Tạp chí văn hóa ẩm thực Foodiecrush Holiday 2013

THE ONLINE MAGAZINE THAT LOVES FOOD BLOGGERS, THEIR RECIPES & PHOTOGRAPHY
Festive
Foodies
and their
sweets,
treats &

entertaining
eats
FOOD BLOGGERS
GIVE BACK IN
THE GREAT FOOD
BLOGGER COOKIE SWAP
P
L
U
S
Chocolate
Dipped

Cranberry
Orange
Shortbread
from
JELLY TOAST BLOG
and more!
contents
H
o
l
i

d
a
y

‘
1
3
ON THE COVER
Chocolate Dipped
Cranberry Orange
Shortbread created
and photographed
by Emily Caruso
of Jelly Toast Blog.
Check out the article
Cookies for a Cause
for the recipe.
*
click the pic to take you to the article
*
5
46
70
33
60
contributors
PRIVACY POLICY AND DISCLAIMER
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We have sought to ensure accuracy and completeness of our
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publisher assumes responsibility for claims or recipes submitted
or reprinted by our contributors, errors, inaccuracies, omissions,
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Neither FoodieCrush LLC nor the publisher is responsible for
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responsible for anyone’s reliance on the content herein.
COURTNEY
BANKHEAD

is literally counting
down the days
to receiving her
BFA degree in
Graphic Design.
As a FoodieCrush
intern, aka left-
over blog post for
lunch recipe taste
tester, Courtney
curated this
issue’s product
pages with a
spiced twist.
When she isn’t
mountain biking

with her husband,
hiking with her
kids or answering
Heidi’s texts, she
dreams of some
quality “me” time
at the spa. Catch
her on Instagram
@courtbankhead.
HALEY TEATER
is a contribu-
tor who writes
and eats from
Greensboro, N.C.
She has a pen-
chant for baking,
travel, writing and
banana puddin’
and often likes to
sneak bourbon
into her baked
goods. She put
her taste buds
into overdrive
while research-
ing and writing
“Around the
World in Six Des-
serts,” featuring
traditional sweets

from about the
globe. See more
of Hayley’s foodie
adventures at her
blog Tiptoes in
the Kitchen.
It’s all about the giving. And the cookies.
Let’s face it. When it comes to holiday eats, it’s all
about desserts—baking them, giving them and de-
nitely craving them. So why pretend to be interested
in anything but the sweet stu this time of year?
That’s why in this issue you’ll nd a bevy of sweet
treats, including two food blogging gal pals who’ve
teamed up to create the ultimate cookie swap, bring-
ing food bloggers together online and o and in the
process raising money for an amazing cause. You’ll also
be introduced to six food bloggers who share tradi-
tional desserts that travel the distance from Croatia to
Texas, plus a blogger (he’s a guy with a sweet tooth!)
whose recipe for Peppermint Bark is worth every bite.
But because we can’t subsist on sugar alone, we
made sure to even the stakes and share some favorite
cheese boards and party tips, plus some favorite swag
that’s sure to get you and yours saying ho-ho-ho.
Happy holidays, have fun and bake on.
xoxo,
Heidi Larsen
CHIEF FOODIECRUSH-ER AKA DISHWASHER
GET MORE ONLINE ISSUES AT FOODIECRUSH.COM
Bourbon,

Brown Butter,
and Vanilla
Bean
Shortbread
Cookies
In the true sense
of giving,
food blogging pals
LINDSAY LANDIS
and JULIE DEILY
have created a
nationwide
exchange of
sweets that not
only benets the
participants,
but kids with
cancer too.
COOKIES
FOR
A CAUSE
by HEIDI LARSEN of FOODIECRUSH .com
T
h


C
o
o
k

e

A
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l
s
portrait by ROBYN STONE of ADD A PINCH .com
F
How did the two of you become
friends?
We were online friends before we 'met'
in real life. We actually missed our rst
chance to meet, in 2010 at Food Blog
Forum Atlanta. We were both there and
yet failed to meet. We nally
did meet the following year
when Julie organized Food
Blog Forum Orlando where
Lindsay spoke. We’ve been
besties ever since.
You’re both erce bakers in
the kitchen. What was the nugget of
inspiration for you to start the Great
Food Blogger Cookie Swap?
Honestly? The entire swap started with
a single tweet and a late night cookie
craving. Lindsay tweeted something like

"Wouldn't it be great if we could have
one big, giant cookie swap where food
bloggers sent each other cookies?"
Julie responded, and probably within
24 hours we had launched our very rst
cookie swap.
Why did you choose Cookies for Kids
Cancer to support via funds generat-
ed through the cookie swap?
The second year (2012) we decided we
wanted to add a charitable component
to the swap and charge a participation
fee (the idea was the fee would help
weed out the 'akes' we had to deal
with the rst year). We hadn't yet started
to research charities when a friend at
OXO mentioned Cookies For Kids' Can-
cer. It was such a perfect t we didn't
even think twice. Every penny we raise
goes directly to CFKC. We
don't keep a cent and all of
our time spent on the cook-
ie swap is a purely volunteer
basis. Honestly, we do it all for
the cookies!
You’ve achieved great suc-
cess in the past 3 years, raising funds
for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. What
are your goals for this year, mone-
tarily and otherwise?

