Whoopies

Whoopies (Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 142.

I had never made whoopie pies before but last week I made some from two different recipes. The other recipe was the one from King Arthur Flour and it uses shortening instead of butter. Both of them turned out well and there wasn't much difference between the two. I gave some of both to my neighbor John who was having a birthday. He and his wife thought that the King Arthur recipe was the best (although they loved both). Michael, on the other hand, liked Maida's better.  

Maida's recipe filling seemed a bit complicated (the King Arthur recipe is much simpler) but I didn't encounter any difficulties by following the recipe exactly. Both fillings are heavy and I wondered how a lighter filling (something similar to Cool Whip) might work.

Regardless, these are quite a delicious treat.

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 /2 cup plus 1 TBS. unsweetened cocoa
1 cup plus 2 TBS. milk

Preheat the oven to 375. Fit cookie sheets with foil or a baking mat. 

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter. Add the vanilla and sugar and mix well.

 

Add the eggs one at at time, scraping the bowl as necessary.

 

Add the cocoa.

 

Add the sifted flour alternately with the milk.

 

Use a 1/4 cup scoop to form the dough. Shape each mound as round as possible. Place the mounds about 4 inches apart on the baking sheets.

 

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.

Remove from the oven - slide the foil off the baking sheet and let them stand for a few minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. You should have 27 large cookies to make 13 whoopies.

 

Creamy White Filling

1/3 cup plus 3 TBS. sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 lb. (3 sticks) butter
Generous pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups strained confectioners sugar

Place the flour in a 1-quart saucepan. Add the milk gradually, stirring with a rubber spatula. 

 

Cook over moderate heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the mixture starts to bubble. Simmer for about 2 minutes.

Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside to cool to room temperature. Stir ocassionally with a whisk. (The mixture will resemble mashed potatoes.)

Beat the remaining butter until softened. Add the vanilla, salt and sugar gradually. Beat for 2 minutes. Gradually add the cooled flour and milk mixture one tablespoon at a time, then beat on high speed 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.

Place a generous tablespoon (or more) of the filling in the center of each cookie. Spread and cover with a second cookie.

Granny's Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies

 

Granny's Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies  (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 63.

Another holiday season, another sugar cookie recipe. These cookies are very good with an nice lemon flavor. However, I found the dough hard to work with - very sticky and requires a lot of flour to keep it manageable.  A few years ago, I made the Plain Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies and I recall that the dough was easier to work with. Still, these are quite delicious and they last a long time if kept airtight.

1 3/4 sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 oz. unsalted butter
Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
1 TBS. lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 TBS. whipping cream

Cinnamon Sugar

1 TBS. granulated sugar
1/3 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter until soft.

 

Beat in the lemon rind, juice and sugar.

 

Beat in the eggs and the whipping cream.

 

Add the flour mixture until smooth.

 

Turn the dough out onto wax paper or plastic wrap. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

 

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.

Cut the dough into thirds. Roll out the dough until thin (about 1/8 inch). If the dough is cold, pound it to soften up slightly. 

 

Cut out the cookies with a cookie cutter (about 3") and place them on the baking sheets about 1/2 inch apart. 

 

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the cookies.

 

Bake for 10-13 minutes. The cookies are done when they are sandy-colored and dark around the rims. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Neapolitans

 

Neapolitans  (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 171.

Here is a festive-looking cookie, perfect for the holidays. The recipe had always intimidated me and I thought they would be a challenge - two different doughs, overnight chilling, etc. However, I was wrong and although maybe a bit time-consuming, they are quite simple to make and actually fun to put together.

Doing an Internet search brings up photos of other Neapolitan cookies and most of them have three colors - white, dark and pink (like the ice cream). This one is different from all of those but the ingredients sound similar. 

Another surprise is the taste - I expected them to be a firm cookies. But I was wrong - they are soft and almost chewy.  

I know that there have been food shortages this year and I wonder if that is the reason I had difficulty locating the candied cherries. I usually see mountains of it piled up in the grocery stores this time of year. I had to go to three different stores before finally finding them at Fred Meyer.

