Crystallized Ginger Lemon Cookies

Summer is a challenge for baking, as not only is my kitchen awfully warm, but I also don’t have as many options to share my baking with others. Refrigerator cookies are very appropriate, since I can take a few minutes to make the dough, stick it in the refrigerator, and then bake them up when I have time. Having to simply slice the cookies and bake them up saves me from having to be in the kitchen too long.

This recipe started as one of the possibilities to use up a large batch of basic cookie dough. The original recipe makes enough dough to create four different cookies. Thankfully, I was able to pare down to one fourth of the dough. Some recipes make it nearly impossible to divide! I made the abbreviated amount of dough and then added the crystallized ginger and lemon zest, and you are done.

When I buy crystallized ginger, it is already chopped quite small (it’s called mini) but I still find it a bit tricky to evenly slice the cookies. A couple of the cookies were crumbly, and I had to piece them together, but that isn’t an issue with this type of cookie. Some cookies are a little thicker, some thinner, but I found that baking them around 12 minutes worked. Some are just slightly softer! These cookies have a lovely ginger flavor, perfect with a cup of tea.

Crystallized Ginger Lemon Cookies
½ cup butter, room temperature
75 grams sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
150 grams flour
85 grams finely diced crystallized ginger 
Zest of 1 lemon
Additional sugar

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and salt. Mix on medium until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix again on medium to combine. With the mixer running on low, add the flour. Once the flour has almost disappeared into the dough, add the crystallized ginger and lemon zest. 

Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and shape into a log about 2” in diameter. Roll in sugar and then wrap the dough log in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for several hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet (or two) with a silicone baking mat. 

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Slice the dough into 3/8” rounds and place on the prepared baking sheet(s).

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are golden and the edges are set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from A Spiced Life

Almond Marble Cookies

I have had this recipe saved for a while, something about the simplicity of the cookie was really interesting. I made another marbled cookie last year and I was pleased with the results. At times I worry that the cookies may lack flavor, but these contain chocolate, as well as vanilla and almond extract, so I figured that they would have good flavor. They were called Chinese Marble Cookies, but I don’t think that’s accurate.

The original recipe had you make the dough, then swirl in the chocolate with a knife. I wasn’t sure how easy that would be, as cookie dough is quite thick. Instead, I shaped the dough into a rough rectangle then drizzled the dough with chocolate. I folded it over then manipulated it some more to make a nice swirl. I used a 1 ounce chunk of bittersweet chocolate that I had on hand; you only need an ounce so use what you have available.

Working with the dough and chocolate this way is messy, but I shaped the dough into a log and refrigerated it overnight. That made it very quick to bake these up, which was good as I was tired and short on time. I did cut the cookies on the thicker side, but I think I prefer the ones that were closer to 1/3 inch. They have a lovely chocolate swirl and the chocolate shines through despite using only 1 ounce! The almond flavor is subtle, but makes the cookie better. These remind me of a tasty sugar cookie that you have around the holidays.

Almond Marble Cookies
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ounce chocolate, melted

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until fluffy. Stir in the egg, almond extract, and vanilla. With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture in two parts, mixing until the flour disappears into the dough. 

Shape the dough into a (rough) rectangle on the worktop. Drizzle the dough with the melted chocolate. Fold the dough over and twist and turn the dough to swirl the chocolate. Shape the dough into a log about 2-1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Refine the shape of the log if needed. Slice the dough into slices, 1/3 to 1/2 inch in diameter. Place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, until the cookies are golden around the edges. The baking time will vary based on the thickness of your cookies. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Spiced

Glazed Ginger-Citrus Shortbread

Sorry for the delayed post, we have been out of power for four days! We are so glad we have lights and heat again!

I tried making these cookies a bit ago, but I had some struggles with the recipe. I did use vegan butter in place of the traditional dairy-based butter, and I don’t think that was the best choice for a shortbread cookie. I use vegan butter occasionally, and it typically works great, but there are some recipes that just aren’t to be edited. My original batch were too browned on the bottom, but my husband/cookie taster said that they didn’t taste burned. Hmmm.

