November 19, 2015 – Holiday Cookies

In This Issue:

Perfecting the Cookie Canvas
RECIPE: Chocolate Snowflakes
Piping and Flooding
RECIPE: Peppermint Candy Canes
<For Holiday Baking>
RECIPE: Almond-Orange Trees

INTRO   

“For the Holiday Cookie Plate”

INTRO TEXT   

While Thanksgiving is still ahead of us, now's the time to plot your baking strategy for the coming celebrations One of our favorite hoiday traditions? Cookie baking! 

IN THIS ISSUE, we reveal the secrets for making charming cut-out cookies and the key methods for icing and decorating them into eye-catching favorites. But, it's not enough to look good, cookies need to taste as wonderful as they look! We have three different cookie doughs ready for you to transform into delicious cookies: Chocolate Snowflakes, Peppermint Candy Canes, and Orange-Almond Trees.

Holiday Hours
as previous from “Pie” issue

Thanksgiving Checklist - repeat

Thumbnails
“traditions with a twist”

MAIN BODY:

Perfecting the Cookie Canvas
A beautifully decorated cookie begins with the cookie itself. Here are our secrets for making great-looking and great-tasting cookies: 

1. The Right Recipe – Choose a good recipe that’s meant for cut-out cookies. It will be a dough that does not spread in the oven, and produces a smooth surface for easy decorating. For cut-out cookies we prefer recipes that do not have baking powder.

2. Mixing the Dough – The cookies’ texture is formed by mixing the butter and sugar together, and beating until fluffy. The butter encases the sugar granules producing an even texture in the baked cookie. Mix the dry ingredients separately, and add in 2-3 parts to the butter-sugar mixture.

3. Chill the Dough – Once mixed, form 2-3 dough balls and flatten into disks about 1/2-inch thick. Wrap well and chill for an hour or up to 3 days. The dough may also be frozen at this stage for later baking.

4. Roll the Dough Evenly – Target a thickness of 1/4-inch. Evenness is key! Cookies that are the same thickness will bake at the same rate without any lopsided browning. Rolling guide rings, equipped rolling pins, or dowel rods reliably produce evenly rolled dough.

5. Chill the Rolled Dough – To get distinct cut-out shapes and to transfer them to a baking sheet without distortion, chill the rolled dough for 30 minutes, then apply the cookie cutters.

6. Prepare the Baking Pan – Choose a flat baking sheet made of quality, heavy-gauge metal, one that won’t warp or bend in the oven. Line it with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper for easy removal of the cookies once baked. No need for greasy baking sprays.

7. Chill the Cut-outs on the Pan – Once more, chill the dough! This is key for minimizing spreading in the oven. The surfaces of the cookies will set before the inside becomes inspired to melt and spread.

8. Bake Watchfully – Recalibrate the baking time each time you bake. The ambient temperature of the kitchen, how long the dough has chilled, and other factors may alter the oven time. The cookies are done when the surface bounces back from a light finger press, or the edges just begin to brown.

9. Cool the Cookies – Once removed from the oven, allow the cookies to remain on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes to set, then transfer to a cooling rack. Cooling on a rack will keep moisture from condensing, and return a crisper cookie.

10. Store the Baked Cookies – Once the cookies have completely cooled, store flat in a single layer. Place wax paper on top and add the next layer of cookies, etc., until it’s time to decorate. Baked cookies may be frozen at this stage if tightly wrapped.

Chocolate Snowflakes

“let it snow . . . let it snow chocolate!”

Snowflakes that are part of a holiday cookie plate are, perhaps, the only kind of snowflake welcomed! Using a chocolate cookie dough, intricate snowflakes are formed and embellished with vanilla frosting that’s piped and flooded. These chocolate masterpieces stand out as lovely presentations on the dessert buffet, or when bagged individually as holiday treats for sharing.

The Cookie Dough – “Yes! – it passes the taste test!” A traditional sugar cookie takes on a different personality with this cookie dough that replaces some of the flour with cocoa powder. The dark color of the baked cookie provides good contrast on the cookie plate. Without being too sweet, the chocolate flavor comes through nicely.   The Icing This simple vanilla icing matches the chocolate cookie dough to perfection. It complements the chocolate without any flavor confusion. Keep the quantity of vanilla in check in order to maintain the icing’s white color.

Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies

“what’s red and white and deliciously good?”

Peppermint candy canes are an iconic part of the season. In addition to the hard candy versions that we’ll have around, we thought we’d try a cookie version, too! Our candy cane cookies feature a peppermint dough and peppermint icing along with the requisite red and white stripes. We love the burst of chilly, minty flavor in these cookies. They’ll stand out on the cookie plate and disappear in a hurry!