We set out to raise over $10,000 for
CFKC this year, with the help of our
generous brand partners (Dixie Crystals,
Gold Medal Flour, Grandma's Molasses
and OXO). And sure enough, we did it!
Our total, with matching funds, came to
over $13,700. That’s a total over of over
$17,000 for an amazing charity.
Other than the charity component,
we really feel that the cookie swap
brings the food blogging community
together. People come away with not
only a few dozen delicious cookies, but
also friendships with bloggers they may
not have fostered otherwise.
ood bloggers Lindsay Landis of Love and Olive Oil and
Julie Deily of The Little Kitchen have taken the concept of a
cookie swap party to a whole new level. Created by Lindsay and
Julie, 2013 marks the third year of The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.
Beginning with sugar, our and a whole lot of organization, the event is
a philanthropic endeavor that benets more than just the cookie-loving
recipients. It syncs hundreds of food blogging participants and their cookies
in a massive, countrywide sweet-treat exchange, raising funds for the charity
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
BOURBON, BROWN BUTTER,
AND VANILLA BEAN
SHORTBREAD COOKIES
makes 30 cookies
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ vanilla bean, seeded
2 ½ cups all-purpose our
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¹/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup bourbon
1.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over me-
dium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until
butter solids (the bits that separate in the
bottom of the pan) turn a deep amber color.
Watch this closely, as the butter will go from
brown to burnt very quickly if you’re not
careful. Remove from heat and let cool for
15 minutes.
2. Line a heat-proof container with plastic
wrap or aluminum foil. Pour brown butter
into container, then refrigerate for at least
2-3 hours or overnight, until butter has re-
turned to its solid state. Remove from refrig-
erator and let sit at room temperature for 15
minutes, then dump into a large mixing bowl
or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on me-
dium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes or until
light and uy. Add brown sugar and contin-
ue to beat for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add va-
nilla bean seeds and mix until incorporated.
In a bowl, whisk together our, cornstarch,
and salt until evenly blended. Add dry ingre-
dients to butter mixture in 2-3 additions, and
mix on low speed until incorporated. After

about half of the dry ingredients have been
added, mix in bourbon, then add remain-
ing dry ingredients and beat until mixture
comes together into a crumbly dough.
3. Divide dough into two portions, then
place in the center of a sheet of plastic wrap,
forming into a 10-inch log. Roll tightly with
plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough.
You should end up with two 10-inch logs ap-
proximately 1-3/4 inches in diameter (about
the size of a paper towel tube). Refrigerate
for at least 3 hours or overnight, until rm.
You can place the logs in a paper towel tube
if you like, which will help them keep their
round shape when refrigerated.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking
sheets with parchment paper or a silicone
mat.
5. Remove logs from refrigerator; remove
and discard plastic wrap. With a sharp knife,
cut into 3/8-inch-thick slices and arrange on
baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space
between each cookie. Bake for 10 to 12
minutes or until cookies are set and bottom
edges are light golden brown. Let cool for
5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to
a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will
keep, stored in an airtight container, for up
to 1 week.

//
Lindsay
//

loveandoliveoil.com
Double
Chocolate
Chunk
Cookies with
Sea Salt
I think everyone wants to know,
how do you manage the number of
bloggers involved and choose whose
cookies get delivered to who?
One big, giant spreadsheet. After the
rst year—which was a huge logistical
nightmare as we had to gure out how
it would all work—it’s actually gone
pretty smoothly. Once we format the
spreadsheet and divide it into groups
(by country and also by food allergy),
we oset the rows and each person
gets lined up with 3 other bloggers. The
matches are totally random. We even
split up the list so Lindsay’s name goes
on Julie’s half and Julie’s name is on
Lindsay’s half, so our own matches are
total surprises too. We then email each
blogger with the names and addresses
of their three matches.