I wanted to have these cookies so I wanted to get these made. Even though I had to adapt a couple of ingredients, based on what I had, but the flavors sounded great. The recipe called for lemon emulsion, and I had lemon oil and I hoped that was close. I also used orange oil instead of orange peel or orange jammy bits. King Arthur Baking makes pre-diced candied ginger that is diced very finely. It’s the best as chopping candied ginger is very difficult!

So the cookies baked ok, it’s just one of those recipes that you have to watch carefully or they will burn. I figured the glaze would help me out, since that compensates a lot. The glaze was great and in the end the cookies looked just fine. You do sprinkle diced ginger to finish the cookies, which makes these very ginger-forward. I love that I hope that you do too!

Glazed Ginger-Citrus Shortbread
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon lemon oil
 2 3/4 cups flour
 2 tablespoons mini diced ginger
1/4 teaspoon orange oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger

2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
Additional diced ginger

Make the dough: in a large mixer bowl, combine the sugar, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Mix for about 30 seconds until the sugar is fragrant. Add the butter to the mixer bowl and mix on medium until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla, and lemon oil and mix for about a minute. The mixture may look curdled- don’t worry.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, diced ginger, orange oil, and ginger. Mix on low until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into two logs, each about 2” in diameter. Wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, two hours or overnight.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Unwrap the dough logs and slice into rounds, about 1/3”. Place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once during the process. The cookies with be slightly browned along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze: in a medium bowl whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. If the glaze is too thick, add additional lemon juice until you reach the right consistency.

Half dip each cookie in the glaze and wipe away any excess. Place on a lined baking rack (to catch any extra glaze) and then sprinkle with additional diced ginger. Allow the cookies to set before serving.

Recipe from King Arthur Baking

French Honey Butter Cookies

One of the things that we tend to keep on hand in our kitchen is local honey. These cookies are French Honey Butter Cookies, but I have no idea in what way they are French. None the less, I thought a French-named cookie would be appropriate for the first day of the Paris Olympics. I don’t follow many sports, but I’m a huge gymnastics fan, and have been since the 1980s. What I love about the Olympics is the chance to see athletes from all sorts of places- not just the few folks regularly shown on television.

This is a slice-and-bake cookie, which is perfect when the house is warm. I made the dough one day, and then baked them first thing the next morning. This makes an extremely small batch of cookies, about18, so I was able to bake them all at once. This recipe used an interesting method, where you chill the dough to firm it up, then shape the dough into a cylinder. This recipe makes so few that I didn’t even divide the dough into two rolls!

The honey I used for this recipe had been picked up by my husband at a local food festival. It isn’t exactly a clear honey, nor is it a spread. It’s something in the middle, which was interesting to use. It didn’t mix in as quickly as a liquid honey, which is why you need to take some care with the glaze. I started with just a bit of milk, made sure the honey was incorporated, before adding milk to get the glaze to the right consistency. Watch the cookies while they bake, as I felt a couple of mine could have baked a minute less. The glaze covered perfectly, making for some lovely cookies.

French Honey Butter Cookies
½ cup butter, room temperature
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon honey
1 ⅛ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon milk

In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar until well combined. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and honey and mix on medium to make a consistent mixture. With the mixer running on low, gradually stir in the flour and salt. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, the dough should be firm enough to form into a log, about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap the dough log in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Slice the dough into discs, about 1/3” thick. Place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until set. The cookies should be barely browned along the edges (at most). Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.

Make the glaze: in a small bowl whisk the powdered sugar, honey, and 1 teaspoon milk. Add more milk as the glaze starts to come together, until the glaze is thick but still somewhat liquid. Using a small teaspoon, spoon the glaze on the cooled cookies in a circular pattern. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from The Gardening Foodie

Lemon Pistachio Cookies

I had a small amount of pistachios left so I went looking for recipes that called for a small quantity. At first, I had found a bar cookie recipe that I was going to make, but I had made a lot of bar cookies lately so I looked at what else I had saved. I came across this recipe, which called for a small amount of pistachios. The original recipe called for orange juice and zest, but I used the lemon I had on hand (that also needed to be used).

