Baking Goodies and Gifts

Photo Kate Whitaker/Ryland Peters & Small

Baking is on many people’s minds right now, so this week I am focusing on more recipes for cookies and tips for gifting. It’s hard to imagine the holidays without cookies. We all have our favorites, and family and friends often expect them at the dessert table: I’m “famous” for my buttery Spritz cookies (I always use this classic Land O’Lakes recipe with the vanilla) and delicate Russian Teas (I bake at a lower temp of 300°F for a bit longer—25 minutes—to achieve delicate crumbly results; check out last’s week’s post for more baking tips). And there is always room for another cookie or dessert at the table—plus it’s fun to try something new. Homemade goodies also make a welcome, not to mention cost-effective, gift.

These recipes by Liz Franklin from her book “The Cookie Jar,” which appeared in Real Food, offer a variety of cookies for serving or gifting. The Pepparkakor provide a unique but enticing mix of sweet and spicy flavors, plus can be made into decorations by simply adding a hole in the dough before baking to make them ready for hanging. The Coconut Fingers will be a hit with kids and adults alike. The Lemon Snowflakes offer a fresh flavor for the season—and decorating them can be a fun family activity. And the Chocolate and Hazelnut Brunslis provide a dairy- and gluten-free option (though they do contain nuts) so most everyone has something delicious to indulge in this holiday season.

Gift Packing Tips

• Package some of your cookies in an airtight plastic bag or wrap securely with a twist-tie or ribbon and place them in a cup and saucer set or mug for a special individual gift. You could also include your recipient’s favorite tea or coffee.
• Sturdy cookies, such as those featured below, do better packaged for gift giving. Use tins or boxes and don’t stack too many on top of each other. Include parchment paper between any that have toppings, such as the Coconut Fingers.
• For more tips on packaging and mailing cookies, Land O’Lakes also features many helpful suggestions.

• For quick bread, scroll down for recipes and tips.

Pepparkakor

Makes about 20

These lovely spiced cookies are popular in Scandinavian countries at Christmas time and can be cut into any Christmassy shape you prefer and decorated to look really special. It’s always nice to have a festive treat on hand when visitors call. They’re also good to hang on the Christmas tree; just make sure you poke holes in the tops before baking. –Liz Franklin

5 tablespoons salted butter
½ cup dark muscovado sugar (see Editor’s Note)
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice/apple pie spice
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk

For the Decoration
2½ cups powdered sugar
1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Put the butter, sugar and honey into a saucepan and heat gently until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool a little.
3. Put the flour, baking soda, spices and salt into a large mixing bowl. Pour over the melted butter mixture and add the milk. Bring everything together to form a smooth dough.
4. On a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a large rectangle with a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Cut out cookies using star-shaped cookie cutters or the cutters of your choice. Bring the trimmed dough together and roll out again to cut as many cookies out of the dough as possible. Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, leaving a little space for spreading between each one.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until firm.
6. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes or so, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. In the meantime, put the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl and beat in the egg white, until you have a thick, smooth icing. Spoon the mixture into a piping/pastry bag fitted with a plain writing nozzle/tip and decorate the biscuits as you wish!
8. Leave to set, store between layers of baking parchment in an airtight container or cookie jar and eat within 3 days.

Editor’s Note: If muscovado sugar—which is an unrefined or partially refined cane sugar with a strong molasses flavor and high moisture content (also known as Barbados sugar, molasses sugar, kandasari or khand)—is not available, you can substitute with unrefined brown sugars such as jaggery, panela, and Sucanat or standard dark brown sugar.

Photo Kate Whitaker/Ryland Peters & Small

Coconut Fingers

Makes about 25

These are easy to make and always seem to be very popular with children at parties. –L.F.

3½ tablespoons salted butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1¼ cups shredded coconut
Pinch of salt
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ ounces dark chocolate, melted

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Beat the butter, eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add the coconut, salt, flour and baking soda, and stir to combine.
3. Spoon the mixture into a piping/pastry bag fitted with a large nozzle/tip (see Editor’s Note) and pipe finger shapes directly onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a little space for spreading between each one.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden and firm.
5. Leave to cool on the baking sheets. Decorate with zigzags of melted chocolate across the length of the cookies and serve. Store in an airtight container or cookie jar and eat within 3 days.

Editor’s Note: If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can use a plastic food storage bag. Cut off one corner of the bag and squeeze the dough out through the hole.