As the creators of the swap, do you
nd yourselves putting extra pres-
sure on yourselves to create a stun-
ning cookie recipe for the swap?
Of course! It's denitely a challenge to
come up with a delicious cookie that holds
up well for shipping. Many standard cookies
dry out too quickly and so you're forced to
think outside (er, inside?) the box.
The web is full of some pretty cre-
ative food bloggers. Have you had
a recipe come through that you
thought, “Oh wow! Why didn’t I think
of that?”
Honestly it’s more that we’re just in awe
of the sheer number of cookies that
come about as a result of this swap.
Last year we calculated there were over
22,000 cookies sent around the world.
IT ALL STARTED WITH 96,000 COOKIES
Upon 2-year-old Liam Witt's diagnosis with
neuroblastoma in 2007, his parents Gretch-
en and Larry Witt were shocked to learn of
the lack of effective treatments for pediatric
cancers due to lack of funding. That was
all it took for them to pledge to support
the development of research for safer, more
effective treatments.
It all began with a cookie drive. With
the help of 250 volunteers, his mom Gretchen

baked and sold 96,000 cookies, raising more
than $400,000 for research.
Word quickly spread, and people nation-
wide began asking, "What can I do to help?"
With that they created Cookies for Kids’
Cancer, committed to raising funds for
research to develop new, improved treat-
ments for pediatric cancer, the #1 disease
killer of children in the U.S.
The Witts efforts have always been in-
spired by their son Liam’s battle with stage
IV cancer. Tragically, Liam came to the end
of his courageous 4-year ght with cancer
on January 24, 2011 at just six years of age.
How can you get involved? Become a Be
a Good Cookie™ by hosting a fundraising
event, order cookies as gifts, shop the on-
line gift shop, make a donation, or create a
fundraising page—every bit counts.
Learn more about the kids who inspire
the drive at cookiesforkidscancer.org.
excerpted from cookiesforkidscancer.org
Watch a video about the history of Cookies for Kids Cancer
and hear Gretchen’s own words by clicking here.
ABOUT
COOKIES FOR KIDS CANCER
l

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The thought of that many cookies ying
through the air makes our hearts happy.
The other amazing aspect of this is,
Veronica, a blogger who organizes a
non-blogger cookie swap (see sidebar.)
She’s a postal service employee and
has told us time and time again how
appreciative she is of the sheer vol-
ume that food bloggers send packages
through the US Postal Service.
What happens if someone missed the
opportunity to participate this year?
We are denitely planning to do
it again next year! Sign up
to receive notications here:
We'll
send out an email to this list when
sign ups open for next years' swap.
You two are both well respected
recipe creators, photographers,
designers and content creators. It
seems like you do it all. How do you
manage to create new initiatives like
this, and the Food BlogForum

conference, and keep up with it all?
Um, we don't? Haha. We both have a
habit of taking on too much at once.
But we both seem to work quite well
under pressure and somehow manage
to get it all done.
And honestly, we wouldn’t be able to
do it without each other. We’re both
hugely supportive and one another’s
best sounding boards.
What do you think The Great Food
Blogger Cookie Swap will look like in
5 years?
I hope it's even bigger and better, with
more cookies and more money raised
for Cookies for Kids Cancer.
ABOUT THE
POSTCARD PROJECT
with
VERONICA OF VERONICA’S CONUCOPIA
As a postal worker by day who loves receiving
items in the mail, Veronica Miller knows the im-
portance of keeping the age-old tradition alive.
In 2011 she created the Postcard Project as a
way to inspire others to do the same. Inspired
by Lindsay and Julie’s eorts, Veronica has cre-
ated an event for non-bloggers to participate in
their own holiday cookie swap.
I started the Postcard
Project in 2011, just

before the inaugural
Great Food Blogger
Cookie Swap was
launched. My version
is meant to rekindle
interest in sending
mail, and I thought
a nation-wide cook-
ie swap would be a
perfect addition to
the project since it
generates many extra
packages for the post
oce. Not to men-
tion how much joy
and cheer it spreads,
another main goal of
my project.
Since the Great
Food Blogger Cookie
Swap is for food blog-
gers only, I thought
it would be great to
provide a separate
swap for non-blog-
gers as part of my
project. I am so glad
Julie and Lindsay
came up with this
great idea, and that

they were happy to
let me piggy back it
for many of us.
We also support
Cookies for Kids’
Cancer by reporting
the number of cook-
ies swapped, and
Glad matches each
cookie with $1 which
resulted in raising
$3,574 for kids cancer
just by doing what
we love and shipping
that love around the
country.
veronicascornucopia.com
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“
”
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

