Old-fashioned Fruitcake Cookies, Christmas Cookies

Old-fashioned Fruitcake Cookies, Christmas Cookies



yield: Makes about 9 dozen
Every year, I make homemade fruitcakes for friends and family. I bake the dense pound cakes studded with dried fruits months in advance, then wrap them in muslin. These cookies are similar to my fruitcakes only they all take you a lot less time. For a fun presentation, the cookies are baked in bonbon-size baking cups.


Ingredients

Cookies:

• 1 cup halved dried cherries
• 1 cup dried currants (about 5 ounces)
• 1 cup chopped pitted dates
• 1 cup golden raisins (about 5 ounces)
• 1 cup brown raisins (about 5 ounces)
• 1 cup chopped Simple Candied Orange Peel
• 6 tablespoons bourbon, divided
• 6 tablespoons dry Sherry (preferably imported), divided
• 9 to 10 dozen paper or foil bonbon-size (1-inch-diameter) baking cups
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 2 cups all purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs

Glaze and garnish:

• 1 cup (packed) powdered sugar
• 4 teaspoons (or more) bourbon
• 4 teaspoons (or more) dry Sherry (preferably imported)
• Diced or slivered Simple Candied Orange Peel

Repartion

For cookies:
Toss first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in 4 tablespoons each bourbon and Sherry. Cover; soak 2 to 24 hours.

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°F. Arrange about 36 baking cups on each of 3 rimmed baking sheets. Stir walnuts, then 1 cup flour into fruit mixture, coating evenly. Whisk 1 cup flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in medium bowl.

Beat sugar and butter in another large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in dry ingredients, then remaining 2 tablespoons each bourbon and Sherry. Fold in fruit mixture. Drop batter by heaping teaspoonfuls into baking cups.

Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until light brown, about 23 minutes. Cool.

For glaze and garnish:
Mix sugar and 4 teaspoons each bourbon and Sherry in bowl. Add more liquor by 1/2 teaspoonfuls in equal amounts to thin if necessary.

Spoon glaze over cookies; garnish with peel. Let stand until glaze sets, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container at room temperature.

Old-fashioned Fruitcake Cookies, Christmas Cookies

Coconut Oatmeal Lace Cookies, Christmas Cookies

Coconut Oatmeal Lace Cookies, Christmas Cookies

yield: Makes about 36 cookies

active time: 2 hr

total time: 2 hr

An upscale hybrid of antipodean ANZAC biscuits and chocolate digestives from Britain, these crisp cookies are positively elegant. They were an unexpected favorite in our test kitchen, with cooks and editors descending in droves when the cookies’ warm, nutty aroma filled the air.


Ingredients

For cookies:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For decorating:

• 3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped and melted
• 3 ounces fine-quality white chocolate, finely chopped and melted

• Equipment: 2 (17-by 11-inch) nonstick bakeware liners such as Silpats; 2 heavy-duty sealable bags

Repartion

Make cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with nonstick liners.

Melt butter with brown sugar and salt in a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Stir in coconut, oats, and flour until just combined. Remove pot from heat but keep batter warm over pot (so batter is easier to spread).

Drop rounded teaspoons of batter at least 3 1/2 inches apart on 1 baking sheet and spread each to about 2 inches with an offset spatula or back of a spoon. Bake until cookies are bubbling and golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack until firm, 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer cookies to rack to cool completely. Form and bake more cookies on second baking sheet (wipe liners clean and cool between batches).

Decorate with chocolate
Cool melted chocolates slightly. Transfer each to a sealable bag and snip a 1/16-inch opening at a corner of each bag. Put some of cooled cookies on a parchment-lined tray that will fit in freezer, then pipe chocolates decoratively over cookies. Freeze 2 to 3 minutes to set chocolate, then carefully remove cookies from parchment.

Coconut Oatmeal Lace Cookies, Christmas Cookies

Spritz Christmas Wreath Cookies, Christmas Cookies

yield: Makes about 120 cookies

Spritz cookies-from the German Spritzen, meaning "to squirt"- are formed into fanciful shapes when the dough is piped through a cookie press. One food editor still uses her aunt Carol's old metal spritzer to make these delicate cookie.



Ingredients

• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• an egg wash made by beating 1 egg white lightly with 2 teaspoons water
• green decorating sugar
• candied cherries, sliced thin

Repartion

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the salt, the vanilla, and the egg yolks, and beat the mixture until it is smooth. Add the flour and beat the dough until it is just combined. Pack the dough into a cookie press fitted with the wreath disk and press cookies about 1 inch apart onto cool, ungreased baking sheets. Brush the cookies lightly with the egg wash, sprinkle them with the decorating sugar, and arrange the cherry slices decoratively on them. Bake the cookies in batches in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are pale golden. Transfer the cookies to racks and let them cool. (Do not let the cookies cool on the sheets.) The cookies may be made 2 months in advance and kept frozen in airtight containers.

Spritz Christmas Wreath Cookies, Christmas Cookies