This is the time of year that home chefs start looking at cookie and treat recipes . There are so many? what to choose. Do you go with a variation of one recipe?Or go across the board with a wide array of different ones.
That's the dilemma I'm facing right now. My plan is gifting family and friends with tins of homemade treats. The question is what to put in them.I am planning on baking two or three sugar free versions of such classics as shortbread and brownies for diabetic friends. Baking such is going to require sugar substitutes like Splenda which I'm not happy with using. I'd rather go for the all natural Stevia and I have been looking into recipes for cookies requiring it.From there its on to the traditional ones. I know I want to make the rolled out sugar cookie ones that require royal icing. As for the royal icing, the traditonal recipe calls for egg white as the binder however I'll be using chickpea brine or aquafaba for that. Of course I'd like to make regular shortbread.It's a Scottish holiday tradition where the family initials are fork printed into the dough. Am I going to dip some of the shortbread triangles in chocolate to create my family's classic devil ears (so named by my Mom noticing how our cats' ears flattened and turned into "devil ears " when they hissed at each other). Yes! Shortbread and dark chocolate are the perfect couple so that recipe is a go! Another idea I've been flirting with is savory shortbread. I love this idea of taking the sugar out and putting in Parmesan and rosemary for flavor. These would be great topped with a dab of tapanade or cold cuts.
Other cookie ideas that are tempting to try are homemade Oreos.I'm looking at the recipe and thinking it coulbe an easy bake and bake. The filling is a no brainer.It's a vanilla butter cream. The idea of adding a pinch of espresso powder to it for a different spin sounds good too. Of course my cookie tins will have chocolate chip cookies Again I may change it up by using dark chocolate M&M's instead of the usual chips. This gives the cookies a festive holiday look. Will I try a big chunky chip too? It would be different and there are some friends who love a cookie that's more candy than dough .Oatmeal cookies are always a welcome treat in any cookie tin. I plan on using my Mom's Fannie Farmer Cookbook recipe for lacy oatmeal cookies. They were one of my childhood favorites with the cookies having a crisp, delicate edge and a warm buttery flavor. Another recipe which I want to try is a moon or whoopie pie. This is more of a cake than a cookie with a dense marshmallow buttercream filling. I think it's a fun change up from the traditional and it would be a different way to end Christmas dinner.
There are cookie recipes everywhere. The question is which to try -what's in your comfort zone? Pick three or four and stick with them, The result will be a tasty array of holiday treats,
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