Norskie tradition dictates that on Christmas Eve, one should serve seven types of Christmas cookies. Admittedly the definition of “cookie” is a little loose here. You can count any sort of rich cake served in small pieces, so presumably the dreaded fruitcake would do. Norwegian doughnuts also count, and are quite popular, but I’m undecided about whether a box from Krispy Kreme is cheating or not.
So your mission, should you choose to except it: put together the most perfect combination of seven kinds of “cookies” for Christmas. Here’s mine:
chocolate chip cookies (ever since the potato, Norskies have been enthusiastically grabbing the best that the Americas have to offer)
pepperkaker (spicy Norwegian cookies similar to gingerbread men)
Traditional sugar cookies in Star, Christmas Tree, Santa, etc shapes with sprinkles or icing
Speculatius [Danish Christmas cookies]
Oatmeal Cookies with Raisins
Pumpkin spice cookies
There is a special Christmas edition of Chocolate Covered Milano cookies … hhmm, hhmm, so good that I hid them in my closet to keep away from the kids.
1.pepparkakor (They’re not just for Norwegians anymore! My recipe comes from my Swedish grandmother.)
2.oatmeal chocolate chip (My recipe of choice is the one on the back of the Quaker Oatmeal box.)
3.pecan sandies (One of the Silver Palate cookbooks has a recipe that gives you the wonderfully crumbly texture of the Keebler kind, but with fresh ingredients.)
4.sugar cookies, with holes in the top so they can be hung on the tree (Joy of Cooking has a good sugar cookie recipe; the dough can be reworked several times without getting tough.)
5.any dense, fudgy brownie that is so rich it must be served in very small pieces
6.peanut butter cookies (You must mark them in the traditional way with the tines of a fork. They taste better.)
7.bird’s nest cookies (I don’t have a recipe for these; they are a childhood memory. My mom made a light, crumbly coconut cookie that she formed into a nest shape. After cooking, the coconut had a light brown “twig” appearance. Once they had cooled she placed two marzipan “eggs” in each one. Boy, I loved those cookies!)
Choc-oat cookies (oatmeal cookies with bittersweet chocolate chips and nuts)
Chocolate crinklies (basically chocolate drop cookies that are rolled in confectioners’ sugar before baking)
Brownies, preferably with nuts and chocolate chips
Mincemeat bar cookies (spread oatmeal cookie dough in bottom of pan, spread with mincemeat, drop teaspoonfuls of cookie dough on top)
Spritz (almond-flavored cookies shaped with a cookie press)
Spicy hermits
Sugar cookies
Those seven are my favorite, but there are too many good cookies to stop there. Pfeffernuesse, Scotch shortbread, Joe Froggers, date bars, gingersnaps, etc. Damn, I’m getting hungry.
This coincides with my plans for today, baking several different (although not seven) kinds of cookies to bring to parties this coming week.
My seven:
Sugar cut outs, iced.
Chocolate cut outs, also iced. I prefer this to gingerbread. I use the Martha Stewart recipe, that has enough cocoa in it to choke a cow.
Peanut butter, drizzled with melted butterscotch chips
Key lime crunch. This is a funky little recipe I found in some magazine, it’s the kind that has corn flakes in the batter for that extra crunch. Decidedly low-brow, but they’ve always been very popular when I’ve served them because the tart is a nice break from sweet.
Shortbread squares with raspberry filling.
Mint mini-cheesecakes in chocolate cups.
Buckeyes. A no-bake treat that I first learned to make in 6th grade Home Ec. Thanks Mrs. Rubin! Essentially butter, peanut butter and sugar rolled into balls and dipped in melted chocolate. Percentage of calories from fat: 185% (of your lifetime fat intake). Every year I knock myself out making teeny tiny little cheesecakes and decorating countless sugar cookies with painstaking detail, and these @#$% buckeyes are always the biggest hit.
