Battle of the cookie recipes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Creme cookies from the 2011 cookie contest

You don’t know a person until you invite them to sample your cookies. Your cubicle-mate actually hates chocolate. Your best friend is crazy for shortbread. Your boss can eat six cookies in a single sitting and your mom (who won’t touch anything veggie) won’t stop hounding you for some more Sauerkraut Chocolate cookies. The cookie monsters have arrived.

To help keep you from an accidental cookie fail, I’ve been asking local readers to submit their most tried-and-true family recipes for the annual BiteClub Holiday Cookie Contest. From dozens of entries (a total of 49 last year), I’ll pick the most promising, test them in my home kitchen and bring them into the offices of The Press Democrat to see which ones really resonate. And which ones really stink.

I’m always amazed at the results and this year is no different. From the eight batches sampled early in the month, it was a vegan butternut squash cookie that actually won folks over almost unanimously. More than gingerbread. More than peanut butter creams! The second most popular cookie so far was, no big surprise, Death By Chocolate Chip. And my personal favorite, The Yes We P’Cans, are the dark horse in the race.

But that’s just the beginning. The contest runs until Sunday and a final winner will be announced Tuesday. Throughout the month, we’ll continue to taste-test and bake, posting the results on BiteClubEats.com/cookie (along with the dozens of recipes from years past). And while there are prizes for the winner, the true prize, you’ll likely agree, is in the eating and sharing.

So try out some of these reader-submitted recipes and see what kind of reaction you get. No doubt you’ll be surprised — and maybe learn something new about the cookie eaters who will inevitably come calling.

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“These cookies are a great way to use up those pesky squash that have a tendency to hang around. Careful though, one large squash yields about three batches of cookies. Don’t worry though, you’ll be cookie-rich and everyone will love you.”

Spiced Butternut Squash Cookies

Spiced Butternut Squash Cookies
By Mikayla Zumwalt

2 cups flour (half whole wheat, half all-purpose white)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon (I use sea salt)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (can be generous)
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1½ cups sugar
2/3 cup oil (coconut or canola)
2T molasses
1 cup cooked mashed butternut squash
1 teaspoon vanilla
—Optional: ½ cup oats, chopped walnuts, raisins, coconut shreds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices in a bowl. In a separate, larger bowl mix together, oil, molasses, squash and vanilla until well combined. Add dry to wet, folding to combine. Add optional ingredients after combined.
Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheets. Bake for 16 minutes. For best flavor, let them cool and set a bit.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cremes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cremes
By Laurie Figone

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2¼ cup all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup toasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
¾ cup peanut butter, creamy style
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoon half-and-half
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In mixing bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. In separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa and baking soda. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in peanuts.
Shape into balls (about the size of a quarter) and place evenly on baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Bake for about 6 minutes, until done. Place on rack and cool.
Make peanut butter filling. Cream together peanut butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar, adding a little milk if it’s too thick. Place a heaping tbsp. of filling on bottom of half of the cooled cookies, then use another cookie on top to make a sandwich. Press mini-chocolate chips around the outer edge of the filling.

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Death By Chocolate

Death By Chocolate Chip Cookie
By Judy Johnson Smith

Cookie dough:
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2¼ cups unsifted all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you wish up to ½ tsp.)
2 cups (12 ounce) package best quality bittersweet chocolate chips (such as Ghirardelli’s)
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Topping:
1/3 to 1/2 cup very finely chopped toasted walnuts
4 to 8 oz.very high quality bittersweet chocolate chips

Cookie dough: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Toast the walnuts lightly in a saute pan and set aside to cool. While nuts are cooling, gather your ingredients, mixer and kitchen tools, then measure out your ingredients. Chop one cup cooled walnuts for the cookie dough and set aside, then mince up the rest of the walnuts for the topping and set aside. Cream butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beat well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until combined. Gradually beat the dry mixture into creamed mixture. Remove bowl from mixer, stir in 2 cups chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped walnuts. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet using a portion scoop or by spoon-full. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on baking sheet, then remove from cookie sheet and cool on rack.
Topping: To finish, you’re going to dip the cookies in bittersweet chocolate and sprinkle the chocolate dipped side with some of the very finely chopped walnuts.
Before beginning the dipping process, place a sheet of foil or parchment paper on the counter under the bowl of chocolate to catch the drips. Place another parchment sheet on the counter to put the finished dunked cookie on. Place the finely chopped walnuts next to the parchment the dipped cookies will go on.
Melt the chocolate over a hot water bath (low heat) until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Pick up a cookie by one side and dunk the other side in the bowl of melted chocolate, so that the cookie is at least half-covered with chocolate; use the bowl edge to scrape excess chocolate off the bottom of the cookie, then place on the parchment paper. As soon as the cookie is placed on the parchment paper, before the chocolate solidifies, sprinkle a pinch or two of the very finely chopped walnuts on top of the chocolate. Then wait for the chocolate to cool completely onto the cookie. Store in cool, dry area, in an airtight container for up to a week.

