Pepernoten By Erie beemsterboer Ingredients: 16 oz flour 8 oz brown sugar 5 heaped tablespoons spicemix (called Koekkruiden, available in some Dutch stores; contains cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, orange peel) 2 egg yolks 2 sticks butter Preparation: Mix everything into a smooth dough. Form dough in oversized marbles and bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes. Makes 125-150 pieces. Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin cookies By Larry Gross From www.quakeroats.com/qfb_Recipes/recipe.cfm?recipeid=474 Ingredients: 1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) 3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked) 1 cup raisins Preparation: 1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well. 2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. 3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered. Servings: ABOUT 4 DOZEN Variations Bar Cookies: Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered,24 BARS VARIATIONS: Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts. Substitute 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolate pieces for raisins; omit cinnamon. Substitute 1 cup diced dried mixed fruit. HIGH ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Increase flour to 1-3/4 cups and bake as directed. Lemon Madeleines By Bonnie Courtney Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World Series, Paris, by Marlena Spieler (Oxmoor House, 2004). The origin of the madeleine, the shell-shaped sponge cake eaten as a cookie, is disputed, although most food scholars believe it originated in the Lorraine city of Commercy. It traveled first to the court of Louis XV at Versailles and then on to Paris, gaining converts at each stop. Today, the pâtissiers of Commercy are still considered Frances premier makers of madeleines, and boxes of madeleines de Commercy are sold throughout the country. You will need a madeleine pan, made of tinned steel and with a dozen molds, to bake these little cakes. Ingredients: 2 eggs 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1/4 tsp. almond extract 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted 1 tsp. grated lemon zest 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional) Preparation: Preheat an oven to 375°F. Using a pastry brush, heavily brush softened butter over each of the 12 molds in a madeleine pan, carefully buttering every ridge. Dust the molds with flour, tilting the pan to coat the surfaces evenly. Turn the pan upside down and tap it gently to dislodge the excess flour. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, granulated sugar and salt. Using a wire whisk or a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat vigorously until pale, thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the egg mixture and stir or beat on low speed to incorporate. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the lemon zest a nd half of the melted butter just until blended. Fold in the remaining melted butter. Divide the batter among the prepared molds, using a heaping tablespoon of batter for each mold. Bake the madeleines until the tops spring back when lightly touched, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and invert it over a wire rack, then rap it on the rack to release the madeleines. If any should stick, use your fingers to loosen the edges, being careful not to touch the hot pan, and invert and rap again. Let the madeleines cool on the rack for 10 minutes. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the tops with confectioners sugar and serve. Makes 12. Alfajores (Union Square Café) By Hadas Parag From www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/eatingout/eating_u/unsquare.htm Yield: About 40 sandwich cookies 2 inch diameter (note 1) Ingredients: dulce de leche (note 2) 1/2 C. all-purpose flour 1 1/4 C. cornstarch 1 T. baking powder 6 T. butter, softened 1/2 C. granulated sugar (note 3) 1 T. grated lemon zest 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk (note 4) about 1/2 C. shredded unsweetened coconut (note 5) To prepare dough: Sift together flour, cornstarch and baking powder; set aside In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in whole egg, then egg yolk, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. (The mixture will look somewhat curdled.) Add sifted ingredients all at once. On low speed, beat just until dough comes together. Scrape out sticky dough onto plastic wrap, press into a disk, wrap tightly and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 325°F line large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place chilled dough on a well-floured surface (note 6); roll out with a floured rolling pin to an even 1/4-inch thickness or slightly thinner. Using a sharp 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut as many circles as possible, occasionally dipping the cutter in flour to prevent sticking. Arrange the circles 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Gather scraps of dough, roll them out, cut more circles, and add to the cookie sheet. If dough becomes overly soft and sticky, chill it briefly until it is workable. Refrigerate the filled cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Bake the cookies about 10 minutes, until they have just set and are slightly puffed but not at all colored. Let cool for 1 or 2 minutes, then loosen cookies with a spatula. To form alfajores: Let dulce de leche come to room temperature. Pipe or spoon about 1 tablespoon of dulce de leche (note 1) onto the bottom (flat side) of a cooled cookie. Make a sandwich with another cookie. Press the cookies together gently to spread the filling to the edges. Roll the sticky rim in grated coconut (note 5). Repeat with the remaining cookies. Hadas’ notes: 1 – I made smaller cookies, an oval about 1x1.25 inches; this recipe yielded about 40 sandwich cookies 2 – dulce de leche is an Argentinian spread, meaning “milk jam”. It is made by cooking milk and sugar a very long time, until it turns toffee-brown. You can make it yourself from sweetened condensed milk or buy it in most supermarkets in a can by Nestle. I never made it myself, but I don’t think the Nestle is tasty enough. I buy Argentinian-made dulche de leche in Latino groceries. 4-5 ounces are enough for this batch. 3 – first time I made the cookies I used confectioner’s sugar by mistake, and thought that the result was much better than using granulated sugar. I mix the sugar with the other dry ingredient. 