Cookies for a Birthday

Our kitchen has been humming for the past two weeks. Two friends just celebrated their 70th birthdays together and asked me to cater the event. I have been planning and cooking for a party of approximately 50 people. The event was this past Sunday and I am pleased to say that it was a great success. People ate and ate and ate and they weren't shy about saying that they enjoyed the food. Music to a cook's ears.

One of the prettiest platters was this plate of cookies.
MRS. CLAUS'S COOKIES,PEANUT-CHOCOLATE HALF-MOONS, ZALETI

MRS. CLAUS'S COOKIES

(makes 4 to 5 dozen)

1. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
   
2. 1 cup sugar
   
3. 1 large egg, lightly beaten
   
4. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   
5. 1/2 teaspoon rum flavoring
   
6. 1 1/4 cups flour
   
7. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
   
8. 1/2 teaspoon salt
   
9. 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
   
10. 1 cup chocolate chips
    
11. 1 cup sweetened grated coconut
    
12. 1 cup finely chopped mixed candied fruit 
    

Preheat the oven to 35o degrees. Grease baking sheets

In a large bowl of mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and rum flavoring.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture. Stir in nuts, chocolate, coconut and fruit.

Drop batter by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes (less for chewy cookies, more for crispy) or until golden. Transfer to racks to cool.

(from Mystic Seaport's Christmas Memories Cookbook)

PEANUT-CHOCOLATE HALF-MOONS

(3 dozen cookies)

Dough

1. 1/2 cup unsalted butter
   
2. 1 cup brown sugar
   
3. 1/4 teaspoon salt
   
4. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   
5. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
   
6. 1 large egg
   
7. 1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky
   
8. 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
   
9. 1 cup peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips or chocolate chips or a combination
   

Icing

1. 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
   
2. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
   
3. 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
   

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets.

To make the dough: In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla and baking soda. Add the egg and beat until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter, beating until well blended. Stir in the flour and chips, mixing slowly until the dough is cohesive.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets; then flatten them slightly with your fingers. Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes; they'll be soft, but will become crisp/chewy as they cool. Be careful not to over bake; they burn easily. Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

To make the icing: In a small bowl in the microwave, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Stir in the corn syrup.

Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate and return the cookies to cooling rack to set.

(from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

ZALETI

(3 dozen)

1. 1 1/2 cups corn flour (fine corn meal)
   
2. 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
   
3. 1/2 cup sugar
   
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
   
5. 1 teaspoon baking powder
   
6. 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold
   
7. 3/4 cup currants or dark raisins
   
8. 2 large eggs
   
9. Grated zest of one lemon
   
10. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    
11. 3/4 cup lightly toasted pistachios
    
12. Confectioners' sugar for dusting.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Rub in the butter finely, leaving the mixture cool and powdery. Stir in the currants or raisins and optional pistachios.

Beat the eggs with the lemon zest and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula. You may need to add a bit of water to get the dough to cohere.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a cylinder about 1-inch in diameter.* Flatten the cylinders slightly and cut them diagonally at 1 1/2-inch intervals, making diamond shapes.

Arrange the zaleti "on edge" on parchment-lined cookie sheets, and bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until they are light golden in color. Cool on racks and dust with confectioners' sugar.

*After forming the cylinders, you can wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw thoroughly before cutting and baking

(from Christine Hickman)

Comments

[janet]

Very nice, and delicious, Anne.