Christmas Cookies!

I may have mentioned before that I have been baking Christmas cookies with my friend Laura since we were in high school. That's a long time--I won't say how many years! We have found a mix of cookies that we like and that we think go well together--this is what we make every year with new ones coming and going occasionally.

Oh, wait!

I forgot one of the cookies! The ones in the back that look like snowballs are called Sandies, also known as Russian Tea Cakes. The green trees and red poinsettias are Spritz, the rolled cookies in the front right are Laura's Bachan's Christmas Cookies, Almond Crescents are the ones with the colorful sprinkles and Butterhorns are in the center.

I thought I would start with the Butterhorns recipe with some updates, since I had already posted it once and thought I could get it out pretty fast. Turns out I need to get back into my blogging mode again--everything is taking a lot longer than I expected! I will be posting the other recipes in the coming days--except for Bachan's Christmas Cookies, they are Laura's family's secret recipe and I respect that. The other recipes are readily found online if you need them right away.

Butterhorns are my family's favorite cookie. You might remember my son-in-law Mitchell wanted to make them for table favors for his and Karen's wedding. More details are on my Butterhorns! post.

Laura is a much better baker than I, and she prefers the cookie dough be cut by hand instead of using the food processor, and divided into 4 balls instead of 5. She thinks the dough is flakier when cut by hand and when the dough is divided into 5 balls, the cookies are too small. I always trust Laura when it comes to baking, that's why the directions are a little different than those on the Butterhorns! post.

Butterhorns

Ingredients: 

Dough

2 cups flour

1/2 lb. butter

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup sour cream

Filling

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Measure 2 cups flour and 1 cup butter into a large bowl. Cut butter and flour together until well-combined and butter is evenly cut into the flour.

2. Add 1 egg yolk and 3/4 cup sour cream. Combine gently with a fork until dough is mixed well.

3. Divide dough into 4 balls, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

4. Chop 3/4 cup pecans into small pieces and mix with 3/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. 

5. Take dough out of refrigerator, sprinkle a little flour on the dough ball and roll into about an 11 inch circle, using waxed paper on the top and bottom, flipping occasionally and sprinkling more flour as needed.

6. Spread about 3-4 tablespoons of the sugar-pecan-cinnamon filling on top of the rolled-out dough and spread it evenly almost to the edge of the dough. Cut into 12 even wedges, and roll, starting with the large end and ending with the point. Tuck the point under the roll, shape into a crescent and place on cookie sheet.

7. Bake at 375ºF for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

***

This year, Laura and I had a lot of helpers and that made this year the most fun and the baking went fast!

Rick is becoming an expert at making Spritz.

This was Jessica's first time baking with us! Sometimes when I edit photos I see Rick in the background. He makes me laugh.

I was so happy Keith was visiting from New York and was able to come over to bake! I was just about doing The Happy Dance all over the kitchen when Keith walked through the door. He's a special one!

Keith's sister Lauren is a special one too. Since I saw her last she has traveled Europe, learned to make French macarons, painted her house and is working on the special effects for a new movie.

Hmmm...Maybe Lauren will be a Guest Blogger and make macarons for FOODjimoto someday...

Right now she is working on the Christmas Cookies. Lauren has retired from her photography business--I could use some tips from her. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that her hand is in clear focus, but her face is not. I like it when my face is in soft focus.

All day the kitchen was bustling with activity.

Here, they are dipping the Almond Crescents in chocolate and then dipping them in sprinkles--they're a lot of fun to make. Keith and Lauren are fun to be around. Looking at the photo below makes me want to laugh and hug them.

Rick and Keith both have my heart--they are helping to keep up with all the dishes without being asked! It was the funniest thing--I heard Keith ask Rick while wiping a utensil, "Where does this go?" Rick replied, "If you don't know where it goes that means you don't do dishes here often enough..."

We all had to laugh because that's what Keith's grandma used to say to me through the years when I baked cookies or ate at her house years ago, and that's what the kids have grown up hearing. Keith said that's what he says when friends do dishes at his house. I love that.

We had such a nice day baking together. It was "ii kimochi"--a warm, wonderful feeling. Next year I hope my daughter Karen will be able to join us as well as Laura's sister Cherie.

