For me, baking cookies is always one of the most fun bonding experiences of the year. It's a great way to spend quality time with family and friends, and the cookies make wonderful gifts for teachers, co-workers, and just about everyone else. It's fun to experiment and try a few new recipes each year. Here are 6 cookies from around the world, featuring a variety of shapes, colors, and ingredients (recipes follow):
Alfajores from Argentina and Peru. Alfajores are shortbread cookies filled with dulce de leche, the cooked milk jam that has recently become so popular in the United States. While dulce de leche is the typical filling, you can also fill the cookies with any fruit jam you like.
Benne (Sesame) Seed Wafers from West Africa. These are crisp and delicious with the nutty flavor of sesame seeds. Hulled white sesame seeds are more dainty looking, but the darker seeds with hulls have more flavor.
Speculas Spice Cookies from Belgium and Holland. These flavorful cookies were developed centuries ago using spices from the Far East that were brought back to Northern Europe. Many Americans know them for their windmill designs made from special molds, but if you don't have the molds, cookie cutters work equally well.
Scottish Shortbread from Scotland. This centuries-old classic is one of the most comforting of cookies and goes wonderfully with hot chocolate. You can use an attractively decorated 8-inch square mold or make them in a round baking pan with removable sides.
Viennese Crescents from Austria. Austrians are some of the finest bakers in the world, and Viennese Nut Crescents are my favorite cookies. I love the dough, which is crumbly, nutty, buttery rich, and not too sweet. Other countries have their own variations and shapes.
Brigadeiros from Brazil. Technically, these aren't cookies. They’re really a cross between a truffle and fudge, shaped in little balls about an inch in diameter. They're tremendously popular in Brazil and great for the holidays because they can be rolled in colorful sprinkles or nonpareils, finely chopped nuts, or grated coconut. For an extra fancy presentation, place them in little paper candy cups.
Recipes
Alfajores
(makes approximately 3 dozen sandwich style cookies)
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) sweet butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups dulce de leche (in a jar or homemade: see below)
Confectioner's sugar (optional)
Grated coconut (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together the butter and two sugars. Add the vanilla extract.
3. Add the flour and salt to the butter mixture.
4. When the dough is well blended, divide it in three. Shape into 3 thick disks, cover them in plastic wrap, and chill for one hour. The disk shape will make it easier to roll later.
5. When ready to make the cookies, roll the dough to ¼-inch thick. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut circles. With a fun shaped mini cutter such as a heart, a star, or a Christmas tree, cut a little shape in the center of half the circles. These will be the tops of the cookies and will allow the filling to show through.
6. Place the cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake approximately 12 minutes, or until they start to brown. Let them cool on a cookie sheet.
7. Spread approximately 1 teaspoon of dulce de leche or jam over the full circles. Top each with the circles that have cut outs in the middle. If you’d like to roll the edges in grated coconut, add a little extra filling so it oozes out slightly. That will give the coconut something to adhere to.
8. If you'd like to sprinkle them with confectioner's sugar, omit the coconut.
Homemade Dulce de Leche Filling
(Makes at least 2 cups. If you have extra, you can use it as an ice cream topping.)
2 cans sweetened condensed milk (14 oz. each)
Empty the sweetened condensed milk into the top of a double boiler. Add water to the bottom compartment and cook over medium heat approximately 1¼ hours, stirring periodically to prevent scorching. It’s ready when the mixture turns a tan color and thickens to the consistency of jam. It will get thicker as it cools.
Benne Seed Wafers
(makes approximately 4 dozen cookies)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sesame seeds
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the vanilla extract and egg.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup of the sesame seeds. Add this dry mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix well.
4. Form the dough into 1-inch balls. If the dough is too soft to form balls, add a little extra flour. Spread the remaining 1 cup of sesame seeds, 1/2 cup at a time, over a large plate. Roll the balls in the sesame seeds.
5. Place the balls on a greased cookie sheet and flatten them with the bottom of a glass.
6. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, or until light brown in color.
Speculas Spice Cookies
(makes approximately 3 dozen cookies)
You don't need to add all 7 spices. That is the authentic spice mixture. The cinnamon and cloves are essential, but if you don't have all the other spices in your cupboard, add what you have on hand.
3/4 cup sweet butter, softened
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup almonds, finely ground
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground anise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and the vanilla extract.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Then add them to the butter and sugar mixture.
4. Divide the dough in thirds and form them into thick disks. This will make them easier to roll out later. Chill for about 1 hour.
5. If using decorated clay molds, oil them and dust with flour. Press dough into the molds to cover, about 1/4-inch thick. Trim the excess around the edges of the mold. Tap the molds and place the cookies on a greased baking sheet. Reflour the molds as needed, but you won't need to regrease them. If using regular cookie cutters, roll the dough 1/4-inch thick.
6. Bake the cookies approximately 10-12 minutes, or until they look brown and done. The dough will be somewhat dark, due to the spices. Cool several minutes on the cookie sheets.
Scottish Shortbread
(makes approximately 32 1-inch X 2-inch bars or 16 large wedges)
2/3rds cup sweet butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the flour and salt and mix until smooth.
3. If using a decorative, 8-inch square clay mold, flour the mold and then evenly spread the dough into it. Trim any excess off the edges. If you don't have a mold, use a 9-inch baking pan with a removable bottom, like a cheesecake pan. With the tines of your fork, mark the circle in quarters, and mark each quarter in 4 wedges. This will make it easier to break or cut the wedges once the shortbread has baked.
4. Bake the shortbread for about 45 minutes, or until it's a rich golden brown. Let the shortbread cool for a few minutes in the pan. While it's still a little warm, gently remove it from the mold or baking pan and cut the shortbread. If using the square mold, place a cutting board over the mold and invert it before cutting.
Viennese Crescents
(makes approximately 5 dozen)
It's important that the nuts be very finely ground or the cookies will be too crumbly and fall apart. I like pecans or walnuts best, but hazelnuts and almonds are also good choices.
1 cup sweet butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup finely ground nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds or hazelnuts)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar for dusting
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together the butter and confectioner's sugar. Then incorporate the vanilla.
3. Add the ground nuts, flour and salt and mix well.
4. Use approximately 1 tablespoon of dough to form each cookie in a crescent shape. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until the cookies turn light brown. Let the cookies cool for several minutes.
6. Sift the confectioner's over the cookies while they're still warm so it adheres to the cookies.
Brigadeiros
(makes 24 truffle like candies)
3 tablespoons butter
2 cans (14 ounces each) sweetened condensed milk
6 tablespoons of Chocolate Nesquik powder
Colored sprinkles or non-pareils
Chopped nuts (optional)
Shredded coconut (optional)
1. Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over low heat.
2. Add the two cans of sweetened condensed milk and Nesquik powder and stir well. Continue stirring constantly for 10-15 minutes, until the mixture becomes very thick, like chocolate pudding. When it's ready, it should "slide" from side to side when the pan is tilted.
3. Pour the chocolate mxiture into a shallow bowl and refrigerate until cool (about one hour).
4. Put the sprinkles, chopped nuts, or coconut in a shallow dish or pie plate.
5. Grease your hands with oil. Take about one tablespoon of the cooled mixture and roll it into a ball shape. Then roll the ball in the sprinkles to coat it all around. Place the Brigadeiros on a plate or in little individual candy cups. Add more oil to your hands to keep the candies from sticking.
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