Blackcurrant Thumbprints

Ok, I really need to do a better job of using the cookbooks that I have! I am so used to finding a recipe online and going with that. I had gotten this cookbook, Some of My Best Friends are Cookies, by Australian MasterChef winner Emelia Jackson. This book has fantastic recipes! Some of the ingredients are slightly different, so I have to make sure I am stocked with vanilla bean paste, hazelnuts, and those sorts of things.

This week I was determined to make something from this book. I had already ear-marked many recipes and I had some blackcurrant curd that I wanted to use, so this thumbprint recipe was the winner! The original recipe called for plum jam, but you could use any jam or curd that you would like. I also used a lemon instead of an orange, as I felt the lemon was a better accompaniment. 

These are different, with the addition of ground hazelnuts. I love hazelnuts and many recipes in this book calls for them, so I am happy. The recipe has you heat the curd/jam with a little citric acid, which I haven’t used. I looked online and it’s an acid, so I used a little lemon juice. Heating the curd helps it set; I was skeptical but it worked! This made about 20 cookies, and they are really picture perfect! They aren’t too sweet, but the hazelnut flavor shines through, so I am a big fan.

Blackcurrant Thumbprints
125 grams flour
100 grams hazelnuts, ground
½ teaspoon salt
120 grams butter, room temperature
60 grams sugar
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

About 100 grams blackcurrant curd
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground hazelnuts, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, add the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla paste. Beat on medium for two minutes, until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into balls, 20-25 grams each. Flatten the balls slightly and then make an indentation in the top of each cookie with your thumb (or other device).

Bake for 10-12 minutes until barely browned along the edges. Once the cookies come out of the oven, press down to reshape the indentations. Allow the cookies to cool for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the filling. In a small saucepan, mix the curd/jam and lemon juice. Heat on medium until the mixture boils, and then boil one minute. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool a minute or two. Carefully spoon the curd mixture into the indentation in the cooled cookies. Allow the filling to set before serving.

Recipe from Some of My Best Friends are Cookies by Emelia Jackson

Pearl Sugar Cookies

I had planned the cookies for this week, but it’s been a bit of a strange week, and I ended up not having enough time to make that particular recipe. That left me to look through recipes that I have bookmarked, and look at some blogs for recipes, to find a recipe that I could make. I didn’t want to go to the store, so that limited my options somewhat. I keep a well-stocked kitchen, but I don’t have fresh lemons and oranges, and I don’t exactly know if I have things like toffee chips.

I have been trying to avoid Pinterest, since it is the bastion of AI, but I went there and on the homepage was this recipe. It was a simple sugar cookie, but with the addition of Belgian Sugar Pearls. These are large, abstract, sugar clusters, about ¼” across. I had purchased these for a different recipe, and I knew that I had some remaining. This recipe contained standard ingredients, so I jotted down the recipe, and I was good to go!

Since I wasn’t taking these cookies anywhere, I halved the recipe that you see here, which made just under two dozen cookies. These cookies are simple, and the only challenge is stirring in the Belgian Sugar Pearls. They seem to want to bounce or something, so I had to carefully add them to the dough with a spatula. These cookies do look a little plain when they come out of the oven, not as crinkly as expected, but that was ok. These cookies have such a classic sugar cookie flavor, but you occasionally get a crunchy bite of the sugar pearl. These are just fantastic!

Pearl Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup Belgian Sugar Pearls
Additional sugar

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the Belgian Sugar Pearls with a spatula.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and roll the balls in additional sugar.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned along the edges. Allow the cookie to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Great Taste Buds

Sicilian Pistachio Cookies

I had recently purchased a lemon for some recipe that I ended up not using, so I knew that there was some cookie out there that I could make. I had found this recipe a while ago, but when organizing recipes, I moved it up as something that I did not want to forget about. This uses lemon and is also gluten free, which I try to do once in a while. I find that the best gluten free recipes are the ones that use ground nuts or almond paste rather than completely relying on gluten-free flour mixture. 

I had everything on hand, although I wanted to double the recipe so I picked up additional pistachios. This recipe originally called for raw pistachios, and those are hard to find. I ended up using lightly salted pistachios, and I think they were good for this recipe. They sell pistachios in an astounding number of flavor varieties, which are interesting but probably not the best choice for this recipe. 

I almost doubled the recipe, although I was a little shy of the amount of pistachios I needed. Since you use the same amount of sugar and pistachios, this wasn’t much of a problem and I adjusted. While I have gluten in my kitchen, I do my best to reduce the chance of cross contamination. I use (disposable) parchment and I have separate measuring cup for gluten free recipes. These cookies are light as a feather and have a lovely crunch. Don’t be tempted to bake them for “one more minute” or they will get too browned on the bottom.

Sicilian Pistachio Cookies
150 grams pistachio nuts
150g grams sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1 egg white
Powdered sugar

Place the pistachios in a food processor with 2 tablespoons sugar. Pulse until the mixture becomes a fine powder. Add the remaining sugar and process to mix. Transfer the mix to a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest and the egg white. Stir until it becomes a paste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Shape the dough into 1” balls. Roll the balls in powdered sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets. Don’t crowd the cookies or make them too big as they do spread while baking.