Laura and I have been friends since childhood. It's comforting to have a friend like her--a friend I can count on through good times and sad. Thank you, Laura, for always being there for me and for sharing your wonderful children!

Next time, let's be sure to take a photo together at the beginning of the day instead of the end of the day when I'm all tired-out. Like I said, I like it when I'm a little out-of-focus.

Butterhorns!

I got this recipe from my friend Laura, who is an expert baker.

We've been making cookies together every year for Christmas since we were in high school.

That's a lot of years!

At our house, Butterhorns are, hands down, the most favorite cookie.

So much so, that when Karen and Mitchell got married last year, Butterhorns were what Mitchell wanted as their table favors.

He said he wanted them so much, he would even be willing to make them.

And that's what he did.

We all helped, of course, but Mitchell made all the dough and rolled out all the cookies himself!

I was impressed.

We packaged them in a cellophane bag with a sticky label that was stamped with the 'Spearrin' stamp Karen bought, a library-type stamp with the wedding date, and tied with strings of burlap.

Karen also wrote each person's name on the tag, they were also the table place cards.

Butterhorns.

Enough said.

Let's start baking!

Ingredients:

Dough

2 cups flour

1/2 lb. butter

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup sour cream

Filling

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped pecans

For years, I made this dough by hand by cutting the butter into the flour and mixing the egg yolk and sour cream into the butter/flour.

But you can make it so fast with a food processor.

Pulse the butter and flour for 15 to 30 seconds, until the butter is evenly cut into the flour.

Separate one egg yolk.

Put the egg yolk and 3/4 cup sour cream into the food processor bowl.

Pulse for another 15 to 30 seconds until the dough comes together in large chunks.

It doesn't need to be in one ball, just large chunks.

Separate into 5 balls and wrap in waxed paper.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Chop the pecans to a small, uniform size.

Mix the pecans with 3/4 cup sugar and a generous teaspoon of cinnamon.

It really helps if you have a marble rolling pin, the weight of it makes the rolling much easier.

A pizza cutter works well for cutting.

But if you don't have them, don't worry. I've seen a friend roll out the dough with a drinking glass, and a sharp knife works well for cutting.

If you're making several hundred cookies for wedding table favors, invest in these tools, it's worth it.

You want the dough really firm, so chill thoroughly.

Roll the dough out on the waxed paper.

It makes it easier to handle.

Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the top and bottom of the dough ball.

Roll the dough out between two pieces of waxed paper, to about the size of the paper--about an 11 inch circle.

Remove the papers.

If you have helpers, keep the bottom paper--it makes it easy to slide the dough onto another board so someone else can put the sugar & nuts on and cut and roll the cookies.

I use a dinner soup spoon and put two heaping spoonfuls on the rolled out  dough.

Spread almost to the edge.

Cut the dough into 12 pieces.

Starting at the large end, roll the pieces up to the point.

When you put them on the cookie sheet, curve them into a little crescent.

They don't need to be too far apart because they don't expand much.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.

You want them to be a little bit browned.

Putting newspaper under the cooling racks makes the clean up faster.

This is a flaky cookie!

Yum!

***

We had three baking days to make all the cookies for the wedding.

While Karen worked on the invitations, the guys baked.

Karen did some baking too.

Mitchell used my old rolling pin, I didn't get my marble one until after the wedding.

Mitchell rolled out the dough.

Gary put the sugar & nuts on, did the cutting and rolled the dough up.

Gary and Mitchell did some male bonding while making cookies.

We put the cookies in the freezer to keep them fresh until the wedding.

Maid of Honor Beeto came a few days before the wedding to help get everything ready.

So did Mitchell's sister Colleen.

That's my bag!

Karen personalized each bag.

We took apart some burlap to make string to tie the bags.

Two pieces of string tied each bag.

A lot of hands makes for fast work.

Mitchell's mom came a few days before the wedding to help, too.

Candy and Colleen flew in from Florida, and even with jet lag, they stayed up late to help finish all the table favors.

I think the guys' cookies look better than mine!

No printable recipe for Butterhorns yet.