Bon Appetit Desserts (164 page)

A ginger cookie without the “snap,” this is a soft cake-like version with all the flavor of the classic. Because the dough is soft, be sure to keep it very cold before rolling it out. Once you’ve cut out the cookies, chill them in the refrigerator until they are firm. This will help them to hold their shape as they bake.
Makes about 4 dozen

6 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour, divided

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1½ teaspoons ground cloves

¾ teaspoon salt

11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

⅔ cup non-hydrogenated solid vegetable shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses

1½ teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

1 large egg

¼ cup chilled buttermilk

2 teaspoons water

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups powdered sugar

1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1½ teaspoons light corn syrup

Water

Food coloring (optional)

Decorations (such as colored sugar crystals)

DOUGH
: Combine 5 ¼ cups flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend well. Using electric mixer, beat butter and shortening in large bowl to blend. Add sugar, molasses, and lemon peel and beat until smooth. Beat in egg and buttermilk. Stir 2 teaspoons water and baking soda in small cup to blend; beat into butter mixture. Beat in flour mixture in 2 additions. Stir in more flour, ¼ cup at a time, until slightly firm dough forms. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Shape each into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill until firm enough to roll out, at least 2 hours.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften only slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough between sheets of parchment paper or waxed paper to 16×12-inch rectangle, occasionally lifting paper to smooth out wrinkles. Using 4- to 5-inch gingerbread cookie cutters, cut out gingerbread people. Pull away excess dough around cutouts; flatten, wrap, and chill excess dough. Slide rimless baking sheet or inverted baking sheet under waxed paper with cutouts and chill until firm. Repeat with remaining dough disks, chilling cutouts on waxed paper on baking sheets. Roll out excess dough and make more cookies, using all of dough.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Using thin metal spatula, lift chilled cookies off waxed paper and transfer to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake until darker at edges and just firm to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely. Bake remaining cookies, 1 sheet at a time.

ICING
: Sift powdered sugar into medium bowl. Mix in lemon juice and corn syrup. Mix in enough water by teaspoonfuls to form smooth icing soft enough to pipe but firm enough to hold shape. Divide into 3 or 4 portions and tint with food coloring, if desired.

Spoon icing into pastry bag (or bags if using more than 1 color) fitted with small (
- to ⅛-inch) plain tip. Arrange cookies on work surface. Pipe icing onto cookies in desired patterns. Apply decorations as desired. Let cookies stand until icing is dry.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Store cookies in airtight containers between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.

Joe Frogger Spice Cookies

Joe Froggers, New England favorites that reportedly go back to the 18th century, are said to be named for an Uncle Joe who lived by a frog pond in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The chewy molasses cookies—flavored with spices, raisins, and rum—are a Sunday night supper tradition. The dough needs to chill overnight, so be sure to start a day ahead.
Makes about 2½ dozen

½ cup chopped raisins

¼ cup dark rum

4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses

Additional sugar

Place raisins in small bowl. Add rum and let soak at least 1 hour.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and spices in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in another large bowl to blend. Beat in molasses. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in raisin-rum mixture. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill dough overnight.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Divide dough in half. Roll out 1 dough piece on lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Using 3-inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut dough into rounds. Transfer rounds to nonstick baking sheets. Sprinkle cookies with additional sugar. Bake until puffed, about 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets on racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely (cookies will firm as they cool). Repeat with second dough piece.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Crisp Anise Cookies

Aniseed, also referred to as anise, has a fresh licorice flavor. Toasting the spice in a dry skillet intensifies the flavor. Enjoy these cookies with custards and flans.
Makes about 2 dozen

1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons brandy

½ teaspoon aniseed, toasted

Preheat oven to 325°F. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into small bowl. Beat butter and ⅓ cup sugar in large bowl until light. Beat in egg yolk, brandy, and aniseed. Add flour mixture and beat just until smooth dough forms.

Spread remaining 2 tablespoons sugar on small plate. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Using 2-inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut out rounds from dough. Gather scraps; reroll on lightly floured surface and cut out more dough rounds.

Place dough rounds, 1 at a time, on sugar on plate, then transfer, sugar side up, to 2 heavy large ungreased baking sheets. Bake cookies until bottom and edges are golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Puff Pastry Pinwheel Cookies with Jam

Supermarket staples—puff pastry and fruit jams—are transformed into delicate treats that require very little effort to make. Use any flavor of jam you like. These cookies freeze well, so they make excellent holiday gifts—the recipients can just take a few out of the freezer and let them come to room temperature whenever they have a cookie craving.
Makes 40

1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

1 egg, beaten to blend

½ cup (about) sugar

½ cup (about) assorted jams or fruit preserves (such as raspberry, apricot, and plum)

Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly butter 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets. Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 16×13-inch rectangle. Trim edges neatly, forming 15×12-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle into twenty 3-inch squares. Using small sharp knife, make 1-inch-long diagonal cut in all 4 corners of 1 square, cutting toward center (do not cut through center). To form pinwheels, fold every other point of puff pastry toward center of square [1, 2], pressing to adhere. Repeat with remaining puff pastry squares.