Starting in college, when I was too broke to buy real presents for my friends, I made an assortment of cookies instead as gifts. And since they were such a big hit the first year, I keep making them year after year. These cookies are probably the reason why I began to love baking so much. This year, I made 3 types of treats: TKO's, Gingerbread Men and Chocolate Rum Balls.
TKO's are Thomas Keller's version of the Oreo cookie. They have a white chocolate cream sandwiched between two crumbly chocolate wafers. When I tasted the wafers by themselves, I felt that they were a little salty and bitter but when they were put together with the very sweet white chocolate cream they became something to rave about.
The Gingerbread Men came from a Soft Gingerbread Cookie recipe that I used for last year's cookie assortment. I decided to use the same recipe again because I loved the flavor of the spices and the soft texture of the cookies. I rolled out the dough about 1/8" on a floured counter and cut out the yummy men with a cutter. Rolling the dough any thicker didn't work because it rises and spreads making an unattractive gingerbread man.
Since I was serving these cookies at a party (where booze is always necessary), I thought that Chocolate Rum Balls would be the perfect treat. They were very easy to make and look especially festive with the Christmas sprinkles. The recipe I used by Alex Guarnaschelli uses chocolate sprinkles but I decided to mix things up and use red and green sprinkles with snow flakes and candy canes as well as just plain ol' cocoa powder. Remember to keep the balls in an airtight container. They harden pretty fast. You can find the recipe here.
Here are the recipes for the other two:
TKO's
from The Essence of Chocolate
makes about 3 dozen sandwich cookies
Cookie:
1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
15 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 3/4" cubes, at room temperature
Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1. For the Filling: In a small pan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let stand for 6 hours to thicken up.
2. For the Cookies: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time. The mixture will be dry and sandy at first, but over 2 minutes, will form pebble-sie pieces that start to cling together. Stop the mixer and transfer the dough to your board.
3. Preheat oven to 350F. Seperate dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece of dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper to 1/8" inch thick. Using a fluted cutter, cut into rounds. Scraps can be pieced together and rolled out again. Place 1/2" apart on baking sheets lined with Silpat liners or parchment paper.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
from The Essence of Chocolate
makes about 3 dozen sandwich cookies
Cookie:
1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
15 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 3/4" cubes, at room temperature
Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1. For the Filling: In a small pan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let stand for 6 hours to thicken up.
2. For the Cookies: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time. The mixture will be dry and sandy at first, but over 2 minutes, will form pebble-sie pieces that start to cling together. Stop the mixer and transfer the dough to your board.
3. Preheat oven to 350F. Seperate dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece of dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper to 1/8" inch thick. Using a fluted cutter, cut into rounds. Scraps can be pieced together and rolled out again. Place 1/2" apart on baking sheets lined with Silpat liners or parchment paper.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
5. To Assemble: Lightly whip the white chocolate cream to aerate and fluff up. Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" plain tip. Pipe about 1 1/2 tsp in the center of half the cookies. Top with another cookie to sandwich. Gently press down until the cream comes to the edges.
6. Cookies can be stored in a container for up to 3 days. Loosely cover.
6. Cookies can be stored in a container for up to 3 days. Loosely cover.
Gingerbread Men
adapted from the Big Soft Ginger Cookies on allrecipes.com
Cookie:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar
Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Roll the dough out on a floured surface, until 1/8" thick. Cut out cookies using a gingerbread man cutter. Place each on a sheet pan or cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. While the cookies are cooling, whisk together all icing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. When cookies are completely cool, decorate the cookies as you wish. Allow the icing to dry and harden and store cookies in an airtight container.
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