Christmas Cookies 2020

 Since this year's holiday celebrations include 2 humans and 2 cats, I decided to make just a few cookies and a limited number per batch. I decided to try 3 new recipes and one oldie but goodie. The new recipes were for chocolate crinkles with sea salt, Linzer cookies, and pignoli cookies. The old standby was Mom's Mexican wedding cakes.

The recipe for the Linzer cookies is here. The recipe for the pignoli cookies is here.

Chocolate Crinkles with Sea Salt - 15 cookies

3 cups confectioners sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs, room temperatue

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or pieces

1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

flaky sea salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray with non stick spray.

Whisk sugar, cocoa, regular salt. Beat vanilla and eggs. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet. Add the chocolate and the nuts and mix well.

Spoon 1 1/2 tbs per cookie, 2 inches apart (they spread). Try to mound each cookie to keep the size the same. Sprinkle with the sea salt.

Bake, rotating once, for 12 - 14 minutes.

Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to wire racks to cook completely.

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Mom's Mexican Wedding Cookies -  Makes 3 dozen

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Line cookie sheets with Silpap or parchment paper.

1 cup (2 sticks) room temperature butter

1/2 cup confectioners sugar (plus more for rolling cookies in)

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup crushed pecans

1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients until a ball forms. Roll equal pinches of batter into balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 35-40 minutes until lightly browned. Roll in confectioners sugar while still warm.

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TASTE NOTES

I would recommend making the Linzer cookie dough first since it needs to chill. I would then make the chocolate crinkles, which are incredibly easy. I would then make the pignolis, which are a bit fussy to form. Next, I'd bake the Mexican wedding cookies, which are very quick to make. I left the Linzers for last because they are the most labor intensive, though I might rethink that. The dough does need to chill, but I was tired by the time I got to them, so maybe the should have been after the crinkles.

My favorite of the 4 was the Linzers followed just a smidge behind were the chocolate crinkles, which taste like a cookie version of lava cake. The Mexican wedding cookies are always a treat. The pignolis were good, but I've had better. I couldn't find my usual recipe for them, but will continue to look for next year.