I used to actually bake seven or so types of cookies at Christmas, several of which my family pretty much only makes at Christmas. It’s not Christmas without cookies. Now that I live alone, I just make my favorites, but here’s the list:
Chocolate Snappers–think chocolate sugar cookies, crisp with a touch of cinnamon–THE BEST
Chocolate Crinkles–soft, chewy cookier with walnuts
Spritz–basically a type of shortbread, but done from a pastry bag into ribbons (may be chocolate or almond)
Sugar Cookies–two kinds (one from each side of the family)–one is rolled out into shapes and frosted after baking, the other is sweeter, and is only rolled in sugar or sugar/cinnamon
Peanutbutter cookies–rolled in a ball and flattened crisscross w/a fork (chunky is best)
Russian teacakes–a butter cookie with pecans, rolled in powdered sugar, twice, after baking. Can also be shaped around a small piece of chocolate or caramel for a ‘surprise’
Ginger snaps–soft molassas cookies that I always hated and only made because I had a boyfriend who loved them, but a family staple
Shortbread–a late addition, I love the stuff, but it wasn’t part of the childhood tradition.
Brownies–with frosting, I swear, the only time all year we frost brownies–usually w/green frosting
Chocolate chip cookies–why not
Oatmeal cookies–because someone always wants them
Those are the usual suspects, regular gingerbread and various types of bar cookies show up as a fad some years, but you should be able to find all the ones listed above at our house every year.
Excuse me while I go get me a chocolate snapper–I did my baking yesterday.
Ooo, my mom makes these by the binful, and they vanish but quick. Here’s another chocolate-peanut butter goodie that’s even easier to make, and, in my book, yummier: make sandwiches with peanut butter and Ritz crackers, and dip 'em in melted chocolate. OH, they’re awesome.
I’d like to also add thumbprint cookies to the list. Rather like sugar cookies, but thicker, and you make an indentation in them with your thumb before they cool. When cool, fill the indentation with a dollop of frosting or a Hershey’s kiss.
Well, around here we make five different kinds, but I’ll pick up some Fudge Grahams and Milanos to make up the difference .
Bunny Family Cookies: Chocolate Spritz - From the descriptions of ‘spritz’ above, I’m thinking we’ve gotten the name of these wrong but they are so durn yummy, who cares?Chocolate cookies rolled into balls and topped with colored sprinkles. Mmmm. Pecan Sandies - Crumbly and buttery, with lots of powdered sugar. Butter Cookies - A constant source of scandal when we were kids because they have BOURBON in them. We sure thought we were getting away with something eating these,lol. Cut Out Sugar Cookies - Regular old sugar cookies done with cutters, but it wouldn’t be Christmas without 'em. Springerles - Veb, Are these the same as your grammas? They are a really sweet dough that gets rolled out with a special rolling pin like this.Then they are laid on a cookie sheet sprinkled with anise seed and wait overnight to be baked. They can get really, really hard and the harder - the better . We actually found some once that had been lost for months in the cupboard and they were like diamonds, but man they were good!
Melt:
1 cup chocolate chips and
2/3 cups shortening
Combine:
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
Blend in chocolate/shortening and
1/4 cup light Karo syrup (corn syrup)
Mix together, then add to wet ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 vanilla (optional, but I always use it in chocolate cookies)
Roll dough into balls (big or small, your choice, but try to be uniform)
Roll in granulated sugar
Bake for 15 min. Cookies will rise, then flatten with a cracked exterior.
Makes 4-6 dozen, depending on size.
Variant: Use mint chocolate chips, omit cinnamon.
This receipe double very easily, and the dough is easy to work with–not sticky.
CARDAMOM WAFFLES- eaten at room temperature with butter.
KRUMKAKER - “crumb cookies”. Baked in a special iron on top of the stove, these are rolled in a cone shape. Take forever to make (and messy), but well worth it.
FATTIGMAN BAKELS- “poorman’s buckles”. Deep fried cookies shaped like old-fashioned shoe buckles (hence the name)
SUNKAKER - almond flavored dough is pressed into a tin and baked. The trick is to unmold them without breaking any. Great with coffee
THUMBPRINTS - chocolate chip type cookies with melted chocolate chips in the center
SUGAR COOKIES - not my favorites, but it just isn’t Christmas with out them
MY BROWNIES - ooey-gooey with lots of milk & white chocolate chips (and a hint of cardamom!)
.
We sure thought we were getting away with something eating these,lol.
. We actually found some once that had been lost for months in the cupboard and they were like diamonds, but man they were good!