WITH SEA SALT
makes 24 cookies
3 ¼ cups unbleached
all-purpose our
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
(two sticks), softened
4 ounces cream cheese,
softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces bittersweet
chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate
chunks sea salt
1.
Mix dry ingredients to-
gether in a medium-sized
mixing bowl.
2. In the bowl of a stand
mixer (and using a at
beater) or large mixing bowl
(and using an electric mix-
er), beat cream cheese and
butter. Add both sugars and

cream together thoroughly.
Add vanilla extract and mix.
Add eggs one at a time and
mix thoroughly until com-
bined.
3. Add our in two batches
and mix with a rubber spatula.
Add chocolate and mix just to
combine. Don’t over mix.
4. Line a small baking sheet
with parchment paper and
using a medium (1.5 Table-
spoon) cookie scoop, scoop
cookie dough portions.
Place portioned cookie
dough into the freezer for
3 to 4 hours or overnight.
If not baking immediately,
after the dough is frozen,
place in one or more zip-
pered plastic bags and label
with date and baking tem-
perature and time.
5. Heat oven to 375° F. and
place cookie dough on a
parchment paper lined
baking sheet at least 2 to
3 inches apart. Bake for 9
to 12 minutes until slight-
ly golden brown. Remove

from oven and place parch-
ment paper with cookies
on top directly on a cooling
rack. Store in an airtight
container to maintain chew-
iness.

//
Julie
//

thelittlekitchen.net
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ¼ cup all-purpose our
½ cup unsweetened baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoons salt
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1
/
3 cup milk
1 cup confectioner’s sugar,
for rolling the dough in
1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch
Baking Chips
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie

sheet with parchment paper or silicone
liner.
2. Melt chocolate in a small saucepan or
double boiler over low heat. Set aside.
3. Sift together our, baking cocoa,
baking powder and salt.
4. Beat butter and sugars until creamy.
Beat in eggs and vanilla until well com-
bined. Slowly beat in melted chocolate.
5. Alternate between beating in our
and milk until incorporated and dough
forms.
6. Form dough into a ball and cover
with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at
least 2 hours.
7. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll
dough in confectioner’s sugar.
8. Place cookies on prepared cookie
sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.
9. Remove from oven. Sprinkle the tops
with peppermint baking chips. Lightly
press chips into tops of cookies.
Return to oven and bake for another
4-7 minutes.
10. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to
cool completely. Store in an airtight
container.
CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT
CRACKLE COOKIES
makes 36 cookies

//
Jessica
//

a-kitchen-addiction.com
With hundreds of food bloggers
participating in the Great Food Blog
Cookie Swap, choosing a small
selection of recipes to feature was no
small task. Here are a few favorites
that caught our eye.
2 cups butter (4 sticks) softened,
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
5 cups all-purpose our
1 large egg
Re d and green food coloring
Sanding sugar
1. In an electric mixer tted with a pad-
dle attachment, cream butter and sugar
until well blended. Add vanilla extract
and salt. With the mixer on low, gradu-
ally add our, scraping down the sides.
HOLIDAY
CHECKERBOARD COOKIES
makes 96 cookies
2. Turn dough out onto a
clean work surface; it will be

loose and crumbly. Knead
dough together. Divide
dough into 4 parts. Color
one part green by drizzling
a bit of the green color into
the middle and knead until
well blended. Add more color
until you achieve the desired
color. Repeat process with
the red color with another
¼ of the dough. Leave the
two other parts white.
3. Place each half of the
kneaded dough between two
sheets of plastic wrap. Using
a rolling pin, shape dough
into two 7-inch squares,
about
3
/
8 inch thick. Using a
sharp knife and a ruler, slice
each square into nine ¾ inch-
es-wide strips.
4. Whisk together the egg
and 1 tablespoon water. Cov-
er work surface with plastic
wrap. Place three strips of
dough on plastic, alternating
white and red for the rst

set, to create a checkerboard
eect. Brush tops and in
between the strips with the
egg wash. Gently press strips
together. Repeat, forming
second and third layers,
alternating colors to create
a checkerboard eect. Wrap
assembled log in plastic.
Repeat process with green
for second log. Refrigerate
30 minutes, or freeze 15
minutes.
5. If you have extra dough
continue repeating the pro-
cess until all dough is used.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Line a baking sheet with a
parchment paper. Slice each
log into ¼-inch thick slices;
placing on baking sheet.
Brush with egg wash and
sprinkle with sanding sugar.
Bake until done, 10 to 12
minutes. Remove baking
sheet from oven, and let
cookies cool 2 minutes.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack
to cool completely.

//
Lisa
//

authenticsuburbangourmet.
blogspot.com
2 ¼ sticks butter, at
room temperature
¼ cup coconut oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ tablespoon freshly ground
ginger
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup light unsulphured molasses
4 cups all-purpose our
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
A bout a ¼ cup of turbinado sugar
for rolling the balls of dough in
before baking
P ieces of crystallized ginger to
top cookies with after they’re
baked
TRIPLE GINGER

LEMON COOKIES
makes 48 cookies
1. Preheat oven to 375° F. In a large
bowl, whisk together our, baking soda,
cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Set
aside.
2. With an electric mixer, beat togeth-
er butter, coconut oil, and sugars until
combined. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating well after each addition. Then
add molasses, lemon zest, lemon juice,
and fresh ginger, beat until combined.
Then add in the dry ingredients, mix
until just combined.
3. Roll the dough into small balls (about
1 inch in diameter). Fill a small bowl with
turbinado sugar, and roll each ball in the
sugar until it’s well coated. Place dough
on cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart
and bake for about 10 minutes. Once
they are done, remove from the oven,
press the crystallized ginger pieces
lightly on top and let cool for a minute
or two before transferring to a wire
rack to cool completely.