This recipe was called a holiday cookie, and I find that puzzling. Some cookies are clearly for the holidays: gingerbread people, eggnog cookies, and peppermint creations. But a pistachio citrus cookie? That doesn’t seem quite right to me. I think that many people don’t bake much at all, therefore almost any cookie they make is a holiday cookie as that’s the only time they bake cookies. I bake all the time, so I don’t follow those same parameters.

This is a refrigerator cookie, which I love to make as each part of the recipe is quick. I made the dough and got it chilling. The original recipe suggested chilling overnight, but my cookies were very firm after a few hours. I sliced and baked them- no issue at all. I glazed the cookies by dunking the tops of the cookies in glaze, and that was very efficient. I sprinkled the pistachios on the cookies after icing 6 of them- otherwise the glaze sets to much and the nuts don’t stick. These cookies have the bright zing of lemon paired with a crumbly/crunchy cookie texture, which can’t be beat!

Lemon Pistachio Cookies
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup pistachios, finely chopped

2-1/4 cups powdered sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons milk
Additional chopped pistachios

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the egg, lemon zest and vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour and cornstarch. Stop the mixer, then add the chopped pistachios, and mix just until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough in halves. Shape each half into a log, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 4 hours, until very firm.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Cut the dough into 1/4-1/3” slices. Place on the prepared baking sheets and reshape the cookies to be round if needed.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until they begin to brown on the bottom. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Ice the cookies when they are cool.

Once the cookies are cool, make the icing: in a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar, juice of a lemon, and 1 tablespoon milk. Whisk until an icing forms, adding more milk if required, to achieve a spreading consistency. Glaze each cookie and then sprinkle with additional chopped pistachios.

Recipe from Lorraine Caland via Taste of Home

Goji Berry, White Chocolate, and Pistachio Cookies

I still have a quantity of goji berries, so I keep looking for different recipes that use these berries. When the weather starts getting warmer here, refrigerator cookies are ideal for me to make. I can make the dough, which takes about 10 minutes, and then keep the dough into the refrigerator for a day or two and then bake them up when it is convenient. This recipe, which combines goji berries, white chocolate chips, and pistachios, sounded great.

When I made these cookies, I had little issue. The dough was dry so I added an egg yolk to help it come together. It makes just under two dozen cookies, so I made the dough and shaped it into a log, ready to bake at a later point. Now, I guess I have gotten less discerning in choosing cookies, as the rule for refrigerator cookies, which need to be sliced, is to make sure none of the elements are too large. That proved to be tricky for these cookies!

When I tried slicing these cookies, they were very crumbly. Every cookie I had to press together and reshape, but in the end, they looked fine. I think I would chop the goji berries, but I think the pistachios were fairly hard and the white chips were large, so I am not sure what I could do there. Do they make mini white chips? That would be handy. These cookies have a good crunch, and if you don’t have goji berries, almost any dried fruit will work. These cookies aren’t overly sweet, which makes it perfect to pair with your morning tea.

Goji Berry, White Chocolate, and Pistachio Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup goji berries
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup pistachios
Egg yolk, if needed

In a larger mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium until light. Add the flour, goji berries, white chocolate chips, and pistachios and stir on low until the dough comes together. If needed, add an egg yolk to help the dough come together.

Shape the dough into a log, about 1-1/2” in diameter. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or longer.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Cut the dough into ¼” slices and place on the prepared baking sheets. Reshape the cookies as needed, if crumbly.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Paint, Pencil, Pastries

Slice and Bake Golden Raisin Cookies

I know that coming up I may not have much time for baking so I have been trying to prepare and get some baking done in advance. I do like making refrigerator cookies, as the dough comes together quickly and then I can work with the cookies the next day. I saw these and I love all sorts of raisins, including golden raisins. I looked through my supply and I noticed I was out, so I got some fresh golden raisins for these cookies.

