, butter, salt, sugar, vanilla, almond extract and Amaretto till well mixed.  Add almond meal and pulse till combined.  Add flour in two additions, pulsing till combined after each addition.  Chill dough 1 hour for easier handling. When ready to bake, heat oven to 325F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Shape dough into 1” balls, using about a rounded teaspoonful of dough for each.  Place 1” apart on prepared pans.  Bake 15-20 minutes, till set but not brown.  Immediately transfer cookies to wire racks.  Cool slightly, then roll in powdered sugar.  Cool completely; roll again in powdered sugar.  (Note:  Baking time and yield will depend on actual size of balls and individual oven.)  My yield:  83 cookies *Almond meal (almond flour) is available in many grocery stores that carry Bob’s Red Mill products.

CASHEW CRUNCH COOKIES

Gourmet magazine printed this recipe in 1972, and I found it via Recipezaar, under the title, “Dutch Caramel Cashew Cookies.”  I take issue with the title, since I didn’t detect caramel flavor, so I renamed it more appropriately.  The recipe also refers to “praline” made with the cashews.  Technically, praline contains half and half and butter, and neither are in this recipe.  Therefore, more correctly, this is a cashew “brittle.”

Since I had half a can of salted cashews in the fridge, I decided this would be a good use of them.   First, you make a very simple and quick cashew brittle, then you chop it up and put most of it in the soft, buttery dough and the rest gets sprinkled on top.  The cashew brittle is very easy to make and it’s delicious.  The crunch it adds to the cookie is wonderfully addictive.  There aren’t many ingredients, but the flavor of the tender cookie is nice, even if it is one note.

Cashew Crunch Cookies Adapted from Recipezaar and Gourmet Magazine Rating:  8.5 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

CASHEW BRITTLE: 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. water 1 pinch cream of tartar 1/2 cup finely chopped salted roasted cashews In a heavy skillet, cook sugar, water and cream of tartar over moderately high heat, washing down any undissolved sugar that clings to the sides of the skillet with a brush dipped in cold water, until the mixture is a light caramel color.  Quickly stir in cashews.  Pour the brittle onto a buttered piece of heavy duty foil.  With a buttered spatula, spread it out as thinly as possible.    Let it cool till it hardens, then break it into pieces and chop into small pieces.  COOKIE DOUGH: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, soft 1/3 cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla extract.) 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour Heat oven to 350F.  In a bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy.  Beat in egg yolk and vanilla.  Stir in flour and 2/3 of the chopped brittle (about 3/4 cup).  Form the mixture into a dough.  Using a rounded teaspoon of dough, form dough into ball, then flatten slightly.  Press tops into remaining chopped brittle.  Place on baking sheet lined with parchment that has been sprayed lightly with nonstick cooking spray.  Bake 10-14 minutes, or till lightly browned on undersides.  Cool on wire rack.  Yield:  20-25 cookies, 1-3/4” to 2” in diameter

CHOCOLATE-HEATH BAR THUMBPRINTS

In November of 2007, The Baltimore Sun revisited their favorite holiday cookie recipes.  They reviewed 75 of their favorites from 2000 - 2006 and picked the top ten. 

The one I adapted for today’s post was originally titled “Espresso Thumbprint Cookies,” by Donna Macek.  Donna found the recipe in a supermarket magazine, of all places.  The thumbprints are filled with a soft, fudgy espresso ganache.  They sounded really good, but I decided to make a plain ganache filling and top it with Heath bar bits and a drizzle of ganache.  These cookies are not quite as soft as other thumbprint cookies because the dough uses a whole egg instead of just the yolk(s).  They also spread a little more than regular thumbprints.  No matter, these will disappear fast from your cookie tray because they’re really, really good.  And, like most Christmas cookies, they freeze well, so you can make them ahead.

Chocolate-Heath Bar Thumbprints  Adapted from The Baltimore Sun and Donna Macek Rating:  9.5 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: 3/4 cup salted butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar, preferably superfine (whirl regular sugar in a food processor) 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract or vanilla powder 1 large egg 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp. kosher salt Chocolate Ganache Filling (see recipe below) Heath bar bits Heat oven to 350F.  Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and egg in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon.  Stir in flour and salt. Shape dough into 1” balls.  Place about 2” apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Press thumb or end of a wooden spoon into center of each cookie ball.  Bake 7-11 minutes, or till edges are firm.  Quickly remake indentations with end of a wooden spoon.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  Cool completely, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, make Chocolate Ganache Filling – Heat 1/4 cup heavy cream in a 1-quart (or smaller) saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until steaming.  Remove from heat; stir in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips till melted.  Cool about 10 minutes, or till thickened.  Spoon 3/4 of ganache into a plastic resealable sandwich bag.  Spoon remaining ganache into another bag.  Seal bags, squeezing out air.  Snip one corner of each bag:  the smaller bag with a very tiny snip for drizzling and the larger bag with a larger snip to squeeze out ganache into cookie cavities.  Fill cavities with ganache.  Sprinkle each cookie with some of the Heath bar bits.  Drizzle remaining ganache from smaller bag onto cookie tops.  Yield:  about 3-1/2 dozen