Recipe Talk

December 1

Sunny's Raspberry and Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches

"These are my favorite cookies to order at a place called Crave in Sherman Oaks, California," says The Kitchen co-host Sunny. "I love nothing more than figuring out how to make something at home that I can't always get. They are super-simple to make and will definitely be a hit at any holiday party."


Get the Recipe: Sunny's Raspberry and Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches

Sunny's Raspberry and Oatmeal Lattice Cookie Sandwiches

Recipe courtesy of Sunny Anderson

Total Time:2 hr 40 minPrep:30 minInactive:1 hr 10 minCook:1 hr

Yield:about 54 sandwichesLevel:Easy

Ingredients

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 large egg, beaten

Heaping 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam, for the filling

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil.

Melt the base. In a medium pot on medium heat, add the brown sugar, butter and pumpkin pie spice. Cook, stirring, until the butter melts and the mixture is less gritty.

Finish the batter. In a large bowl, add the oats, flour, almond extract and egg and toss. Slowly add the butter mixture from the pot while constantly stirring the oat mixture.

Bake and rest. Use a teaspoon to drop the batter on the prepared baking sheet about 3 inches apart to allow spreading. This will take patience and several batches. Also, to avoid a big glob, try to gently press the oats so they aren't in a mound.

Bake on the center rack until the edges are caramelized and the centers stop rapidly bubbling, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove and leave on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the entire sheet of parchment onto a wire rack. After a few more minutes, transfer the cookies from the parchment to rest directly on the wire rack. Continue until all the batter is cooked and the cookies are fully cool and rigid, 15 to 20 minutes.

Fill and serve. Pick 2 cookies with approximately the same size and shape and spread about 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry jam on the bottom/flat side of one cookie, then sandwich the matching cookie's bottom/flat side to the other; repeat until done. Store in an airtight container in a cool place, even the fridge, for up to 1 week. Happy holidays and happy cookie making!

Recipe courtesy of Sunny Anderson

© 2016 Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved.

12/7/2016

All-Star Holiday Cookie Recipes

Cream Cheese Cookies

The stars of The Kitchen and the chefs in our very own Food Network
Kitchen dreamed up a baker's dozen new cookies to swap this year.

Total Time:3 hr 25 minPrep:40 minInactive:1 hr 30 minCook:1 hr 15 min

Yield:3 dozen cookiesLevel:Easy

Ingredients

2 3/4 sticks (1 cup plus 6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, 6 ounces at room temperature, 2 ounces
frozen

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 large egg yolk

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring (see Cook's Note)

2 tablespoons whole milk, plus more if needed

Very finely grated lime zest or finely minced cranberries, for garnish,
optional

Directions

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325
degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Combine the butter, vanilla, 4 ounces of the room-temperature cream
cheese and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a large bowl and beat with an
electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups
of the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the
egg yolk and beat until smooth, then add the flour and beat on low until
the dough just comes together. Remove the frozen cream cheese from the
freezer and chop into 1/4-inch cubes. Add the cubes to the dough,
quickly stirring with a rubber spatula to evenly incorporate them into
the dough. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or 2 tablespoons, scoop 12 portions of
dough, roll into balls and transfer to the prepared baking sheet,
spacing them evenly apart. Lightly flour the bottom of a 1/2-cup
measuring cup and use it to flatten each cookie into a disk about 1/2
inch thick, re-flouring the cup after each cookie.

Bake, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until the cookies look
set but are still pale and barely brown on the bottom, 20 to 24 minutes.
Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer them to
a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 ounces room-temperature cream cheese,
2 cups sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl and beat with an
electric mixer on low speed until the mixture forms a thick paste. Add
the milk and stir slowly until a thick glaze forms.

When the cookies are cool, dip the entire surface of the top of each
cookie in the glaze and lift up, letting the excess glaze drip off, then
flip the cookie right-side up and onto the cooling rack. If the glaze is
too thick, add another teaspoon of milk to loosen it. If using the
cranberries or lime zest, sprinkle on top of the cookies while the glaze
is still wet. Allow the glaze to set before serving, at least 10
minutes. Store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container
for up to 5 days.

Special equipment: a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, optional

Copyright 2016 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved.