Bake for 10 minutes. Allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack.

Recipe from Cuisine Fiend

Cherry Marzipan White Chocolate Cookies

My husband and I had a weekend away, and one of the things we did was visit the Pike Place Market. There are usually lots of people, but it is fun to look at the vendors and the items they offer. We stopped at the Woodring Northwest booth, which offer honey and preserves and other interesting things. They had White Chocolate Marzipan spread, and I was fascinated. It is similar to Nutella, and I wanted to use it in some cookie recipe.

This recipe was found by my husband, and I thought that it would be a good starting point. Instead of adding the white chocolate marzipan spread instead of other ingredients, I was inspired by a cookie where you added a swirl of Nutella, so that was my goal. I did use dried cherries, and I didn’t add sliced almonds, as I didn’t seem to have any on hand. I really need to sort through my baking ingredients!

The dough is very thick, so I mixed the spread into the dough. I figured that the dough would be different with the addition of the spread, so I wanted to chill the dough before baking. I made the dough, refrigerated it during the day and then baked them up. The cookies are thinner and a little lacy, but I didn’t have any significant issues with the dough. The spread adds a nice marzipan flavor, even without added almonds. I liked the dried cherries and think that there should be more cherry things in the world. These are great, and it was fun to find a workable recipe and try something new. 

Cherry Marzipan White Chocolate Cookies
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup dried cherries, chopped
2/3 cup white chocolate marzipan spread

In a large mixer bowl, add the butter, sugar, and brown sugar; beat on medium until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and oats. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the dough. Stir in the dried cherries and white chocolate chips.

Drop spoonfuls of white chocolate marzipan spread onto the dough and mix/swirl the spread into the dough. It won’t be fully incorporated, but that’s ok. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several 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. Shape the dough into 1-1/4” mounds on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until browned along the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Lovely Little Kitchen. Additional inspiration from Creations by Kara

Berry Cheesecake Cookies

For different occasions, I do try and pick a recipe that is fitting for the holiday. It is nearly Valentine’s Day, not something that we typically celebrate much, but still, it is nice to make something appropriate. I came up with the idea of berries and cream cheese. I had one recipe saved, but when I looked more carefully, I feared that it was one of those AI recipes. I had no faith that the cookies would look like the image, so I looked for a new recipe. 

This recipe had similar elements and was posted by a known blogger several years ago, so I wasn’t worried. Is that what AI has done? It makes me trust nothing that is current, as so much can be created. It is so frustrating. These cookies start with a cake mix, then contain freeze-dried berries and cream cheese, which were elements from the original recipe I had found. 

These come together quickly, and the dough is fairly thick. I was worried that I would crush the freeze-dried berries too much, but they held up well. I couldn’t find freeze-dried raspberries, so I used a berry mixture. I think I liked it more, as it gave the cookies some variations in colors. These are soft, so it can be difficult to gauge that they are baked, so I did bake mine on the longer side. They remain soft, which is ok. The cream cheese gives these a hint of cheesecake flavor, and the fruit adds bites of sweetness.

Berry Cheesecake Cookies
1 vanilla cake mix
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1.25 ounces freeze dried berries/raspberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

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

In a large mixer bowl, combine the cake mix, cream cheese, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat on medium until well combined. Stir in the freeze dried berries and white chocolate chips with a spatula. While the berries will break somewhat, be gentle so that they don’t completely turn into powder.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” mounds. Flatten the top of each cookie slightly with the palm of your hand. 

Bake for 9-12 minutes, until set. The cookies will look undone, but will continue to set as they cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Recipe from Practically Homemade

Mapledoodles

My favorite cookie to make is the snickerdoodle, as that is the first memory I have of baking. Over the years, there have been times when anything with cinnamon sugar is deemed a snickerdoodle variation. I’m glad that is no longer the case, as there was some creative imagining happening. This recipe was true to a snickerdoodle, just with some added maple sugar and a glaze.

The dough comes together as quickly as a traditional snickerdoodle. This recipe suggested that you refrigerate the dough 30 minutes. I don’t usually refrigerate snickerdoodle dough, but I went ahead and did so. My dough was in the refrigerator for about an hour, since there was a kitty on my lap and I couldn’t disturb her! The dough was well chilled but still pliable. In classic snickerdoodle form, the dough is rolled in a maple sugar mixture before baking.

There are some ingredients that I use in baking that I need to watch more carefully, and maple sugar is one of those things. Maple sugar burns a little more readily, so you have to be careful not to bake these too long. A couple of cookies got darker around the edges, but not too bad. The glaze covers any and everything, so that’s a nice step that adds a touch of sweetness. These have a fantastic maple flavor- clear maple flavor without being overwhelming.

Mapledoodles
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup maple sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon maple flavor
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3+ tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon maple flavor

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, maple sugar, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. Stir in the maple flavoring. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour and baking soda, stirring until the dough comes together. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

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

In a small bowl, combine the maple sugar and sugar. Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and roll the balls in the maple sugar mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheets. 

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

Make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, heavy cream, and maple flavor until it becomes a thick glaze. If the glaze is too thick, add additional heavy cream. Drizzle the glaze randomly over the cooled cookies. Allow the glaze to set before serving the cookies. 

Recipe from King Arthur Baking

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