The dough for these cookies comes together in about 5 minutes, and they weren’t too difficult to shape. My biggest worry with slice and bake or refrigerator cookies is that they won’t be round and that they’ll look funny. Thankfully, once the cookies are cut into slices, they are very forgiving and you can reshape them into a round if needed. I had forgotten to coat the dough with sparkling sugar, but that was no problem.

I tend to slice refrigerator cookies a little thicker, probably slightly more than ¼” thick. I like a more substantial cookies, but if you prefer a thinner, crisper cookies then you can slice them smaller. The cookies don’t brown much at all, so you have to sense when the cookies are set, which in my case was about 12 minutes. These cookies are not overly sweet, which is nice, as the natural sweetness of the raisins comes through.

Slice and Bake Golden Raisin Cookies
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ⅔ cups flour
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 cup golden raisins
Sparkling sugar, optional

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour and salt. Fold in the golden raisins.

Shape the dough into a log about 12 inches long and about 2 inches in diameter. If desired, roll the log in sparkling sugar and then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Slice the dough into 1/4” slices and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden around the edges. The cookies will not brown significantly. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from The Monday Box

Cappuccino Flats

When I do any of my baking, I occasionally come across recipes like this one that are very classic and straight-forward. While this is a refrigerator cookie that requires some time in the refrigerator, the dough can be made quickly and then finished at another time. In reading the comments, these cookies have been a staple in many families for a long time.

I made a half recipe, which still made two dozen cookies. I made the dough and it does get quite hard. Once I sliced the cookies, a couple of them were no longer round, but I was able to manipulate the shapes to make them round again. Whenever you bake a chocolate cookie, it can be hard to tell when it is done. Cookies are usually soft when they come out of the oven, but I don’t want them to be too soft. I baked them for the longer amount of time, which made for a cookie that remained soft.

The original recipe had you dip the cookies half way in chocolate. While that looked good, dipping cookies in chocolate is an art, and I usually make a big mess. I ended up drizzling the chocolate over the cookies, which looked great and didn’t use nearly as much chocolate. While these are called Cappuccino Flats, I asked folks who tried then whether they could tell they contained coffee, and they said that wasn’t a strong flavor. Whether you like coffee or not, these are great little cookie to have around!

Cappuccino Flats
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon warm water
1 egg
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
3 tablespoons shortening

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Dissolve the espresso powder in the water and add to the butter mixture with the egg and the melted unsweetened chocolate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour and salt and stir until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough into halves; shape each portion of dough into a log about 7” long. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and cut into ¼” to 1/3” slices. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Reshape the cookies into a round shape if needed.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are completely cool, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, melt the chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave, stirring the mixture every 30 seconds. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from Taste of Home via Better Homes and Gardens Cookies for Christmas

Chocolate Hazelnut Wafers

I had planned to make a cookie with the spring flavors of lemon, but when I got home and it was time to bake, I didn’t feel it. Our weather here this week has been very cold, rainy, and we have even had snow and hail. I know that spring is known for crazy weather, but it sure has been extreme. In the end I went with these chocolate slice and bake cookies.

The original recipe called for sliced almonds, but I am out of those right now. I looked through my cupboard to see what I could use and identified pistachios or hazelnuts. I used the hazelnuts that I had, which were cinnamon hazelnuts. You could likely use any nuts that you have, and I know I always have pecans. I did have ground almonds for the outer coating, but I honestly almost forgot to use it. I’m sure the cookies would have still been good!

