Christmas Cookies 2012

Tis the season! Have you started your baking yet? I scaled back a little this year, but that's not to say that these aren't fabulous recipes! What's even better about the cookies this year is that I used gluten free flour. Too bad these won't travel well...only my local friends will get to savor these tasty bites this year since 2 of the 3 recipes need to be refrigerated. Hopefully the besties aren't too upset that they won't be getting the usual tin full of cookies this year.  Here's the short and simple list of 2012 Christmas Cookies.

Lemon, Cranberry, and Pistachio Wreaths
(adapted from Martha Stewart - she's kinda my idol)
Original Recipe

1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. flour, plus more for rolling out dough
3/4 C. cornstarch
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 C. sugar
2 egg yolks
5 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp. lemon extract
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 C. powdered sugar
3/4 C. shelled unsalted pistachios, toasted and chopped
3/4 C. dried cranberries, chopped

Whisk the first 4 dry ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, zest, and lemon extract. Slowly add the dry mixture until the dough pulls together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough until it's about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out wreaths using a Linzer cookie cutter (or similar cutter) and lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread that much while cooking but should be at least 1 inch apart from each other.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-9 minutes. Allow to cool.

In a bowl whisk together the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Add more lemon juice to get to the right "icing" consistency. Fill a ketchup style bottle with the icing or a plastic baggie with a corner snipped off. Swirl the icing around each cookie and quickly sprinkle the chopped pistachios and cranberries on top so they stick. Let cool and store in a airtight container.



Chocolate Balls (aka Kathy's Cookies)

2-8 oz. Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almond bars
handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 C. whole almonds
1 tsp. vanilla
1-8 oz. container Cool Whip
Nilla Wafers or Graham Crackers, crushed

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate bars and chocolate chips. Remove from heat and stir in the almonds. Allow to cool to room temperature then add the vanilla. Carefully fold in the Cool Whip until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

To assemble the cookies, use a melon baller to evenly scoop each cookie. Roll the chocolate ball in the crushed cookies. Once all cookies are rolled, enjoy or refrigerate until ready to serve.


Seven Layer Cookies
These are deliciously almond!
Recipe from Epicurious