Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies 12 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and continue to bake cookies until golden, about 6 minutes longer. Cool cookies on baking sheets (cookies will firm as they cool).
DO AHEAD: Cookies can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
These cake-like cookies combine spices, plump raisins, and walnuts. They are an excellent addition to a lunch box or a great pick-me-up on a hike. Makes about 6 dozen
1⅓ cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (packed) golden brown sugar
½ cup sugar
¼ cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until creamy. Beat in milk, egg, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat until blended. Stir in raisins and walnuts. Cover dough and chill until cold, about 2 hours (dough will be sticky).
Preheat oven to 375°F. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto heavy large rimmed baking sheets, spacing evenly. Bake until cookies are pale golden, about 12 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.
DO AHEAD: Cookies can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.
These Italian favorites are rolled in a decidedly American ingredient: crushed cornflakes. Makes about 2 dozen
2½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
4 cups cornflakes, crushedPowdered sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking powder in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and beat until blended. Stir in pine nuts.
Place crushed cornflakes in shallow baking dish. Using 1 heaping tablespoon dough for each cookie, form into balls (dough will be soft and sticky). Roll each ball in cornflakes, pressing gently to adhere. Transfer balls to baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until deep golden, about 23 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely. Dust cookies with powdered sugar, if desired.
DO AHEAD: Cookies can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.
The small amount of flour in the batter is just enough to hold the dough together but still allow the cookies to spread out as they bake, forming thin, lacy designs. Makes about 20
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
⅔ cup old-fashioned oats
½ cup unbleached all purpose flour
½ cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line heavy rimless baking sheet with silicone baking mat or foil. Stir sugar, oats, flour, almonds, orange peel, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and milk and stir well. Let batter stand 10 minutes.
Drop batter by level tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing 4 inches apart (cookies will spread considerably). Bake until cookies are bubbly, lacy, and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Carefully slide baking mat or foil from cookie sheet onto work surface. Let cookies cool completely. Using spatula, carefully transfer cookies to paper towels to absorb any excess butter. Repeat with remaining batter, wiping baking mat or lining cooled cookie sheet with clean foil for each batch.
Line 2 clean baking sheets with waxed paper or parchment paper. Stir chocolate in small metal bowl set over small saucepan of gently simmering water until melted and smooth. Partially dip 1 cookie into melted chocolate, coating ¼ of cookie. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookies and melted chocolate. Chill until chocolate is set. Carefully remove cookies from waxed paper.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container in cool place.
Lacy Sandwich CookiesThis recipe can also be used to make small lacy chocolate sandwich cookies. Use a rounded teaspoonful of dough to make the cookies smaller, and bake them for only about 10 minutes. Once they have cooled, spread a small amount of the melted chocolate over the bottom side of one cookie, then top with a second cookie, bottom side down. Repeat with the remaining cookies and chocolate for a total of about two dozen sandwich cookies.
Equipment Tip: Clean ChoppingFor easy chocolate chopping that’s also easy to clean up, use a wide, heavy chef’s knife or Chinese cleaver and chop the chocolate on a thin, flexible plastic cutting board; the board makes it easy to transport the chopped chocolate to the double boiler, and it’s lightweight, so a snap to rinse off. Flexible cutting boards can be found at bedbathandbeyond.com, amazon.com, and some kitchen supply and cookware stores.
Use a razor-sharp Microplane (available at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and kitchenware stores) to grate the orange peel. It makes the job so easy and creates a delicate grated peel. Makes about 4 dozen
2 cups (packed) dried sweetened cranberries
⅓ cup orange juice
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons finely grated orange peel
¾ cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup chopped unsalted natural pistachios