As I was taking these to work, I used vegan butter and gluten free flour. When shaping the dough into logs, it was so soft. I hoped that it would firm up, but after two hours it was still quite pliable. I was curious as to whether it would firm up more with longer refrigeration, or if the softness was because of the ingredients I used. I didn’t have the time to refrigerate longer, so after I cut the cookies, I reshaped them into rounds. I think the cinnamon hazelnuts added a lot to these cookies, and I love the slightly bitter taste that the cocoa brings to these cookies. Perhaps as “wafers” they could have been cut thinner, but I like them just the way they are.

Chocolate Hazelnut Wafers
3/4 cup butter or vegan butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/4 cups flour or gluten-free flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup chopped cinnamon hazelnuts
Ground almonds

In a large mixer bowl, add the butter and sugar. Beat on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again on medium to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, and baking powder. While the mixer is running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts.

Divide the dough into halves and shape each half into a log about -1/2” in diameter. Roll the dough in ground almonds and then wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Heat the oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Unwrap the cookie dough and slice into cookies, each about 1/3” thick. Reshape the cookies into a round shape, if necessary, and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Phyl Broich-Wessling via Taste of Home

Pain D’Amande (Almond Thins)

Happy New Year! This year is starting off strangely, but I suppose that’s normal now. I don’t follow any new year traditions of eating healthy or anything like that, since it seems to be problematic more than anything. That being said, I don’t think the time is right to make over-the-top recipes either. I came across the almond cookie and it looked nice and simple.

In making this recipe, it’s quite unusual. I knew that the cookies needed to chill for a long time, so I made the dough early one day with the plan to bake the next day. You make the dough for these cookies in a saucepan, which is so unusual. If you have ever made choux pastry, this recipe feels very similar. I guess I should be happy as there were fewer dishes to wash! It came together well, and I got it in the pan to chill until the next day.

My biggest challenge with these cookies was getting the chilled dough out of the loaf pan! I had thought about lining the pan with plastic wrap and that would have been a good idea. I finally got it out of the pan and cut it into four pieces. I chilled them some more and then sliced the cookies. The original recipe suggested 1/8” slices but mine are closer to ¼” and that worked for me. My cookies didn’t get as golden as I would have liked, but they are crunchy and have a wonderful almond flavor.

Pain D’Amande
½ cup butter, cut in cubes
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon water
2 ½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup skinned, blanched almonds

In a large saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water. Heat over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Once the butter mixture has cooled, add the flour mixture into the saucepan and stir with a spatula until a thick dough forms. Fold in the almonds.

Spray a 9”x 5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and press the dough into the prepared pan. Press plastic wrap over the top of the dough. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough from the pan and cut in half crosswise, then lengthwise, to form four pieces. Slice each piece into cookies as thin as possible (1/4”) and place them on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 14-16 minutes until the cookies are golden. Allow the cookies to cool briefly on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Spoon Fork Bacon

Cinnamon Hazelnut Cookies

A while ago, when my husband and I were exploring a different grocery store, we came across a package of cinnamon hazelnuts. I love hazelnuts and adding some cinnamon would just make them better. I figured that I would be able to find some sort of cookie to make that uses cinnamon hazelnuts, so we picked them up. I started looking for a good recipe, and I settled on this fairly simple hazelnut cookie.

This cookie was noted as a Christmas cookie, but I think it is quite universal. I used cinnamon sugar rather than festive sprinkles, and that’s really the only thing that would point to this being for Christmas. Change up the sprinkles and it would fit any different holiday. I decided to use my cinnamon hazelnuts and I added a small amount of cinnamon to the dough to accentuate that flavor.

This dough takes about 5 minutes to make. I had forgotten to make the dough, so I quickly put it together one night about 9 pm (which is super late for this early riser). I ground the whole cinnamon hazelnuts in a food processor so that takes about 30 seconds, although it is 30 seconds that the cats hate me. I refrigerated the dough overnight and the next day they were ready, although still a bit pliable. The cinnamon sugar does get a little melted while baking, but there isn’t too much of it. These cookies are lovely, not super sweet, but with great buttery flavor.