4 – the dough I made for the dance was way too dry, and I added the second egg white as well. Even with this extra moisture the dough was quite hard, and not as sticky as the recipe describes it. 5 – sorry, I hate coconut; that’s why I rolled the cookies in confectioner’s sugar. 6 – I suggest dividing the dough into 2 or even 4 batches for rolling it. Lebkuchen (honey cake) By Maria Beguin Sorry, most measurements are given in grams. If you have a balance, check if it has metric measurement. If it does not you should convert the weighs to pounds/ounces. Less accurate will be using a conversion table from weight to volume. This website will come in handy: www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm Bake at 375 degrees F Warning! This is a very low temperature! Ingredients: 500 grams honey 150 grams sugar 125 grams butter 900 grams flour 10 grams ginger 10 grams cinnamon Ground peel of lemon 6 drops of Almond oil 200 grams of ground up almonds 125 grams finely ground up Citron Pinch of salt 2 eggs 35 grams of baking powder Top: 170 grams whole almonds Preparation: Heat up honey, sugar, butter. Stir. Then cool it. In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and lemon peel. Stir in honey-sugar-butter mixture. Add almond oil, almonds, citron, salt and eggs. Now you need strong hands. Husbands are a possibility. Knead till the dough does not stick any more. Roll everything out on a baking sheet. With a knife make small rectangular pieces. Mix 1 egg and brush over surface. Decorate squares with almonds. In the heated oven bake for about 35 minutes. Let it cool off and then cut in pieces Almond Shortbread By Gen Appel Ingredients: 1 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg 1-1/3 cup sifted cake flour 3/4 cup blanched almonds 1-1/2 tablespoon extra sugar Preparation: Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and beat until fluffy. Fold in the flour. Grease a baking sheet, 10x14 inches, that has low sides. Spread the mixture evenly and thinly on the sheet with a knife. Halve the blanched almonds and mix with the extra sugar. Scatter this loosely over the paste. Bake at 300F until pale gold. Cut across into squares when it comes out of the oven, but leave in the sheet to get cold. Yields 18 cookies Note: This is probably the closest thing the Irish have to an American cookie. Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread (Cookie) By Alice Kazin From cooks.com Ingredients: 3 eggs 1 1/4 c. sugar 1 c. oil 2 tsp. baking powder 4 c. flour 1 tsp. vanilla 1/4 tsp. salt 12 oz. chocolate chips TOPPING: 1/8 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. cinnamon Preparation: Beat together eggs and sugar with fork. Add oil, baking powder, vanilla, and salt; mix. Add flour, one cup at a time. Batter will become very thick. Add chocolate chips; mix thoroughly. Lightly grease cookie sheet with oil. Wet hands with cold water and form 3 long strips on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350-375 degrees for 25 minutes. Cut while warm at an angle. Frosted Coffee Bars By Alice Robin Ingredients: 1/2 c. shortening (used butter) 1/2 c, strong coffee 1 c. brown sugar 1 egg 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 t. baking powder, soda, cinnamon, & salt 1/2 c. seedless raisins 1/2 c. chopped walnuts 1 c sifted powdered sugar 1 T soft butter 1 t vanilla 3 T. strong hot coffee Preparation: Cream butter with sugar; blending in egg, then coffee. Sift flour with baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt; mix with other ingredients. Add raisins and walnuts. Bake in 375 degree oven in greased cookie pan, 11 by 16 inches, for about 15 minutes. Cool in pan. Spread with thin icing made by blending powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and three tablespoons of coffee. When icing is set, cut into squares. (About 20 bars when two inches square) Rum Balls By Helen Blum Ingredients: 1 cup crushed Vanilla Wafers 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1.5 cups chopped pecans 2 tablespoons cocoa 2 tablespoons light corn Syrup .25 cup dark rum .25 cup fine granulated sugar Preparation: Mix together 1cup crushed Vanilla Wafers, 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 cup chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons cocoa. Add corn syrup and rum and mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll half in granulated sugar and the remainder in .5 cups of nuts. Makes 2 dozen Yema (Philippines) By Punky McLemore Filling: 36 egg yolks 12 whole eggs 4 cups of sugar Candy coating: 3 cups sugar 4cups Water 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar Filling preparation: Combine yolks, whole eggs and sugar in a double boiler. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Let cool. Roll into balls and sprinkle with sugar. Candy coating preparation: Boil sugar, water and cream of tartar to make a syrup. Dip each ball in the syrup and let cool. Makes 90 to 100 balls. Swedish Heirloom Cookies By Elizabeth Konviser Ingredients: 1 cup shortening (1/2 lb. butter) 1 cup confectioner's sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups ground almonds 2 cups sifted flour 1 tablespoon water 1 tablespoon vanilla Preparation: Cream 1 cup shortening (1/2 lb. butter), 1 cup confectioner's sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add 1 1/4 cups ground almonds Blend in 2 cups sifted flour gradually; mix Add 1 tablespoon water, 1 tablespoon vanilla; mix thoroughly with fork. Shape into balls using 1 level tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Place on greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly. Bake at 325 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Roll in confectioner's sugar while warm. Makes about 54 cookies. Almond Biscotti By Bonnie Courney (and now Sally Martin) 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs 1 ½ tsp. almond extract 1 tsp. baking powder 2 cups flour 1/4 tsp. Salt Topping: About 1 cup slivered almonds Sugar to sprinkle on top Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs and beat. Add almond extract. Add baking powder, flour, & salt. Spoon dough onto cookie sheets to form long lengthwise "logs". Smooth dough together into logs around 2" wide. (I [Sally] spray my fingers with Pam first to make this easier.) Sprinkle with almonds and sugar. Bake for about 15-20 min. Remove from oven. Slice logs crosswise into 1 inch strips. (A flat metal spatula works well for this). Separate pieces gently and spread cookies out a bit. Turn off oven and put biscotti back in to dry for at least 2 hours. They keep a long time if stored in airtight container. Makes about 24 pieces.