//
Ashley
//

bakerbynature.com
CHOCOLATE, HONEYCOMB
& ROAST ALMOND COOKIES
makes 36 cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose our
1 ½ cups self raising our
1 ½ good quality chocolate
covered honeycomb
1 cup roasted almonds
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line three
large baking trays with non-stick baking
paper.
2. Beat butter and sugar until very well
combined. Add eggs and beat again un-
til combined. Sift in our and stir with a
wooden spoon unitl well incorporated.
3. Roughly chop the honeycomb and
almond and add to the mixing bowl. Stir
gently until almonds and honeycomb
are evenly distributed through the
cookie dough.
4. Roll tablespoon sized balls with the
cookie mixture. Place 12 balls on each
baking tray (leaving enough room for
them to spread out slightly) and atten
slightly with your hand.
5. Place trays in the oven and bake for

20 minutes until lightly golden, turning
the trays and swapping their position in
the oven halfway through.

//
Amanda
//
chewtown.com
Chocolate covered
honeycomb can
be purchased as
a candy bar
in Australia.
There are many
recipes to make
your own by
searching online.
“
”
3 cups all-purpose our
1
/
3 cup unsweetened cocoa
powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted
butter, softened
1 ¾ cups sugar, divided
2 tablespoons instant

espresso powder
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint
extract
34 Hershey’s Kisses Candy
Cane Flavored Candies,
unwrapped
PEPPERMINT
MOCHA BLOSSOMS
makes 34 cookies
1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
Line a baking sheet with
parchment paper or a sili-
cone baking mat.
2. In a medium bowl, com-
bine our, cocoa powder,
baking soda and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric
mixer tted with the paddle
attachment, beat butter, 1¼
cups sugar and espresso
powder on medium-high un-
til light and uy, about 2-3
minutes. Beat in eggs, one at
a time, until well combined.
Beat in vanilla and pepper-
mint extract until well com-
bined. Gradually add our
mixture to sugar mixture at

low speed, beating just until
incorporated.
4. Roll tablespoons of dough
into 1-inch balls and coat in
remaining ½ cup sugar. Place
onto baking sheet and bake
until outside is crackly, but
center is still moist, about
9-10 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and let
cool 2-3 minutes before top-
ping with a Candy Cane Kiss
in the center of each cookie.

//
Chung-Ah
//
damndelicious.net
SALTED DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
makes 36 cookies
1 cup all-purpose our
½ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
(or unsweetened Dutch-process
cocoa powder )
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
4 ounces coarsely chopped dark
chocolate
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chocolate chips

1 stick unsalted butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
sea salt for sprinkling
1. Preheat oven to 325° F.
2. Whisk together our,
cocoa powder, baking soda,
and salt in a medium bowl;
set aside. Melt coarsely
chopped chocolate with the
butter in a small heatproof
bowl in a double-boiler or
in the microwave, stirring
frequently.
3. Once melted, transfer
chocolate mixture to the
bowl of an electric mixer
tted with the paddle attach-
ment. Add sugar, eggs, and
vanilla; mix on medium speed
until combined. Reduce
speed to low; gradually mix in
our mixture. Fold in choco-
late and peanut butter chips.
Round batter into heaping
tablespoon-fulls, and place
2 inches apart on parch-
ment-lined baking sheets.
Sprinkle each ball of dough

with a pinch of sea salt. Bake
until cookies are at and sur-
faces begin to crack, about
12-15 minutes. (Do not over-
bake these, or they will dry
out.) Transfer on parchment
to wire racks and let cool.
4. Serve immediately, or
store in a sealed container
for up to 3 weeks.

//
Ali
//
gimmesomeoven.com
1. Preheat oven 350° F. Line baking sheet
with a baking mat or parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, brown your but-
ter: Over medium heat, melt the butter.
Whisking frequently, let the butter turn
into an amber color. It will foam a little.
Once it subsides and brown specks
appears at the bottom of the pan, it
will begin to have a nutty aroma. Once
butter turns a light golden brown color,
transfer to a bowl to cool or stick it in
the freezer to cool faster.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together our,
baking soda, and salt.
4. In a bowl with electric mixer attach-

ment, mix the brown butter with sugars.
5. Add egg and vanilla, mix to combine.
6. Add the dry ingredients (our, etc.)
into wet ingredients (butter, etc).
7. Using a rubber spatula, mix in cream
cheese slightly. Fold in chocolate chips
and chopped Oreos.
8. Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough
onto prepared baking sheet, about 2
minutes apart each.
9. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until edg-
es are slightly golden. Let cookies cool
slightly on baking sheet for 5 minutes
before removing to cool completely on
cooling rack.

