Cookie Recipes! | Down East Cookie Swap

Italian Flag Cookies

Baker

Stephanie Miller

from Gifts of Gold in a Sicilian Kitchen with Sista Felicia

Ingredients

4 large eggs, separated
1 cup almond paste
1 1/2 cups salted softened butter
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
2 cups sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon each red & green food coloring
1 1/2 cups warm apricot preserves
8 ounces semisweet chocolate

Instructions

Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form; reserve
Place almond paste in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; mix on high speed until fine and crumbly
Add butter, sugar, egg yolks, and almond extract; mix on high speed 5 minutes
Add flour and salt; mix on low speed until smooth batter forms
By hand, fold in reserved egg whites
Grease three 13x9x2 baking pans; line with parchment paper
Separate batter into three batches 1 1/2 cups each and place in 3 individual bowls
Add red food coloring to one batter ; add green to another; mix each well
Evenly spread each batter into separate baking pans
In pre-heated 350 degree oven bake 15 minutes; cool 1 hour
Line cookie sheet with extra large piece of plastic wrap; place green cake on top; evenly spread warmed 6 oz apricot preserves over top
Place white cake on top of green; evenly spread warmed 6 oz warmed apricot preserves over top; place red cake on top of white
Cover assembled cake with plastic wrap and weight down with heavy flat-bottomed pan; freeze 24 hours
Melt chocolate over double boiler
Spread 4 oz melted chocolate evenly over pink cake layer; freeze 30 minutes
Invert frozen cake and spread remaining 4 oz melted chocolate; freeze 30 minutes
Using long knife to prevent chocolate from cracking, trim outer edges; cut cake into 1 x 1 inch pieces

Note: will keep frozen several weeks in airtight container. Yields approximately 3-4 dozen cookies

Buckeyes

Baker

Kelly Hagenbuch

Ingredients

1 pound of butter
2 cups peanut butter
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 + pounds of powdered sugar
4-5 bags of Nestle Semi-Sweet Tollhouse Morsels (chocolate chips)
Small pieces of canning wax (accomplished by shaving small pieces off of the bar into your palm)

Other materials:

Toothpicks
Wax paper
Parchment paper
Cookie sheets
Storage containers

Instructions

Peanut Butter Mixture

Cream the butter and peanut butter together in a large bowl (the bigger the better)
Add in the vanilla and mix
Add in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time (maybe a ½ cup at a time) and mix
- Note, as you add more powered sugar, using a mixer may become difficult and then you finish by mixing with your hands
- To tell if your mixture has enough powdered sugar, attempt to roll a small amount into a ball. If it is sticky and sticks to your hands, the mixture needs more powdered sugar.
At this point, add small amounts (like a tablespoon or two at a time) and then roll another ball to test.
Once the peanut butter mixture is ready to roll, you can set the bowl inside the fridge while you prepare the chocolate.

You can refrigerate the mixture overnight if you would like to make it a day ahead. Not required, it can be your choice.

Chocolate for Dipping

In a double boiler, melt 2 bags of the chocolate chips
Add in a small palmful of canning wax shavings (maybe 10 or so pieces)
Once melted, turn your burner down, you want to keep the chocolate melted but not cooking.
- As the chocolate gets low, add 1 bag of chocolate and a bit more wax ( 5-7 pieces)

You are ready to roll and dip!

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (optional, buckeyes can be placed directly onto cookie sheet for the candy to set up, but clean up is easier if you line the cookie sheets)
Take a fist-sized or so portion of the peanut butter mixture from the fridge.
Taking a small amount, roll into 1 ½ - inch size ball (this is not precise)
- I tend to roll 6 or 9 at a time and place on a small piece of wax paper
Insert toothpick into the center of a ball and dip ¾ of the way into the chocolate
- You want some of the peanut butter mixture on top to stay visible, that's what makes the candy look like the Buckeye nut from Ohio
Place the dipped candy onto the cookie sheet and repeat, over and over again!

Buckeyes need to sit out overnight to set, away from pets, then the next day can be packaged and placed in the fridge for storage.

The candy may be stacked on top of each other, just place a piece of wax paper in between layers.
Store in refrigerator
Enjoy!

Blackberry Cinnamon Diagonals

Baker

Shelly Shapiro

Ingredients

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (3½ ounces; 99 grams) granulated sugar½ cup (3½ ounces; 99 grams) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon table salt½ teaspoon table salt
2½ cups (12½ ounces; 354 grams) all-purpose flour2½ cups (12½ ounces; 354 grams) all-purpose flour
¾ cup seedless blackberry jam¾ cup seedless blackberry jam
1 teaspoon lemon juice1 teaspoon lemon juice
¾ cup (3 ounces; 85 grams) confectioners' sugar¾ cup (3 ounces; 85 grams) confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon hot water

Instructions

We recommend measuring the flour and sugar by weight. You can use an overturned rimmed baking sheet instead of a rimless baking sheet and a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer. Smucker's seedless blackberry jam works well here. A pastry bag makes it easy to fill the troughs with jam, but if you don't have one, you can use a small spoon.

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Cookie Recipes

from the 2023 down east cookie swap

2023

Italian Flag Cookies

Sugar Cookies with Lemon Frosting

Chocolate Crinkle Sprinkles

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Latvian Gingerbread

Buckeyes

Blackberry Cinnamon Diagonals