Cinnamon Hazelnut Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup ground cinnamon hazelnuts
Cinnamon sugar
1 egg, beaten

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, egg, and salt on medium until well combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the ground hazelnuts and stir until combined.

Shape the dough into a log about 2-1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Unwrap the dough and brush with beaten egg. Press cinnamon sugar over the dough log. Slice the dough log into ¼” slices. Place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Recipe from Kitchen Geisha via Allrecipes

Butterscotch Toffee Shortbread

I have to say that summer is certainly not my season and I am looking forward to cooler weather this fall. Baking in the summer is difficult, but I have tried to bake when the house isn’t too warm. I’m also glad that so far, we’ve only had a couple of very warm days. September is when the weather usually begins to cool, and even if the day is warm, it will cool off in the evening and overnight. Let’s hope that this is true this year!

Since I have been working remotely, I haven’t been taking cookies to work, and I really miss that. I had the opportunity to visit with my coworker friend so that we could (socially distanced) watch Hamilton via Disney Plus. I figured I would make cookies as I don’t often have that opportunity. I did use rubber gloves and washed my hands a lot, so I never actually touched the dough. I do have to say that it’s challenging trying to be so careful, but I am getting used to it. 

I made a half batch of this recipe and it ended up making about 18 cookies. I didn’t do the best job in cutting the cookies in even slices, so that will certainly impact the baking time. The thicker cookies needed the full 12 minutes to bake, but if yours are thinner I would check them after 10 minutes. I didn’t make any other changes to this recipe, although I was supposed to chop up the butterscotch chips and I didn’t, but that didn’t seem to make any difference. The simplicity of a shortbread cookie really shines here, with the buttery, crumbly shortbread paired with the distinct flavors of butterscotch and toffee.

Butterscotch Toffee Shortbread 
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup toffee bits

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl beat the butter and powdered sugar on medium until creamy. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. When almost incorporated, add the butterscotch chips and the toffee bits and stir on low until the mixture comes together.

Divide the dough into tow halves and shape each half into a log, about 3 inches wide. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats. 

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Slice the cookies into 1/3” thick slices and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Mom on Time Out

Cherry and Pecan Oaties

This week, I found a British recipe that was quite a bit different. We subscribe to a couple of British magazines and I find recipes and take photos on my iPad so I can keep track of them. I had found this recipe quite a while ago, and now it was finally the time to make them. When I read through the recipe, at first, I hadn’t realized that these were refrigerator cookies. I just looked at the yield and it said that it only made about a dozen cookies. I was appreciative that they were very easy to make since they are a refrigerator cookie.

The original recipe called for dried blueberries, and I find those to be gritty, but I figured that there would be any number of dried fruits that I could use. In the end, I used dried cherries, and they were wonderful. I think that the cherries had a good sweetness and made these cookies beautifully sweet. The original recipe called for porridge oats, which I am sure are different from the old-fashioned oats that I used, but there was no problem.

As a refrigerator cookie, these don’t really look anything like a traditional refrigerator cookie. You do want them to be very cold when you cut them, or they are too crumbly. I worried that the pecans and cherries would be difficult to cut, but there was no issue at all. I made about 18 cookies from this recipe, but that will vary depending on how you shape the dough. They are wonderfully sweet, and the cinnamon provides such a great flavor. These are a fabulous oat cookie, and the fruit adds so much!

Cherry and Pecan Oaties

175 grams flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
85 grams oats
175 grams sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
140 grams butter, cut in pieces
70 grams dried cherries, chopped
50 grams pecans, chopped
1 egg, beaten

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, oats, sugar, and cinnamon. Pulse the mixture to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture until crumbly and almost sticks together. Add the chopped cherries, pecans, and beaten egg. Pulse until the mixture comes together.

Remove from the food processor, and shape into a log, about 4 inches wide and about 10 inches long. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Slice the cookies into 1/3” slices and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until set and lightly browned along the edges. Cool completely before serving.

Recipe from BBC Easy Cook