Double Chocolate Biscotti

1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
 
Heat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl and mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips and stir on low speed until just combined.

Dust a work surface with flour. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the sticky dough out onto the work surface and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Using your hands, shape the dough into a rough ball (if it's still too sticky, dust with a bit more flour) and cut in half. Form the dough pieces into two short logs by rolling back and forth. Place the logs onto the prepared baking sheet and shape into longer logs about 3/4 inch high and 2 inches wide. Allow enough space for the logs to spread a few inches while they bake. Bake for about 35 minutes, until firm to the touch. Let the biscotti logs cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, or until just cool enough to touch (if you wait any longer, the biscotti will be difficult to cut); then, using a sharp knife, slice the logs on the diagonal into 3/4-inch slices. They will crumble just a bit but don't worry about it. Turn the biscotti on their sides so that the cut sides are down and place back in the oven for 10 minutes to dry and crisp up. Let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 30 biscotti.

From Once Upon a Chef blog

Note: The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Shape the dough into logs, wrap each securely in plastic wrap, and place them in a sealable bag. When ready to bake, remove the logs from the freezer, thaw the dough until pliable, and then proceed with recipe. To freeze after baking, after the cookies are completely cooled, double-wrap them securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.

Soft Molasses or Ginger-Molasses Cookies

16 tablespoons (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (198 grams) sugar
1/2 cup (170 grams) molasses or 1/4 cup (85 grams) molasses + 1/4 cup (78 grams) ginger syrup*
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons cloves or allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups (418 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
Sugar, for coating: pearl sugar, sparkling white (coarse) sugar, or granulated sugar
 
Heat the oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
 
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until they're light and fluffy.  Beat in the molasses (or molasses and ginger syrup), baking soda, salt, and spices.  Add the eggs, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.  Stir in the flour.
 
Scoop the soft dough into 1 1/2" balls (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here).  Roll them in granulated sugar, coarse sugar, or pearl sugar.  Space the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 1/2" between them.
 
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. The centers will look soft and puffy.  Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool them on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
 
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen 3” cookies.
 
From King Arthur Flour
 
 
*To make your own ginger syrup:
Slice 368 grams (13 ounces) fresh ginger root, unpeeled, into 1/8” to 1/4” slices (a food processor makes short work of this task - you should have about 4 cups).  In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the ginger, 3 1/2 cups (695 grams) granulated sugar, and 3 1/2 cups (794 grams) water to a boil.  Boil the mixture for 45 to 60 minutes, until it registers 216°F to 220°F on a digital thermometer.  The lower temperature will give you a thinner syrup, one that's easy to stir into drinks; the higher temperature will yield a thicker syrup, better for baking.  You can't tell how thick the syrup will be while it's still hot; you have to go by its temperature, as it'll thicken as it cools.  Remove the pan from the burner and carefully strain the syrup into a non-reactive container.  Store in the refrigerator indefinitely.  Yield: about 2 1/4 cups syrup.
 
Note:  Granulated sugar (1/2 cup) will disappear as the cookies bake, leaving merely the faintest crunch on the crust. Coarse white sugar (1 cup) will add sparkle and mild crunch. Bright white pearl sugar (a heaping 1 cup) will add contrast and a more assertive crunch.

Maple Chai Cookies

1 1/3 cups (220 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 green cardamom pods, seeds ground
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
125 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (105 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup maple sugar
1 vanilla bean

1 large egg
2 tablespoons maple syrup
 
1 tablespoon coarse sugar
1/2 tablespoon maple sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla sugar
 
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Sift all the dry ingredients together and stir to combine.  Set aside.
 
Cream the butter until light and fluffy.  Add the brown sugar and maple sugar and beat.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add it to the butter-sugar mixture with the egg and maple syrup.  Beat until combined.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined.  

Portion out the cookies, rolling them in the palm of your hand to create a ball.  Combine the three sugars or use your choice of sugar in a small bowl.  Roll the cookie balls in the sugar until evenly coated.  Place on a baking sheet and press down lightly with your hand.  Refrigerate the cookies for 15 minutes.
 
