sandwich cookies

Based on his recipe for TKOs Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, I’m inclined to agree that Michelin Star chef Thomas Keller [see footnote] is a culinary genius. His creation is an elegant interpretation of an Oreo cookie and I’m here to tell you that it is beyond delicious. I love the Halloween-themed cookies that it inspired me to make. Forgive me in advance for this terrible play on words, but... “Bone” apetit!

“To make people happy, that is what cooking is all about.” Thomas Keller

Since I didn’t have to clean my house for company this year, I baked up a storm and mailed a variety of cookies to those I love. These Raspberry-filled Christmas Sandwich Cookies were a big hit with everyone. The homemade raspberry jam filling was the perfect tart complement to the sweet, buttery cookie. Yum. Double yum.

Chocolate and Cinnamon? Absolutely! The combination of chocolate and warm autumn spices make an irresistible bite...and a surprising sandwich cookie. When I gave a plate of these Chocolate-Filled Pumpkin Cookies to a friend, she expected my tried-and-true vanilla bean cookie filled with dark chocolate ganache. She was pleasantly surprised by the cinnamon-sugar coating and the pumpkin spices in the cookie itself and how well these flavors complemented the chocolate. In between bites, she mused on whether she would share a few with her family or keep them all for herself.

Lemon is one of my favorite summertime flavors. The bright, tangy taste makes me forget all about rainy days and cold weather. I’m a huge fan of lemon in most any form: lemon curd, lemon meringue pie (without the meringue), lemon bars (o-o-o-oh, that buttery crust), but unfortunately these lemon desserts are difficult to take along on a hike or to a picnic. Enter the Lemon Pie Cookie. It satisfies my desire for something lemony without the need for a spoon or fork.

My sister asked me to make cookies as a gift for her art teacher. I knew I had to make something pretty...afterall she’s an artist, right? I also knew it had to be delicious because my sister’s art class has been the recipient of a lot of my cookie “experiments,” and some of them, although tasty, were not very pretty to look at. A birthday required a delicious and beautiful cookie.

When you’re a small child, dressing up for Halloween is so exciting. You get to hide in plain sight. Before putting on the costume, you’re just you, but after putting it on you’re Cinderella or Spiderman, or a pirate or a bumblebee. Come to think of it, cutout cookies are like that in a way. They regularly take on a new identify the minute you dip them in glaze or pipe on a coat of royal icing. The more embellishments you add, the better the “cover up.” Hooray for the cookie in disguise!

Leaves make the most appealing shapes for cutout cookies. And dark chocolate is an autumn-kind of flavor so leaf-shaped chocolate sandwich cookies is a brilliant idea. I filled the sandwich with a simple chocolate ganache and, voilà! ... a beautiful and irresistible cookie. But I warn you: it’s not possible to eat only one.

“Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.” Chad Sugg

Santa has always been a very special part of Christmas for me. My mother was a Santa “collector” and his cheery face was everywhere in our home during the holidays. My sister is partial to snowmen in all shapes and sizes. So making and decorating cookies that depict these two symbols of the holiday season is something I just can’t resist. I love the joy they embody and the smiles they bring to everyone’s face. From the goofy mustaches and full beards to the knit hats and sparkling sugar, Santa and Snowmen are on my list of must-have Christmas cookies.

The elaborate designs for el Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) has always intrigued me. So I decided to decorate my Halloween cookies to celebrate this age-old Mexican tradition of honoring the dead. The intricate swirls and colorful flowers that make up the designs for el Día de los Muertos are ideal decorations for cookies...the perfect pairing of the symbols for life and death.

Although decorated cutout cookies are my first love, there are other cookies that also lay claim to my culinary affections. Flavor and texture are key and sometimes what I’m really longing for is a delicious, crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside chocolate chip cookie. I almost always have balls of chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer, ready to pop in the oven at a moment’s notice. No decorating time is necessary to produce these heavenly bites.