To get you thinking about what recipe you’re going to submit for the CityLine.ca cookie swap this year, check out these delights from our guest experts Anna Olson, Shawn Gibson, Julia Black, and Alison Fryer! Plus a cheeky contribution from our host, Tracy. We’ve published Anna’s recipe for Salted Orange Toffee Slices here, and the rest of the recipes you’ll find below.
Swedish Tea Cakes
1 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup fine coconut (unsweetened)
2 egg whites
Jelly or jam
Cream butter in bowl.
Add sugar and mix, add egg yolks and mix well. Add dry ingredients and
mix until a soft dough forms.
Shape dough into balls (about an inch wide).
Roll in beaten egg whites and then into coconut. Place on a greased cookie
sheet.
Place thumb in middle and press to make a indentation.
Bake at 325 degrees for approx 25 minutes (gently browned).
When cookies cool, fill middle of cookies with jelly or jam.
Enjoy!!!!
Courtesy Shawn Gibson
Ultimate Shortbreads
PREP 15 min | TOTAL 45 min
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup rice flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
PREHEAT oven to 300F. Line a 9×13-in. nonstick metal pan with parchment, with overhanging sides.
WHIRL flour with icing sugar, rice flour and salt in a food processor until combined. Add cubed butter through the feed tube while pulsing until dough just comes together. Dough will be slightly crumbly. Transfer to prepared pan. Press dough over bottom of pan. Use the flat bottom of a measuring cup to smooth the top. Score the surface into 24 squares, if desired. Prick dough all over with a fork.
BAKE in centre of oven until top is just golden, 25 to 30 min. Cut shortbread into squares while still hot. Remove parchment and place on cooling rack. Shortbread will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks.
MAKES 24 COOKIES | PER COOKIE 128 calories, 1 g protein, 13 g carbs, 8 g fat, 74 mg sodium
Variations
Skor
Stir 2 chopped 39-g Skor bars into flour mixture. Continue with recipe.
Toblerone
Push a piece of toblerone into each scored square before baking. Continue with recipe.
Lemon
Stir 1 tbsp grated lemon zest into flour mixture. Continue with recipe. Whisk 3/4 cup sifted icing sugar with 3 tbsp lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Lightly brush tops of cooled cookies, covering the entire surface, over a cooling rack. Excess icing will drip through the racks. Let stand for 1 hour or until icing is dry.
Chocolate
Instead of 1/3 cup rice flour, sift together 3 tbsp rice flour and 3 tbsp cocoa powder. Continue with recipe. Drizzle melted semi-sweet chocolate over tops of cooled cookies.
From the kitchen of Julia Black (assistant home editor of Chatelaine).
Raspberry Almond Holiday Bars
Preheat oven to 350F
8-inch square cake pan, greased
Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
Filling
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
Red and green food colouring
Frosting
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 cups confectioners (icing) sugar, sifted
2 tbsp half and half (10%) cream
1 tsp almond extract
1. Crust: In a bowl, combine flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, 2
knives, or your fingers, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse
crumbs. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven until light
golden around edges, 10 – 12 minutes.
2. Filling: Spread jam evenly over crust. In a bowl, using an electric
mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until blended, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating lightly after each addition. Stir in flour
and salt, mixing well. Divide batter evenly between 2 bowls. Add red food
colouring to one of the bowls a few drops at a time, stirring to make pastel
pink. Using green food colouring, repeat with the other bowl to make a
pastel green. Drop small spoonfuls of each batter alternately over jam. Tap
pan gently on counter to even out batter.
3. Return to oven and bake until top is set and golden, 30-35 minutes. Let
cool completely in pan on rack.
4. Frosting: In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat
butter, confectioner’s sugar, cream and almond extract until smooth and
creamy. Spread over filling. Cut into bars.
Courtesy Alison Fryer
(The recipe is taken from the fabulous cookbook Bars & Squares by Jill Snider)
And let’s not forget our very own Tracy Moore’s recipe for holiday cookies, courtesy Pillsbury (watch the video to see what we mean).