Bake for 10-12 minutes.

From Hint of Vanilla blog

Perfect Chocolate Biscuits

100 grams dark chocolate
150 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature

130 grams granulated sugar

70 grams Lyle's golden syrup

215 grams unbleached all-purpose flour

45 grams cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Start by roughly chopping the chocolate into shards of the size you'd like to find in a biscuit.

Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer and beat briefly to soften, then add the sugar and syrup and beat on a medium speed for about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until fluffy.

Meanwhile, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.  With the mixer running on a low speed, add the dry ingredients and continue mixing until everything comes together into a dough.

Roll into a sausage shape about 2 inches in diameter.  Wrap well and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 10 days.

Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking trays with parchment paper.  Cut the dough sausage into thin rounds and arrange, fairly well spaced apart, on the trays.  Bake for 25 minutes for crisp biscuits, 15 minutes for squidgy biscuits, or 20 minutes for something in between.  Leave to cool on the baking tray.

Recipe from Felicity Cloake in The Guardian

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup cold butter, cut into small chunks

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups cake flour

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups chocolate chips

Heat oven to 410 F.  Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the cold cubed butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes or until creamy.  Add vanilla and then eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in both flours, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.  Mix until just combined (don’t over-mix).  Stir in chocolate chips.

Separate dough into 16 3-oz balls and place on cookie sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown on the top; don't overbake, as you want the insides to remain gooey.  Let them rest on the baking sheet for 15 minutes to set.

Makes 16 cookies.

From 5 Boys Baker blog

Crunchy Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup (92g) vegetable shortening or 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter

1 cup (198g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

2 cups (227g) unbleached self-rising flour

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar or coarse white sparkling sugar, to garnish

Beat together the vegetable shortening/butter, sugar, and vanilla, until fluffy.

Mix in the egg, then the flour.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then mix again, until thoroughly combined.

Chill the dough for 30 minutes or longer, to make it less sticky and easier to work with.

Near the end of the chilling period, heat the oven to 375°F.  Grease or line with parchment two baking sheets.  Place 1/4 cup granulated or coarse white sparkling sugar in a bowl.  Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to make 1" to 1 1/2" balls.  Drop them into the sugar, then place the balls sugar side up onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2" between cookies; they’ll spread as they bake.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.  The cookies will puff up and look soft, but they’ll fall and become crisp/crunchy as they cool.

Remove the cookies from the oven.  Let them rest on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.   Store well-wrapped cookies at room temperature for a week or so; freeze for longer storage.

Makes about 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

From King Arthur Flour

Note: Can also add 1/3 cup cocoa powder to make chocolate sugar cookies, or several tablepoons powdered dehydrated fruit for fruit flavor.

Vanilla Biscotti

6 tablespoons (85 grams) butter

2/3 cup (135 grams) sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 large eggs

2 cups (241 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a biscotti pan or small baking sheet.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Beat in the eggs; the batter may look slightly curdled.  Add the flour using the low speed of the mixer, stirring until smooth; the dough will be sticky.

Scoop the dough into the prepared pan, shaping it into a rough log and leaving about 3/4-inch bare around the edges of the pan.  The dough should be mounded in the center.

Bake the dough for 25 to 30 minutes, until it is golden brown all over.  Remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool in the pan for 30 minutes.  Remove from the pan.  Using a spray bottle filled with room-temperature water, lightly but thoroughly spritz the log, making sure to cover the sides as well as the top.  Wait 5 minutes before slicing; softening the crust just this little bit will make slicing the biscotti much easier. Use a serrated knife to cut diagonal 1/2" to 3/4" slices.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

Set the biscotti on edge on a large baking sheet; there's no need to grease the pan.  Return the biscotti to the oven, and bake them for 25 to 30 minutes, till they feel very dry and are beginning to turn golden.  They'll still feel a tiny bit moist in the center, if you break one in half, but they'll continue to dry out as they cool.  Remove the biscotti from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

Makes about 18 biscotti, depending on size.

