one dough, twelve holiday cookies …. Basic Butter CookieDough
November 29, 2016 by stresscake
We’re right in that sweet spot, still a little drowsy and cozy from the post-Thanksgiving blow outs and almost but not quite into the chaos of Christmas. Don’t get too comfortable; it will only last another day or so. December 1st hits and we’re off to the races. It’s non-stop chaos from that point on; an endless stream of shopping, wrapping, baking, Christmas concerts and holiday parties for the next 24 days. Somehow we work it all in, squeezing in those late night baking sessions between all the other commitments. It’s a mad, mad dash. I am no different. This is the busiest time for me, and every year I wedge my cookie baking in the odd hours between everything else. My cookies are a lot of damn work but over the years I’ve come up with some tricks to make it just a bit easier. Several years back, I posted a HolidayCookie Primer with some tips that I’m going to revisit here to make the season a little more peaceful.
GET ORGANIZED: Make lists, they really do help. I throw everything on an excel spreadsheet – what cookies I’m going to make, recipients, batch yields, quantity per box, shopping lists, baking plans. By keeping batch counts every year, I have pretty accurate projections and know exactly how many I need to make. Trust me, you don’t want to be short while in the midst of packing 50 cookie boxes.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER: keep in mind, you don’t have to do a batch start to finish all at once. Most doughs freeze beautifully so make them weeks ahead, freeze and bake later. Ideally, I would love to have all my doughs done and in the freezer by Thanksgiving. That rarely happens, and it sure didn’t last week, but one of these years I might actually achieve that goal. It’s nice to have something to reach for.
THINK ABOUT YOUR RECIPES: From both a flavor and a visual perspective, aim toward a good mix of textures, colors and flavors. Get your bases covered – chocolate, nut, spice, fruit (citrus and dried fruits) and vanilla. Think about your textures – crisp, soft, chewy, filled. The last thing you want after putting in all this effort is a monochromatic box full of the same flavors.
OVERALL PRESENTATION: Holidaycookies are special – they should be pretty and wonderful, unique and interesting. Mix up your shapes – round, square, triangles. Do a few fancy cut-outs. Work in some different finishes – large grain sugar, glazes, crushed nuts or fancy royal icing work. Fill a few with caramel, ganache or jam for some tasty sandwich cookies or thumbprints. But think special – this is not the place for your everyday cookie. I’m just going to say it. I don’t care how great your chocolate chip cookie recipe is; it is not a Christmas cookie.
WORKHORSES: make the bulk of your cookies easy to produce – bar cookies, brownies, shortbread and my favorite, slice & bake logs. If you make bars in sheet pans rather than 9×9 pans, they’re much thinner and cut very elegantly. Cut them into thin rectangles or triangles rather than the usual squares for a different look. For slice & bake logs, they don’t necessarily need to be round. The log can be formed into a square or a triangle for some different shapes.
SHOWSHOPPERS: work in a few, just a few, really fancy cookies. These can be checkerboards, detailed cut-outs or windowpane types like linzer. What you’ll do is fill the box with the “workhorses” above and put just a few of these pretty ones on top. As the box is opened, the recipients will see the pretty ones first and it’ll set the right “ooh aah!” tone.
ONE DOUGH, MANY COOKIES: this is my biggest holiday cookie trick. I’ll make a big batch of butter cookie dough, divide it into a few portions and flavor them differently. With a minimal amount of effort I can have four completely different cookies in no time. It’s a lot easier to flavor a good butter cookie doughwith various additions than to make four cookiedoughsfrom start to finish. And guess what? That’s what I’ll be doing for the next twelve posts. Today I’m setting you up with the basic butter cookie dough recipe and then, The Twelve Days of Cookies starts on 12/1, where I’ll take this dough and turn it into twelve completely different cookies. By the end, you’ll have a helluva cookie plate.
STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: THE MOTHERLODE.Christmas cookies are my big project of the year. They are time consuming, frustrating, a little stressful and yet, I continue to do them for one reason. The reaction. Sure it’s a little selfish, but it feels good to be appreciated. The look on my friends faces as I walk into their homes and restaurant kitchens with mydistinct red tied white boxes is priceless. Their eyes light up and many have been known to excitedly clap like little kids. It feels really good. I might bitch and moan, particularly while packing over 50 boxes (because that is a PAIN) but those happy faces make it worthwhile. I know this. It’s why I’ve talked myself into it every year for over 20 years.
2015 12 Days of Cookies: Pretzel Caramel Shortbread,Fig Mezzaluna,Dutch Windmills,Bourbon Peach Rugelah,Chai Spiced Meringue Kisses,Almond Joy Bars,Swedish Kringla,Chile Lime Macaroons,Orange Cranberry Cornmeal Shortbread,Eggnog Buttons,Ginger Palmiers,Rainbow Cookies
Seven years ago: Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Six years ago: French Apple Tart
Five years ago: Southern Cheese Straws
Four years ago:
Three years ago: Apple Cider Rolls
Two years ago: Port Wine Cheese Log
Last year: Caldo Verde
BASIC BUTTER COOKIE DOUGH –a very slight adaption of this recipe
Makes dough for 2 or 4 batches of cookies
1 pound unsalted butter, softened (4 sticks)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- In a standing mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Scrape the bowl and with the mixer running on medium, add the yolks one at a time and the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape the bowl.
- With the mixer on low, gradually beat in the flour until combined. Scrape a final time and turn the dough onto a work surface and gently knead to incorporate all remaining flour.
- Divide the dough into two or four equal pieces and use as is for a delicious butter cookie or proceed with one or several of the variations that will follow in the next twelve posts.
Tips:
- Dough can be made ahead and refrigerated, tightly wrapped, for 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Let return to room temperature before continuing.
- If using salted butter rather than unsalted, decrease the salt in the recipe to ¾ teaspoon.
