Pistachio butter cookies and goodbye 2012

To end 2012 and also to start 2013 in a delicious way, I give you these cookies: insanely easy to make and super tasty, they were a hit with the coworkers - every time I ran into someone walking down the corridors they would say "OMG, those pistachio cookies were amazing!", and I have to thank Martha for that. Her recipes are always fantastic, that is why I can't wait to get the new cookbook she has coming out next month.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Pistachio butter cookies
from the oh, so delicious Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons (370g total) all-purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
112g (4oz) unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted, cooled, finely chopped, fine dust sifted out*
about ¼ cup granulated, extra, for rolling the dough log

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat to combine. Add the flour and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Stir in the pistachios.
Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in freezer until very firm.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Roll dough logs in the extra sugar, coating them evenly, then cut into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 15-20 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

* the fine dust I sifted out of the pistachios was used in this recipe

Makes about 55

Dulce de leche apple pies

When it comes to fruit desserts I need no convincing: I'll choose them over chocolate ones any day. Therefore, I got really curious when I saw the recipe for these pies: apple and dulce de leche together? Would that work? I don't think apple pies need any embellishment, but the idea of adding ddl intrigued me too much and I had to try it - what can I say? Delicious Australia was right again, for a change. :)

Dulce de leche apple pies
from the always delicious Delicious - Australia

Pastry:
2 ½ cups (225g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
150g chilled unsalted butter, roughly chopped
2-3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
600g (about 3) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons water
½ cup dulce de leche
1 egg, lightly beaten, for brushing
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Pastry: place flour, cinnamon, icing sugar and butter in a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the water (you might not need all of it) and process until the mixture starts to form a dough. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Make the filling: place the apples in a large saucepan with the butter and water. Place over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until the apples are soft and the liquid has been absorbed. Cool slightly then stir in the dulce de leche.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease a 6-hole Texas muffin pan, then line the holes with baking paper.
Roll out the pastry on lightly floured surface and cut out six 12cm circles. Bring the remaining pastry together and roll out again. Cut out six 6cm circles. Press larger pastry circles into the lined muffin holes. Fill with the apple mixture. Brush edges with egg, then top with the smaller pastry circles and gently press together the pastry edges to seal the pies. Use any leftover pastry to decorate the tops of the pies, then brush with egg. Sprinkle with the sugar and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden.
Stand for 10 minutes in the pan, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or with vanilla ice cream

Makes 6 – I used a muffin pan with 1/3-cup capacity cavities and got 8 pies; I did not line the pan with paper – I did not think it would work to press pastry on top of paper – and even thought I’d generously buttered the pan the pies got stuck and getting them out of the pan was a nightmare :S
I guess that using tartlet pans with removable bottoms would work better.

Cheese and oregano sablés

Of all the baking I've been doing lately these savory sablés were a great surprise: they are delicious - especially still warm from the oven - and perfect to be served with drinks before dinner; I can assure you they're wonderful with cold beer, prosecco and champagne, and if you try them with something else I would love to know. :)

Cheese and oregano sablés
slightly adapted from the fabulous and beautiful Scandilicious Baking

1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (220g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold and diced
150g parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 medium eggs* + 1 egg, extra, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing the sablés
2-3 tablespoons whole milk, cold
2-3 tablespoons dried oregano, for sprinkling

In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, pepper and butter together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the cheese and blitz again, then with the motor running add the eggs and 2 tablespoons of the milk and process just until a dough starts to form – add more milk if necessary. Divide the dough in half, then transfer each half to a large piece of baking paper, shaping each into a log. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in freezer until very firm.
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Cut into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 5cm (2in) apart onto prepared sheets. Lightly brush each slice with the egg glaze and sprinkle with the oregano. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm to touch and their bottoms are evenly golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for about 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the racks and cool completely. Repeat the process with the other dough log.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

* I used 1 very large egg instead of 2 medium eggs

Makes about 40

Pfeffernüsse

This year's Christmas series has come to an end and for that I chose a delicious and very easy recipe, that comes from a book I adore. These cookies are wonderful, super tasty and quick to prepare, and I think they would make a great last minute Christmas gift.

I hope you've enjoyed the holiday recipes I've posted and I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Pfeffernüsse
from the amazing beyond words Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful

2 ¼ cups (315g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
scant ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (131g) brown sugar, packed
¼ cup mild flavored molasses
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) icing sugar, sifted, more if necessary

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, allspice, cloves and pepper.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar and molasses until creamy and lighter in color. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Using 1 tablespoon for each cookie, roll dough into balls and place them 5cm (2in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until golden brown on the bottom and just fir to touch, about 14 minutes. Cool on the sheets over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully coat warm cookies with the icing sugar. Transfer to the rack and cool completely.

Makes about 2 ½ dozen

Cinnamon and cherry biscotti

The Christmas biscotti I made last year were so delicious I decided that this year I needed Christmas biscotti again, but to change things up a bit I used one of Donna Hay's wonderful recipes, mixing cinnamon and dried cherries. You might think that when it comes to biscotti I'm biased (and you're right), so I'll let two very talented ladies convince you that biscotti is a delicious treat - and dead easy to make.

Cinnamon and cherry biscotti
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Donna Hay Magazine

2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup (95g) dried cherries, chopped

Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until a dough forms. Incorporate the cherries.
Shape the dough into a log, approximately 30cm (12in) long. Place onto prepared sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden and firm to touch. Remove from the oven and cool on the sheet over a wire rack for 30 minutes. Line another baking sheet with baking paper.
Carefully slice the logs into 3mm-thick slices and place onto prepared sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool on the sheets.

Makes about 25

Nougat flavored financiers

I might have been oh, so brave facing the heat and making pastry anyway but that, folks, was pretty much it: when it came to making nougat I gave up. :S However, that doesn’t mean I can’t have a nougat flavored baked good, right? When I looked at the egg whites left from making the eggnog frosting I instantly thought of financiers, and the candied orange zest left from the panforte inspired me to make these treats – they are tender, delicious and unlike real nougat, they’re very easy and quick to make.

Nougat flavored financiers
adapted from Bill’s wonderful financier recipe

2/3 cup (67g) almond meal*
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar + plus extra for dusting
1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
4 egg whites
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon orange blossom water
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly warm
1/3 cup (43g) unsalted pistachios, slightly toasted, cooled and chopped
¼ cup chopped candied orange zest
1/3 cup (36g) dried cranberries, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter and flour eight 1/3-capacity muffin pans (mine were silicon, so I just buttered them).
In a large bowl, sift together the ground almonds, icing sugar, flour and salt. Stir in the egg whites until just combined, followed by the vanilla and orange flower water. Stir in the melted butter, then the pistachios, candied zest and cranberries.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans over a wire rack for 5 minutes then carefully unmold onto the rack to cool.
Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

* I had 2 tablespoons very finely ground pistachios left from another recipe and I used it mixed with the almond meal

Makes 8

Gingerbread marshmallows

I’ve been baking lots of cookies lately – these books have been at my kitchen counter all the time – but I wanted something else for the people at work, something that to them would sound unusual. Marshmallows were the perfect choice: upon delivering some of the small plastic bags filled with the candy some of my coworkers were really intrigued by the idea of homemade marshmallows, and “did you actually make these???” was the sentence I heard the most throughout that day. :)
Besides that, there were other reasons behind the choice: I hadn’t made marshmallows in a very long time, they have a Christmassy feel, the recipe yields a lot – that way many, many goodie bags would be made with it – and I also wanted to please my sister, who is absolutely crazy about them. I waited for her feedback, thinking that she might find them too spicy, or too gingery, but she said they were fantastic – she’s a grown up now and bold flavors don’t scare her anymore (but she still won’t eat bacon, which is something I’ll never understand). :D

Gingerbread marshmallows
adapted from the always gorgeous and delicious Donna Hay Magazine

4 tablespoons powdered gelatin
1 cup (240ml) warm water
3 ¼ cups (650g) granulated sugar
¾ cup corn syrup or golden syrup
½ cup + 1 tablespoon molasses
2/3 cup (160ml) water, extra
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
vegetable oil and icing sugar, for the pan

For rolling the marshmallows:
1 ½ cups (210g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons corn starch, sifted

Lightly oil a 20x30cm (8x12in) cake pan and dust it generously with icing sugar*.
Place the gelatin and warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer, stir well to combine and set aside. Place the sugar, glucose, molasses and extra water in a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat without stirring. Bring to the boil and cook for 5-6 minutes or until soft ball stage: 115°C/240°F on a sugar thermometer.
With the mixer running at high speed, gradually add the hot syrup to the gelatin mixture – carefully because the mixture may splash. Add the vanilla and the spices and beat for 10 minutes or until thick and fluffy. Pour into prepared pan and leave at room temperature overnight.

Place the icing sugar and corn starch in a bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle some of the mixture onto a surface and unmold the marshmallow onto it (loosen it from the sides of the pan with a sharp knife). Using a lightly oiled knife, cut into squares and roll into the icing sugar mixture. Store in an airtight container.

* the recipe yielded so much that I was able to fill two 20x30cm (8x12in) pans with it, and in the end I got 110 marshmallows

Makes about 50 marshmallows

Mulled wine jelly and a giveaway

Christmas is coming and I have a gift for you, my dear readers: Zinio has given me 5 free magazine subscriptions to share with you! If you’re not familiar with Zinio, take a look at their website and you’ll see that there are hundreds of wonderful digital magazines for you to choose, including my favorites Donna Hay and Delicious Australia.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post between today, December 17th and December 31st – only one entry per person, no anonymous comment will be eligible. I’ll announce the winners on January, 3rd. Good luck!

And while you take part in this great giveaway, I’ll leave you with some delicious and boozy jelly, a nice dessert idea for Christmas since it can be made in advance, and the recipe comes from DH mag, one of the great digital magazines you’ll find at Zinio.

Mulled wine jelly
from the always beautiful Donna Hay Magazine

1 ½ tablespoons gelatin powder
2 cups (480ml) cranberry juice
4 cups (960ml) red wine, such as Pinot Noir – I used Shiraz*
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 whole nutmeg
rind of 1 orange, remove with a vegetable peeler
1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 2 teaspoons icing sugar until soft peaks form

In a small bowl, combine the gelatin with ¼ cup of the cranberry juice. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan combine the red wine, remaining cranberry juice, sugar, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange rind and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the gelatin. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a 3-liter capacity serving dish (or individual cups as I did). Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until set.
Serve with a dollop of the whipped cream.

* the jelly tasted great but to my taste it was a bit too strong on the alcoholic side – I would definitely use less wine and more cranberry juice next time

Serves 8-10

Gingerbread linzer tartlets

So I decided to grab the hot weather by the horns and make Christmas tartlets anyway, but with my dried fruit stash reduced to a sad handful I dropped the fruit mince tarts idea and went for something else: the beautiful gingerbread linzertorte I’d seen on Martha’s website, which was the perfect choice since I had a couple of jars of jam in my pantry. The good thing is: I made the recipe into tartlets, which looked adorable and were a hit with my husband, my sister and my one of my sisters-in-law. The bad thing is: the dough is ultra-mega-soft, kind of hard to work with, and it would have been better to make one large tart (less work). I’m stubborn and didn’t give up on my tartlet idea, but I’ll admit it that while shaping the dough I felt like banging my head against the wall, Heathcliff style. :)

Gingerbread linzer tartlets
slightly adapted from Martha

2 ¼ cups (315g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (88g) packed dark-brown sugar
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup unsulfured molasses
2 large egg yolks, plus 1 large egg white
1 ¼ cups raspberry jam – I used cherry jam

Sift flour, baking powder, spices, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugar; mix on medium-low speed until combined. Add butter; mix until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add molasses and egg yolks; mix until dough comes together, about 30 seconds.
Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Roll two-thirds of the dough into a 30cm (12in) round, 6mm (¼in) thick. Fit into a lightly buttered 25cm (10in) tart pan with a removable bottom. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
Roll out remaining dough between pieces of floured parchment paper to a 30cm (12in) round, 6mm (¼in) thick. Transfer round with parchment to a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut out shapes from round with dot and snowflake-shape cookie cutters. (If desired, reserve snowflake cutouts - bake for 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F and sprinkle tops with confectioners' sugar.). Spread jam over bottom of shell. Lightly beat egg white; brush over rim of tart shell. Carefully slide dough round over shell; press edges to adhere. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F with rack in lowest position (I baked my tartlets at 180°C/350°F).
Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Serves 8 – I made the exact recipe above using 10cm (4in) tartlet pans and got 5 tartlets

Fruit mince muffins with eggnog icing

Eggnog is not part of Brazilian Christmas celebrations but everything I’ve made so far flavored as the drink turned out delicious, the sablé rounds and Flo Braker’s cake being my favorites –therefore, I bookmarked Rachel Allen’s muffins the minute I saw them on the book. This fantastic recipe is a keeper, not only because the delicious muffins match eggnog and fruit mince, flavors I love, but also because Allen’s homemade fruit mince is very tasty and easy to make – so good that I used it in my brownies, too.

Fruit mince muffins with eggnog icing
slightly adapted from the wonderful Cake (mine was bought here)

Muffins:
150g unsalted butter, softened
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 quantity fruit mince, cooled - recipe here
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt

Icing:
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon corn starch
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon brandy
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
½ teaspoon finely grated nutmeg
12 dried cranberries, for decoration (optional) – if you decide to use them, place them in a small bowl with some hot water till they plump up

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F, and line a 12-hole (1/3 cup-capacity cavities) muffin pan with paper cases.
Muffins: using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla, then the cooled fruit mince. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and fold in gently to combine. Divide between the muffin cases, filling each ¾ full, then bake for 20-25 minutes or until well risen, golden on top and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes then carefully remove from the pan and transfer to the rack. Cool completely.

Icing: whisk together all the ingredients and place in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until it starts to boil and becomes thick, then remove from the heat and put through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. With an electric mixer, whisk continuously for a few minutes until the mixture has cooled and become very thick (after doing that, I refrigerated the icing for 30 minutes and it became easier to spread). Spoon the icing onto the muffins and decorate each with a dried cranberry.

Makes 12

Alsatian Christmas cookies

One of my favorite expressions in the English language is “a hidden gem” – I find if perfect to describe certain things. To me, “Killing Them Softly”, an excellent movie no one I know has watched, is a hidden gem, with its great script, powerful performances – especially Ben Mendelsohn’s, whom I’d already loved in the fantastic “Animal Kingdom” – and equally powerful directing. Another hidden gem is Tish Boyle’s amazing “The Good Cookie”, which I bought ages ago – it took me a long time to start using this book (and I don’t even have an explanation for that) but nowadays it’s the first cookbook I reach for when I want to bake cookies. These delicious cookies, heavy on the cinnamon flavor – which I love – were made into beautiful little stars in Boyle’s hands, but worked perfectly as slice and bake cookies, too – I am sure that even if you’re not battling the heat as I have been lately you’ll love this more practical and quick way of baking them.

Oh, and the lovely Christmas tags you see on the photo - and that now are decorating my tree - were found here.

Alsatian Christmas cookies
slightly adapted from an amazing book

Cookies:
2 ¼ cups (225g) almond meal
2 ¾ cups (330g) cake flour*
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (240g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:
1 large egg, lightly beaten with a fork and a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Place the almond meal, cake flour, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
In an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until creamy and well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the egg, then the vanilla. At low speed, add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time and mix just until blended. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in freezer until very firm.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Cut into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Lightly brush each slice with the egg glaze and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
Bake for 17-22 minutes or until they are set and their bottoms are evenly golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for about 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the racks and cool completely. Repeat the process with the other dough log.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Makes about 60 cookies

Pain d’épice

Being in a Christmas food mind set, I knew I had to make a gingerbread cake, not only because it's traditional but also because it's delicious. However, I remembered that once, a long time ago, my friend Ana told me that Suzanne Goin's pain d'épice was super tasty, and boy, was she right: this turned out so good I had three slices at once, and I'm not even ashamed to say it. :D

Pain d’épice
from the beautiful Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table

¾ cup honey
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
¾ cup (180ml) water
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon fresh, grated ginger (save the juice while grating it)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180°C/350/F. Lightly butter a 22x12cm (9x5in) loaf pan. In a large saucepan, bring the honey, brown sugar, and water to a boil, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves. Immediately take off the heat. Sift in one cup of the flour, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Set aside.
Sift together the remaining cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, ginger, ginger juice and vanilla. Whisk in the honey mixture. Slowly fold the remaining dry ingredients into the batter in three parts. Go slow to avoid lumps.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 35-40 minutes, until the loaf is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 25 minutes then carefully unmold onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.

Serves 6-8

White chocolate, honey and almond panforte

Back in my college days, I had a classmate that was ten years older than me (I was 16 then) and we used to disagree about music preferences: she loved Brazilian music while I preferred American and British rock bands. She used to tell me that when I got older I would begin enjoying the kind of music she did back then. Well, eighteen years have passed and nothing has changed: I still don’t listen to MPB and American and British bands are still favorites (with a pinch of French and Canadian bands here and there). :)
I might not have changed my music preferences, but all those years have brought me something I lacked in the past: patience – in my case that virtue is very much liked to getting older. I am sure that if I had baked this panforte years ago I would have thrown the whole thing in the garbage the minute I unmolded it and saw that the baking paper had stuck on the bottom of the candy – but now at 34 I serenely removed it, little by little, with a sharp knife and tons of patience.

White chocolate, honey and almond panforte
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Delicious - Australia

300g white chocolate, chopped
¾ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups (185g) all purpose flour, sifted
¼ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
¼ cup dried apricots, finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped candied orange peel
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
200g whole almonds, toasted and cooled
Icing sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F. Line a 22cm (9in) springform cake pan with baking paper*.
Place chocolate, honey and vanilla in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (don't let the bowl touch the water), stirring until melted and smooth. Set aside.
Combine flour, crystallized ginger, apricots, orange peel, spices, salt, black pepper and almonds in a bowl. Stir in melted chocolate mixture until combined.
Pour into the cake pan and press down with the back of a spoon. Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden but soft to touch (cover loosely with foil if it is browning too quickly). Cool in pan, then turn out and dust with icing sugar, slice and serve.

* I used a regular 22cm baking pan, buttered, bottom lined with a circle of baking paper buttered as well. It was easy to remove the panforte from the pan, but the problem is that the paper got stuck on the sweet! I had to remove it with a sharp knife and it was a pain in the neck to do it (and it took me half an hour). I haven’t tested it yet but I believe foil would be a better alternative (buttered as well)

Serves 12-14

Lebkuchen

These delicious and beautiful cookies should have been included in last year’s holiday series – at least that was my idea – but here they are, a year later.
My birthday is in November and Martha’s book was a gift from a very dear friend – after receiving it I immediately started looking for cookies with a Christmassy feel and the lebkuchen seemed perfect. However, I somehow kept forgetting to buy all the necessary ingredients – me and my poor list making skills – and when I finally got the dates but forgot the apricot jam I simply gave up and ended up baking the almond spice wafers from the same cookbook (which, by the way, are fantastic).

So now, without further delay, I bring you the cookies I would love to eat from now up until next Christmas, nonstop. :D

Lebkuchen
slightly adapted from the wonderful Martha Stewart's Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share (Martha Stewart Living Magazine)

Cookies:
¾ cup (105g) all-purpose flour*
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
100g blanched whole almonds toasted + more untoasted for decorating the cookies
1/3 cup diced candied orange zest
4 dates, pitted and chopped
85g (3oz) almond paste, crumbled into small pieces – I used homemade, recipe here
1/3 cup apricot jam
3 large eggs
¾ cup (131g) packed light-brown sugar

Glaze:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons whole milk

Cookie: whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Pulse almonds in a food processor until very finely chopped. Add candied orange zest and dates, and pulse until finely chopped. Add almond paste, and pulse to combine. Add jam, and pulse. Add eggs and brown sugar, and pulse. Add flour mixture, and pulse. Transfer dough to an airtight container, and refrigerate overnight (or up to 3 days).
Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F (I baked my cookies at 180°C/350°F). Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Using a 2-inch ice cream scoop (¼ cup), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 7.5cm (3in) inches apart. Place 3 almonds close together on top of each cookie. Bake until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
Whisk together confectioners' sugar and milk, and brush over cooled cookies. Let stand until set. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

* the batter was too liquid (even after one night in the refrigerator) and after testing it by baking one cookie – which spread like crazy – I added more flour to the batter; that way I ended up using 170g flour total

Makes 18 – I used a 3-tablespoon capacity ice cream scoop and got 15 cookies

Fruit mince brownies

The fruit mince tarts I made a couple of years ago were delicious and such a hit with the family that I intend to make them again this year; however, rolling out pastry is not the best idea for the oh, so hot days we’ve been having here lately – I know how much I suffered to make the snowy tree cookies, having to refrigerate the dough countless times. While I wait for a bit cooler days – knowing deep in my heart that they might not come anytime soon – I’ll have the fruit mince in brownie form, which to me is always a good thing. :)

Fruit mince brownies
adapted from the always delicious Delicious - Australia

150g dark chocolate, chopped
1 ¼ cups (218g) brown sugar, packed
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (185g) unsalted butter, chopped
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
pinch baking powder
3 tablespoons cocoa
pinch of salt
1 quantity fruit mince – recipe follows
1 cup (110g) pecans, lightly toasted, cooled and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Place chocolate, sugar and butter in a large saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted and well combined. Remove from heat, cool slightly, then stir in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Stir in the vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, cocoa, and salt. Mix in the fruit mince and pecans. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until just set. Cool completely in the pan. Cut into squares to serve.
Brownies will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Makes 16

Fruit mince
slightly adapted from the magnificent Cake

80g mixed dried fruit (I used 40g dried cranberries + 40g golden raisins)
¼ cup (44g) brown sugar, packed
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
finely grated zest and juice of 1 small orange
1 tablespoon brandy

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until all the liquid is nearly gone. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Makes about 200g

Snowy trees

I find decorated cookies very beautiful, but I confess I don’t have the skills or the patience to make them: I can’t pipe to save my own life and because of that I believe that it would take me hours to finish making one single cookie. :S That is why I loved this recipe found in one of my old issues of DH magazine: the cookies look adorable, taste great and one doesn’t have to be very dexterous to apply the icing on them – I used a small offset spatula to do that but I believe that a small butter knife would do the trick, too.
Donna’s recipe was for snowy mountains – made by cutting triangles of cookie dough with a ravioli wheel – but I decided to go for snowy trees to use an old and forgotten cookie cutter.

Snowy trees
from the always glorious Donna Hay Magazine

Cookies:
1 1/3 cups (185g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, cold and chopped
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Meringue icing:
1 egg white
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the flour, sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor and blitz to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the yolk and the vanilla and process just until a dough starts to form (I had to add 1 teaspoon ice water to get the right consistency). Form dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Roll out the dough until 5mm thick. Using a tree cookie cutter, cut the cookies and place them onto the prepared sheets (reroll scraps once). Refrigerate the cookies for 10 minutes, then bake until golden around the edges, about 12 minutes. Cool completely on sheets over a wire rack.
Icing: place the egg white in a small bowl and beat with an electric mixer until firm peaks form. Add the icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and beat until thick and glossy. Spread over the cookies (there will be some icing left) and return them to the oven for 4-5 minutes or until icing is set. Cool completely on sheets over a wire rack.

Makes 2 dozen using a 7cm cookie cutter

Gingerbread chocolate chip muffins - it's Christmas time around here!

Spices are ingredients I love – to the point of buying a cookbook devoted to them – and I use them throughout the year, but this time of the year is when I reach for them the most: lots of ginger, cinnamon and cloves to set the mood for Christmas. My holiday series starts now, with super tender muffins perfumed with ginger, both fresh and ground – and to make everything even more delicious, there’s chocolate, too.

Gingerbread chocolate chip muffins
slightly adapted from the super beautiful More from Macrina: New Favorites from Seattle's Popular Neighborhood Bakery

1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup (58g) brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup molasses
¾ cup (180ml) buttermilk*

Preheat the oven to 165°C/325°F (I baked my muffins at 180°C/350°F). Line 8 cups of standard muffin pan with paper cases.
Toss the chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and fresh ginger until light and fluffy. Add the egg, beat well, then add the yolk, beating well – if the mixture looks curdled, beat in ¼ cup of the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla.
At low speed, drizzle in the molasses and mix until combined. With a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk – do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 8 – I made the exact recipe above using this pan and got 8 muffins