Festive Fun…

BY LINDA GARSON

With so many traditions at this time of year, a cookie exchange (or cookie swap), has to be high on my list. It’s not something I was familiar with before coming to Canada, but I love the concept of baking a big batch of your favourite cookie, and getting together with friends to share them - I feel it’s as much about the getting together with friends as it is the cookies.

And I love that it doesn’t matter what you believe and celebrate, or whether you believe or celebrate anything at this time of year – a cookie exchange is non-denominational, and it’s even more fun to discover and learn about cookies from other parts of the world. Are there any countries that don’t eat any sort of cookie?

Recently - for a couple of years, we couldn’t get together with friends and it became a cookie recipe exchange, but having to bake them all yourself isn’t anywhere near as appealing as time with your besties, eating cookies. Oh the fun and laughs!

This year, we contacted bakers around the province to ask about their favourite holiday cookie, and what they’d suggest for us to bake at home without too much fuss or needing special, hard to find ingredients. Six bakers came back to us, and we loved seeing what they’d chosen and hearing the stories behind them. Nostalgia’s definitely a big part of cookie-making and eating at this time of year, and grandmas were mentioned more than once. Start planning to bake with your grandchildren when the time comes, if you don’t already - evidently, they remember those times so fondly! Thanks very much to our bakers who so generously shared their recipes and their stories. They’re all so completely different, with different methods, different ingredients, and flavours (one is vegan too!). We hope you find a recipe here to make your own and share with others; we can’t wait to roll up our sleeves and get snacking!

SARAH’S CAKES AND COOKIES, Calgary

One of Sarah Abernethy-Wong’s favourite holiday cookie recipes is a Pretzel Caramel Thumbprint cookie.

“It’s a favourite for practical and nostalgia reasons,” she says. “My sons have nut allergies, and that always made it more challenging to find cookies that were nut free, especially during the holidays. It also reminds me of Christmases in the 1970s and 80s when thumbprint cookies were more popular, but usually had a jammy filling.”

The contrast of the sweet caramel and the salty pretzel is delicious! Find Sarah on Instagram @sarahcakes1973

Pretzel

Caramel Thumbprint Cookie

Makes about 40 cookies

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Chopped pretzels or pecans

1. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.

3. Add egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate. Add the flour mixture. Shape dough into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill one hour or overnight.

4. Roll dough into 2.5 cm balls and then roll in pretzel or pecan pieces.

5. Place cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet 7.5 cm apart. Make a well in the centre of each ball with your thumb or back of spoon. Bake 10-12 mins at 350º F.

6. When cookies come out of oven, push thumbprint back into shape as cookies often puff up in oven. Let cookies cool.

Caramel Filling

½ cup unsalted butter

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

4 Tbs (60 mL) heavy cream

1. In a saucepan, melt butter, then add salt and brown sugar.

2. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, lower heat and continue to simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat and add heavy cream and stir. Cool to room temperature.

3. Spoon into well of thumb prints.

Note: You can substitute canned Dulce De Leche instead of caramel filling.

Chocolate Drizzle

60 g dark chocolate

1/8 tsp neutral oil (canola or vegetable)

Melt ingredients in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Drizzle over thumbprint cookies. Garnish with more pretzel or pecan pieces.

COOKIE CRUMBS, Edmonton

We discovered Cookie Crumbs at Bountiful Market on our Edmonton World Taste Tour Treasure Hunt this year!

Agnes Osborne is the owner, and these shortbread cookies are her favourite. “In a world of sprinkles and the next new thing, this recipe is the ultimate reminder of the joy of good, pure, simple ingredients. My late mother-in-law, Mollie had Scottish and English heritage, and the recipe has been used in the family for generations,” she says.

“It inspired everything we do at Cookie Crumbs! Grandma taught me pie crust and shortbread techniques meticulously, and it is a wonderful remembrance of time together with her whenever our family makes our favourite shortbread cookies,” she adds.

Osborne has a few tips to make your shortbread the very best:

* Try to handle the dough as little as possible with “soft” hands. That will result in flakier and softer cookies.

* Mix the butter and sugar to a very smooth consistency before you add the flour. This makes incorporating the flour easier in less time... and again, results in a softer finish.

* When rolling out the dough, use as little flour as possible for the most moist cookies. cookiecrumbs.ca

Mollie's Scottish Shortbread

Makes about 24 cookies

2 cups flour

1 cup butter, room temperature

½ cup cane sugar

¾ tsp salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º F.

2. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer until smooth and light.

3. Add in flour slowly, and mix until well blended.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 6 mm thick.

5. Cut into desired shape using cookie cutters - pre-dip your cutters in flour to prevent sticking.

THE CONSCIOUS CAFÉ Lethbridge

Cami Tanner is the founder and owner of The Conscious Café, Lethbridge's first fully plant-based café. Here they live by Hippocrates’ timeless philosophy: “Let food be thy medicine”, making everything from scratch with wholesome ingredients,

“A lot of our customers have food allergies and intolerances, so it was important to us to have a delicious treat anyone can enjoy. This cookie is perfect as it contains no nuts and no gluten, making it a great treat to indulge in and feel good afterwards,” says Tanner.