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“Every year my family does a cookie bake day in December. This tradition began over 25 years ago when I was a small child. My grandmother would have my brother, my cousin and I over to roll out and bake gingerbread men and women. As a child I remember playing with the rolling pin, not being very successful as a 5-year-old rolling out the dough without help of my grandma, and dusting the dough with flour to keep it from sticking. One of my favorite smells of the holidays is still the warm spices of gingerbread baking in the oven on the cold winter day. After we baked the men and women, we would get to frost and adorn our creations with all sorts of candy that passed our taste testing.”

Ginger People

Gingerbread men and women
By Sarina

1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 cup butter
3 tablespoons vinegar
6 cups flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

Add butter, sugar, vinegar and molasses into a pot and bring to a boil.
Let cool.
When cool, add eggs and flour with all other spices.
Mix well, dough will be stiff, and then set in fridge for 2 hours.
Roll into ¼-inch sheet, cut and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
When cool, decorate with all sorts of frosting, candy and love.

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“My mom’s cousin Dolly and I have been getting together every Christmas to bake cookies for our friends and family. We start in late November and get together at least two more times in December to bake. Every year we try a new cookie or technique to keep it interesting! My mom had always been our official “cookie tester” but this August she lost her battle with breast cancer. So I merged two of her favorite cookies into one to create this cookie in her memory! The rosemary isn’t a something that’s usually used in cookies and the cardamom has such a wonderful aroma. These do take a little extra work but are so so worth it!”

Rosemary Cardamom Pinwheels

Rosemary Cardamom Pinwheels
By Amy Meiers

Dough:
2½ cups of flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter cut into chunks
8 oz. cold cream cheese cut into chunks

In a stand mixer combine flour, sugar and salt. Stir a couple of times to mix together. Add chunks of butter until crumbly then add the cream cheese and mix until just combined.
Refrigerate for about an hour.

“Rolling out” sugar:
½ cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Filling:
½cup of granulated sugar
1teaspoon of very finely chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cut the refrigerated dough in half and roll each half into a rectangle (approx. 18” x 10”) using the “rolling out” sugar to prevent it from sticking to the board or rolling pin. Put a thin layer of the filling over the dough and roll. Refrigerate another half hour then cut into 14 slices. Sprinkle the rolling out sugar on top of the cookies. Bake for 8 minutes then flip over, re-sugar and bake for another 3 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

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“I combined my favorite glazed-nut recipe with a rich cookie recipe, added orange zest and these were a big hit. When you’re done, declare cocktail hour and eat any leftover nuts with a whiskey sour, perhaps.”

Yes We P’Can Tarts

Yes We P’Can Tarts
By Smoran

Cookie Dough:
1 cup butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup dark corn syrup
2 egg yolks (save whites to glaze cookies if desired)
1 tablespoon orange zest
2½ cup flour

Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the corn syrup, egg yolks and orange zest, beat to mix. Fold in the flour. Form the dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for two hours or more.
Meanwhile make the glazed nuts.

Glazed Nuts:
2½ tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 cups pecans
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the honey and maple syrup in a large bowl.
Toss in the nuts and stir to coat.
Place on parchment -lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with oil or use a Silpat baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, stirring twice.
While the nuts are roasting, put the butter in an ovenproof dish and place in the oven just a minutes to soften. Remove and stir in the vanilla and orange zest.
When the nuts are done, remove them from the pan and stir them into the butter mixture. Sprinkle with the salt. Place on a parchment paper to cool.
To bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Form cookie dough into medium sized balls. A bit larger than a walnut, more like amutant walnut. (Glaze with slightly beaten egg whites if desired)
Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, gently press 2-3 pecans on end into the center, return to oven and bake 10 minutes more or until golden brown. There may be nuts-glaze goo leakage. It should harden up. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Still hungry? Check out the rest of the recipes at BiteClubEats.com/cookie.