I've been going through our family's stash of recipes and came across my grandmother's oatmeal cookie recipe. She passed away a few years ago at age 97 (she was born in 1899). It's funny how just seeing her handwriting conjures up old memories of being a little girl and making cookies with grandma. She had a real sweet tooth and we are still amazed she lived so long given her penchant for cookies, lemon meringue pie, and jelly-filled donuts.

Grandma's Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs well beaten
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 3 cups oats (we use Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned. Do NOT use instant.)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (use 1/2 cup if using raisins)
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

Method

1 Cream shortening and sugars, add eggs and vanilla and beat well.

2 Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and mix well. Add raisins (if using) and nuts. Add oats last.

3 Spoon out by rounded tablespoonfuls on to greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

My mother doesn't bake. She's a great cook, but she avoids recipes and baking usually entails rather particular recipes, so she leaves the baking to my father and me. She also has a well developed sweet tooth, so when she has a hankering for a baked good she drops oh so many not-so-subtle hints about what would be really wonderful for dad or me to make. Her most requested cookie, amongst our vast repertoire of cookies, is this one, the ultra-thin gingersnap. Thin and crisp, the cookie practically melts in your mouth. Once you have one, it is almost impossible to stop eating them. The original recipe was passed along from food blogger to food blogger years ago by a woman who has since stopped blogging. She claimed to have gotten the recipe from Chez Panisse, when she asked for it while interviewing for a job. The two keys to this recipe I've found are 1) slicing the frozen cookie dough as thin as possible, the thinner the cookie, the crispier it will be, and 2) including the 1/8 of a teaspoon of ground black pepper that the recipe calls for. Black pepper is an odd ingredient to add to a cookie, but you'll just have to take it on faith that it works in this recipe. Unless you have an aversion to black pepper, be sure to include it.

Gingersnap Cookies Recipe

In place of parchment I've started to use silicone baking sheets for cookie making; nothing sticks to these mats and clean-up is a breeze.

Ingredients

• 8 oz unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 small eggs or 1 1/2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon. salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

Method

1 Cream butter until soft; add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs, and beat until fluffy.  Add molasses and beat until well-mixed. 

2 Sift the dry ingredients; add to the mixture, 1/3 at a time.  Mix only until the dry ingredients become incorporated. 

3 Line a 9" x 5" loaf pan with plastic wrap, so that some hangs over the outsides.  Press the dough into the bottom of the pan.  Pack it tightly, and try to make the top as level as possible.  Cover the dough with the plastic overhangs.  Freeze until very firm, preferably overnight. 

4 Unwrap and remove dough from the pan.  Slice brick into thin slices, no more than 1/8".  Place on a parchment or Silpat-lined sheetpan (space at least an inch apart) and bake at 350 degrees until the edges turn dark brown, 7-12 minutes, depending on how thinly you have sliced the dough. Check the oven for doneness at 7 minutes.

Makes 6 to 8 dozen cookies.

No cookie says Christmas more than a gingerbread man cookie. It's been thirty years since I last made gingerbread men, and it took all weekend to get this recipe right. After starting with a truly terrible recipe from a 1974 edition of the Joy of Cooking (1/4 cup of butter for 3 1/2 cups of flour? - had to throw the whole batch out), I settled on this recipe, which makes some rather tasty cookies.

After running around to several stores looking for the perfect gingerbread man cookie cutter, and getting nowhere, I created my own stencils (see links below). To use them, print them out and fold them in half lengthwise to make it easy to cut along the lines (don't worry if the lines don't perfectly match up, I drew them freehand.) Place the stencil over the rolled-out dough and use a small sharp knife to cut along the inside of the stencil.

Gingerbread Man Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

Cookies

• 3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• Optional raisins, chocolate chips, candy pieces, frosting

Royal Icing

• 1 egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 3/4 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

Method

1 In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

2 In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

3 Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons".

4 Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Makes 16 5-inch long cookies.

Royal Icing

The traditional way to make Royal Icing is to beat egg whites and lemon juice together, adding the powdered sugar until the mixture holds stiff peaks. With modern concerns about salmonella from raw eggs, you can either use powdered egg whites or heat the egg whites first to kill any bacteria. With the heating method, mix the egg white and lemon juice with a third of the sugar, heat in a microwave until the mixture's temperature is 160°F. Then remove from microwave, and beat in the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Using the powdered egg whites method, combine 1 Tbsp egg white powder with 2 Tbsp water. Proceed as you would otherwise. (Raw egg white alternatives from the 2006 Joy of Cooking)

If the icing is too runny, add more powdered sugar until you get the desired consistency. Fill a piping bag with the icing to pipe out into different shapes. (Or use a plastic sandwich bag, with the tip of one corner of the bag cut off.) Keep the icing covered while you work with it or it will dry out.