“The inspiration came from the classic Mounds candy bar that was a favourite of my Grandpa. He always had them stashed in his office and we would sneak in and steal them when we thought he wasn't looking. But Grandpa was wise to us and bought them by the case knowing his grandkids were stealing his favourite treat. The flavour of sweet coconut covered in silky chocolate has stayed with me, and we added a twist of lime juice to brighten the flavour. In the café we dip it in our house-made 5 mushroom chocolate for added health benefits.” theconsciouscafe.ca

No Bake Coconut Lime Cookie

Makes 8 cookies

2 cups desiccated coconut

3 Tbs (45 mL) fresh lime juice

1/3 cup (80 mL) maple syrup

1/3 cup (80 mL) melted coconut oil Dark chocolate for dipping

1. In a food processor fitted with a blade, add coconut, lime juice, maple syrup and coconut oil and process for 1 minute.

2. Scrape down the sides and process for 1 more minute until ingredients come together and form a dough.

3. Roll out into 4 cm cookie balls and place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Place on cookie sheet. For best results use 2 layers of parchment paper.

7. Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookie corners just slightly brown.

4. Flatten each cookie ball and place into freezer for 15 minutes.

5. Dip into melted chocolate and enjoy!

PIE JUNKIE, Calgary

With four retail locations in Calgary, Pie Junkie is dedicated to all things pie – both sweet and savoury, and all handmade. And they make cookies too!

“There’s a hint of royal history in every bite of our gingerbread, inspired by Queen Elizabeth I’s courtly creations,” explains founder Nancy Goemans. “Made with all butter and a blend of spices, our recipe is a warm, comforting reminder of the holiday season’s classic flavours.” piejunkie.ca

Pie Junkie Gingerbread Cookies

Makes 12-15 cookies

¼ cup (60 mL) molasses

1 cup brown sugar

4 Tbs ground ginger

1½ tsp cinnamon

1½ tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups butter

1 egg

4 cups white flour

½ tsp salt

1. Bring molasses, brown sugar and spices to a boil in a medium heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda (mixture will foam up).

2. Stir in butter 3 pieces at a time, letting each addition melt before adding the next, until all the butter is melted and combined.

3. Add the egg and stir until combined, then stir in flour and salt.

4. When well combined, wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for 2 hours to chill.

5. Roll dough out to 3 mm thick. Place cookies on parchment lined baking tray –do not crowd the cookies.

6. Bake at 275º F for approximately 12 minutes. Rotate the tray 180º after 6 minutes to ensure even cooking.

Royal Icing, to decorate

2 large egg whites, or more to thin icing

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, or more to thicken icing

2-4 teaspoons (10-20 mL) lemon juice

1-2 tsp (5-10 mL) glycerin, optional

1. Beat the whites until stiff but not dry.

2. Add sugar, lemon juice and glycerin (if using); beat for 1 minute more. If icing is too thick, add more egg whites; if it is too thin, add more sugar. The icing may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

*Note: a little glycerin in royal icing prevents your icing from setting too hard and gives a glossy finish.

Bootsma Bakery, Lethbridge

Jamie Bootsma is the owner and operations manager of Bootsma Bakery in Lethbridge, a European-inspired bakery with Dutch roots.

“I chose this recipe to highlight the variety of grains grown in Alberta, showing how simple and rewarding it can be to support local agriculture and experiment with diverse ingredients,” she says. Bootsma uses local barley flakes and flour, the sugar is produced at the Taber factory using locally grown sugar beets, and her vanilla extract is from Baking Barn – a local company that produces vanilla extract from Madagascar vanilla beans.

“While the texture may differ from traditional cookies, it’s equally delicious. I adapted a childhood favourite recipe for Open Farm Days as a fun, unique way to showcase ingredients from farm to table. The eggs come fresh from the chickens, and grains like barley, oats, and wheat, are harvested, milled, and transformed into the flour we use to bake tasty treats.” bootsmabakery.com

Chewy Barley Cookies

Makes about 48 cookies

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup softened butter

2 eggs

1 Tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract

2 cups barley flour

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

1 cup barley flakes

1 cup shredded coconut

½ cup raisins, optional

1 Tbs (15 mL) orange juice, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.

2. If including raisins, add them to the orange juice and stir to coat them in the juice. Set aside.

3. Mix together in a large bowl, white sugar, brown sugar, and butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.

4. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the

Pretty Sweet Co

Calgary

Pretty Sweet Bakeshop’s focus is on pre-orders for your custom cakes, dainties, donuts, and macarons, and they have a retail storefront where you can pick up baked goods that are their modern interpretation of old school recipes.

Owner, Vicki Manness, is sharing her Chocolate Crinkle Cookie recipe. “It’s one of my favourite cookies to make for the holidays,” she says. “It’s such a classic that everyone loves. I love the fudgy chocolate centre with the chewy edges. It’s definitely one that is nostalgic for me, my Grandma used to make them so we always had them growing up.”

She reminds us, “The thing you want to remember is to refrigerate the dough, it needs time to stiffen up slightly - that's how they get their crinkle look!” prettysweetco.com

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Makes about 12 cookies

2 cups sugar

¾ cup (180 mL) vegetable oil

1 cup cocoa powder

4 eggs

2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla extract

2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Icing sugar, for rolling barley flakes and coconut.

1. Add sugar, oil, and cocoa powder, in a mixing bowl and mix on a slow speed until combined.

2. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix on medium until a glossy consistency.

3. Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to the mixing bowl. Mix on low until a dough forms. Cover dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350º F.

5. Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake for 8-12 minutes until the edges are slightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Once chilled, form into 2.5 cm balls, roll into icing sugar and place on a baking tray.

6. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookie has cracks to the icing sugar and the edges are no longer soft.