//
Lynna
//
heartsinmyoven.com
CHOCOLATE CHIP
OREO CREAM COOKIES
makes about 20 cookies
8 tablespoons (1 stick)
unsalted butter
1
1
/
3 cup all-purpose our
½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1
/
3 cup chocolate chips
6 Oreo cookies, chopped
The cream
cheese in this
recipe helps
the cookies
stay soft for
a long time.
“
”
ORANGE SHORTBREAD
WITH DARK CHOCOLATE
AND PISTACHIOS
makes 36 cookies
2 cups salted butter,
softened
¾ cup light brown
sugar
4 ½ cups all-purpose
our
Zest of 1 navel orange
1 cup dark chocolate

(chips or melting
wafers are easiest)
1 cup whole, roasted
and salted
pistachios, chopped
1. In a large bowl, with
a large wooden spoon,
begin to work the but-
ter until it is very soft,
but not greasy. Spread
and atten it against the
bowl with the back of
the wooden spoon until
it is creamy and very
pliable, scraping down
the bowl occasionally.
Add the zest and sugar,
all at once, and stir until
the sugar is dissolved
and no longer gritty.
2. Add the our, 1 cup
at a time, incorporating
it fully before adding
more. After you have
added the second or
third cup, you may want
to nish mixing with
your hands. Once all 4½
cups of our have been
mixed in, the dough will

be rm and uniform,
not sticky, but only dry
enough to crack slightly
when pressed. Leave
the dough to rest for
at least 1 hour at room
temperature. This
allows for the avors to
meld and for the butter
to be completely ab-
sorbed by the our.
3. Once it is rested, roll
the dough out to ¼”
thick on a lightly oured
surface. Cut out cookies
in whatever shape you
like. Press the tines of
a fork into each side
of the squares, giving
them a ridged eect.
Lastly they are pierced
three times with the
fork, making 3 rows
of 4 small holes in the
top. If you choose to
make round cookies or
other shapes, pricking
them will help ensure
that they bake up at
and smooth. Not prick-

ing them may result
in some bubbling and
warping of the surface.
4. Line a baking sheet
with parchment or
leave it ungreased if
you prefer. Bake at
325° F. for 18-20 min-
utes until the bottoms
and bottom edge are
golden and the tops are
dry looking. Cool the
cookies on a wire rack.
Do not dip in choco-
late until they are fully

//
Sarah
//
feastsforallseasons.com
cooled.
5. Chop the pistachios
nely and melt the
chocolate (with 10
second intervals in the
microwave, or in a heat
proof bowl over sim-
mering water). Dunk
the cookies, shaking o
excess (or dribble pools

of chocolate on top)
and roll through the
nely chopped pista-
chios. Place the choco-
late coated cookies on
the same parchment
lined cookie sheet and
allow the chocolate to
rm up.
6. To store, keep these
tightly sealed for up to
2 weeks at room tem-
perature.
2 sticks butter,
room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon light
corn syrup
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
bean paste
2 ½ cups our
1 4-ounce package
French vanilla
instant pudding mix
2 teaspoons cream of
tartar
1 teaspoon baking
soda
1 ¼ teaspoon kosher

salt
½ cup red and green
Christmas sprinkles
CHRISTMAS
CONFETTI COOKIES
makes about 36 cookies
1. Combine the butter,
sugar and corn syrup in
the bowl of a stand mix-
er tted with a paddle
attachment and beat
on medium-high speed
for 2-3 minutes. Scrape
down the sides of the
bowl. Add the eggs and
vanilla bean paste and
mix for 7-8 minutes, until
mixture is light and uy.
2. Meanwhile, in a sepa-
rate bowl, sift together
the our, French vanilla
pudding mix, cream of
tarter, baking soda and
salt. Slowly add to the
wet ingredients, mixing
until the dough forms
together.
3. With the mixer at low
speed, add the sprinkles
and mix just until incor-

porated.
4. Cover bowl with
plastic wrap and chill for
at least one hour and up
to overnight.
5. Preheat oven to
350°F. Prepare a baking
sheet with parchment
paper or baking mat.
6. Scoop dough out in
rounded tablespoons,
approximately one inch
apart, on the baking
sheet.
7. Bake for 18-20 min-
utes then remove from
the oven. Allow to rm
up on the cookie sheet
for 2 minutes, then re-
move from cookie sheet
onto a wire cooling rack.
½ heaping cup dried
sour cherries
½ cup orange juice
4 tablespoons butter,
at room tempera-
ture
1 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ teaspoon salt

