Cookie Exchange

Gayla kicks off the holiday season with the perfect grab-bag treat

The first bags of cranberries began appearing in grocery stores a few weeks ago, signaling the start of the annual holiday cooking and baking extravaganza. It’s that time of year when everyone drags out their trusted recipes and family favorites—a time when people are generally willing to spend a little bit more time in the kitchen making something from scratch.

A baking tradition that’s gained traction in recent years and spurs home bakers to try new recipes is the cookie exchange: A group of friends, family or coworkers gets together for some holiday cheer, and each provides a dozen cookies for the others. It’s an easy and economical way to share the holidays with many people at minimal expense and without the hassle of trying to find the perfect gift. And almost everyone likes a good cookie, especially during the holidays.

Here are three recipes to help start your own cookie exchange tradition or to use with an existing group of cookie traders. Each is tasty, unusual and expresses the holiday spirit in a different way.

Lemon Fire Crisps
One of the more traditional Christmas goodies is the spritz cookie, a buttery, melt-in-the-mouth rendition that’s often made into shapes using a cookie press. This is a spritz variation with a spicy twist. The recipe calls for a cookie press, but if you don’t have one, simply roll the dough into logs, chill very well, and then slice and bake.

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice*
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel*
1 large egg
*Lime juice and lime peel can be substituted for the lemon juice and peel.

Preheat oven to 400. Sift flour, cayenne, salt and baking powder, and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add the lemon juice, lemon peel and egg. Beat well. Add sifted flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until well blended. Put dough into a cookie press and press out onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for eight minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Alternately, dough can be divided into four equal pieces and rolled into logs 1 to 1½ inches in diameter. Chill dough thoroughly—overnight is best—and then slice logs into discs about ¼ inch thick. Bake as directed above.

Yield: 72 cookies (or more, depending upon cookie press forms used).

Dark Herb Cookies
The flavor of this cookie is complex, herby and spicy. It will probably appeal to adults more than children.

3/4 cup shortening or butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg, large
3/4 cup molasses
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons ground ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup hot, strong coffee
3 tablespoons anise seeds
3 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray cookie sheets with pan release, such as Pam, or line them with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the molasses. Sift together the flour, baking soda, ground spices and salt. Adjust the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating flour additions with the hot coffee. Mix thoroughly. Stir in the anise seed and crushed coriander seed.

Drop rounded teaspoons of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. Leave 2 inches of space between cookies; they will spread during baking. Bake 8-10 minutes; remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk to form a smooth glaze. Spread on cooled cookies. Cookies can be decorated with colored sugar crystals after glazing, if desired.

Yield: 40 cookies.

Cranberry Turtle Bars
This is the flashiest and most difficult of the cookies to make. It’s a delicious blend of chocolate, caramel, nuts and cranberry—the perfect holiday sweet.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 cup unsalted butter
1-2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate squares, finely chopped (don’t use unsweetened chocolate)

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 15-by-10-by-1 shallow baking pan with foil. Leave a foil overhang on the two shorter sides to facilitate removing the bars from the pan later on. Butter the sides of the foil, but not the bottom.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, brown sugar and salt to blend. Add the ¾ cup of cold butter pieces and pulse a few times until the mixture forms small, pea-sized pieces. Turn the crumbly mixture into the prepared baking pan and press down firmly to form an even layer, making sure to press dough crumbs into the corners of the pan. Bake the crust until golden brown and firm to the touch, about 15-17 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool; cool all the way through.

In a large (3-quart minimum) heavy saucepan set on medium-high heat, melt the cup of butter and then add the sugar, corn syrup and salt. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, increase the heat to moderately high, and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally until the candy thermometer reads 245 degrees, about eight minutes. The caramel syrup will be very hot, so work carefully. Add the chopped cranberries, stir, and allow mixture to return to a boil, and cook until the candy thermometer again reads 245 degrees. Remove from the heat, and working quickly but carefully, add the vanilla, stir in the nuts, and pour over the cooled crust. Using a spatula and fork, evenly distribute the cranberries and nuts over the entire crust. Cool completely (overnight is best).

Using the foil overhang, lift the block of cookies out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Slide the block off the foil. Cut crosswise into six strips, and cut lengthwise into six strips to form 36 bars. Do not separate them yet.

Melt 1 ounce of the bittersweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler, and stir until smooth. When melted and smooth, remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ounce of bittersweet chocolate; stir until melted. Transfer the melted chocolate to a small, heavy-duty zip-top bag and seal the bag. Snip off a (very) tiny piece of one corner and use the sealed bag as a pastry bag. Pipe the melted chocolate over the bars in a decorative pattern. Let stand at room temperature until the chocolate sets, about an hour. Separate the bars and store in an airtight container, using waxed or parchment paper between layers.

Yield: 36 bars.

All of these cookies will keep for approximately one week if well wrapped or stored in airtight containers.

Happy holidays! Enjoy them, and satisfy your sweet tooth with one of these delightful treats.

Do you like what you read? Subscribe to San Diego Magazine »