Halloween Sugar Cookies

My mother made sugar cookies three times a year: on Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and at Christmas. My favorites were always the pumpkin shaped Halloween Sugar Cookies. We would spend hours decorating each pumpkin to look like an elaborately carved jack-o-lantern. This year, I didn’t have a crew to decorate with, so I embellished them simply, with pumpkins and candy corn. Halloween Sugar Cookies were a big hit at the Halloween party we attended Saturday night. The secret to these sugar cookies’ popularity? While the cookies themselves are simple (Mom always used the Fannie Farmer recipe for sugar cookies) the almond buttercream frosting they get topped with is her own special twist. You’ll see. Leave them undecorated and bring them to the party with some fun toppings. People love decorating Halloween Sugar Cookies as jack-o-lantern pirates, queens, doctors, etc. ¼ pound butter ¾ cup sugar, plus more for rolling them out 1 egg ½ teaspoon vanilla ¼ teaspoon almond extract 1 ¼ cups flour, plus more for rolling them out ⅛ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon baking powder American buttercream frosting: ½ teaspoon almond extract and food coloring 1 stick butter 4 + cups powdered sugar milk to adjust the consistency Cream butter … Continue reading

Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

For me, a Super Bowl means football. Football means the Packers. Packers mean Wisconsin. Wisconsin means sour cherries. This is quite the causal chain, huh? If you followed me this far, you’ll probably agree that the obvious dessert for a Super Bowl Party is Door County Cherry Oatmeal Cookies. I can’t really claim credit for these cookies as an original idea. The recipe is based on the cookies I used to have in Door County at places like Wagon Trail and Seaquist Orchards and years of making the Toll House recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Even though I now make the Jacques Torres recipe (always), I still have the Toll House memorized and I use it as the basis for most of my cookie recipe improvisations. These cherry oatmeal cookies are really easy to make. They’re really delicious. You could make the dough this weekend and store it in the fridge until next weekend. Then you could preheat the oven during the third quarter and surprise your guests with hot cookies during the fourth quarter. Or you can bake Cherry Oatmeal Cookies ahead of time and serve them whenever. And once you’ve learned how to make these, they just might … Continue reading

Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Glaze

I really love citrus in the winter when it’s at its peak. Fortunately, my dear friend Elena and her mother try to keep me in citrus in the winter. I already have been gifted a big bag of limes and more recently some Meyer lemons, which her mom ships to us in Philly from her trees in Arizona. This cake is one of Marc’s favorite winter desserts and since it has a strong lemon flavor, it makes me happy too. It doesn’t seem sweet between the lemon and the molasses and the hint of spice from the ginger adds some intrigue. I made it a day ahead, so it would be ready for us after a long day out in the cold. It goes great with a dollop of crème fraîche or whipped cream and a cup of tea.  We had both while we watched the Rose Bowl and enjoyed a cozy fire. ½ cup butter (room temperature helps it along, but it will be fine if you start straight from the refrigerator) ⅔ cup hot water 1 cup dark molasses ¼ cup dark brown sugar 1 large egg 2 ½ cups flour 2 tablespoons cake enhancer 1 teaspoon baking … Continue reading