cookies

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Chocolate chip walnut cookies are a classic combination. There are a million different ways to make them, while experimenting with mix-ins and flavor varieties. Date and walnut cookies are another classic cookie. Combine the two classics, and you have yourself a luscious new treat.

Dates are actually an ingredient that can be used to make vegan caramel, the reason being that they caramelize when cooked. While these chocolate chunk date and walnut cookies are not vegan, the dates do caramelize when the cookies bake. The result in an elevated caramel-like version of your classic chocolate chip cookie or date and walnut cookie in an easy and delicious recipe.

ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup walnuts, chopped 
  • ¾ cup chocolate chunks
  • ¾ cup dates, pitted and chopped

steps

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Meanwhile, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract and water and mix. Add in the eggs one at a time until both are evenly incorporated. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until the dough forms, being careful not to overwork the dough, then mix in the walnuts, chocolate chunks, and dates. 

Using a 2-inch scoop, spoon out the cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat, 2 inches apart. Bake for 13 minutes until the edges are golden.

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Growing up, friends and family devoured these Austrian cream cheese cookies every Christmas, Easter, and even on holidays in between. They are light but textured, and traditionally filled with lekvar which is an Austrian prune butter or apricot jam. I filled these with a mixed wineberry and mulberry jam that I had made back in the summer from berries I picked locally, but apricot has always been my favorite.

The dough, which is somewhere between cookie and pastry, is rolled super thin. When baked, it puffs ever so slightly and becomes flaky.

Though I am an avid proponent of my kitchen aid stand mixer, I have found that the power of the mixer causes the gluten to develop, making the dough too tough for these delicate cookies. So just like my ancestors made it for generations, the dough must be made with your hands.

So squeeze away and get the added benefit of stress relief! Isn’t that what baking is really about anyway?

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 ½ cups jam or preserves
  • Powdered sugar

steps

Mix the butter and cream cheese in a bowl. Add the sugar  and egg yolks. Add in the flour and pinch and squeeze the dough with your hands until it comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the dough in quarters and working with one piece at a time, roll out dough as thinly as you can. Use a cookie cutter or knife to cut into squares.

Fill each square with a dollop of jam at the center. Fold one side into the center then fold the other side over it. I keep a bowl of water nearby to wet the corners of the dough so they stick together.

Bake until golden, 16 minutes, and let cool. Dust with powdered sugar. 

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Happy Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and the first official day of winter! With four days until Christmas, I’ve been baking a lot of cookies, including these berry spritz cookies.

Spritz cookies are a holiday classic. They are buttery, delicious and fun to make. The simple butter cookie dough is pushed through a cookie press directly onto a baking sheet to create the distinct shapes and designs.

Here, I replace traditional food coloring with freeze-dried berries, which are ground to a powder to add color and slight flavor! For these berry spritz cookies, I used strawberries and blueberries, but feel free to try other fun flavors like cranberry, pomegranate, or orange which create vivid, natural colors without added dye. Berry spritz cookies will add a touch of pastel to your holiday baking repertoire !

ingredients

for the cookie dough

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons of ground freeze-dried sliced strawberries (about ½ cup unground)
  • 2 tablespoons of ground freeze-dried blueberries (about ¼ cup unground)

for the topping

steps

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour and salt.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Beat until the dough forms.

Divide the dough in half and place one half in a separate bowl and the other half in the mixer bowl. Add the strawberry powder to mixer bowl and beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined and dough has turned pink.

Remove the strawberry dough from the mixer bowl and beat the remaining dough with the blueberry powder.

Whisk the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water. 

Using a cookie press, press cookies directly onto a greased, unlined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake for 6-7 minutes, rotating the pan once.

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I will take any excuse to bake with different flours/meals but corn is an all-time favorite of mine. These golden bell cornmeal cookies always get me feeling festive as the song “silver bells” starts playing in my head when I think of them.

I have been making this dough for cornmeal cookies for a while and used to roll it into balls, flatten them, and drizzle them with honey and flaky salt (you can totally try this too!). Then I decided to try the dough with cut-outs and it turns out, it works equally as well! Behold, the golden bells.

ingredients

for the dough

  • ¾ cup butter
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 ¼ cups flour
  • 1 ¼ cups cornmeal

Pinch of salt

for the glaze and decoration

cookie dough steps

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer until creamy. Add in the egg and vanilla and continue mixing. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until the dough has formed. Everything should be evenly combined.

Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm. Refrigerating the dough will make it easier to roll out.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the dough into quarters and roll out one of the quarters, you will need extra flour. Use a bell-shaped cookie cutter to cut out bells (you can really do whatever shape you’d like!) and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-9 minutes until edges start to crisp and turn golden. Allow to cool completely.

glaze steps

Place all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies in glaze, flip over, and allow to set for about 3 minutes before covering in sprinkles.

I like to place the cookies on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet because it allows for easy clean-up! Letting the glaze set prevents the sprinkles from sinking into it. Cover with sprinkles and let harden completely.

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The rain from last night continued into the morning and has now turned into a clean powder that is coating everything in sight. A cozy, snowy day like this is perfect for one thing: baking. Today, coconut flour cut-out cookies.

These cookies will literally melt in your mouth thanks to the coconut flour. They are entirely wheat and gluten-free and even my boyfriend, who strongly dislikes coconut, is a fan. The naturally-colored glaze allows you to enjoy all the glory of Christmas cookie decorating without the harm of artificial additives. Coconut flour cut-out cookies are a semi-virtuous way to celebrate any holiday!

Makes about 2 dozen 2-inch cookies

ingredients

for the cookies

  • ¼ cup (½ stick) butter 
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • pinch of kosher salt

for the glaze

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar, divided
  • 3 teaspoons corn syrup, divided
  • ¼ cup kale, roughly chopped
  • 4 tablespoons water, divided
  • ¼ cup raspberries (or mixed berries)
  • ¼ cup sugar

cookie dough steps

In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. 

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and almond extract.

Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients mixing on low until evenly combined.

Form the dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325°f. Roll out dough and cut with cutters. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

Allow to cool completely.

glaze steps

make the red food coloring: 

In a saucepan, heat the raspberries, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of water over high heat until they begin to bubble. Simmer, mixing and mashing until the berries start to break down, about 5 minutes. Strain through a mesh sieve.

make the green food coloring: 

In a saucepan, heat the kale and remaining 2 tablespoons of water over high heat for about 3 minutes. Place the mixture in a blender and puree until smooth then strain through a mesh sieve.

In a small bowl, combine ½ cup confectioners sugar and 1½ teaspoons of corn syrup with 1½ teaspoons of berry liquid. Mix to combine. In another small bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup of confectioners sugar and 1½ teaspoons corn syrup with 1½ teaspoons green kale liquid. Mix to combine.

Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze and flip over so they are resting on their bottom sides to let the excess glaze drip off the sides. 

Place on cooling rack until glaze hardens.

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With all of the endless horrors going on in the world right now, I, per usual, have channeled the stress and nervous energy I am feeling into cooking and baking. For me, it is quite meditative and relaxing and most importantly, creative. Now more than ever, it is so crucial to find creative outlets and forms of expression to offload and expel anxiety, negativity, pain. Cooking and baking are also pretty physical activities, and for me, it is essential that I exercise and move, especially as the weather is cooling down and it feels uncomfortable to go outside.

To me, these ginger molasses stars are a winter wonderland in cookie form. The layers of warm and cozy spices create a super complex and nuanced flavor which evenly spreads throughout every bite. Toasting the pecans releases more of the buttery pecan flavor which complements the maple glaze well.

Feel free to experiment with your extracts here. I personally love maple, but vanilla, almond, chocolate, rum, etc could all work beautifully.

With these cookies, the thicker you roll out the dough, the chewier the ginger molasses stars will be.

***

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

for the cookies

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon finely ground pepper
  • ½ cup (1 stick or 1/4 pound) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
  • ½ cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup unsulfured molasses

for the glaze and topping

  • 2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  • 2-3 tablespoons half and half or milk
  • 2 teaspoons maple extract
  • ½ cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped

Cookie dough steps

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, salt and pepper and set aside.

Beat the butter and brown sugar using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment or hand mixer until fluffy. Add in egg and molasses and beat until combined.

Slowly beat in the flour mixture until dough is evenly combined. Don’t overbeat.

Divide the dough into two and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough on a floured surface to about ⅓ of an inch thick and cut into star shapes. Bake for 10-12 minutes. They will be soft when you remove them from the oven but will solidify and become chewy once they cool.

Glaze and topping steps

Place confectioners sugar, corn syrup, half and half, and maple extract in a bowl. Whisk to thoroughly combine. Dip tops of stars into glaze, allowing the excess to drip off the sides. 

Sprinkle with pecans and place on cooling rack until glaze dries and hardens.