From King Arthur Flour website

Note:

Can add up to 1 1/2 cups nuts, dried fruit or berries, or chocolate chips to the dough, along with the flour.  Adjust the flavoring to suit the add-in, if desired; reduce the sugar slightly if add-in is sweet.

Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter

1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

2 3/4 cups (326 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (170 grams) raspberry jam (or other fruit or berry jam)

Heat the oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, lemon rind, vanilla, and salt until very light.  Beat in the egg.  Add the flour, stirring until well blended. 

Use a teaspoon cookie scoop (about 2 measuring teaspoons) or tablespoon cookie scoop (about 4 measuring teaspoons) of dough for each cookie.  Scoop cookies onto the baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between them.  Use your fingertip (for smaller cookies) or thumb (for larger cookies) to put an indentation into the center of each.

Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes.  Remove them from the oven.  Fill each indentation with jam, using about 1/4 teaspoon for each teaspoon-scoop cookie or 1/2 teaspoon for each tablespoon-scoop cookie.  Return to the oven for about 5 more minutes, until the cookies are slightly golden-brown.

Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes to firm up, then move them to a rack to finish cooling.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen to 5 dozen cookies, depending on size.

From King Arthur Flour website

Chocolate and Almond Biscotti

2 cups (269 grams) whole-wheat flour

2 tablespoons (17 grams) flaxseed

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup sliced almonds

Heat oven to 350°F.

Combine flour, flaxseed, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Combine sugars, egg whites, and egg in a bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed for 2 minutes.  Add vanilla and mix well.  Add flour mixture to egg mixture; stir until combined.  Fold in chocolate and

almonds. 

Divide dough into 3 equal portions.  Roll each portion into a 6-inch-long roll.  Arrange the rolls 3 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Pat to a 1-inch thickness.  Bake for 28 minutes or until firm.

Remove rolls from baking sheet and cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Cut rolls diagonally into 30 half-inch slices.  Place, cut sides down, on baking sheet.  Bake for 7 minutes.  Turn cookies over, and bake for another 7 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool).  Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 30 biscotti.

From Cooking Light

Fennel Shortbread Thins

120g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

50g confectioner’s sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

140g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 orange, finely zested

1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, roughly crushed

(A good candidate for 3 Steps to Easier Cookies.)

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and whiz until the mixture just beings to clump together.  Do not over-process.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and briskly bring it together into a flattish rectangle.  Wrap in cling film and chill for at least an hour.  Alternatively, freeze until required; it will keep quite happily for a month. 

Divide the dough in half and work with one piece at a time; keep the other piece chilled.  Roll out between 2 sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 3 mm – or even slightly thinner, if you dare.  Cut the dough into shapes – elegant long triangles, neat rectangles or circles are all good – and carefully lift onto a baking sheet lined with Silpat or baking paper.  Refrigerate for another 20 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 160°C.  Bake the shortbreads for 10–12 minutes, or until they colour a very pale gold; watch carefully in the final few minutes to make sure they don’t brown too much.

Remove from the oven and cool on the tray for a few minutes to allow the shortbreads to firm up. Then lift them carefully onto wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 16-20 cookies.

From New Feast by Greg and Lucy Malouf

Smitten Kitchen’s 3 Steps to Easier Cookies

You can skip softening your butter.  Whether you make cookie dough in a stand mixer, with a hand-mixer or (my favorite) in a food processor, you can save time by cutting your cold butter into chunks and letting the machine bang it together with the sugar until soft.  It will be bumpy at first and you’ll need to scrape a few times to make sure no nubby cold bits remain but, within a minute or two, the butter is just right for the rest of the ingredients.  It doesn’t just save time, it makes for a cooler, firmer dough that’s going to take less time to chill.  You can skip the refrigerator chill.  And…

You can skip flouring your counter.  As soon as my cookie dough is made, I roll it out between two large sheets of parchment paper to the desired thickness and it’s a total breeze.  No flouring (which can toughen the dough). No pre-chilling (which takes so much more time).  No fighting the cold dough flat (which makes us grumpy).  Then, I slide this onto a baking sheet and pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes (or a day, or a week, or months until needed), until firm and cut the cookies in clean, sharp shapes from this.  I then use these parchment sheets to line my baking sheets.  (No waste!)  Extra dough scraps can be easily rerolled and re-chilled the same way, with no erosion in dough quality because it doesn’t absorb extra flour. Bonus: No floury mess to clean up.

