Holiday Cookies and Other Treats
As the winter holiday season gets underway, many of us are turning on our ovens and opening our recipe books to make our favorite holiday treats. For those who want to try something new this year, the Swarthmorean — in collaboration with the Swarthmore Co-op — has a few suggestions submitted by local residents. Look for more recipes next week.
An example of Leckerli (courtesy of Wikipedia)
Leckerli
Submitted by Carol Savery, who notes, “Five generations of my family have made these cookies.”
Ingredients
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves (I am more generous with the spices than this)
1 cup honey
¼ cup candied orange peel, ground (chopped)
¼ cup candied lemon peel
1½ cups sugar
⅓ cup shortening (Crisco or other neutral-flavored shortening)
1½ cups unblanched almonds, finely ground
½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon brandy
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
Combine honey, sugar, and shortening in a heavy saucepan. Heat to boiling point, stirring often.
Remove from heat and add the fruit, nuts, candied peels, grated lemon peel, and brandy.
Pour the wet, heated mixture into the dry-ingredients mixture and combine. Let cool slightly.
Roll the resulting dough out to between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick. Cut into rectangles and bake on a parchment-paper-covered or lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees until golden (10-14 minutes).
While still warm, frost with confectioner’s sugar mixed with lemon juice.
Tips:
This cookie should taste of citrus and spices, not butter.
Store with an apple in an airtight container for two to three weeks, until soft.
These don’t spread, so you can put quite a few on the cookie sheet at a time.
The dough is sticky, so you will have to lightly flour the dough as you roll it out.
If you let the dough cool a bit before rolling it out, it will be easier to manage.
Vegan Sugar Cookies
Photo courtesy of the Minimalist Baker
Submitted by Satya Nelms, the Swarthmorean’s associate editor
All my life, the winter holidays meant sugar cookies with Nannie. When my sisters, cousins, and I were little, my grandmother would help us roll up our sleeves and tuck assorted dish towels into the necks of our shirts in lieu of aprons. Then we would wash our hands, stand on a kitchen stool (until we were old enough to see over the countertop), and take turns adding ingredients, mixing, and stirring.
My favorite part was pressing sugar into the dough before sliding the cookies into the oven. We would dip the bottoms of tall kitchen glasses in sugar, then press the glass bottoms down onto the cookies, making them look like they were covered in glitter or crystals.
This tradition is so intertwined with my memories of Christmas that no holiday season feels complete without a fresh batch of sugar cookies.
Ingredients
½ cup (one stick) vegan butter (such as Earth Balance), softened.
½ cup organic cane sugar (plus more for topping)
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup pumpkin puree (acts as an egg substitute; you can substitute unsweetened applesauce for a different result)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling)
½ tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder (for thickening/binding)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons non-dairy milk, such as almond milk
Instructions
Put the softened butter in a large mixing bowl and cream it, using an electric mixer.
Add the sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and pumpkin puree, and beat for 1 minute.
Put the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder) into a sifter, mix briefly, then sift them over the butter and sugar mixture.
Mix until just incorporated, being careful not to over-mix. Then add the milk and continue mixing until a soft dough forms. If the mixture seems too thick, switch to stirring with a wooden spoon. If it seems too wet, mix in a bit more flour.
Cover and freeze the dough for 15 minutes or refrigerate it for 30-45 minutes (up to overnight).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center of the oven.
Scoop out heaping tablespoons of the chilled dough and roll them into balls.
Alternatively, roll the dough out between two sheets of wax paper (lightly flouring the bottom sheet first), then remove the top sheet and cut out shapes from the dough, then transfer the shapes onto a baking sheet. If you use this method, to ensure that the shapes keep their form while baking, freeze them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before putting them in the oven.
If you’ve rolled the dough into balls, arrange them on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart (to allow for spreading). Working one ball at a time, dip a drinking glass into the cane sugar and gently smash the ball down into a disc, until each ball is flattened and covered with sugar sprinkles. This helps them cook more evenly.
Bake on the center rack for 8-12 minutes or until very slightly golden brown.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. While they are cooling, prepare the frosting.
Frosting (optional):
Ingredients
½ cup (one stick) vegan butter, softened
2½-3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Beat the softened butter in a clean mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Then mix in the vanilla (optional).
Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, and continue mixing until thick and creamy. Drizzle in a little non-dairy milk to thin the mixture. You want this frosting to be pretty thick so that it will hold its shape once it’s been spread on the cookies, so add only a little milk; if the mixture gets too thin, add more powdered sugar.
To add natural red food coloring, finely grate a raw beet into a clean dish towel and then squeeze it into the frosting mixture and whisk to combine.
Once the cookies are cooled, frost them, then top them with sprinkles (optional - vegan ones can be difficult to find). Store leftovers covered, at room temperature, for up to a few days. For longer-term storage (up to several weeks), you can freeze them.
