One decade ago, Cheryl Lew, the pastry chef and proprietor of
Oakland’s Montclair Baking, found herself with a load of leftover hard
peppermint candies after decorating a large gingerbread house. To use
them up, she came up with her ingenious Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel
Cookies, which she now bakes every December.
After mixing up her cookie dough, she divides it in two. Melted
chocolate and cocoa powder are stirred into one half of the dough, and
the other half gets mixed with the crushed peppermint candy canes.
After chilling, each dough is rolled out and layered over one another,
before being rolled up pinwheel-style, and then cut into slices for
baking. The result is one eye-catching spiral cookie.
Brightly wrapped gifts, bottles of bubbly, and a bountiful roast
ham, prime rib, turkey, or tofurkey are must-haves for any festive
gathering, but nothing truly says “holiday” like beautiful homemade
cookies. After all, special occasions deserve a sweet ending, and
cookies have a way of putting a smile on anyone’s face — whether
young or old, naughty or nice.
To get you in the baking mood, we asked three top East Bay bakeries
to share their recipes for their most prized holiday cookies.
Agnes Hsu’s Feisty Ginger Cookies are just that — loaded with
ground ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and a whopping 1-1/2 cups of chopped
crystallized ginger. For Hsu, founder of Teacake Bake Shop in
Emeryville, Lafayette, and Corte Madera, no holiday is complete without
these fragrant, spicy cookies that warm you inside and out.
Those who can’t tolerate wheat flour can still enjoy a holiday
classic with a gluten-free version of Viennese Crescents. Patti Furey
Crane started her artisan gluten-free bakery, Mariposa in Oakland,
after she was diagnosed with her own gluten allergy. These
melt-in-your-mouth cookies dusted with powdered sugar are addicting, no
matter if you’re gluten-intolerant or not.
Finally, there’s this can’t-miss cookie that I’ve been baking for
the past ten years. If I don’t, friends and family rebel. That’s how
good these Italian Macaroons are.
Wheat-free, they’re made without flour — just egg whites,
sugar, and almond paste. Form the sticky, sweet dough into balls that
get coated liberally in slivered almonds. They emerge from the oven
golden, with crispy edges and an interior as chewy as all get out.
The dough for the first three cookies can be made ahead of time and
then frozen until you’re ready to bake. All four cookies also freeze
well after baking. Just store them carefully in sealable plastic bags
or containers. Leave them in their sealed containers to defrost on the
countertop.
Arrange the cookies on a fancy platter or wrapped in pretty
cellophane bags tied with a ribbon or tucked inside gold-colored tins.
No matter how you serve them, there’s no more delectable way to say
“Happy holidays.”
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Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel
Cookies
(Makes about 4 to 6 dozen pinwheel cookies, depending upon how thick
you slice them)
3 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons boiling water
3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
10 ounces unsalted butter (1 1/4 cups)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 ounces hard peppermint candy, unwrapped and crushed into pieces
the size of rice
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Gently melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave. Set
aside, keeping it warm but not too hot.
Mix the boiling water and the cocoa powder together; set aside.
In another bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda;
set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream
butter on low speed with the sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs and
vanilla. Mix until well combined, scrape the bowl down at least once.
Don’t over-mix. Add dry ingredients to the mixture. Beat on low speed
until combined.Â
Remove 2 cups of dough and set it aside.
To the dough remaining in the mixing bowl, add the melted chocolate
and the cocoa-water mixture. Mix just until combined. Remove chocolate
dough from the mixer and form into a square about 1-inch thick. Wrap in
plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm up.
Wash and dry the mixing bowl. Put reserved 2 cups of dough and the
peppermint hard candy in the bowl and mix on low speed until
combined. Remove peppermint dough from the mixer and form into a
square about 1-inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate this
dough for 20 minutes, too.
