The ultimate cross country cookie swap

Duchess Bake Shop

These traditional French butter cookies are a snap to make. They positively melt in your mouth and make a great addition to any holiday cookie lineup. The cardamomand-orange combination is perfect for the holidays, but if you aren’t a fan, you could simply omit those flavourings and add a bit more vanilla.

— GISELLE COURTEAU, CO-OWNER, EDMONTON

Cardamom Orange Sablés Bretons

Cardamom Orange Sablés Bretons

Makes 16 cookies Prep time 20 min Total time 1 hr 50 min Plus cooling time 1 ½ cups cake and pastry flour (180 g) 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp ground cardamom ½ tsp salt 3 large egg yolks ⅔ cup granulated sugar (128 g) 1 tsp vanilla ½ cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature 1 tsp orange zest Topping 1 egg yolk, beaten 2 tsp sanding sugar or granulated sugar

1. Line a 9 × 9-in. baking pan with parchment, leaving overhanging edges on 2 long sides. 2. Sift flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt into a large bowl. 3. Combine 3 yolks and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until thickened and pale yellow, about 2 min. Beat in vanilla until combined. Beat in flour mixture, butter and orange zest just until combined. 4. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Press down with your hands, working dough into all corners. (You may need to sprinkle a little flour on top so it doesn’t stick to your fingers too much.) Using the flat bottom of a cup, smooth top. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 5. Position rack in centre of oven, and then preheat to 350F. 6. Topping: Brush top of cold dough with beaten yolk. Run the tines of a fork across dough horizontally and vertically to create a design. Sprinkle generously with sanding sugar. 7. Bake until cookies are golden-brown, 25 to 30 min. Remove from oven. Immediately run a knife between parchment and pan. Lift overhanging parchment and transfer sablés to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 min. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Baker’s tip Sanding sugar’s shiny, coloured crystals won’t melt in the oven. Find it at craft or bulk food stores.

Mint Chip Cookies

Makes 20 cookies Prep time 30 min Total time 1 hr Plus overnight setting time

Cookies 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 g) 1 cup cocoa powder (80 g), sifted 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar (96 g) 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (96 g) 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla 1 to 2 tsp peppermint extract

Topping 1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted Green gel food colouring 1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Cookies: Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 325F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. 2. Whisk flour with cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. 3. Beat butter in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-low, until fluffy, 2 to 5 min. Beat in sugars. Beat until very pale and fluffy, 10 to 12 min. Reduce speed to low. Beat in egg, vanilla and peppermint extract. 4. Beat in flour mixture until combined. Scoop heaping 1-tbsp portions of dough, roll into balls and arrange 2 in. apart on prepared sheets. Press down and flatten cookies slightly. 5. Bake until cookies are no longer shiny, 12 to 13 min. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 20 min. 6. Topping: Dip the tip of a toothpick into food colouring, then dip into melted white chocolate in a small bowl. Stir to combine until a light green colour forms. Scrape chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Drizzle chocolate over cooled cookies on rack and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let stand overnight until chocolate is firm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Brown Butter Holiday Confetti Cookies

Makes 20 cookies Prep time 25 min Total time 1 hr 5 min Plus cooling time

14 tbsp unsalted butter, divided 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 g) 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (144 g) 1/2 cup granulated sugar (96 g) 1 tbsp vanilla or vanilla bean paste 1 tsp kosher salt 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 3 tbsp mixture of red, white and green sprinkles

1. Position rack in centre of oven, and then preheat to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. 2. Melt 10 tbsp butter in a medium saucepan set over medium. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often with a heatproof spatula, until milk solids have turned a medium-dark brown and butter begins to smell nutty, 5 to 7 min. Pour browned butter into a large bowl. Add remaining 4 tbsp butter to browned butter. Stir until melted. Set aside and let cool slightly, about 5 min. 3. Meanwhile, combine flour with baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside. 4. Whisk both sugars, vanilla and salt into melted butter. Whisk in egg and egg yolk vigorously until well combined. Set aside for 5 min. Then whisk vigorously for 30 sec. Continue this cycle until mixture is pale and thick, 1 or 2 more times. 5. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture until only a few streaks of flour remain. Add sprinkles, and then stir just until combined and no streaks remain. (Be careful not to overmix.) Scoop 2-tbsp portions of dough and arrange 2 in. apart on prepared sheets. 6. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are just browned at the edges, about 8 min. (Middles of cookies will be slightly puffed; they may have some “wiggle” and look slightly underdone, but they will set as they cool.) Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Chocolate-Dipped Star Cookies

Makes 18 to 20 cookies Prep time 30 min Total time 1 hr 15 min Plus setting time

2/3 cup salted butter, at room temperature ½ cup + 1 tbsp icing sugar (73 g) 1 tsp water 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (180 g) 5 tbsp cornstarch (40 g) ⅔ cup dark chocolate chips, melted

1. Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350F. 2. Beat butter with icing sugar, water and vanilla in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, until well combined. 3. Stir flour with cornstarch in a medium bowl. Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture until a dough forms. 4. Transfer dough to a floured surface. Roll out dough to ¼-in. thickness. Cut out cookies with a 3-in.-wide star-shaped cookie cutter, arranging 2 in. apart on baking sheets. 5. Bake until cookies are light golden, 13 to 14 min. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely. 6. Dip cooled cookies halfway into melted dark chocolate and let excess drip off. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and let stand until chocolate is firm, about 2 hrs. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Glazed Gingerbread Cookies

