The December issue of Gourmet magazine is certainly the place to go for those looking for new cookies, or for a lost recipe for a more traditional type. Many of the recipes come from readers, accompanied by letters explaining how the cookie came to be a tradition in their families. (Even if you decide not to make any of the confections, the letters can provide you with a holiday glow.)
Types include: Spitzbuben (Swiss Sandwich Cookies), Walnut Petites, Mandel Skorper (Swedish Almond Rusks), Ciasteczka (Polish Butter Cookies), Truffle Cookies, Cinnamon Cookies, Drommar (Swedish Dream Cookies), Pecan Fingers, Windmill Cookies, Walnut Acorn Cookies, Almond Cookies, Chocolate Cookies with Gin-Soaked Raisins, and Chocolate Star Anise Truffles.
(For those of you not quite as obsessed as I am at the moment with cookies, the magazine also offers recipes for a full Christmas dinner featuring an Herbed Rib Roast which looks delicious.)
Trial by Fire
As tempted as I was by the Chocolate Cookies with Gin-Soaked Raisins, I was not tempted enough to actually go to the liquor store to buy gin. (And what else would I use it for, anyway? I haven't met a martini yet I liked, sad to say.) The problem with some of the other cookies was the prevalence of nuts, which I can't eat. When nuts are used as part of the fat of the cookie, it can be devilishly difficult to substitute properly. Happily, the Swiss Sandwich Cookies didn't have that problem-and were cute as a button too! The difficulty was in the ingredients-I don't keep vanilla powder on hand, nor powdered egg whites. These were worth the trip to the shop to pick up the ingredients. Unusually, the cookies themselves call for confectioner's sugar instead of granulated, giving these little bites an incredible delicacy. Seedless raspberry jam sandwiched between the layers provided not only a festive look, but a sweetly tart taste. Very much worth the trouble!
To look at Gourmet's website, go to: http://www.gourmet.com/
Go To Page: 1
