C O O K I E R E C IP E S
f o
o
d
meet nicole
Don’t stress over creating
elaborate sweets, says BHG food
stylist Nicole Faber Peterson.
“You’ll enjoy holiday baking more if
you opt for simple techniques and
easy recipes,” she says. Nicole took
a nonchalant approach to
decorating— no cutters required—
and added new flavors. The result,
she says, is “cookies that are boldly
unique yet comfortably familiar.”
STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD
ICICLES
Straw berry preserves and p in k peppercorns
add z in g to typ ically subdued shortbread. We
love the citrus-sw eet heat o f peppercorns, but
they’re optional. F in d them at
penzeys.com.
PREP:
45
MIN. BAKE
16
MIN. OVEN:
300
oF
i
cup butter, softened
V i
cup granulated sugar
’4
cup strawberry preserves
i
tsp. vanilla
V i
tsp. ground pink peppercorns
2V3 cups all-purpose flour
Coarse decorating sugar (optional)
1
recipe Icing,
right
(optional)
Silver or white nonpareils (optional)
1.
H eat oven to
300
°F. L in e two baking
sheets w ith parchm ent paper; set aside.
2. In m ix in g bow l beat butter on m edium for
30
seconds. A d d granulated sugar, preserves,
vanilla, peppercorns, and
(/4
tsp.
salt;
beat
u n til w ell-com bined. Beat in as m uch flour
as you can; stir in rem aining by hand.
3. On lig h tly floured surface ro ll dough to
(/4 -in c h thickness. Use a 6- to
7
-in c h round
scallop-edge tart pan to cut rounds (see “Get
the Look”
below),
re-ro llin g and cutting as
needed (w ill have
3
to
4
rounds total). U sing
two spatulas, transfer 1 or 2 rounds to each
prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 in ch apart.
U sing a p izza cutter, random ly cut rounds in
wedges; do not separate. L ig h tly b rush w ith
m ilk;
sprinkle w ith coarse sugar.
4. Bake
16
to
20
m inutes or u n til centers are
set and edges begin to brown. Remove
baking sheets from oven. Recut wedges; let
cool slightly on pan. Transfer to w ire racks
to cool completely.
5. Ice cooled shortbread; arrange nonpareils.
MAKES ABOUT
3
DOZEN WEDGES.
ICING In bow l com bine
2
cups
pow dered
sugar,
1
Tbsp.
m ilk,
and (/2 tsp.
vanilla.
Stir in
additional m ilk for spreading consistency.
EACH WEDGE
96
cal,
5
gfat,
14
mgchol, S
3
mg
sodium, 11 g carbo, 0 g fiber, 1 g pro.
continued on page
208
et the look
p ic tu re -p e rfe c t sh o rtb re a d
The same dough was used to make the
shortbread icicles, above, and the
diamonds,
left.
For the icicles, we used
a scallop-edge tart pan to cut circles. A
bowl or round canister, 6 to 7 inches in
diameter, will worktoo. For diamond
shapes, use the short edge of a rectangular tart pan o ra
crinkle vegetable cutterto cutfree-form diamonds. Find
the recipe for Snowball cookies on
page 208.
••INTRODUCING
TH E
U L T IM A T E
INDULGENCE,
IN SID E AND O U T
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Filled Cookies
CTioitilM* 0>>p C>x<iws ->th CliiRoiUH Hi»-j
N e w N e s tle ® T u ll H o u s e ® J - t - r n a t e s ”
F ille d C o o k i e s ,
W ith A R ich C h o c o la te
O r G o o e y C a ra m e l C en ter.
All trademarks are owned by Société des Produits
Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland or used with permission.
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS DECEMBER 2009
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