2 eggs
2 ½ teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon almond
extract
1 ¾ cups all-purpose
our
1 teaspoon baking
powder
½ cup shelled
SOUR CHERRY &
PISTACHIO BISCOTTI
makes 18 cookies
1. Combine cherries and
orange juice in a small
saucepan, and bring to a
simmer. Cover, remove
from heat, and let sit. In
the bowl of a stand mix-
er, beat butter, sugar,
zest, and salt until uy.
Add eggs one at a time,
beating to incorporate,
and beat in extracts.
2. Drain the cherries
and gently fold them
and the pistachios

//
Kristen
//

dineanddish.net

//
Melissa
//
luluthebaker.blogspot.com
into the cookie dough.
Spread the dough on a
cookie sheet covered
with parchment paper,
and refrigerate 1 hour.
3. When dough is thor-
oughly chilled, divide
dough in half and roll
each half into a 14-inch
cylinder on a oured
work surface. Preheat
the oven to 350°F and
line a fresh cookie sheet
with a clean sheet of
parchment paper. Place
the 2 chunks of dough
on the cookie sheet and
bake them for 30 min-
utes. Remove cookies
from oven and turn the
oven down to 275°F.
4. When the cookies
are cool enough to han-
dle, use a sharp knife to

cut each log into 18 slic-
es at a 45° angle. Trans-
fer the cookies to a new
parchment-lined cookie
sheet, bottom-side
down, and bake them at
275°F for 1 hour.
Remove to a wire rack
to cool completely.
CHOCOLATE DIPPED CRANBERRY ORANGE SHORTBREAD
makes 36 cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups of all-purpose our
Zest of 2 oranges
½ cup of sweetened dried cranberries
6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips
1. In the bowl of an electric mix-
er, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and
salt until smooth. With mixer on
low speed, add our, mixing just
until a dough forms. Use a spat-
ula or wooden spoon to gently
stir in cranberries and orange
zest. Divide the dough in half
and place each half on a piece
of oured waxed paper. Lightly
dust your hands with our and

gently roll each half of the dough
into a 1½-inch-diameter log.
Wrap logs tightly in the paper,
twisting the ends up, and refrig-
erate until rm, 1 to 1½ hours.
(To store longer, wrap log and
paper tightly with plastic wrap.)
2. Preheat oven to 350° F. Un-
wrap the logs and use a serrated
knife to slice the logs into
3
/
8 inch
slices. If the dough doesn’t slice
well, allow the it to sit at room
temperature for about 5 minutes
and try again. Arrange the slices,
about 1 inch apart, on baking
sheets.
3. Bake until slightly pued and
lightly golden around the edges,
15 to 20 minutes. Cool on the
baking sheets for 1 to 2 minutes
and then transfer them to a wire
rack to cool completely.
4. Place chocolate in a micro-
wave safe bowl. Microwave on
high for 30 seconds and then
stir. Microwave on high in 15
second intervals, stirring be-

tween each time, until chocolate
is melted.
5. Dip cooled cookies halfway
into the chocolate and then
place dipped cookies onto
parchment lined baking sheets.
Refrigerate until rm.
Cookies can be stored
in an air tight container,
at room temperature
for 5 days.

//
Emily
//
jellytoastblog.com
COVER
RECIPE
For the shortbread
1 stick unsalted butter,
softened
¼ cup superne
granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
extract
¹
/
8 teaspoon salt
¾ cup all-purpose
our

¼ cup unsweetened
Dutch-process
cocoa powder
For the lling
1
/
3 cup shortening
¼ cup water
1 ¼ tablespoons
peppermint extract
1 pound powdered
sugar
½ teaspoon salt
crushed candy
canes, optional
CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT
SANDWICH COOKIES
makes about 24 sandwiches
For the shortbread dough
1. Cream butter, sugar and salt in a bowl
until well combined.
2. Sift our and cocoa into butter
mixture and blend just until mixture
forms a soft dough.
3. Divide dough in half and place each
half in between two sheets of parch-
ment paper. Roll the dough out to
roughly
¹
/

8”. Chill dough, uncovered, until
rm, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to
375°F while dough chills.
For the lling
1. In a stand mixer or bowl, combine
shortening, salt, peppermint and water.
Mix on lowest speed with paddle
attachment or handbeaters. As liquid
gets incorporated into shortening, grad-
ually increase speed until creamy and
combined.
2. Reduce speed to low and gradual-
ly add ¼ of the powdered sugar until
incorporated
3. Slowly add the rest of the sugar,
working in four additions. Taste test.
The cream should be spreadable, but
not too thin. If the mixture is too thin,
you can add more powdered sugar and
if it is too sti, you can add more water.
4. Remove one sheet of dough from the
fridge. Cut circles with a 1” - 1.5” cookie
cutter and place on cookie sheet. Bake
shortbreads in middle of oven until
centers are dry to the touch and edges
are slightly darker, about 10-12 minutes.
Cool on baking sheet on a rack 10 min-
utes. Transfer to rack to cool.
Assembling cookies
1. Once the cookie shells are cool, take

one circle, pipe with a piping bag and
#7 tip or spread it with a layer of pep-
permint lling and top with another
shortbread circle. Roll frosted edges in
crushed candy canes, if desired.

