Those who regularly follow my blog will recall that I made the commitment back in January 2013 to post one cookie recipe a month for the entire year. So, for ease of retrieval, I thought I would do a year-end round-up of all 12 cookies.
In January, just in time for Robbie Burns Day, I shared my recipe for Shortbread.
Shortbread
In February, with sweet Valentine’s Day, old-fashioned Sugar Cookies topped the list.
In May, old-fashioned Cherry Winks proved they are still a perennial favorite.
Cherry Wink Cookie
In June, the no-bake Spider Cookies proved they are just as much a favorite today as they were when I was growing up!
Spider Cookies
In July, as we celebrated “Christmas in July”, the Brown Sugar Jam-Filled Cookies brought back memories of the kinds of cookies often found in grandma’s cookie jar.
In September, crisp and light-textured Peanut Butter Cookies made it on to the cookie of the month roster.
Peanut Butter Cookies
In October, the substantial and tasty raisin-filled Plum Puff Cookies heralded the fall season.
Plum Puff Cookies
In November, when the days turned cooler and thoughts turned to the sweet smell of cooking with spices, the old-fashioned icebox Gingersnaps made their debut.
Gingersnaps
In December, these Coconut Cherry Macaroons made a fine addition to trays of sweets and to gift boxes.
Coconut Cherry Macaroons
I hope you have enjoyed some of my favorite cookie recipes. Do you have a favorite cookie?
Barbara
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Today, I am sharing my recipe for old-fashioned Gingersnaps. These wafer-thin, crisp cookies are flavoured with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, all scents that make the kitchen smell divine when they are baking. Continue reading Gingersnaps→
Plum Puff Cookies are hearty cookies because each one is actually two cookies sandwiched together with a tasty raisin filling. These cookies can also be filled with your favorite jam, date , or even lemon, filling.
Cookie Ingredients:
¼ cup butter ½ tbsp lard ½ cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 2 tbsp milk ½ tsp vanilla 1¼ cups flour 1/8 tsp salt ¼ tsp soda 1/8 tsp cardamon
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat butter and lard together. Add sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla.
Sift flour, salt, soda, and cardamom together. Stir into wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated.
Knead dough into ball. If dough is soft, place in refrigerator for 30-40 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to about 1/8” thickness. Divide dough in half. Using a 2 – 2½” linzer round crinkle cookie cutter, cut out one half of the dough into solid circles. Cut remaining dough into the same size circles but fit the linzer cookie cutter with desired cut-out for cookie centers. (Note: If you don’t have a linzer cookie cutter, simply use any cookie cutter shape you have and then use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the centers of half of the cookies.)
Place cookies, about 1½” – 2” apart, on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake on center rack in oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on rack for 2-3 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.
When cookies have cooled completely, spread cooled raisin filling (recipe follows) on flat side of each solid cookie, then top with the flat side of a cookie that has center cut out.
Yield: 2-dozen sandwich cookies
Filling Ingredients:
1 cup raisins 1 tbsp flour ½ cup sugar ½ cup water ½ tsp vanilla Pinch of cinnamon Smidgeon of salt Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Over medium-low heat, cook raisin mixture until thickened.
I have always been a chocolate lover. These chocolate cookies were ones my Mother often made when I was a child. I like the rich chocolate flavour and somewhat chewy center they have. These cookies don’t take any uncommon ingredients or ones most serious bakers wouldn’t have in their cupboards. Of course, using the best cocoa you can find will make for a richer, more flavourful cookie.
This cookie recipe calls for shortening (as opposed to butter). While some think that butter is the only fat to use in baking, I would disagree. There are times when the flavorless shortening can actually produce a better quality baked good with sought-after attributes.
For these cookies, I wanted puffy cookies with a soft, tender texture so shortening was my fat ingredient of choice. This is because shortening has no water content so, unlike butter with its water content, there is no water to create steam. Less steam means less gluten is likely to be formed thus giving the cookies their soft, tender texture.