Photo Kate Whitaker/Ryland Peters & Small

Lemon Snowflakes

Makes about 20

These lovely lemony cookies are perfect at Christmas time, and the snowflake shape gives them such a pretty, elegant look. I like to decorate them in a mixture of ways—some I cover completely with icing, and others, I trace the skeleton of the shape using a writing tube and piping/pastry bag. However you choose to decorate them, they’re sure to be a hit. And if you want to make them at times other than in winter, then just use a different cookie cutter! –L.F.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup granulated sugar
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
2 sticks salted butter, softened

For the Royal Icing
1 egg white
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Put the dry ingredients and lemon zest into a large mixing bowl and stir well. Add the butter and use your hands to work the mixture into a smooth dough.
3. On a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a large rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out snowflakes using cookie cutters in various sizes. Lay them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving a little space for spreading between each one. Bring the trimmed dough together and roll out again to cut as many cookies out of the dough as possible. Arrange on the baking sheets with the other cookies.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden and firm.
5. Leave to cool slightly on the baking sheets, and then transfer to a wire rack until completely cold.
6. For the royal icing: Lightly whip the egg white in a large mixing bowl and beat in the lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar. Transfer the mixture to a piping/pastry bag fitted with a writing tip and decorate the cookies as desired.
7. Leave to set, store between layers of baking parchment in an airtight container or cookie jar and eat within 3 days.

Photo Kate Whitaker/Ryland Peters & Small

Chocolate and Hazelnut Brunslis

Makes about 30

These. Cookies. Are. Just. Delicious. And they have no butter or flour in them, so anyone on a dairy-free or gluten-free diet can enjoy them without worry. I think they could possibly be calorie-free, if eaten standing up, too. It’s only my theory and I can’t be trusted much on such matters, but they’re cracking good cookies methinks. –L.F.

3½ ounces dark chocolate (70% cocoa is best)
2/3 cup ground almonds
1-1/3 cups ground hazelnuts
Pinch of salt
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 egg, beaten

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Set aside to cool a little.
3. Mix the ground almonds and ground hazelnuts together in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and sugar. Mix in the cooled chocolate and egg. Bring the mixture together to form a soft dough.
4. On a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a large rectangle with a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Stamp out shapes using your favorite cookie cutter. Bring the trimmed dough together and roll out again to cut as many cookies out of the dough as possible.
5. Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking sheets and bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or so, until firm.
6. Leave on the baking sheets for 10 minutes or so, to cool, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or cookie jar and eat within 5 days.

Nutrition (per cookie)
• Pepparkakor: Calories: 150, Fat: 3g (Sat: 2g), Cholesterol: 10 mg, Sodium: 65 mg, Carb: 29g, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 19g, Protein: 1g
• Coconut Fingers: Calories: 70, Fat: 4g (Sat: 2.5g), Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 55mg, Carb: 9g, Fiber: <1g, Sugar: 6g, Protein: <1g
• Lemon Snowflakes: Calories: 220, Fat: 9g (Sat: 6g), Cholesterol: 25mg, Sodium: 75mg, Carb: 34g, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 19g, Protein: 2g
• Chocolate and Hazelnut Brunslis: Calories: 90, Fat: 4.5g (Sat: 1g), Cholesterol: 5mg, Sodium: 10mg, Carb: 11g, Fiber: <1g, Sugar: 9g, Protein: 1g

Recipes and photos from “The Cookie Jar: Over 90 Scrumptious Recipes for Home-Baked Treats from Choc Chip Cookies and Snickerdoodles to Gingernuts and Shortbread” by Liz Franklin © 2015, 2021 used with permission from Ryland Peters & Small. Photography by Kate Whitaker © Ryland Peters & Small.

Photo Terry Brennan

Hungry for More?

Brown Butter Banana Bread + More Quick Bread Recipes

A delicious twist on banana bread, eggnog loaves, and gingerbread are a cinch for homemade gifts or to enjoy throughout the season—plus fun with baking science.

Plus: Sweet Gifts Wrapped Up: Homemade quick bread makes a wonderful gift. There are several ways to wrap them for the holidays.

How long will quick breads stay fresh?
Breads with plenty of butter, oil, nuts and fruit will keep for several days in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic. If you want to plan ahead, you can bake your quick breads and then freeze them for up to one month before defrosting on the countertop. Plus, learn more tips.

Looking for Gluten-Free?

Try this Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread Recipe
Banana bread fans can whip up this easy gluten-free loaf that rivals the traditional versions.