Black Pepper Cookies

Black Pepper Cookies

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 189.

These spice cookies are delicious and pretty addictive. They are very firm, you might even call them "hard", but so good. They have a caramel-like flavor.

About the baking time - 12 minutes seems accurate but I would begin checking at 10 minutes and take them out as soon as they begin to turn a light, golden brown and before they turn too dark. When trying a new recipe, I always bake one sheet at a time to know if I need to adjust the time for the remaining. Once you know that, you can certainly bake several sheets at once, just flip and swap them about halfway through. 

This recipe once again brings up the evil pastry cloth. Not really evil, I suppose, but I do not own one and have never used one. I found an array of alternatives online that can be used for such, ranging from paper towels to cheesecloth. I wondered about my silicon mat and asked that question online and the answer was yes you can!

One drawback I found to the silicone mat is that the dough tended to stick after rolling it out, even with a generous dusting. However, the dough is very firm and forgiving. You can easily slide it off the mat with a spatula or flat knife (which is what I used) and the dough stays firm. It reminded me of making biscuits. 

Makes 36 cookies

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper, ground fine
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. powdered cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. powdered ginger
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg

Adjust the oven rack to high and preheat to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

Beat the butter to soften it and then add the salt, pepper, cayenne, cloves, cinnamon,  and ginger.  You should scrape the bowl to make sure everything gets mixed.

Beat in the egg and the sugar, mixing and scraping the bowl.

On lowest speed, add the flour mixture.

Transfer to a board or flat surface and knead lightly. Divide the dough into three pieces. Work with one piece at a time. 

On a lightly floured pastry cloth (I used a silicon mat), roll out the dough to 1/8 to 1/4 thickness. 

Place the cookies about 3/4" apart on the cookie sheet. Use a spatula or a flat knife if the dough is sticking to your surface. This is a firm dough and easy to work with.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. I found that 10 1/2 to 11 minutes was good. You want to remove them from the oven before they begin to turn dark which they will do in a hurry. They will also continue to bake once removed so it is best to get them transferred to a wire rack immediately.

Store in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Icebox Cookies

 

Peanut Butter Icebox Cookies (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 160.

Another day, another icebox cookie recipe. These are just like regular peanut butter cookies but shaped like a wafer. The dough is very easy to work with and it slices beautifully after it has been frozen if you use a large, sharp knife. 

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg

Makes 40 to 48 cookies

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon. Set aside.

Beat the butter and peanut butter until soft.

Add the vanilla and almond extracts. Add the sugars. Beat until incorporated.

Beat in the egg.

On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until mixed.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Knead it slightly and form it into a ball. Using the heel of your hand, "push off" the dough away from you. Do this to all of the dough and then reform it and push it off again. The dough will have a clay-like texture. 

Now form it into an oblong shape about 10-12 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze until firm (several hours if using refrigerator, about 45 minutes if freezing it). You can freeze it until you are ready to bake.

When ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with foil or parchment. Slice the dough about 1/4 thick and place them 1" apart on the sheets. Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly colored and slightly dark around the edges. Transfer to a rack to cool.

New Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies

New Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 163.

Maida Heatter fans are probably familiar with her Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies. I made them here (gulp...13 years ago!) and have heard many favorable comments about them. Since I have a tendency to make something new every time I'm in the kitchen, I don't think I've made those since then. So, I had to go back and look closely at that recipe to compare them with the "new" cookies. 

It turns out there are quite a number of differences. This recipe uses chocolate instead of cocoa powder, does not have cayenne or black pepper and has brown sugar instead of white. Okay, so the two recipes are entirely different from each other!

These cookies are quite good, and I found myself going back for more. The flavor is unique (another difference is this recipe calls for nutmeg instead of cinnamon).  I didn't bake the entire portion of dough at once so more to look forward to. That is the beauty of icebox cookies. 

A note about the loaf pan size - this calls for a 10 x 5 x 3 pan. I didn't have one so instead opted for an unusual pan that I have that measures 12 x 4 x 3. It worked fine and any size that deviates should probably only affect the size of the cookies.

Another note - the recipe lists pine nuts, but Maida says any other nut can be used or you may skip them altogether. I've never used pine nuts in my life and thought about using pecans but eventually decided not to use any at all.

This recipe makes 66 cookies.

3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, cut into pieces
2 2/3 oz. (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
3 oz. pine nuts (optional)

Prepare a 10 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan with two pieces of wax paper or aluminum foil. Cut one piece slightly longer than the length of the pan and the other slightly wider than the width so that you will have handles that overlap the edges.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

Chop the chocolate in a food processor of use a heavy knife. The chocolate must be fine.

Cream together the butter and the shortening.

Beat in the sugar and mix well.

Add the egg, vanilla and sour cream.

Add the sifted flour ingredients on low speed. Beat only until thoroughly incorporated.

Add the chocolate and nuts (if using).

Press the dough firmly into the prepared pan. Fold the paper over the top and firmly press down.

Freeze for 6-8 hours or more.

When ready to bake, line cookie sheets with parchment or foil. Heat the oven to 400.

Remove the dough from the pan and carefully remove the paper. Cut lenghtwise with a sharp knife and then cut 1/4" inch slices. Place them 2" inches apart on the cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.