A Cup of Good Cheer (or a cookie!)

One of the things I love most about the holiday season is cooking. After the Thanksgiving spread has been consumed, leftovers and all, I begin to lay out my plans for making holiday cookies. Typically, I am not a baker. I usually do not have the time or patience for the preciseness called for when baking. I am more the type who likes to create on the spot, throwing various things into a recipe and making it my own. Holiday cookies, on the other hand, are the exception.

I began making holiday cookies each year with the onset of my subscription to Gourmet Magazine. Each December, they devote a huge portion of their issue to holiday cookies. The cookies are often elaborate and time-consuming, but over the past 3-5 years, I have willed myself to go through the process. Each year I add one more batch or try out a new recipe. And each year, I get better at it.

First and foremost, I love making these cookies. I never feel that I absolutely MUST do it. I tend to avoid those that require any fancy decoration, icing, or special cut-outs. The cookies I make usually fall under these guidelines: 1) I don’t have to buy any special equipment, 2) they are pretty, 3) they are so rich and decadent that I would not be able to sit and eat them all at once, and 4) they are unlike anything I could buy at the store.

I present to you, the holiday cookies of 2007.

Fig Swirls
I love these cookies. They are easy to make and are a wonderful alternative to store-bought fig bars. When making these cookies, we have a hard time keeping our fingers out of the fig mixture (dried figs, honey, cinnamon and cloves). The gooey and sweet filling pairs perfectly with the sugarless shortbread.

Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies I made these for the first time about 3 years ago, and they make it on my list every year. They are made with a standard sugar cookie recipe. Just add cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate, and hazelnuts and you have a scrumptious cookie that melts in your mouth.

Cardamom Butter Squares I made these for the first time this year. I was bit apprehensive about what the outcome may be, but they are absolutely delicious. The are crisp, light, and buttery; the cardamom is almost an afterthought complemented with espresso and chocolate drizzles.


Caramel Pecan Shortbread Cookies
These are some of my favorites. I made them for the first time last year, and we made ourselves sick because we ate them so fast. The roasted pecans paired with the homemade caramel makes the cookies worth the elbow grease that goes into making them.