Austrian Wreaths

Also known as Mandelkranzchen, Austrian Wreaths are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. The dough is made with lots of butter and ground almonds and spiced with ground cloves and cinnamon. Unlike many nut-based doughs, this one 

is relatively easy to work with, and the cookies retain their shape well. I like to put lots of sliced almonds on top of the cookies, so that they have that random casualness of a home-spun wreath. Feel free to use whatever jam or preserves you 

like for the filling. I like raspberry preserves, but sour cherry or apricot would also be delightful. The dough can be made up to a month in advance and frozen (well-wrapped), an option which allows you to enjoy these cookies throughout the holiday season and even into the new year. Click on Read More below for the recipe. 

Ganache-Filled Pink Peppermint Macarons

The Christmas season is officially upon us, and I’ve turned my attention from pies to cookies (in between decking the halls, wrapping presents, etc.). I’ve always loved the tradition of baking cookies for the holidays, and still make some of the same favorites I’ve been baking for over 30 years. There’s a swirled butter cookie, for

example, that I pipe out in assorted shapes, dip in chocolate and sprinkle with nuts. Then there are the confectioners’ sugar-dusted Russian tea cakes I make every year – classics that are found on many a holiday cookie tray. And chocolate krinkles – you know, the white ones that crack during baking, exposing the moist chocolate 

centers. But it’s always nice to add a new cookie to my holiday repertoire. This year it’s a Ganache-filled Pink Peppermint Macaron, which is both festive and delicious. These cookies also freeze extremely well, so you can make them up to a month ahead. I’ve made macarons using different methods – French, Swiss and Italian 

meringue – and for me the one that works best is the French type. But instead of making it in the classic way (i.e., whipping it to soft peaks and adding the sugar gradually until the meringue is glossy and stiff), I make it the way many pastry chefs do today: I hand whisk the egg whites with the granulated sugar just to combine, and then whip the meringue at medium speed, gradually increasing the speed to high, until the meringue is stiff and glossy. This makes a very strong and stable meringue, and produces a beautiful macaron. This cookie just may become one of your holiday favorites, too. Happy holidays!! (Click 'Read More' below for the recipe.)

Gingersnaps!

Gingersnaps rank among my favorite all-time cookies, even though I generally only make them around the holidays. But this year I got a jump on things and made a batch before Thanksgiving, so I wouldn’t have to share them with anyone (sorry, I know that 

sounds stingy).  I like my gingersnaps to be more on the ‘soft’ as opposed to ‘snappy’ (i.e., crisp) side, and so I bake them just until they are browned around the edges. If you prefer a crisper gingersnap, bake them a few minutes more, until they are evenly 

browned all over. For the sugar topping, you can use a coarse raw sugar (Turbinado or Demerara), but I prefer to use organic evaporated cane sugar, which is available in most grocery stores now, because it has a finer texture that melts as you eat it. Crumbled up, these homemade gingersnaps also make a wonderful crust for pumpkin cheesecake.