Cook's Note: When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup
and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the
flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)
-------------
12/8/2016

Caramel Cookie Sandwiches

Recipe courtesy of Marcela Valladolid

Time:4 hr 20 minPrep:35 minInactive:1 hr 40 minCook:2 hr 5 min

Yield:26 cookie sandwichesLevel:Intermediate

Ingredients

Shortbread Cookies:

2 cups cornstarch

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons brandy

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 large egg yolks

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Mexican Cajeta:
1 quart goat milk (or use regular whole milk; see Cook's Note)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 whole vanilla bean, split and with seeds, optional

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

For the shortbread cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk together the
cornstarch, flour, baking powder, baking soda and fine salt to combine;
set aside.

Put the butter and granulated sugar in a stand mixer with a paddle
attachment. Mix on medium speed, scraping down the sides with a rubber
spatula as needed, until the ingredients are fully combined and the
mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the brandy, vanilla
and egg yolks and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds.

On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until the flour is
fully incorporated. Mix for about 1 minute.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and place them onto 2 separate
pieces of plastic wrap. Shape each piece into a smooth disk and wrap
tightly. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350
degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Unwrap one piece of dough and place it on a lightly floured surface.
Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. With a 2-inch round cutter
(plain or fluted), cut out about 20 circles and transfer them to the
prepared baking sheets. Bake on the middle rack, in 2 batches if
necessary, until golden brownish on top, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the
cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Repeat the
rolling, cutting and baking process with the second dough piece, for an
additional 20 cookies. Reroll the scraps once, cutting out 12 more
circles, and bake.

For the Mexican cajeta: Stir together the milk and sugar in a large,
heavy-bottomed pot. Add the vanilla extract, salt and vanilla bean pods
and seeds if using. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat while constantly
stirring, 6 to 8 minutes.

When the milk comes to a boil, remove from the heat and add the baking
soda. The milk will become frothy and rise. Keep stirring the mixture.
Put the pot back on the stove over medium heat. Cook at a low simmer,
stirring frequently to make sure that the sauce does not stick to bottom
of the pan. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain a low simmer. After 15
minutes, the mixture will be light golden brown. Remove the vanilla pods
if using and continue cooking until the mixture is a rich brown and
reduced to about 1 1/2 cups (it will resemble a thick caramel sauce at
this point), about 30 additional minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat
and allow it to cool completely, about 20 minutes.

After the cookies and cajeta have cooled, flip half of the cookies
upside down and gently spread about 2 teaspoons of the cajeta on each
one (if the cajeta is too thick to spread easily after cooling,
microwave it briefly to warm it up and loosen it enough to spread).
Place another cookie bottom-side down on top of the cajeta on each and
press to create a sandwich. Dust the cookies with powdered sugar before
serving. Enjoy!

Special equipment: a plain or fluted 2-inch round cutter

Recipe courtesy of Marcela Valladolid
--------------------------

12/10/2016

Eggnog Meltaway Cookies

Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen

The secret to these cookies' melt-in-your-mouth texture is the
confectioners' sugar, which easily comes together with almonds in a food .

Total Time:2 hr 25 minPrep:25 minInactive:1 hr 10 minCook:50 min

Yield:4 dozen cookiesLevel:Easy

Total Time:2 hr 25 minPrep:25 minInactive:1 hr 10 minCook:50 min

Yield:4 dozen cookiesLevel:Easy

With the flavors of rum, bourbon and nutmeg, these cookies mimic the
holiday drink. Brought to ... More

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almonds (skinless)

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon bourbon

2 teaspoons rum extract

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook's Note)

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for serving

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Put the almonds and 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a
food processor and process until very finely ground, about 2 minutes.
Add the butter and process until smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Scrape
the dough off the inside of the bowl if needed. Add the bourbon and rum
and vanilla extracts and pulse until smooth. Add the flour and salt and
pulse until the dough forms a ball.

Roll mounded teaspoons of the dough into balls about 1 inch wide and
place on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Refrigerate for
30 minutes.

Meanwhile, position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven
and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back
halfway through, until the cookies are firm when gently pressed,
completely dry and just beginning to crack at the top, 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes; they will firm as they cool.

Meanwhile, put the nutmeg and remaining 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
in a pie plate or wide baking dish and mix well. Toss the warm cookies
very gently in the sugar mixture until evenly coated; the cookies need
to be warm for the first coating of sugar to stick. Cool the cookies on
a wire rack completely, about 30 minutes, then toss again in the sugar
mixture so they are very white. Sprinkle with additional grated nutmeg.

Store the cookies in a little bit of extra confectioners' sugar in an
airtight container for up to a week.

Copyright 2016 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved.

Cook's Note: When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup
and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the
flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)