One half of the dough makes a good quantity of cookies. The remaining half can be saved for baking later, which is what I did.

 

Dark Dough  

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 tsp. instant coffee
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
5 oz. (1 cup) nuts (pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts or pecans), cut into medium-sized pieces

You will use a 11 x 5 x 3 loaf pan for this or a pan with a 8-9 cup capacity (or you can use two smaller pans). Criss cross the pan with foil that is long enough to make handles so that you can easily lift it out of the pan.

 

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, clove and cinnamon and set aside.

Cream the butter. Add the brown sugar...

and the instant coffee

Mix in the eggs.

Add the chocolate.

Add the sifted dry ingredients.

Beat in the nuts.

 

Set the dough aside and prepare the second dough.

Light Dough

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS. water
1 egg
3/4 cup currants (unchopped) or raisins (coarsely chopped)
Finely grated rind of 1 large lemon
12 candied red cherries, cut into quarters
12 candied green cherries, cut into quarters

This is made in pretty much the same fashion with a few different ingredients.

Sift the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

Cream the butter.

Add the vanilla and almond extracts, the sugar and the water.

Mix in the eggs.

On low speed, add the sifted ingredients, scarping the bowl as necessary.

Mix in the raisins (or currants), the lemon zest and the cherries.

Place about half of the dark dough in the pan and press it firmly down with your fingertips.

 

Spread all of the light dough over the dark and press firmly down.

 

Cover the top with wax paper or foil and press down.

 

Chill the dough overnight in the freezer or refrigerator.

To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 400. Line the cookie sheets with parchment or foil. 

Remove the dough from the pan carefully. 

Cut the dough in half lengthwise. You can freeze one half for later use or bake both now. If you plan to bake both, replace one in the freezer while you prepare the other.

Cut the dough into slices about 1/4 inch thick. (If the dough crumbles, it needs more chilling).

 

Place the slices 1" apart on the cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the light dough is lightly colored. Watch carefully as the dark dough can burn easily.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Rugelach (Walnut Horns)

 

Rugelach (Walnut Horns)  (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 188 and Cookies Are Magic (Voracious, 2020), pg. 148.

I am just now getting around to making one of Maida's most popular recipes - Rugelach. This is a popular recipe that originated within the Jewish communities of Poland.

I should have made them sooner as they are a huge hit. I was nudged by my friend Joanne who says she makes them every year. They are delicious and I can't wait to try them again and experiment with alternative fillings. I think that apples or chocolate would be fantastic. Michael and some friends thought that they were out of this world. I agree!

The dough is made with cream cheese and is easy to work with. It does have to be chilled overnight before you make them. It is easy to work with and doesn't stick.

I think this is a recipe that might take some practice. Mine were uneven and all over the place. They are easy to make, however, and not as involved as they thought they would be.

 

Cream Cheese Pastry

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
8 oz. (1/2 lb.) Philadelphia brand Cream Cheese (softened)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

 

Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Beat in the salt and gradually add the flour.

When the dough is smooth, form it into a roll. Cut into three equal pieces. Form each into a ball and wrap them individually in plastic wrap or wax paper. Refrigerate overnight or at least 5-6 hours.

When ready to bake, prepare the following filling.

Filling

Whisk the sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. 

Roll out one ball of the dough into a circle about 12 inches wide. It does not have to be exact. If the dough is hard, pound it a bit with the rolling pin or let it sit for a few minutes.

Brush the dough with butter.

Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar.

Sprinkle with 1/3 of the raisins (or currants) and nuts.

Roll over the filling to press the topping into the dough.

 

Cut the dough into 16 pie-shaped wedges. Use a long, sharp knife or a pizza cutter (I found that the pizza cutter worked really well for this).

Roll each wedge from the outside in (widest to shortest).

Place the rolls 1" apart on the pan with the pointed side down.

Glaze

1 egg yolk
1 tsp. water
Optional: Crystal sugar

Stir the egg yolk and water with a fork just to mix. Brush the glaze over the pastries and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown. You can bake two sheets at a time. If you bake one at a time, use the higher rack.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.