The Cookie Dough – “Yes! – it passes the taste test!”
With a classic sugar cookie as the base, a nice dose of peppermint extract shifts this cookie dough into something a bit more intriguing! The peppermint “cool” comes through in each buttery bite.
 The Icing The peppermint flavor is reprised in the icing as well. The combination of dough and icing becomes magical together without being overpowering. 

For Holiday Baking:

KITCHENAID STAND MIXER
A kitchen workhorse, especially during baking season! A great investment for years of baking!

PARCHMENT PAPER
Parchment paper is an essential baking item. It helps when rolling dough, lining pans, or storing baked goods.

USA PAN COOKIE BAKING SHEETS
We keep four baking sheets busy during cookie season. Quality pans result in evenly baked cookies.

SILICONE BAKING MATS
Silicone baking mats are ideal for cookie baking. They create a nonstick surface every time. Reusable again and again.

OXO GOOD GRIPS COOKIE SPATULA
Moving cookies around requires a very thin, slightly flexible spatula. A broad surface supports the cookies.

COOLING RACKS
Cooling cookies is an important step. Several cooling racks are needed as cookies are baked and readied for decorating.

Piping and Flooding

Nicely frosted cut-out cookies use two basic icing techniques, piping and flooding.  
Piping Where to Use Piping -- Piping the outline and features of each cookie with a stiff icing provides definition and a clean edge. Piping may also be added on top of a flooded cookie for additional decoration.

Consistency is Key – Piping icing should be stiff, but still easy to pipe through the decorating tip. A 7-second ribbon is a good consistency for piping. This means when a spoonful of icing is drizzling back into the icing’s mixing bowl it takes about 7 seconds for the “ribbon” to dissolve into the surface.  Ready the Bag – Using a decorating pastry bag, outfit it with round decorating tip. For most situations, a #4 tip is good for piping. If the cookies are smaller, or a finer design is desired, use a #2 or #3.  How to Pipe – Hold the decorating tip above the cookie and allow the icing to fall onto the cookie. To change directions, or stop, gently touch or press the tip at the turning point. This is an area where practice makes perfect! Piped icing forms a crust readily and is ready to flood with the same color within a few minutes.
 Flooding
Where to Use Flooding -- Flooding with a more fluid icing within the boundaries of a piped outline covers the field of the cookie producing a smooth surface that’s ready for more embellishment.

Consistency is Key --  Icing for flooding is more fluid in nature. A 3-4 second ribbon is appropriate. If it is too thin, it will have difficulty drying; if too stiff it will not flow across the surface and be smooth.

Ready the Bag -- Fill a decorating pastry bag outfitted with a larger round tip, #5 or greater, with the flooding icing. A small spoon may be used instead, but we find the icing consistency is more reliable if kept in an airtight decorating bag.

How to Flood – Pipe an amount of flooding icing within the outlined areas. With a toothpick or the back of a tiny appetizer spoon, push the icing into the corners. The icing will immediately begin to crust once exposed to air, so flood one cookie at a time working in sections for larger cookies.
 Pro Tips:

Use a tall beverage glass to hold an outfitted decorating bag when filling with icing. Cuff the top of the bag over the top of the glass.

Allow drying time when using multiple icing colors to prevent bleeding of the colors.

Prep several icing bags – one for each color, and/or one for piping and one for flooding.

Cover the tip of a filled icing bag with plastic wrap when taking a break or when decorating over multiple days.

Use a muffin pan to hold different decorations when embellishing. They’ll be accessible, yet under control.

Almond-Orange Tree Cookies
 “sprinkles, yes, more sprinkles for everyone!”
 Evergreen trees are a ubiquitous symbol of the holiday season! Rooted in the notion of life in the midst of cold and darkness, we celebrate trees, inside and out, as a symbol of the solstice and Christmastime. It’s natural, then, to find their likeness on the holiday cookie plate. Featuring a few “tree-grown ingredients,” these cookies are almost as fun to decorate as the real thing! Bake and frost, then have a decorating party with a few little bakers!

The Cookie Dough – “Yes! – it passes the taste test!”
This may be our favorite of the three cookie doughs presented here! Starting with a basic sugar cookie dough, two complementary flavors were added, almond and orange. The almond flavor originates from almond extract and finely chopped almonds, while orange zest flavors the sugar. The combination of flavors returns a special holiday taste that you’ll love!

 The Icing The icing builds on the cookie dough’s flavor by using both vanilla and almond extracts. Almond extract is potent, go easy until you get a feel for its power.

Graphic Footer:

“One cookie for you, one cookie for me, one cookie to hang on the holiday tree.”