OLD-FASHIONED SUGAR COOKIES AND CRANBERRY-PECAN PINWHEEL COOKIES

SWEET LITTLE THING

A little girl walks into a bakery
And asks the baker :
“Do you serve big cookies in here?”
The baker leans over the counter and looks at the little girl and says:
“ I don’t know. How tall are you?”

- from a Peanuts comic strip

JUST CALL ME SUGAR, COOKIE! Cookies are a part of our childhood: hands slipped surreptitiously into cookie jars, stolen treasure stuffed into pockets and off we rush out into the yard, climb the tree and savor each forbidden bite nestled in the branches; open up the brown paper bag and we are bedazzled by the array of cookies wrapped carefully in plastic, bringing home to the school playground; cookies as chips while playing card games with little brother or simply curling up with a book in our favorite armchair with a selection of our favorite cookies stacked up on the arm next to us, eyes locked on the page as we blindly feel for another and another. Cookies are child’s play, the perfect size, big enough to satisfy, small enough to allow for a choice, one of each, not having to choose just one. Satisfying first bite over and over again, an endless choice of flavors. Love from the oven.


We always had sweet treats in the house, but most came from a box: cakes and pudding, jello, frozen pre-made pie crusts, fruit filling from a can, non-dairy whipped topping. And cookies were never homemade, they came in a package from the supermarket shelf: chocolate chip or peanut butter sandwich, chocolate covered marshmallow or mint, stuffed with fruit paste, vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon-sugar-topped graham crackers, shaped like nuts or animals or cars.


And there were rituals surrounding cookie eating, sacred childhood rituals evolved over time, changing as our moods changed or as we grew older: unscrew the top cookie off the sandwich, scrape the front teeth across the bottom “skkrrrrrkkkk” through the sugary cream filling leaving a trail like tire marks in the snow; pick out the chocolate chips, one by one, using only the front teeth; carefully peeling away the cookie shell to reveal – and leave – the fruit paste filling to be savored alone; eaten straight, crunchy, crispy, leaving a trail of crumbs or dunking in milk or hot chocolate until softened then sucking in all the flavorful goodness; picking out and ordering the animals as they are pulled out of the tiny caravan, biting off heads, then feet then popping the body into the mouth; sucking off the frosting, white or pink, before deciding whether or not the cookies sans frosting are still worth eating.


And the best thing about growing up in a household where packaged cookies were the norm? No fighting! No “What kind of cookies shall I bake today?” Nah, it was a trip to the grocery store and we could each pick our own. Great, because little bro and I definitely did not have the same taste in either cookies, cereal, Kool Aid, Pop Tarts or soda.

Whenever I am back in the states with my boys, we get a thrill rushing off to the grocery store and standing in the cookie aisle in front of the astounding array of boxes, all the types of cookies offered in this wonderland of the American Dream. We stand in utter amazement at the selection, marveling at all the new cookies that people – or elves – have dreamed up. Do we choose our old favorites or try something new? Oreos and animal crackers for son, decadent marshmallow pinwheels for mom, and let’s try one or two new ones. After all, we must test them out!


But at home back in France, though we live in the city of LU, le Veritable Petit Beurre, le Palet Breton and les BN, I make and bake my own. Homemade. Well, that’s no surprise coming from a food blogger and confessed baking addict, now is it? Yet cookies, I believe, are the most unforgiving of all baked goods; time consuming and aggravating. Folding in the flour, all that elbow grease needed to turn those luscious ingredients into something stiff and sticky, scooping up and pushing off spoonful by spoonful of batter onto baking sheets, goo up to our elbows, in our hair and stuck to our face then popped in the oven, 8 minutes, 10, 12 tops, waiting, watching, scooping, pushing more batter, another baking sheet, and another and another. Leave the cookies in just one or two minutes too long and they are too crispy, burned around the edges. Can’t twitter, can’t answer the phone or * oops * lost another batch!

Why not another cake? Measure, beat, fold, pour, pop one pan or two into the oven and set the timer for 30, 40, 60 minutes and off you go to take care of other things.


So why do I bake cookies when a trip to the grocery store or patisserie is so simple? Or why not bake another cake? Because my men love cookies. Soft, buttery chocolate chip cookies disappear with a rapidity that makes me wonder, leaves me bouche bée (chin meets chest). JP snags the box early in the morning and takes it to work where he leaves it, open, by the coffee machine. Lunchtime he brings back the empty box. Biscotti are our favorites, and I’ve made a few (cappuccino, peanut butter, chocolate chip/almond and cranberry/pistachio), the perfect treat for dunking in a hot cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk. And wafer-thin chocolate rounds, better than any Oreo could ever be, the ultimate chocolate flavor, and Rachel’s rich Chocolate Crinkles. Or scrumptious Rugelach, too easy to eat one after the other. Cookies are a wonderful grab-and-go snack, wrapped up all pretty to offer as gifts, and, of course, homey, cozy fair for an afternoon treat. I bake cookies for my men.


And these cookies are truly gems. Yes, they are time-consuming little buggers, but oh so worth the effort. Soft, moist sugar cookies, the best going and luscious cranberry-pecan pinwheels, the perfect holiday treat. Enjoy! I’ve done all the work!


So, go ahead, just call me Sugar, Cookie!

OLD-FASHIONED SUGAR COOKIES

1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 ½ cups (300 g) sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
2 ¾ cups (415 g) flour
Sugar for rolling the cookies in


In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in the eggs, the cream of tartar, baking soda, vanilla and salt until well combined.


Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer then fold in the remaining flour with a wooden spoon.


Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.


Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Put a few tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl.

Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and shape into 1-inch (2 ½ cm) balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar to coat and place the balls on ungreased cookie sheets spacing them 2 inches (5 cm) apart.


Bake for 9 to 12 minutes until spread, puffed, golden and just starting to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and gently transfer the cookies to wire cooling racks.


CRANBERRY-PECAN PINWHEEL COOKIES

1 cup fresh cranberries, thawed if frozen
1 cup pecans
¼ cup (50 g) packed brown sugar
1 cup (16 Tbs), 225 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
3 ¼ cups (405 g) flour
2 tsps grated orange peel (optional)

Prepare the filling:
In a food processor combine the cranberries, pecans and dark brown sugar. Whiz until finely chopped but not a paste! Set filling aside. (This can also be done by hand, simply finely chop both the cranberries and the pecans and stir together with the brown sugar).


Prepare the cookie dough:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds until fluffy. Add the granulated sugar, baking powder and salt and beat until well combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the eggs (and the orange peel, if adding) and beat until combined.


Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer then fold in the remaining flour with a wooden spoon.


Divide dough in half, wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour or until easy to handle.


Between sheets of waxed paper (I ended up pulling off the waxed paper and working on a floured surface, but you do what’s easiest for you), roll each half of dough into a 10-inch (25 cm) square. Spread half of the cranberry-pecan-brown sugar filling evenly over the first square of dough leaving about a 1/2-inch margin free at the top.


Roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Moisten the bare edge, press and pinch to seal. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.


Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Cut each roll into ¼-inch (1/2 cm) slices. Place slices on ungreased cookie sheets spacing them 2 inches (5 cm) apart.

I must admit that I forgot to chill the dough before slicing. I may have had prettier results.

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until edges are firm, cookies are golden and the bottoms of the cookies are light brown. Remove from the oven, allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute before transferring them to wire cooling racks. Allow to cool.