Makes 26 cookies Prep time 30 min Total time 1 hr 20 min Plus setting time

Cookies 1 cup vegetable shortening 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (288 g) 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (48 g) 2 large eggs 1/3 cup molasses 4 cups all-purpose flour (480 g) 4 tsp cornstarch 2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp ginger 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cloves ⅛ tsp salt ¼ cup orange juice

Glaze 2 ½ cups icing sugar (300 g) 1 ½ tbsp white corn syrup 1 tsp clear or regular vanilla 1 to 3 tbsp water ¼ cup finely chopped candied ginger

1. Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350F. 2. Beat shortening with

granulated and brown sugars in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, until fluffy, 1 to 2 min. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. 3. Stir flour with cornstarch, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and salt until combined. Beat into shortening mixture, along with orange juice, until combined. 4. Roll dough into 26 balls, arranging 4 in. apart on baking sheets. Press down lightly on cookies to flatten slightly. 5. Bake until edges of cookies start to brown, 20 min. (Cookies will appear undercooked but will firm up as they cool.) Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 min. 6. Glaze: Beat icing sugar with corn syrup and vanilla in a large bowl until combined. Beat in water, 1 tbsp at a time, until glaze is runny but still thick. Use a spoon to drizzle over cooled cookies on rack and immediately sprinkle with candied ginger. Set aside until glaze is firm, about 2 hrs. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Cherry Pistachio Shortbread

Makes 24 cookies Prep time 35 min Total time 2 hrs 50 min Plus overnight setting time

Cookies ½ cup salted butter, at room temperature ¼ cup granulated sugar (48 g) 2 tbsp icing sugar (25 g) ¼ tsp vanilla ¼ cup quartered maraschino cherries (reserve 2 tbsp liquid for buttercream), drained well ½ cup + 2 tbsp chopped roasted pistachios, divided 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 g)

Buttercream ¼ cup salted butter, at room temperature 1 ½ cups icing sugar, divided (180 g) 2 tbsp reserved maraschino cherry liquid from jar ¼ tsp vanilla Red food colouring (optional) Red and green coarse sugar (optional)

1. Cookies: Beat ½ cup butter in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, until fluffy, about 1 min. Beat in granulated sugar and 2 tbsp icing sugar just until combined. 2. Reduce speed to low. Beat in vanilla, and then cherries and 2 tbsp pistachios just until combined. (Don’t overmix.) Beat in flour, scraping down side of bowl, just until dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. 3. Gather dough into a ball, then shape into a log about 12 in. long. Roll log in remaining ½ cup pistachios, coating well. Wrap log in parchment or waxed paper. Refrigerate until firm enough to slice, at least 2 hr. 4. Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 325F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment. 5. Slice chilled log into 24 ½-in.-thick cookies, arranging 1 in. apart on prepared sheets. 6. Bake until cookies start to brown on bottoms and spring back lightly when touched, about 15 min. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 15 min. 7. Buttercream: Meanwhile, beat ¼ cup butter, using an electric mixer on medium, until fluffy, about 1 min. Beat in ¾ cup icing sugar until combined. Reduce speed to low. Beat in cherry liquid and vanilla. If you’d prefer a deeper red colour, beat in a few drops of red food colouring. Beat in remaining icing sugar, ¼ cup at a time, until soft peaks form. 8. Scrape buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe a swirl onto each cooled cookie. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let stand overnight until icing is firm. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Makes 24 cookies Prep time 20 min Total time 1 hr Plus cooling time

4/3 cup icing sugar (80 g) 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (288 g) 1/2 cup melted coconut oil or vegetable oil

1/2 cup oat or almond milk, at room temperature 1 1/2 tbsp ground flaxseed 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 g) 3/4 cup cocoa powder (60 g) 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt

1. Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Pour icing sugar into a medium bowl. 2. Stir granulated sugar with oil in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in milk, flaxseed and vanilla until combined. 3. Sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Stir until a soft dough forms. Scoop heaping 1-tbsp portions of dough and roll into balls. Coat balls completely in icing sugar and arrange 2 in. apart on prepared sheets. (The more icing sugar on the cookie, the more you will have a defined “crinkle” look.) 4. Bake cookies for 15 min. Cookies may look a bit wet or soft in the middle but will firm up as they cool. Let cookies cool on sheet for 10 min. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Chatelaine Test K itchen cook ie tips

Spoon and level Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, and then use a straight edge (such as the spoon handle) to level off the top. If you scoop flour straight from the bag, you may end up adding more than necessary, resulting in a drier cookie.

Do a temperature check

All ovens vary in temperature—we offer a range of baking times for this reason—but it’s worth investing in an oven thermometer to know just how hot or cool your oven runs. You can then adjust your temperature and/ or baking time.

Use a cooling rack

After your cookies are out of the oven, transferring them from the pan to a wire rack will keep them from overbaking due to the residual heat. Because air can circulate on all sides, the rack also allows for faster cooling of the cookies.

Store separately Cookies can be sensitive to air and humidity, so store soft and crisp cookies in separate, sealed containers to preserve texture. Separating layers of cookies with parchment will reduce breakage, especially if you’re transporting them.