2012 Virtual Advent – A Special Christmas Cookie

Virtual Advent is a blog tour that runs from December 1st through 24th. On each of these days one or more blogs will post about a Christmas tradition, memory, or anything Christmas that they want to share.

Spumoni Cookies

I like to cook, but baking from scratch has never been one of my strong points. When I discover a recipe that works well, I’ll use it again and again. I don’t like to argue with success. That’s what happened with my Spumoni Cookies. They were a big hit one Christmas so I brought them again the next year. I’ve been baking this cookie for almost 20 years now and when I don’t bring it on Christmas Day I hear about it. So it’s become a tradition that I bring the Spumoni Cookies.

Ingredients

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 5 drops red food coloring
• ¼ cup ground pistachio nuts or almonds
• 5 drops green food coloring
• 1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled

Preparation

• In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds.



• Add the 1½ cups sugar and beat until fluffy.
• Add egg and vanilla, beat just till combined.
• Slowly add flour mixture beating on medium speed till combined.
• Divide dough into 3 equal portions and place in 3 small bowls. To one portion stir in peppermint extract and red food coloring. To another stir in the pistachio nuts and green food coloring. To the remaining portion stir in the melted chocolate. (I find it impossible to stir anything into dough and have it mix thoroughly. Once I’ve stirred as much as I can I use my hands and mix it until even. Messy, but works the best.)



• Divide each portion of the three balls of dough in half making six balls, total. On waxed paper shape each portion into a 10 inch roll.
• Gently press one roll of pistachio dough and one roll of chocolate dough together, lengthwise, keeping round shapes intact. Gently press one roll of peppermint dough on top, lengthwise, making a shape similar to a triangle. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Wrap each tricolored roll in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-24 hours or until dough is firm enough to slice. (Dough can also be wrapped in foil and frozen for up to 3 months.)
• Cut each roll into ¼ inch slices rotating the roll as you slice to avoid flattening the roll. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.



• Bake at 350° F for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes about 60 cookies.

I use parchment paper over the cookie sheets. It makes cleanup so easy I will never cook them directly on the pan again. Also, one tip, check the temperature of your oven with a thermometer. Don’t trust the dial on the stove. Mine is fairly new and it’s off by about 15° F. I preheat for an extra 10 minutes until I’m sure the temperature is even. I got tired of burnt cookies.

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday and lots of cookies.

——————————–
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.