//
Kelly
//

kellybakes.com
1 ¼ cup confectioners sugar
1 cup ground almond meal
3 egg whites, from large eggs, room
temperature
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 drops food coloring or food gel
(optional)
Candy Cane Filling
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
4 ounces Wilton Candy Cane
Colorburst Candy Melts, melted
and slightly cooled
CANDY CANE
MACARONS
makes 24 cookies
1. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with
parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl sift confectioners
sugar and almond meal and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer whisk egg
whites until foamy on medium speed.
Sprinkle in sugar, vanilla and food
coloring and whip on medium high
speed until soft peaks form.
3. Gradually fold in almond mixture into
egg whites a third at a time until mixture
becomes glossy and has a ribbon like
consistency.
4. Place batter into pastry bag tted
with a round tip and pipe about 48
1-inch circles on prepared baking sheets.
Tap side of baking sheet to remove any
air bubbles. Let stand at room tem-
perature for 30 minutes to 1 hour until
top can be touched without any batter
coming up.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake in pre-
heated oven for 12-16 minutes, rotating
half way through. Cool on baking sheet
for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack
to cool completely.
Candy Cane Filling
1. Using an electric mixer beat butter un-
til uy. Gradually add in confectioners
sugar until combined. Blend in melted
chocolate until creamy. Place lling in
pastry bag tted with round tip.

2. Pair up same size macarons. Swirl
a small amount of lling on macaron
and gently sandwich paired macarons
together.
3. Store in an airtight container.

//
Jennifer
//
mothertyme.com
½ cup unsalted butter,
room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose our
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup roasted hazelnuts,
half roughly chopped and
half nely chopped into
very tiny pieces
Sea salt
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
¼ cup white chocolate
chips
HAZELNUT CRANBERRY COOKIES
WITH A CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

makes 18-24 cookies
1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a
baking sheet with parchment pa-
per and set aside.
2. In a bowl, beat the softened
butter and sugars together with an
electric hand-held mixer until the
mixture is light and uy (about a
minute).
3. Add the egg and vanilla and beat
to incorporate for about 1 minute.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the
our, baking soda, and salt. Dump
the mixture slowly into the butter/
sugar mixture and mix (using a
rubber spatula) until everything is
thoroughly combined.
5. Add the dried cranberries and
nuts. Mix well.
6. Using a cookie scoop, scoop 1
½ tablespoons of dough at a time
onto the baking sheet. Repeat until
the sheet is full (about 5-6 cook-
ies). Make sure the dough is round-
ed so it bakes nicely and leave
about 2 inches between each ball
of dough. Then sprinkle each ball
of dough with a little bit of sea salt.
7. Bake for 18-22 minutes. The
cookies are ready when they start

to get golden brown on the edges.
Let the cookies cool on the baking
sheet for 3-5 minutes and then
transfer them to a cooling rack.
Let cookies cool completely. While
cookies are cooling place the white
and dark chocolate (in separate
bowls) in the microwave.
8. Melt the chocolate for 30 sec-
onds and then stir. Repeat until
chocolate is just melted but not
very hot.
9. Place the chocolate in individ-
ual piping bags (or ziplocks with a
corner cut o).
10. Drizzle the chocolate over the
cooled cookies and let the choco-
late harden completely.

//
Stephanie
//

lifetasteslikefood.com
LINZER THUMBPRINT
COOKIES
makes 50-60 small cookies
¾ cup salted butter
¾ cup raw cane sugar
2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup all-purpose our
1 cup almond meal, divided in half
½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ve spice
1 jar apple butter
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk our, ½ cup almond
meal, baking powder, and ve spice together with a
fork. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add
egg yolks one at a time, followed by almond extract.
Gently fold in dry mixture in two parts, until just com-
bined.
2. Roll dough into 1 teaspoon sized balls and roll each
one in remaining almond meal. Place on Silpat liner
or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Make a well
in the middle of the dough with the end of a wood-
en spoon. You want to put what looks like too much
apple butter into the well. Remember, the cookies are
going to spread in the oven. A heaping ½ teaspoon is
about the right amount. Bake for 18 minutes and cool
on a wire cookie rack.

//
Hannah
//

nothingbutdelicious.com