A couple extra tips: As you roll your dough between parchment sheets, some creases will form; pull the sheet loose so they don’t etch into the dough. When you remove your “board” of dough from the freezer, gently loosen/peel the sheet that will be the underside of the dough before placing the dough back on it. This bit of air ensures that your cookies, once cut, will come right off with no “peeling” needed. (Although even if peeling is needed, it too is a cinch with cold dough on parchment.)

Taken word-for-word from the wonderful Smitten Kitchen blog

Gingery Ginger Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg (or substitute half a banana, mashed)
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest, optional
1/2 cup turbinado or other coarse sugar, for coating

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar at medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg and mix until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Add the molasses, and orange zest if using, and mix until blended.  At low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until blended.

Place the turbinado sugar in a shallow dish or pie plate.  Roll the dough into 1-inch balls.  Roll each ball in the sugar, coating it completely.  Arrange the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart.  Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops are cracked but the centers are still soft.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.  

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Makes about 50 cookies.

From The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle, with minor changes

Maple Leaf Butter Cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup grade B maple syrup (or grade A maple syrup flavored with 3 drops maple extract)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour

In a standing mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in maple syrup and egg yolk until mixture is combined well.  Sift together salt and flour over mixture and fold in thoroughly.  Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 2 hours.  (Dough may be made 4 days ahead and chilled.)

Heat oven to 350°F.

Divide dough in half.  Keeping one half chilled, lightly flour other half and, on a lightly floured surface, gently pound with a rolling pin to soften.  Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick and, with a 3-inch floured maple-leaf cookie cutter, cut out cookies, chilling scraps.  Arrange cookies on buttered baking sheets and, if desired, with back of a knife, mark cookies decoratively.  Make more cookies in same manner with remaining dough and with all the scraps pressed together.

Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven until edges are golden, about 12 minutes, and transfer to racks to cool.  (Cookies keep in airtight containers 1 week.)

Makes about 40 cookies.

From Gourmet/Epicurious

Thin Spice Cookies

1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Dash nutmeg
Dash allspice

Mix molasses, shortening, and sugar together.  Add flour to molasses mixture.  Stir together remaining ingredients and blend them into the mixture.  Work dough with hands until well-blended.  Cover and chill for about 4 hours.  (Thorough chilling is needed to make the dough hold together.)

Heat oven to 375°F.  Roll dough out paper-thin, a little at a time.  Cut into desired shapes.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for 7 minutes or until lightly browned. 


From Mom.

Holiday Butter Cookies (Butter Scout Cookies!)

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1/8 to 1 teaspoon other flavoring extract

2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Combine the sugar, butter, egg yolk, salt, and flavoring, beating until smooth. Add the flour, mixing until smooth. The mixture will seem dry at first, but will suddenly come together. If it doesn't, dribble in a tablespoon of water.

Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a flattened disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight. When you're ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and let it soften for about 20 to 30 minutes, until it feels soft enough to roll. It should still feel cold, but shouldn't feel rock-hard.  Heat oven to 350°F.

Sprinkle rolling surface with flour, and flour the rolling pin. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it 1/8" to 3/16" thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes. Re-roll and cut the dough scraps. Place the cookies on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets. They can be close together; they'll barely spread.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, until they're set and barely browned around the edges.  Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool right on the pan, or allow to cool for a few minutes on the pan and transfer to a wire rack .

Repeat with the remaining piece of dough, rolling, cutting, and baking cookies. When cookies are completely cool, ice and decorate.

Makes 5 dozen 2" cookies.

From King Arthur Flour

Toasted Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (1/2 pound) butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats or steel-cut oats
1 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Heat oven to 350° F.

Toast coconut to taste in a dry skillet over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy.  Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until well-blended.  Gradually add the flour mixture, then the oats and the toasted coconut.  Beat just until well-mixed.  Stir in white chocolate chips, if using.

