Nutella Crescent Cookies

Nutella-Crescent Cookies
Makes 16 dozen cookies
This is an old family recipe that we make for wedding, communions, baby showers… you name it! I just recently made a batch for the sweet table at my own wedding! I know the recipe makes a lot of cookies but seeing as you can freeze them its not that bad, besides who can resist a cookie filled with Nutella? You can rest assured that these cookies won’t be around long enough to go stale! The dough has a mild vanilla flavor and the addition of the yeast creates an extremely tender dough. The filling is simply rich Nutella, a chocolate-hazelnut spread that’s commonly found in supermarkets and specialty stores across North America and Europe but if you can’t find feel free to use any kind of chocolate spread you can get.

1 big jar of Nutella
4 eggs
4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 lb unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 rounded tablespoon yeast
3 oz. Warm water, 110∞F
5-6 cups flour
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

In a small dish dissolve yeast with 1 teaspoon of sugar in warm water and let stand for 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl sift together 1 cup of flour and the confectioners’ sugar and set aside. We’ll use this later to roll out the dough.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the eggs, remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla extract. Add in yeast mixture and mix until well incorporated. Add 1 cup of flour and change paddle attachment for dough hook. Add in 2 to 3 cups flour as needed to obtain a smooth ball of dough being careful not to over work the dough which will cause the glutens in the flour to develop and the dough to be tough. Divide dough into 16 equal sized balls and refrigerate in an airtight container for 36 to 48 hours.
Preheat oven to 350∞F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Fill a disposable piping bag with Nutella or chocolate spread of your choice and set aside.
Remove 3 balls of dough from the refrigerator at a time. Lightly dust work surface with sugar mixture and roll out dough to a 12 inch round, about 1/8 of an inch thick. Using a fluted pastry cutter, divide the circle of dough into 8 triangles.
Pipe a stream of chocolate filling no wider than the width of a pencil along the round edge of each triangle leaving about half an inch of space from the edge and sides to keep filling from oozing out during baking. Starting at the edge with the piped filling roll each triangle towards the center, creating a crescent shaped cookie and place on baking sheet about one inch apart. Make sure cookies are place point side down to prevent them from unrolling during the baking progress.
Bake cookies for 10 minutes rotating the trays after five minutes to ensure even coloring. Cookies will be slightly puffed and barely golden.
Repeat with remaining balls of dough always removing 3 from the refrigerator at a time.
If you like baked cookies can be lightly dusted with confectioners’ sugar for an added touch of elegance. Cooled cookies can be store at room temperature for up to a week in an airtight container or up to a month in the freezer, but I doubt they’ll last that long!

Rugelach

Rugelach
Makes about 6 dozen
The cream cheese inside the dough of these little crescent shaped cookies yields an extremely tender dough with grate flavor! The filling of this traditional jewish cookies often varies from chocolate, raisins, apricot jam and some times all three. Try your own variation or the one shown below, I guarantee you'll love them! A tip for anyone who's like me and has a hard time rolling a perfect circle, use a plate or cake pan to cut out a perfect circle. This will ensure that all of your cookies are more or less the same size. The trimmings can be rolled again, if do gets to soft pop it back into the refrigerator to firm up.

For the dough:
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of coarse salt
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

For the filling
4 ounces walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
12 ounces apricot jelly, melted
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips, or currants or a combination

For the finishing:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup fine sanding sugar

Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour. Remove from bowl, and divide into 6 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.
Make the filling: In a food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fine.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats) or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 9-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Brush evenly with jelly. Sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture and one-third of the chocolate chips. Using the rolling pin, gently roll over filling to press ingredients into dough.
Cut the round into 12 equal-sized wedges. Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Makes about 20

2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 extra-large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 cups grated carrots (less than 1 pound)
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the sugar, oil, and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the grated carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the remaining flour, mix well, and add to the batter. Mix until just combined.

Line muffin pans with paper liners. Scoop the batter into 22 muffin cups until each is 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and cook for a further 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

When the cupcakes are cool, frost them generously and serve.

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
Makes about 25 sandwiches

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, (about 3 large carrots)
1 cup raisins
Cream Cheese Frosting


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugars and butter; beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour to butter mixture; mix on a low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.
Using a 1/2-ounce ice-cream scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Transfer to oven, and bake until browned and crisped, rotating pan halfway through baking to ensure even color, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat baking process with remaining dough. Once cooled completely, use an offset spatula to spread about 2 teaspoons of cream-cheese filling onto a cookie. Sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 2 cups
Any extra frosting can be frozen, thaw overnight in the refridgerator until ready to use.

3/4 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners' sugar

For the frosting, cream the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar and beat until smooth.

Chewy Chocolate-Pecan Cookies

Chewy Chocolate-Pecan Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
Tip: Using half semi sweet chocolate chips and half milk chocolate chips gives a truly decadent cookie.

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup pecan, chopped

Preheat oven to 350∞ F and line two cooking sheets with parchment paper.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment blend brown sugar, vanilla, and butter until uniform. Add eggs one at a time scraping down bowl after each addition.
In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and gradually add to egg mixture until almost combined.
Fold in chocolate chips and pecan being careful not to over mix batter.
Drop tablespoons of batter onto prepared cookie sheets about an inch and a half apart and don’t flatten them.
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your cookies.

Amaretti

Amaretti Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
These are not your typical dry, bitter amaretti cookies. These cookies are light and have sweet crispy exterior and slightly chewy center.

2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 cups ground almonds
4 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 cup icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350∞F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, and 2/3 cup of sugar over ground almonds. Stir in grated lemon zest and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment whisk egg whites until thick and foamy. Add 2/3 cup of sugar in a slow steady stream and whisk until stiff glossy peaks form.
Using a rubber spatula gently fold almond mixture into egg whites, egg whites will deflate slights.
Fill piping bag fitted with a plain 1/2 inch round tip with amaretti batter. Pipe 1 inch rounds onto prepared cookie sheet leave an inch or so between each mound. Flatten peaks to prevent from burning by dipping your index finger into cool water and gently round off the tops.
Dust mounds generously with confectioners sugar and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until a pale golden brown. Cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
Tip: Piping bag filled with batter can be kept in the freezer while cookies are baking.