In addition, shortening has a higher melting point that does butter. This gives the cookie dough a longer chance to set and establish its shape before the fat melts and spreads the cookies out flat. The result? Cookies with a higher rise and a softer, more tender texture. You can read more about the choice of using butter and/or shortening in cookie baking by clicking here.
These cookies are very easy to make and, being drop cookies, there is no rolling the dough and cutting out shapes and no need for any icing. Simply scoop up some dough with a teaspoon and use another to slide the dough off the spoon and on to the cookie sheet. These cookies can be dressed up with 1/2 cup of either chopped nuts, dates, raisins, or even chocolate chips. However, I don’t add any extras to them as I like the smooth texture and flavour they have on their own without any further additions.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Chocolate Drop Cookies
Ingredients: 1/2 cup shortening, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup milk 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup cocoa 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt
Method:
Preheat oven to 375F.
With electric mixer, beat shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Beat in egg, vanilla, and milk.
Into separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and stir just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake 10-11 minutes. Do not overbake or cookies will be dry.
Yield: Apx. 3 dozen
These cookies are good any time and make good lunch box treats as well as picnic basket fare. They are especially good with a dish of vanilla ice cream!
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Chocolate lovers will love these easy-to-make rich Chocolate Drop Cookies with their slightly chewy interior
Course Cookies
Keyword chocolate cookies, cookies,
My Island Bistro KitchenBarbara99
Ingredients
1/2cupshortening, softened
1cupwhite sugar
1egg
1tspvanilla
1/2cupmilk
1 1/2cupsflour
1/2cupcocoa
1tspbaking powder
1/4tspsalt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
With electric mixer, beat shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Beat in egg, vanilla, and milk.
Into separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake 10-11 minutes. Do not overbake or cookies will be dry. Let cookies rest on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Oh, these bring back sweet childhood memories! I grew up knowing these as “Spider Cookies” though they are known by a host of other names, too. Sometimes, they are simply called “Uncooked Chocolate Cookies”. Regardless their name, they are simple to make and very tasty; in fact, I’d say they are a close neighbour to candy. Continue reading Spider Cookies Recipe→
My Mother often made Cherry Wink Cookies when I was a small child so they have been a family favorite for many years. They are not difficult to make and don’t take any hard-to-find or unusual ingredients.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Cherry Winks
Ingredients:
3/4 cup shortening or butter, softened at room temperature 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs, unbeaten, room temperature 4 tbsp milk, room temperature 1 tsp vanilla 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup chopped dates 3/4 cup chopped pecans apx. 2 1/2 – 3 cups cornflakes apx. 15 maraschino cherries, blotted dry in paper towel, and cut into quarters
Method:
Preheat oven to 375F.
In bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening or butter. Add sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Beat in milk and vanilla.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Whisk together to blend. Mix in the dates and pecans. Add to creamed mixture and stir until well combined.
Crush cornflakes crumbs by placing in a sealed ziplock bag and crushing with a rolling pin.
Transfer crumbs to shallow bowl. Shape dough into small balls. Roll each cookie ball in the crumbs to coat. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Top each cookie with piece of cherry.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.
These cookies go especially well with a glass of cold milk!
…and one is never enough!
A box of these cookies makes a wonderful, tasty gift!
Cherry Winks are a cookie jar favorite! Cookies are coated in crushed cornflake crumbs and topped with a cherry. Both showy and tasty!
Course Snack
Keyword cherry winks, cookies,
My Island Bistro KitchenMy Island Bistro Kitchen
Ingredients
¾cupshortening or butter, softened at room temperature
1cupwhite sugar
2eggs, unbeaten (room temperature)
4tbspmilk, room temperature
1tspvanilla
2¼cupsall-purpose flour
1tspbaking powder
½tspsoda
½tspsalt
1cupchopped dates
¾cupchopped pecans
apx. 2½ - 3 cups cornflakes
apx. 15 maraschino cherries, blotted dry in paper towel, and cut into quarters
Instructions
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
In bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening or butter. Add sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Beat in milk and vanilla.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Whisk together to blend. Mix in the dates and pecans. Add to creamed mixture and stir until well combined.
Crush cornflake crumbs by placing in a sealed ziplock bag and crushing with a rolling pin.
Transfer crumbs to shallow bowl. Shape dough into small balls. Roll each cookie ball in the crumbs to coat. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Top each cookie with piece of cherry.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Notes
Yield:Apx. 4 dozen cookies.
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Cherry Winks
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Spritz cookies are dainty-shaped cookies that are crisp and buttery. They are made by pushing soft cookie dough through a cookie press which is a cylinder fitted with a decorative disk that has patterned holes through which the dough is “squirted” or pressed into shapes. Typically, cookie presses come with many different decorative disks – mine has probably 20 or more.
These cookies are popular at Christmas, special occasions, and are very suitable for afternoon teas as they can be made in so many different shapes and colors and can be further embellished with icing, colored sugar, miniature gumdrops, or dragées.
My recipe for Lemon Spritz Cookies is buttery rich and delicate. I like the flavour burst of lemon juice and zest in these petite cookies.
This recipe does best when the dough is chilled for 24 hours to allow the egg yolk to get fully incorporated and absorbed into the other ingredients. Unlike most liquids, such as water or milk, for example, eggs take a lot more time to become incorporated into the dry ingredients. When the dough comes out of the refrigerator, it will be too hard to push through the cookie press so let the dough sit at room temperature for about an hour or so until it becomes pliable enough that it can be formed into a roll that can be inserted into the cookie press cylinder. You’ll notice this recipe has no baking powder or soda. This is because that would cause the cookies to raise which, in turn, would result in them losing their shape and design that makes them spritz cookies.
Add the flour, salt, and cardamom to creamed mixture, stirring until well combined.
Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 24 hours.
Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for apx. 1 hour. Form dough into a roll that will fit inside the cookie press cylinder. Insert dough roll into the cookie press.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Follow manufacturer’s directions for your cookie press to form the cookies into decorative shapes. Decorate with colored sugar, if desired. Bake at 400F for 7-8 minutes. Watch the cookies closely as their high butter content and small size means they will burn easily and quickly. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2-3 minutes then transfer them to wire racks to finish cooling.
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Double Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies Made with Stout
Well, for my Cookie of the Month for March, I tried to find out if there is a cookie recipe that traces its origins to Ireland or, alternatively, a cookie that is particularly popular on the Emerald Isle. However, I had no luck in tracking down any (maybe it was lack of Irish luck!)
I decided to create a special recipe and give it a distinctly Irish flavour using stout in honour of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th. As you know, whenever possible, I like to feature Island products in my cooking and baking. At the time of writing, PEI does have a brewing company that produces stout – The Island Brewing Company produces Gahan Sydney Street Stout. However, it is apparently a limited edition and is not available in local liquor stores year-round — at least I couldn’t track down any. So, instead, I opted to use Montreal-brewed St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout because it boasts hints of espresso and chocolate.
I knew I was going to be making a chocolate cookie with a hint of coffee flavour so a stout with both chocolate and coffee flavour could only enhance the cookie’s taste. Like any ingredient, moderation is the trick. My goal was to flavour the cookie with the stout and bring out the chocolate flavour – I wasn’t aiming for a beer-tasting cookie. Therefore, I used only 1 1/2 tablespoons of stout as part of the liquid ingredients.
This recipe calls for both butter and shortening in the ingredients and I recommend both be used. For more information on why some cookie recipes call for both types of fat, click here.
For the chocolate, I chose to use semi-sweet squares of chocolate because I find the flavour a bit more intense than powdered cocoa. Using some brewed coffee gives these cookies a distinct mocha flavour. For interest, color, and texture, I used swirled milk and white chocolate chips.
This dough does well when it is chilled and allowed to “rest” for 24 hours after mixing and before baking the cookies. The purpose of letting the dough “rest” is to allow the liquid ingredients, including the egg, to get fully incorporated and absorbed into the other ingredients. The “resting” period makes for a drier and firmer cookie dough and this controls its spread while baking so you don’t end up with a really flat cookie.
Refrigerating the cookie dough also allows the fat content in the dough to firm up, and cold, firm butter/shortening takes longer to melt in the oven. This delay in melting gives the cookies a chance to rise up instead of immediately spreading out. As a result, the cookies begin to bake, create structure, and are able to hold their shape before the butter, in particular, breaks down and flattens and spreads them out. I do not recommend skipping the dough chilling step for these cookies.
If the dough is particularly hard when it comes out of the refrigerator to the point that it can’t be scooped or spooned without chibbling it, let it rest at room temperature for 10 – 15 minutes. Do not, however, bring the dough completely back to room temperature and soften as that will defeat the objective of having the butter and shortening firm up in the dough before the cookies enter the hot oven and start spreading out.
I like the drop cookies to be soft and somewhat chewy and, of course, the key to that texture is to slightly underbake the cookies – bake these no more than 10-12 minutes at 350F and let them cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Double Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened 1/4 cup shortening, softened 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup white sugar 1 egg 2 tbsp. cold brewed coffee 1 1/2 tbsp stout 2 tbsp milk 1 tsp vanilla 2 1/2 squares of semi-sweet chocolate, melted 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 cup chocolate chips
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
Cream butter and shortening.
Add brown and white sugars. Beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until blended.
In separate bowl, or large measuring cup, mix coffee, stout, milk, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add to mixture. Mix well.
Add melted chocolate and mix to blend.
Combine dry ingredients. Add to mixture and stir just until flour is incorporated.
Stir in chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for 24 hours.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop by cookie scoop or spoonfuls onto baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between the cookies. Bake at 350F oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
These make a fine treat for St. Patrick’s Day (but are just as good any time of the year!)
My Island Bistro Kitchen's Double Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies
These Double Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies are both tasty and showy. Flavoured with a wee bit of stout. A treat anytime but especially good for a St. Patrick's Day treat!
Course Snack
My Island Bistro KitchenMy Island Bistro Kitchen
Ingredients
1/2cupbuttersoftened
1/4cupshorteningsoftened
1/2cupbrown sugar
1/3cupwhite sugar
1egg
2tbsp.cold brewed coffee
1 1/2tbspstout
2tbspmilk
1tspvanilla
2 1/2squares of semi-sweet chocolatemelted
2cupsflour
1/2tsp.salt
1/2tspbaking soda
1/2tspbaking powder
1cupchocolate chips
Instructions
Assemble ingredients.
Cream butter and shortening.
Add brown and white sugars. Beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until blended.
In separate bowl, or large measuring cup, mix coffee, stout, milk, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add to mixture. Mix well.
Add melted chocolate and mix to blend.
Combine dry ingredients. Add to mixture and stir just until flour is incorporated.
Stir in chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for 24 hours.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop by cookie scoop or spoonfuls onto baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between the cookies. Bake at 350F oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Notes
[Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen]
If you have made this recipe and enjoyed it and/or wish to share it with your friends and family, please do so on social media but be sure to share the direct link to this posting from my website.
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Follow “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/ and pin the Pinterest-ready photo found at the end of this post to your favorite Pinterest boards.
These Old-fashioned Sugar Cookies are one of the plainest cookies yet they have endured throughout time and are often counted amongst the favorites in many families. The cookies are aptly named given the amount of sugar in them in proportion to the amounts of other ingredients. Despite the amount of sugar in most sugar cookie recipes, they are not really an overly sweet or rich cookie. Continue reading Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies→
While some will argue that Shortbread is not a cookie per se, I chose to include it in my Cookie of the Month series I ran a few years ago and, at the time of original writing, featured it for January given that is the month Robert Burns Day is celebrated. There are so many recipes and versions (and opinions!) of Shortbread and what follows is mine. Continue reading Shortbread Recipe→
(Mostly) PEI and Maritime Food – Good Food for a Good Life!
