Gourmet Cookie Class Recipes
Dec 9, 2015
Ultimate Chewy Ginger Cookies
makes 3 dozen cookies
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
3 1/2 ounces crystallized ginger chips
1/2 cup coarse or Turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Add molasses and egg; mix until incorporated.
Add flour mixture and ginger chips; mix until incorporated.
Wrap cookie dough well with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375F and line half sheet pan with parchment paper.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar.
Place 2 inches apart on parchment prepared half sheet pans.
Bake for 8-10 minutes (remove from oven while still soft).
Remove from oven but allow cookies to cool completely on sheet pan.
Praline Meringue Cookies
makes about 20 cookies
1 1/2 cups (150g) pecan halves
2 large (60g) egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons (150g) dark brown sugar, firmly packed
Preheat oven to 350F and line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.
Place pecans in a single layer on a half sheet pan and toast in oven for about 5 minutes; cool completely and chop into small pieces.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and brown sugar on mediUm speed for about 1 minute.
Stop mixer and scrap down sides of bowl; mix on medium-high for about 5 minutes or until thick and light in color.
Gently fold in chopped pecans.
Drop one-tablespoon dollops, evenly spaced, onto prepared half sheet pans (10 per pan).
Bake for 10-13 minutes until the meringues crack slightly and reach an internal temperature of 190F.
Remove from oven and cool completely on half sheet pans.
Italian Almond Cookies
makes 18 servings
8 ounces canned almond paste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 - 2 cups sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 325F and line half sheet pans with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine almond paste, flour, egg whites, and both sugars. Mixture will be very sticky.
Place sliced almonds into a medium bowl.
Drop #100 scoops blobs (1 teaspoon) of cookie dough into bowl of almonds; roll until coated.
Place 2 inches apart on prepared half sheet pan.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden.
Cool on half sheet pans for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: try to use canned almond paste (soft and moist). If you have to use the kind that comes in a long tube (usually a bit more hard and dry), use the shredding disk to grate it before adding flour, eggs, and sugar.
Ultimate Gingerbread Cookie Dough
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
In a large heavy-bottom saucepan, heat sugar, molasses, water, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves; bring mixture to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted; cool for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; add to cooled molasses mixture and stir until combined.
Place dough in a gallon-size zipper storage bag; refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 375F and line half sheet pans with parchment paper or silpat liners.
Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness between layers of wax paper.
Cut desired shapes with floured cutters; chill dough for 10 minutes before transferring cutouts to prepared half sheet pans.
Bake cookies 8-10 minutes.
Let cookies rest for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating (or top warm cookies with fondant cutouts).