My friend Suzanne's daughter Audrey (age 10) loves to cook. The last time I was there to visit, Audrey presented me with one of these fabulous cookies. Here's what she has to say about them...
"I wanted to make these cookies because my mom always made these cookies when I was little and they tasted soooo good. The first two times I made them they didn't turn out so good (forgot to add the baking soda). The third time's the charm though. This time they turned out perfectly. I made them all by myself, without any help from mom."

Audrey M. Age 10.

Giant Ginger Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger*
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon*
1 teaspoon ground cloves*
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup coarse sugar or granulated sugar
* Can substitute the ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves for an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice.

Method

1 In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside.

2 In a large mixing bowl beat together butter with the 2 cups granulated sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses. Beat in the flour mixture, using a wooden spoon.


3 Shape dough into 2-inch balls using 1/4 cup dough. Roll balls in the 3/4 cup coarse or granulated sugar. Place about 2-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4 Bake in a 350°F oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are light brown and puffed. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Makes two dozen 4-inch cookies.

Chinese almond cookies are a trademark in Chinese-American cooking. Often relegated as a second string sweet to the more entertaining fortune cookie these don't get the respect they deserve. Sure, they don't tell you what a charming personality you have or offer a string of lotto numbers, but they do have a crisp bite and delightfully sandy texture. Almond flour, almond extract, and slivered almonds ensure that you get an intense flavor that will eclipse any paper filled treat.

Set out a plate of these for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Almond cookies symbolize coins and will be sure to bring you good fortune. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Chinese Almond Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups of almond flour, lightly packed
• 1 cup of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1 3/4 cups of flour
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• Slivered almonds

Method

1 Place the almond flour, salt, and butter into an electric beater with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for three minutes. The mixture will become course and chunky looking.

2 Add one of the eggs, reserving the other for later, and the almond extract. Mix on low speed until just incorporated.

3 Sift together the flour, sugar, and baking soda then add to the butter mixture at low speed. Mix until just combined.

4 Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for two hours to chill.

5 Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the other egg into a bowl and beat it.

6 Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls about a half-inch wide. Place them on the sheet about and inch apart and then press them down slightly with your palm to make a coin shape.

7 Place a slivered almond onto each cookie and lightly press it into place, then paint the surface of the cookie with some of the beaten egg using a pastry brush or your finger (this will give the cookie a lacquered appearance once it bakes).

8 Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges just being to tan. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack.
Makes 5 dozen.

This cookie has become a holiday tradition in my family and always makes an appearance during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Chunks of silky white chocolate help you ease in the holidays while warm and slightly spicy hints of brandy tickle your tongue. Plus with cranberries in full season, taking advantage of these sweet-tart garnet gems just makes sense.

Any brandy will work great with these; Cognac, Armagnac, and Kirschwasser (a cherry brandy) are particularly fantastic. To give a little extra flavor I add a teaspoon of the brandy that the cranberries soaked in. If you want, you can forego the brandy altogether and just use a teaspoon of vanilla extract (though that does have alcohol) and they’ll still taste great.

Brandied Cranberry, White Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup of brandy (to soak the cranberries in, then saving 1 1/4 teaspoons of it for later)
• 1 cup of dried cranberries
• 1 cup (two sticks) of butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of white chocolate chips

Method

1 Put the cranberries in a wide and shallow bowl, pour in a bit of brandy. Enough so they're surrounded by it, but not drowning. Cover and place in the fridge for an hour or more. Afterwards, place a colander over a bowl and pour the cranberries and brandy through, putting the cranberries and the brandy they soaked in aside. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2 Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and beat again until light, fluffy and well incorporated.

3 Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and add 1 1/4 teaspoons of the brandy that the cranberries soaked in (as for the rest, I suggest popping it in a glass and topping it off a bit for yourself). Beat well until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl midway through to ensure even mixing.

4 Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add to the mixture a bit at a time, beating until just mixed. Fold in the brandy soaked cranberries and white chocolate chips. Let chill for 15 minutes in the fridge.

5 Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (a baker's best friend) and place rounded spoonfuls down on the sheet. Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.