Place dough by rounded teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet.  Bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1 minute on sheet before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.


From Tea Travels by Ellen Easton, with a few changes

Gingerbread Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

7 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided

2 large eggs

1/4 cup light (unsulfured) molasses
(1/2 cup dried blueberries or other dried fruit, optional)

Heat oven to 350°F.  Butter and flour a 15x10x1-inch baking sheet.

Place 2 cups flour in medium bowl.  Transfer 2 tablespoons of the flour to small bowl and reserve.  Add spices, baking soda, and salt to flour in medium bowl; whisk to blend.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and 6 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until fluffy.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then molasses.  Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and beat to blend.  Add the dried fruit, if using.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.  Sift reserved 2 tablespoons flour evenly over batter, then sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake gingerbread until golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 22 minutes.  Cool completely in pan on rack.  Cut gingerbread crosswise into 4 strips, then cut each strip into 6 pieces, forming 24 bars, each about 3 1/2x1 3/4 inches. 

Can be made 2 days ahead.  Store airtight at room temperature.

Makes about 24 bars.

From Bon Appetit

Chocolate Espresso Cookies

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons finely ground dark roast coffee beans
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chunks or chips

Heat oven to 350°F and grease 2 large heavy baking sheets.

In a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, melt chopped bittersweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth, and then remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat.  (Alternatively, melt chocolate and butter in a microwave, in a glass bowl and on medium power level, stopping frequently to stir for even melting.) 

In a bowl with an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and ground coffee on high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes, and beat in chocolate mixture. Into mixture, sift flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until just combined. Stir in cup of chocolate chips.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoons, about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets.  Bake in batches in middle of oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until puffed and cracked on top. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 1 minute and transfer to racks to cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies.

From The Sundried Tomato Cafe and Catering Company in Whittier, CA, via Epicurious, with minor changes

Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 cups whole-wheat flour 
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
8 ounces (2 sticks/1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
7 to 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks

Heat oven to 350°F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease the baking sheets with oil or butter.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 

Put the butter and the two sugars in the bowl of a standing mixture fitted with the paddle attachment.  With the mixer on low speed, mix just until the butter and sugars are blended, about 2 minutes.  Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated.  Mix in the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture to the bowl and mix on low speed until the flour is barely combined, about 30 seconds.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the chocolate all at once to the batter.  Mix on low speed until the chocolate is evenly incorporated.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Scoop the dough by generous tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are evenly browned.  Transfer the cookies to cool - leave cookies on the parchment if baked on parchment, or slide onto a rack to cool.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.


Makes about 32 cookies.

From Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce, with very minor changes

Lemon Thins

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the lemon juice in a small nonreactive saucepan over high heat.  Boil for about 5 minutes, or until thick and syrupy and reduced to about 1 tablespoon.  Add the butter and stir until melted.  Set aside.

Combine the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or a fork.  

Using a spoon or a rubber spatula, mix the egg, egg yolk, and sugar in a large bowl until homogenous.  Mix in the butter mixture, lemon zest, and salt.  Add the flour mixture and stir just until incorporated.  Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces.  Roll each piece 1/16-inch thick between 2 sheets of wax paper.  Slide a cookie sheet under the wax paper sheets and dough.  Refrigerate until firm, at least 15 minutes and up to 2 days.

Heat the oven to 400° F.  Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease them.

Remove 1 piece of dough from the refrigerator. Peel off the top sheet of paper and set it in front of you.  Invert the dough onto it and peel off the second sheet.  Use a cookie cutter to cut out 2 1/2-inch cookies, or any desired size or shape.  Place cookies 1 inch apart on the lined or greased cookie sheets.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Scraps may be pressed together and re-rolled.

Bake 6 to 7 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges.  Rotate the pans from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.  For lined pans, set the pans or just the liners on racks to cool; for unlined pans, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks.  Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing.  To retain crispness, put the cookies in an airtight container as soon as they are cool.  May be stored airtight for at least 1 week.


Makes 64 2 1/2-inch cookies.

From Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich