You’re already drinking this holiday season - why not throw some booze in the batter? These butter rum balls are a nice complement to a cheese plate or prelude to a rich roast.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp butter rum flavoring
2 1/2 cups flour, unsifted

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter with 3/4 cup sugar using a hand-held mixture. Beat in egg yolks and rum flavoring.
Gradually add the flour, using hands to knead in last of it.
When the dough is smooth, shape into rolls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, wrap in waxed paper and place in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Cut into 1/4-inch slices and roll each slice with hands to form a ball. Roll balls in a mixture of the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Let’s hope practice makes perfect, or at least, passable.

In the middle of sweaty July, I bought a heavily discounted Wilton Spritz Cookie Press at Kroger with dreams of churning out batches of beautiful spritz cookies during the holidays.

I did not anticipate using the machine would be So. Damn, Hard. Yes, I followed the directions, which promised that “one click” was all that would be required to produce a single cookie. Hence, in theory I would just click click click my way to a dozen cute spritz cookies.

In practice, three solid pumps of the press were required just to dispense enough dough for a decent-sized cookie, which then sagged rather than retaining the sharp edges of its shape. I think a YouTube tutorial is in my future.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Select press design for cookies and assemble press according to directions. Or not, hah!
In a large bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar using a hand-held mixer.
Gradually beat in egg, vanilla, and milk.
Slowly beat in dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredient mixture.
Load dough into press….and….um…..try to use it correctly.
Bake whatever emerges in oven for 12-15 minutes.
Eat while perusing interwebs for technical support.

David Lebovitz's account of buying and renovating an apartment in Paris has the singular distinction of being the only food memoir I have read thus far that simultaneously made me ravenous (for all the delights available at French markets) and nauseated (due to the byzantine rules and regulations governing, well, pretty much all aspects of French real estate). Fortunately, more often appetite won over anxiety, which is why I was inspired to make palmiers after reading Lebowitz's mention of this glorious cookie.

These cookies are exceedingly simple and the only aspect of the preparation that may trip you up is the folding. Epicurious has a great step-by-step pictorial guide.

Ingredients

4 sheets puff pastry (defrosted)
white granulated sugar (at least 1/2 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scatter about 1/8 cup of sugar on a clean surface (e.g., your kitchen counter). Cover with puff pastry sheet.

2. Sprinkle more sugar evenly over top (i.e., non counter-facing side) of pastry sheet. Roll sheet into a 10-inch square with a rolling pin.

3. Fold in two opposite sides of the pastry sheet square to meet in the center. Repeat, folding in again same sides of the pastry sheet.

4. Cut folded pastry crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

5. Place slices on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle liberally with sugar.

6. Bake until light brown on one side (about 6 minutes), then turn over and bake until other side is equally brown (6 more minutes). Cool completely.

7. Repeat the process with remaining pastry sheets

Try not to consume all at once.

I have the soundtrack to Hamilton stuck in my head, and all those lyrics about the American Revolutionary War made me think about the Boston Tea Party, which made me think of tea, which made me think of...you guessed it: cookies.

In pondering what type of cookies pair best with tea (and what type of tea), I have decided to eschew pontificating (hah!) on the minutiae of what might define a 'tea cookie' vs. a 'non-tea cookie' and assign only two requirements.

First, the cookie must look reasonably cute/pretty as it functions as much as adornment for a tea tablescape* as it does as a snack. Second, it must benefit (i.e., taste even better) via a dunk in your tea of choice.

Jam thumbprints in my mind satisfy both of these requirements, and making them afforded me a convenient way of using more of my father-in-law's delicious homemade jams. Yes, he makes jam from scratch in multiple flavors. Also, the cartoons for the labels for his jam. And chairs, for that matter. Show-off.

Sesame seeds may seem like an odd choice, but ironically, I like their crunchy "nutty" contrast to the fruity soft jam better than that actual nuts would provide. They also make these cookies smell wonderful in the oven.

*Sorry but if smize gets to be a word, so does tablescape.

Ingredients

1 cup of butter, room temperature
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup sesame seeds (more if needed)
3/4 cup of your father-in-law's homemade jam

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.. Using a hand-held mixer, beat butter and sugar until combined and creamy.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla extract.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.

5. Gradually add in dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredient mixture, beating well.

6. Place dough in fridge for 30 minutes.

7. Roll dough into balls roughly 1 inch in diameter. Coat liberally in sesame seeds.

#55. Butter Rum Balls

You’re already drinking this holiday season - why not throw some booze in the batter? These butter rum balls are a nice complement to a cheese plate or prelude to a rich roast.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 large egg yolks

1 tsp butter rum flavoring

2 1/2 cups flour, unsifted

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter with 3/4 cup sugar using a hand-held mixture. Beat in egg yolks and rum flavoring.

Gradually add the flour, using hands to knead in last of it.

When the dough is smooth, shape into rolls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, wrap in waxed paper and place in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Cut into 1/4-inch slices and roll each slice with hands to form a ball. Roll balls in a mixture of the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

#35. Spritz Cookies - 1st Attempt

Let’s hope practice makes perfect, or at least, passable.

In the middle of sweaty July, I bought a heavily discounted Wilton Spritz Cookie Press at Kroger with dreams of churning out batches of beautiful spritz cookies during the holidays.

I did not anticipate using the machine would be So. Damn, Hard. Yes, I followed the directions, which promised that “one click” was all that would be required to produce a single cookie. Hence, in theory I would just click click click my way to a dozen cute spritz cookies.

In practice, three solid pumps of the press were required just to dispense enough dough for a decent-sized cookie, which then sagged rather than retaining the sharp edges of its shape. I think a YouTube tutorial is in my future.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups butter

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Select press design for cookies and assemble press according to directions. Or not, hah!

In a large bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar using a hand-held mixer.

Gradually beat in egg, vanilla, and milk.

Slowly beat in dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredient mixture.

Load dough into press….and….um…..try to use it correctly.

Bake whatever emerges in oven for 12-15 minutes.

Eat while perusing interwebs for technical support.

#19. Palmiers

These cookies are exceedingly simple and the only aspect of the preparation that may trip you up is the folding. Epicurious has a great step-by-step pictorial guide.

Ingredients

4 sheets puff pastry (defrosted)

white granulated sugar (at least 1/2 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scatter about 1/8 cup of sugar on a clean surface (e.g., your kitchen counter). Cover with puff pastry sheet.

2. Sprinkle more sugar evenly over top (i.e., non counter-facing side) of pastry sheet. Roll sheet into a 10-inch square with a rolling pin.

3. Fold in two opposite sides of the pastry sheet square to meet in the center. Repeat, folding in again same sides of the pastry sheet.

4. Cut folded pastry crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

5. Place slices on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle liberally with sugar.

6. Bake until light brown on one side (about 6 minutes), then turn over and bake until other side is equally brown (6 more minutes). Cool completely.

7. Repeat the process with remaining pastry sheets

Try not to consume all at once.

#17. Sesame Jam Thumbprints

I have the soundtrack to Hamilton stuck in my head, and all those lyrics about the American Revolutionary War made me think about the Boston Tea Party, which made me think of tea, which made me think of...you guessed it: cookies.

In pondering what type of cookies pair best with tea (and what type of tea), I have decided to eschew pontificating (hah!) on the minutiae of what might define a 'tea cookie' vs. a 'non-tea cookie' and assign only two requirements.

First, the cookie must look reasonably cute/pretty as it functions as much as adornment for a tea tablescape* as it does as a snack. Second, it must benefit (i.e., taste even better) via a dunk in your tea of choice.

Sesame seeds may seem like an odd choice, but ironically, I like their crunchy "nutty" contrast to the fruity soft jam better than that actual nuts would provide. They also make these cookies smell wonderful in the oven.

Ingredients

1 cup of butter, room temperature

1/2 cup of sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup sesame seeds (more if needed)

3/4 cup of your father-in-law's homemade jam

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.. Using a hand-held mixer, beat butter and sugar until combined and creamy.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla extract.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.

5. Gradually add in dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredient mixture, beating well.

6. Place dough in fridge for 30 minutes.

7. Roll dough into balls roughly 1 inch in diameter. Coat liberally in sesame seeds.

8. Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.

9. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm. Or longer, if you want really toasty, roasty sesame seeds.

10. Enjoy with a mug of milky Earl Gray.