Remove both dough squares from refrigerator and divide each piece
into 4 pieces. Roll each piece of dough out into a 7-inch square. You
will have eight pieces of dough — four of each flavor. Align
one flavor on top of the other so that you have four squares with one
of each flavor on top of each other. Roll up the dough layers into a
pinwheel. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until
completely firm, about 2 hours. At this point, you also can freeze
the logs for up to two months.
To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie
sheets with parchment; do not use wax paper. Cut the cold cookie logs
into 1/4-inch thick slices. Set the rounds of cookie dough 1 inch apart
on cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 13 minutes. Don’t let the edges get too
brown.Â
Cool cookies on a wire rack.
If you are using frozen logs of dough, let them defrost overnight in
the refrigerator before slicing, then baking.
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From Montclair Baking, 2220 Mountain Blvd. Ste. 140, Oakland,
510-530-8052, MontclairBaking.com
Feisty Ginger Cookies
(Makes approximately 2 dozen 4-inch cookies)
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped crystallized ginger
White sparkling sugar for rolling cookie dough (or substitute plain
white sugar)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt,
ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream
together butter, molasses, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, beating on
low speed until blended. Add crystallized ginger and mix on low speed
just until combined.
Using an ice cream scoop, form 2-ounce balls of dough. Place white
sparkling sugar in a small bowl. Roll each ball in the sugar until well
coated.
Place dough balls on cookie sheets lined with parchment, patting
them down slightly until they are mounded, thick disks. Don’t put them
too close together because they will spread as they bake.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on pan for a few minutes, and
then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
From Teacake Bake Shop, 5615 Bay St., Emeryville, 510-655-0865,
see TeacakeBakeShop.com for
other locations
Gluten-Free Viennese Crescent
Cookies
(Makes 2 dozen cookies)
2 cups gluten-free flour mix (see note)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup natural almond meal (see note)
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon guar gum (see note)
For vanilla sugar:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 vanilla bean
Combine gluten-free flour mix, softened butter, almond meal, 1/2 cup
sifted powdered sugar, salt, and guar gum in a mixing bowl of a stand
mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until
combined.
Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour
in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Using your fingers, roll dough into small balls. Roll each ball into
a rope. Pinch ends to form a crescent shape.
Place on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10
minutes.
While cookies are baking, make vanilla sugar mixture by scraping
vanilla seeds out of vanilla bean pod. Add seeds and pod to 2 cups
sifted powdered sugar in a bowl.
After removing cookies from the oven, allow them to cool for 2
minutes. Then while they’re still warm, coat them one at a time in the
vanilla sugar mixture.
Note: Gluten-free flour mix is available in well-stocked
markets. Almond meal can be purchased at health food stores and at
Trader Joe’s. Guar gum is available at health food stores.
From Mariposa Baking Company, 5427 Telegraph Ave., #D3, Oakland,
510-595-0955, MariposaBaking.com
Italian Macaroons
(Makes about 5 dozen)
1 pound almond paste
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large egg whites
About 1 pound slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with
parchment paper or lightly butter sheets.
Be sure to measure the almond paste accurately, as too little paste
will create a super sticky dough that will be harder to work with.
Break almond paste into pieces. Place in bowl of a food processor with
the sugar. Pulse until almond paste is finely crumbled, and evenly
combined with sugar.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Stir a little of
the egg whites into the almond mixture; it will be fairly dry. Fold in
remaining whites.
Place almonds in a shallow bowl. Roll almond paste mixture into
1-inch balls, keeping them as round as possible. If mixture is too
sticky, alternately drop heaping teaspoonfuls into the bowl of almonds;
use your fingers to roll the dough ball around until coated
evenly with slivered almonds. Place on prepared baking sheets,
spacing 1 inch apart.
Bake cookies until evenly pale gold, 15 to 17 minutes.
Cool cookies in pans on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. With a
spatula, very carefully transfer cookies to the rack to cool
completely. These macaroons keep well; store in an airtight container.
You also can freeze the cookies in sealable plastic bags.
Adapted from “Classic Home Desserts” by Richard Sax