Recipe courtesy of Minimalist Baker
Italian Chocolate Whiskey Cookies
Submitted by Donna Francher
An example of Italian Chocolate Whiskey Cookies. Photo courtesy of Holly Prestige.
Ingredients
7 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup shortening
2¼ cups milk
1 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons whiskey (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the flour and other dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Cut in the shortening, then add the milk and optional whiskey.
Mix well. If the mixture is too sticky, add a little more flour; if it’s too dry, add a little more milk.
Roll into small (1-inch) balls.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes on a greased and floured cookie sheet. Let cool to room temperature.
Icing
Ingredients
1 pound powdered sugar
4-5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon shortening
1-2 tablespoons boiling water (or enough to make the icing spreadable)
Instructions
Combine all ingredients well.
When the cookies are completely cool, spread the icing on them.
Makes about 100 cookies.
Candied Grapefruit Peel
Submitted by Lauren Shohet
An example of candied grapefruit peel. Photo courtesy of David Lebovitz.
Ingredients
Rinds of two small grapefruit (Raw rinds can be saved in the fridge for a couple of days prior to using)
1 cup sugar, plus more for coating
Optional: bittersweet chocolate for dipping
Instructions
Scrape any remaining fruit and membrane from the rind (a grapefruit spoon works well; it’s fine to leave up to ¼-inch of pith). Cut the rind into ¼-inch strips. Put the strips into a medium saucepan, cover them with cold water, and bring to a boil. Simmer 1 minute, then drain (discarding water). Repeat three more times, using fresh water each time. (Tip: To keep track of your progress, rotate the saucepan a quarter turn each time you replace the water.)
After the fourth draining, leave the rind in the colander. In the saucepan, combine ½ cup water and 1 cup sugar and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the rind and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the syrup is absorbed (about 10 minutes).
Spread the rind on a rack to dry overnight. When it feels dry to the touch, toss the rind, a handful at a time, in more sugar. Dry a few more hours on a clean rack. (If the rind was very moist, or if it’s humid, you may need to finish drying in a 250-degree oven).
Once the rind is dry, you can dip each strip halfway in melted bittersweet chocolate.
An example of a snickerdoodle.
Snickerdoodles
Here’s a cookie recipe from James Verdi of Swarthmore.
Ingredients
Milena Pearl Verdi helping out with the holiday baking. Photo: James Verdi
½ cup butter (softened)
½ cup Crisco
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except the last two together until they form a dough.
In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
Roll the dough into balls and roll the balls in the mixed sugar and cinnamon.
Make a criss-cross on each cookie with a fork.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then cool on a rack.
An example of carrot cookies with orange icing. Photo courtesy of the Food Nanny.
Carrot Cookies With Orange Icing
Submitted by Donna McAllistar
Ingredients
1 cup butter (or butter-flavored shortening)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon lemon extract
1 cup cooked, mashed, cooled carrots
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together the shortening and sugar with a mixer.
Add the eggs, vanilla, and lemon extract, and whip the mixture well.
Mix in the mashed carrots.
In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together.
Cut the dry ingredients into the cream mixture.
Drop the combined mixture by teaspoonfuls onto non-stick baking sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Orange Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon butter
Mix all the ingredients together. Frost the cookies once they are cooled.
An example of Vanilla Slice.
Vanilla Slice
Submitted by Rachel Smuts
Ingredients
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 cup caster (superfine) sugar (King Arthur’s Baker’s Special Sugar)
1 cup corn flour
½ cup custard powder (King Arthur’s Quick and Easy Pastry Cream Mix)
3 cups milk
1¼ cups whipped heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch-square cake pan and line it with baking paper.
Line two baking trays with baking paper. Bake the pastry sheets for 10-12 minutes until golden. Gently flatten the pastry with your hand. Trim the pastry sheets to fit the base of the prepared cake pan. Lay one sheet in the pan and set aside.
Combine the sugar, corn flour, and custard powder in a medium-sized saucepan. Combine the milk and cream in a bowl. Add a little of the milk mixture to the sugar mixture and stir to form a paste. Then add the remaining milk mixture to the sugar mixture, and stir until smooth.
Add the butter, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat to very low and simmer, stirring, for 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is thick and smooth. Remove from heat.
Add the egg yolks and vanilla bean paste and stir to mix.
Pour the mixture over the pastry sheet in the cake pan. Place the remaining pastry sheet on top of the mixture. Chill for 1 hour.
Icing
2½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
1½ tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons passionfruit pulp
Combine the powdered sugar and butter in a small, heatproof bowl. Stir enough passionfruit pulp into the sugar and butter mixture to make a smooth paste. Place the heatproof bowl containing the mixture over a saucepan of simmering water, and heat gently, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is a spreadable consistency. Spread it over the pastry. Chill for 30 minutes until set. Cut into squares to serve.
Tips: This dessert is best made the day before serving. If you line the base of the cake pan with a piece of baking paper that is long enough to hang over two opposite sides of the pan, you can use the ends of the paper to help lift the dessert out of the cake pan after it’s baked.
