Three Amazing Cookie Recipes
Don't take my word for it. Bake it to believe it!
The truth is, I’m not that into dessert. I rarely have the space left after dinner to appreciate it. If I eat sugary things too early in the day, it sends me into a maniacal hunger spiral followed by a powerful desire to nap.
For a cookie to grab my attention, create an obsession, or spur on a fiendish addiction, it must be spectacular. It must transcend flavor and texture. It must have, as Italians say: il suo perché, essentially, its reason for existing. Raison d’être.
All three of these recipes hit the mark.
Some of you may have tried them. I hope all of you will now. Let me know in the comments how it goes, or what you would improve. I’m listening!
“Darrell’s Forget the Cookies Just Give Me That Batter” Chocolate Chip Cookies
Also known as, why I was a fat teen.
For an avid chef and self-described gourmand, I rarely commit recipes to memory. I tend to read a lot and observe the experts at work. I put it all in my brain funnel and go on instinct. It usually works out.
This recipe, and one other, my Grandma Shirley’s baked macaroni and cheese, are inscribed on my brain like cuneiform on a 3000-year-old clay tablet.
Inexorable, unforgettable, and the reason I couldn’t fit into Forever 21 clothes until my late thirties.
Sometime during elementary school, I received a kids cookbook for Hanukkah. It came with measuring cups and cute little illustrations of anthropomorphized animals in aprons. Darrell was a bear.
This recipe produces flat, chewy, caramelized cookies with a perfect dash of salt to keep you coming back for more.
That’s if you get to the part where you bake them. I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count, just to eat it raw.
I’ve halved it and quartered it too (using mental math), which is a gluttonous miracle.
Recently I sprinkled the cookies with sea salt before baking. The result was terrifyingly delicious.
Ingredients for 20 cookies
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 c. + 1 tbs flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
6 oz. (170 grams) chocolate chips
1/2 c. walnuts (optional)
Sea salt (optional)
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190° C.
In the small pan or double boiler, melt the butter. Whisk in both sugars and the vanilla. Set aside and cool.
While the butter mixture is cooling, mix the flour, salt, and baking soda. In a mug small bowl, beat the egg with a fork and add to the butter mixture.
Add the butter, egg and vanilla to the flour mixture in a mixing bowl. Add chocolate chips and optional nuts.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Sample often.
To make the cookies, roll dough into ping-pong sized balls.
Drizzle with sea salt.
Bake for 10 minutes maximum for soft and chewy cookies. Cool on a rack and enjoy. The cookies are divine. The batter is better.
Originally published in “Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual”; Klutz Publishers, 1987.
Orange and Almond-Scented Glazed Holiday Hearts
This year, inspired by citrus season and desperately seeking distraction in the wake of major deadlines, a recipe was born. I scoured the internet for iced sugar cookie recipes. In the end, the recipe found me.
I picked up a €2 set of cookie cutters at the local casalinghi shop, a Dollar General kind of place that sells household essentials, most of it directly shipped from China. The Sunlux cookie molds came in both classic and questionable shapes (see image), but on the back of the package I discovered a magnificent recipe.
I’d been planning to grate orange zest into whatever recipe I used. This one calls for lemon. An easy swap. I upped the salt and used almond extract.
Ingredients for 40-70 cookies
330 grams pastry flour (farina 00)
200 grams butter, chilled and cubed
133 grams powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
Zest of one lemon or orange
1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla)
½ tsp salt
Ingredients for Glaze. Quantity TBD as needed
Powdered sugar. I used Italian brand, Paneangeli
Water or orange juice
Food coloring (optional)
Vanilla (optional)
Procedure
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Form a hole in the center and add the butter, zest, almond extract and egg yolk.
With gloved hands and a spatula, work the dough until it starts to come together.
Massage it to a smooth consistency.
Divide into three balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour.
In the meantime, prepare the glaze
Use 3-4 tablespoons of liquid per 150 grams of powdered sugar.
Add vanilla to taste. Whip until gets very dense and creamy and spreadable.
Preheat the oven to 390° F /200° C.
Roll out the dough on parchment-covered surface. I cover it with parchment paper as I roll it out to avoid sticking.
When the dough is about a millimeter high, test out the molds. The dough should be cool and pliable. If it starts warming up or getting sticky, return to the fridge and start again.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Hot Tip: If you accidentally add to much liquid to your glaze and it ends up more paste-like or doesn’t set, don’t panic! Stick two cookies together for scrumptious sandwich cookies.
Brutti ma Buoni (Ugly but Tasty)
These guilty little pleasures are popular throughout Rome and the surrounding region of Lazio, as well as parts of Tuscana, Lombardia, and Piemonte. They’ve been tormenting me for years, as I’m deathly allergic to hazelnuts, so my version uses almonds only.
The cookies are also the pride and joy and a perennial bestseller of Rome’s legendary bakery, Biscottificio Innocenti.
Their exact origin story is somewhat mythologized. One popular tale attributes the recipe to a pastry chef in the town of Gavirate in northern Italy around the turn of the twentieth century.
Practical and creative, the cookies were crafted as a way to use up leftover hazelnuts and egg whites. The recipe made its way south, picking up variations en route. Hazelnuts are the most common, followed by almonds or a combination of both. Try mixing sweet and bitter almonds. Mix up both roasted and raw nuts. No rules!
Ingredients
*Quantities vary based on how you shape them
200g (about 1 ¾ cups) hazelnuts, almonds (or a mix of both)
150g (about ¾ cup) granulated sugar
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C.
Spread the nut on a baking sheet and roast them for about 10 minutes, until they’re fragrant and the skins start to loosen or darken.
Rub the hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel to remove most of the skins. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The cookies aren’t supposed to be pretty.
Chop the hazelnuts coarsely or pulse briefly in a food processor. You want pieces, not powder.
To make the meringue, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form soft peaks.
Gradually add sugar while continuing to beat until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks.
Gently fold in the vanilla ( or any nut extract) extract and the chopped hazelnuts.
Transfer the mixture to a sturdy-bottomed saucepan.
Stirring constantly over low heat for 8–10 minutes, or until the mixture thickens slightly and loses its glossy shine.
Shape into spoon-sized balls onto parchment-covered baking sheet, leaving a couple inches of space between them.
Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden and dry to the touch.
Turn off the oven, prop the door open, and let the cookies cool in the oven for an hour before serving.
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