Issue Date: November 10, 2002
Cookies! 1 dough, 1 dozen different types
Stop fussing over your holiday treats. Just slice and bake!
By Pam Anderson
I used to love the idea of baking holiday cookies more than the reality. Somewhere during the mixing, refrigerating, rolling, cutting, decorating, cooling and storing, I'd get cranky. The tedious investment of countless hours conjured the Scrooge in me.
But I didn't want to feel that way about anything I baked -- especially during the holidays. I wanted smart-looking cookies with a winning flavor. I also wanted a perfect dough from which I could create many different cookies, from the familiar to the intriguing and a little offbeat. Most of all, I wanted to simplify the process.
So instead of making carefully decorated cookies that require cookie cutters and a rolling pin, I recently decided to switch tactics. I took the same dough, formed it into a log and made refrigerator cookies, also known as icebox, freezer or slice-and-bake cookies. Because the dough is so basic, I can halve it (or quarter it, for that matter) and flavor each batch differently, thus getting two or more cookie flavors for the effort of one.
It's easy to change the look of the cookie. For rounds and ovals, I roll the dough into a round log, cutting the ovals on a slight angle. For squares and diamonds, I form the dough into a square log, cutting diamond shapes on a slight angle. (This dough can be used for traditional rolled and decorated cookies, too. Simply halve the dough, form it into two disks and freeze briefly until firm. Working one half-disk at a time, roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, cut into desired shapes and bake until golden, 6 to 8 minutes.)
I also can change the cookie's look by varying the coating. A cookie rolled in pine nuts or pistachios, for example, looks completely different from a cookie rolled in coconut or sesame seeds or peanuts. Coatings also double as decoration.
I especially like these slice-and-bake cookies because they're so simple. The technique is tried-and-true, but the flavors are raise-your-eyebrows new.
Contributing Editor Pam Anderson is the author of "CookSmart" (Houghton Mifflin, $28).
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All-Purpose Butter Cookies
1 whole egg, plus 1 yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
2 sticks (16 Tbs.) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
Mix egg plus yolk, vanilla and salt in a small bowl. Mix butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed or process in a food processor until smooth. Add egg mixture; mix on low speed or pulse until well incorporated. Add flour; mix on low speed or pulse until a smooth dough forms. Divide dough in half. Stir flavoring of choice (see options, next page) into each half.
Scrape one of the flavored portions of dough onto a work surface lined with plastic wrap. With floured hands, form dough into an approximate 9-inch (round or square) log. Spread coating of choice (see options, next page) in a single layer next to the dough log. Using the plastic wrap as a guide, roll dough in coating all around.
Roll up dough in plastic wrap, lightly pressing on coating so it adheres.
Choose another flavoring and coating, then repeat above directions with the remaining portion of dough.
Set logs in freezer and chill until solid, at least 30 minutes. (Or double-wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.)
Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap dough, but leave it on plastic wrap. Slice dough 1/4-inch thick. Place slices on a cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper to keep the sheets clean and the cookies from sticking), about
1/2-inch apart. Bake cookies until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Important: Halfway through baking, rotate the cookie sheets from upper to lower racks and from facing the back of the oven to facing the front, to ensure even baking.
Cool cookies on a wire rack. (Can be stored in an airtight tin up to 1 week.)
Note: All of the cookie options taste better when rolled in toasted coatings. Some nuts (for instance, pistachios, peanuts and cashews) often are sold already toasted. For those that aren't -- as well as coconut and sesame seeds -- place them in a pan in a 325-degree oven until fragrant and slightly darker in color, 5 to 10 minutes. In addition to the nuts you'll need for coating, figure on an additional 1/2 cup for garnish, and toast them, too.
Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
Per basic butter cookie: 51 calories, 6g carbohydrates, 0g protein, 2g fat (1g saturated), 0g fiber, 17mg sodium.
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Divide each batch of dough in half, and make 2 flavors
Cherry Almond
Stir in: 1/4 tsp. almond extract, 1/2 cup dried cherries
Roll in: 3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
Top each with: 3 toasted slivered almonds
Cardamom Pistachio
Stir in: 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
Roll in: 1/2 cup toasted, chopped pistachios
Top each with: half a pistachio nut
Lemon Pistachio
Stir in: 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
Roll in: 1/2 cup toasted, chopped pistachios
Top each with: half a pistachio nut
Banana Peanut
Stir in: Nothing
Roll in: 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
Top each with: 1 banana chip broken in half and arranged partially overlapping (you'll need a heaping 1/2 cup)
Chocolate Hazelnut
Stir in: 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Roll in: 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
Top each with: 3 toasted hazelnut halves
Lime Coconut
Stir in: 1 tsp. lime zest
Roll in: 3/4 cup coconut, toasted in a 300-degree oven until golden, 15 to 20 minutes
Top each with: a pinch of toasted coconut
Ginger Sesame
Stir in: 1/2 tsp. ground ginger and 3 Tbs. minced crystallized ginger
Roll in: 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
Top each with: strips of crystallized ginger
Rosemary, Pine Nuts and Currants
Stir in: 1/2 cup currants and 2 tsps. minced fresh rosemary
Roll in: 3/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Top each with: 3 toasted pine nuts
Cranberry Orange Walnut
Stir in: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest and 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Roll in: 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Top each with: Nothing
Orange Pecan
Stir in: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
Roll in: 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
Top each with: a toasted pecan piece
Cinnamon Cashew
Stir in: 1 tsp. cinnamon (leave spice swirls)
Roll in: 1/2 cup roasted cashews, chopped
Top each with: 3 cashew halves, in a pinwheel
Anise With Pine Nuts
Stir in: 1 tsp. anise seeds that have been heated in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes, then crushed with a rolling pin into a coarse powder
Roll in: 3/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Top each with: 3 toasted pine nuts
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