Double Dutch

The perfect saucer-sized sweet for a dark chocolate-loving duo to devour, ever daintily, after a demanding session or two of Double Dutch.



Fit for both a lady


...and her bewhiskered friend!


Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda8 oz. good-quality milk chocolate (4 oz. coarsely chopped, 4 oz. cut into 1/4-inch chunks)
1 stick (8 T.) unsalted butter
1-1/2 c. sugar2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt coarsely-chopped chocolate with the butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
2. Transfer chocolate mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks.
3. Scoop batter using a 1-1/2-inch ice cream scoop; place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces begin to crack, about 15 minutes. Transfer on parchment to wire racks. Let cool 5 minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Frosting:
3/4 stick unsalted butter (6T.), softened
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 T. vanilla extracta few squiggles of blue gel food coloring, if so desired

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until very light, about five minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the food coloring; continue beating until very light and smooth.

Finish with a generous sprinkling of chocolate jimmies!

Swiss Suvaroffs

A lone sandwiched suvaroff cookie sits upon a counter prior to shipment.

Once in Californ-i-a, a dilettante nibbles daintily upon this diamond-shaped delight.

Cookie dough:
14 T. (1-3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
2-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

Filling:
4 oz. almond paste
4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 T. kirsch

2 cookie sheets of jelly roll pans covered with parchment or foil

Directions:

1. To make the dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, lemon extract, and lemon zest on medium speed until soft and light, about five minutes.

2. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to incorporate the flour. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a square about 1/2-inch thick. Wrap and chill the dough until firm-several hours to several days.

3. Cut the dough in half and refrigerate one piece. Place the other on a floured surface and flour it lightly. Press and pound the dough gently with a rolling pin to soften it, then roll the dough about 3/16-inch thick. Use a plain or fluted 2-to2-1/2-inch diamond-shaped cutter to cut the dough. Place the cookies on the prepared pans leaving about 1 inch around each in all directions.

4. When you are ready to bake the cookies, set the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350F. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until they are a very pale golden color. Cool them on the pans on the racks.

5. While the cookies are baking, prepare the filling. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together on medium speed the almond paste and butter until soft and very light, about 5 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and add the confectioners' sugar. Beat for another 2 or 3 minutes on medium speed. Beat in the kirsch, then stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beater.

6. Store the finished cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or a plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.

Yo-yo Yumsters

Lulu and Jamison chow down...
As does historical figure Abraham Lincoln.


COOKIE DOUGH:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

LEMON FILLING:
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cookie sheets or jelly roll pans covered with parchment or foil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in a bowl; stir well to mix.
3. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until soft and light, about 3 or 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Lower the speed and beat in flour mixture.
4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and finish mixing the dough with a large rubber spatula.
5. Use a teaspoon measuring spoon or a small ice cream scoop to scoop up a piece of the dough. Roll each piece into a ball between the palms of your hands and place on the prepared pans, leaving about 2 inches around each cookie in all directions. press each cookie with the back of a fork dipped in flour to flatten the cookies slightly, and make a crisscross pattern.
6. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until they are a uniform light golden color. cool the cookies on the pans on racks.
7. While the cookie are cooling, prepare the filling. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and confectioners' sugar until very light, about 5 minutes. Beat in the lemon juice a little at a time, then continue beating until very light and smooth.
8. Turn half the cookies upside down so that the flat bottom side is uppermost. pipe or spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of the filling on each. Cover with another cookie, bottom to bottom.
9. Store the finished cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.

Disregard #8-9 if you have a functioning brain.

R ules to follow when making yo-yo's:

1. Licking the beaters is not optional.

2. Smooshing a fork into rounds of dough is expected.


3. One absolutely must observe the puffery process through the glass of an oven window.


4. Though the book instructs otherwise, a healthy dollop of lemon buttercream ought to squish out when you bite into the cookie. Here, the fingers demonstrate the effect your incisors should have upon the frosting.


5. Required: pretend you're Scrooge McDuck and stack your toothsome treats as though they're coins.


NOT PICTURED: Eating a cookie fresh out of the oven, but that's a given...

And Thus It Begins...

Once there lived a young lady who had a finger-licking good time in the kitchen. She was given to baking gazillions and gazillions of goodies and thought to share her scrum-diddly-umptious labors with the world via posting parcels to fellow sweet-tooths scattered across the continent.

These are the recipients featured alongside their edible delights. Pictures, as always, will precede the recipes.