Jackson - Classic Cookies with Modern Twists: 100 Best Recipes for Old and New Favorites

Copyright 2015 by Ellen Jackson

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Sasquatch Books

Editor: Susan Roxborough
Production editor: Em Gale
Photographs: Charity Burggraaf
Design: Joyce Hwang
Food styling: Julie Hopper
Copyeditor: Carrie Wicks

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Data is available.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-63217-018-7
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-63217-017-0

Sasquatch Books
1904 Third Avenue, Suite 710
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 467-4300
www.sasquatchbooks.com

v3.1

For my dad, Tom McFarland,
who is our familys head baker
and chief cookie pusher

TWIST : Peanut Butter and Jelly Blossoms

TWISTS : Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Golden RaisinCoconut Oatmeal Cookies, Dried CherryWalnut Oatmeal Cookies

TWISTS : Chewy White Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Chewy Chocolate-Mint Cookies, Chewy Chocolate-Orange Cookies

TWISTS : Cappuccino Snickerdoodles, Spicy Chocolate Snickerdoodles

TWISTS : Cashew Butter Cookies, Almond Butter Cookies

TWIST : Key Lime Melting Moments

TWISTS : Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons, Chocolate Macaroons, Apricot-Almond Macaroons

TWISTS : Chewy Triple-Ginger Molasses Crinkles, Chewy Chocolate-Ginger Molasses Crinkles

TWISTS : Cinnamon Meringues, Pistachio-Rosewater Meringues, Chocolate-Anise Meringues

TWISTS : Walnut-Fig Thumbprints, Pistachio-Apricot Thumbprints, Hazelnut-Blackberry Thumbprints

TWISTS : Fudgy Toasted Walnut Chews, Fudgy Mocha-Almond Chews

TWIST : Chewy Chocolate ChipPecan Cookies

TWISTS : Double EspressoHazelnut Biscotti, CocoaCacao Nib Biscotti

TWISTS : Meyer Lemon Cornmeal Cookies, Orange-Coriander Cornmeal Cookies

TWISTS : Chocolate-Orange Pinwheels, Brown SugarCinnamon Pinwheels

TWISTS : Brown SugarSesame Icebox Butter Cookies, GingerToasted Oat Icebox Butter Cookies

TWIST : Golden RaisinVermouth Squashed Fly Cookies

TWISTS : ChocolatePeppermint Stick Sandwich Cookies, ChocolateSalted Caramel Sandwich Cookies

TWISTS : Chocolate Graham Crackers, Smores

TWISTS : Lemon-Lavender Shortbread, Rosemary-Chocolate Shortbread, Orange-Caraway Shortbread, Decorated Shortbread

TWISTS : Brown ButterBrown Sugar Cookies, Orange-Flower Water Sugar Cookies with Orange Zest

TWISTS : Toasted WalnutCoffee Brownies, Park Kitchen Brownies with Apricot Ganache

TWIST : Salted Caramel Tray Bakes

TWIST : Chocolate-Coconut-Almond Bars

TWISTS : Caramel-Cashew Blondies, Maple-Walnut Blondies

TWISTS : Orange MarmaladeChocolate Rugelach, Fig-Anise Rugelach

TWIST : Chocolate-Filled Peppermint Meringue Sandwiches

The simple act of making cookies has inspired a lifelong love of food and baking in many young cooks, myself included. Who of us hasnt pulled a chair up to the kitchen counter to cream butter and sugar alongside a parent, sibling, babysitter, or grandparent? Easy to master, tough to botch, a batch of cookies offers near-immediate gratification; its possible to decide to bake cookies and pull a pan from the oven in under an hour. In between theres the fun of making (and eating) the dough and licking beaters and fingers. Once theyre out of the oven, cookies dont have to cool, like a cake or pie. In fact, theyre best warm, with a glass of cold milk, so you can dive right in.

Even if youre not a baker of other desserts, you probably make cookies. Baking cookies is a way to connect, to make peace, to fill your kitchen with aromas that inspire acts of goodwill and close real estate deals. Baking cookies and sharing them are similarly powerful acts; neither is likely to make you a better person, but youll feel like one. Cookies are love.

But cookie baking isnt effortless unless your formulas are foolproof. And why expend the effort if your cookies arent irresistible and habit-forming? Ive baked cookies my entire life, more than a decade of which I worked in professional kitchens as a pastry chef. I dont know how many hundreds of thousands of cookies Ive made, but you can be sure that Ive tried and tweaked countless recipes along the way. Ive had more chances than most to land on the very best gingersnap. And the perfect chocolate chip cookie (there are two, actually).

For many bakers, generations of family bestow a rich source of winning, original formulas. Theres a long history of baking on both sides of my family: my maternal great-grandmother was a pastry chef, and I often consulted a thick folder of cookie recipes from my dads mother, Grandma Mac, while working on this book. Sometimes for inspiration, but usually for assurance that certain things dont change, nor do they need to. Why look for something better when youve already got the best?

The recipes in this book are my very best. Tried-and-true recipes for the cookies we hope to find in the cookie jar when were home. Recipes we made while standing on a chair, next to a more experienced baker. Variations on the classics and updated childhood favorites. And just for good measure, Ive thrown in a few recipes for those occasions when you want to impress at a holiday cookie exchange or bake sale, woo a love interest, or say, Im sorry. But they all fit my criteria for cookies: delicious, easy to make, and best eaten byor withsomeone you love.

The main role of fat is to bind, tenderize, and enhance the cookies flavor. Most of these recipes call for buttercold, slightly softened, melted, or browned. Choose UNSALTED BUTTER for your baking so that youre in control of the amount of salt. (If you use salted butter, decrease the amount of salt by one-half.)

I recommend EUROPEAN-STYLE BUTTER when the flavor really counts: shortbread and sugar cookies. Its not a deal breaker, but youll taste the difference in these items that rely primarily on the butter for flavor.