Orange-Almond Shortbread Cookies

Orange zest gives these cookies their subtle orange flavor. Make sure you have lots of milk available when you serve them. This recipe is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. It received a second place ribbon at the San Diego County Fair.

Dark Chococolate Mocha Cookies

These cookies are based on the Marta Stewart recipe for Dark-Chocolate Espresso Cookies. They are crunchy on top and soft on the bottom and middle.  The salt along with the espresso powder adds a bit of complexity to the recipe.

Chocolate Orange Espresso Thin Cookies

Another recipe from Martha Stewart. The secret to these cookies is to cut the dough to the same consistently thin size. Also,I sift the dry ingredients onto a flexible cutting mat. This makes it easier to add to the other ingredients in the mixer.

These cookies are made for coffee.

Mocha Morsel Meringues

These little cookies are taken from a Martha Stewart recipe. If you like contrasting textures in a cookie you will love these. They are light brown and crunchy outside, dark brown soft and gooey inside. They are also gluten-free and kosher for Passover.

Ingredient tips:

• Instant espresso: Medaglia D’Oro from my local Italian deli
• Bittersweet chocolate chips: Ghirardelli from Costco

Chocolate Blackout Cookies

This recipe is based on Martha Stewart’s Double Chocolate Cookies using Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips (60% cacao). You can sometimes get a large bag at Costco for a good price.I tripled the recipe and used a convection oven to cook 18 cookies at a time.

My wife tasted them and said they were better than the Blue Chip Cookie Triple Chocolate cookies.

Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

These cookies are more like miniature cakes that you can pop into your mouth.

Rainbow Cookies (also called Italian Wedding Cookies)

These were my favorite bakery cookies when I was growing up and they are still my favorites. This recipe makes cookies that rival those in a bakery at a fraction of the cost.

Rainbow (Italian Wedding) Cookies

Ingredients

• 7 ounces almond paste
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• Green food coloring
• Red food coloring
• 1 cup raspberry jam, divided into ½ cup portions
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Grate almond paste into small pieces and blend with sugar in a food processor until there are no lumps.
3. Put almond paste mixture, butter, almond extract and egg yolks in a bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. With mixer on low speed add flour until thick dough forms.
4. In a clean bowl beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Stir one third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten (the batter will still be rather stiff). Fold in remaining egg whites until thoroughly combined.
5. Divide dough into thirds. Stir green food coloring into one and red food coloring into another (leave the third one uncolored).
6. Line the bottom of three 13×9 inch rimmed baking pans with parchment paper. Spread each batch of dough into a separate pan (the layers will be thin).
7. Bake each layer in the oven until; the edges begin to turn golden (10 – 12 minutes). When done and still hot, run a knife along the edges to ensure the layer is loose from the pan. Invert a cooling rack over the pan and turn the layer over onto the rack. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely.
8. Place the green layer on a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all three layers. Spread ½ cup of raspberry jam evenly over the green layer. Place the uncolored layer on the jam and spread the remaining ½ cup of jam over it. Place the red layer on the top of the jam and enclose with plastic wrap. Invert a baking sheet over the top to weigh it down and chill for at least eight hours and up to 24 hours.
9. Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over barely simmering water. Remove baking pan and plastic wrap and spread melted chocolate evenly over the top of the pink layer. Let stand until set (about one hour) and cut into 2-inch by 1-inch cookies.

Black and White Cookies

You can usually find these distinctive cookies at Jewish bakeries. When you frost them, make sure that you keep the icing in a straight line down the center of the cookie.

Makes eight cookies.

Black and White Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup heavy cream

Icings

• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 ½ teaspoons lemon juice

Recipe

Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand-mixer beat butter, shortening and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (3 minutes). Add eggs and egg yolk one at a time beating between each addition until egg is fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in two batches alternating with the cream. Beat until just combined.
4. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop dough onto baking sheet three inches apart. Bake until edges begin to turn golden and the centers are tender (10 – 12 minutes). Transfer parchment and cookies to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from parchment and let cool completely.
5. Prepare chocolate and white icings (see below). On the bottom of each cookie using a small offset spatula spread chocolate icing over half the cookie and white icing over the other half. Let icing set for 30 minutes.

Icings

1. Whisk sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and 2 tablespoons water until smooth. Add more water until mixture is slightly thicker than honey. Divide the icing in half.
2. Stir lemon juice into one half to make white icing and cocoa powder into the other to make chocolate icing. Thin with water, if needed and use immediately.

Lemon Glazed Lemon Cookies

This recipe is from Martha Stewart Living. These are the most lemony cookies I’ve ever made.

Makes 18 cookies.

Ingredients

Lemon Cookies

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ C unsalted butter
• 1 C sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze

• 2 C confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/3 C lemon juice

Recipe

Lemon Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, sal and lemon zest.
3. In a stand mixer on medium speed using the beater beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and lemon juice and beat until combined. Set speed to low and beat in flour mixture one third at a time until completely incorporated.
4. Drop dough by heaping tabelspoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, 15 – 20 minutes.
5. Let cool 2 minutes on sheets then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Lemon Glaze

1. Whisk together confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice until smooth.

Assemble

1. Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze. Let set for at least one hour.

Chewy Almond Orange Cookies

This recipe is from Martha Stewart Living. The consistency of these confections is like a cross between a cookie and a soft meringue.

Makes 18 cookies.

Ingredients

• 4 ½ oz sliced almonds (divided into 3 ½ oz and 1 oz)
• ¾ C sugar (divided into ½ C and ¼ C)
• ¼ C all-purpose flour
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 1 tsp anise, crushed
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tsp confectioners’ sugar

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a food processor, blend 3 ½ ounces of almonds with ½ C sugar until almonds are finely ground.
3. Transfer almond mixture to a bowl and stir in flour, orange zest and anise.
4. Using a stand mixer whisk egg whites, salt, ¼ C sugar until soft peaks form.
5. Fold egg whites into almond mixture.
6. Spoon tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Using remaining almonds arrange three almonds on each cookie. Sift confectioners’ sugar over cookies.
7. Bake until cookies are slightly browned on the edges, about 12 minutes. Cool for two minutes before moving to cooling rack to cool completely.