Nipple Cookies

Ok, so these are really spritz cookies with hershey kisses on top, but my mom makes these every year and an uncle of mine dubbed them nipple cookies so that is what my family has been calling them ever since.Can you blame us? they look like welll..you know....


Um...anyways, these are a really great holiday cookie, though they are labour intensive. The recipe makes a lot of little cookies, so make these for a crowd.
I think cookie presses are kind of a pain, and you could use a piping bag I guess, but the damn cookie press is traditional in my home. There is really a small margin of time where the dough is the perfect temperature and consistency to produce perfect little rosettes. You also need a slight hand, as too much pressure and too warm a room will inevitably produce cookie blobs that aren't really that nice.


You can vary the recipe by making half chocolate and putting white chocolate hugs or peppermint kisses on them instead , but I must admit I love the original vanilla shortbread topped with milk chocolate the best. The crisp buttery cookie base and rich milk chocolate just make these a wonderful cookie that almost always gets eaten within minutes of being set out...
And the name is all part of the holiday fun. Sort of.



Nipple cookies

Ingredients
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cups sugar
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2. Blend in 1 cup butter, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Break into a measuring cup 1 egg. If it does not measure ¼ cup, add water up to ¼ cup line.
4. Stir the egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
5. Beat well, then chill. Put dough through a cookie press (or piping bag) onto an ungreased cookie sheet. If the dough becomes too soft, re-chill it slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree F oven.
6. Let rest for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Remove to wire rack and top each cookie with a chocolate kiss while still warm. The chocolate will melt and adhere to the cookies.

For chocolate dough:
Melt two ounces unsweetened chocolate into dough.

For half vanilla and half chocolate dough:
Divide dough in half and mix 1 ounce melted unsweetened chocolate into half of the dough.

To marble dough:
Mix chocolate and vanilla dough to make a swirl and press through cookie press.

“festive nipple cookies”
Top chocolate cookies with white chocolate or candy-cane kisses.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Adapted From: The Joy of Cooking

Walnut Brown Sugar Rugelach

Rugelach are really the quintessential Jewish holiday cookie. They show up at just about every Jewish holiday. I made these for Hanuka one year. They are a good basic version of the recipe. These are not too sweet, but they are certainly addictive. My hypothesis is that the addictiveness of baked goods directly corresponds to the amount of butter and cream cheese in the recipe. Both of those ingredients make these cute little rugelach tender and flaky. They are delicate enough for a fancy brunch, or just for a teatime treat, they are exactly like the kind found at Kosher bakeries.

Brown Sugar and Walnut Rugelach

Makes 32

Prep time: 25 minutes

Total time 55 minutes plus chilling

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 bar (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon

1. In food processor, blend butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla until well combined. Add flour, and pulse just until a dough forms. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least two hours and up to 2 days, or freeze up to 3 months (thaw before baking).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, with racks set in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In small bowl combine egg with 1 teaspoon water to make an egg wash.
3. Working with one disk at a time, roll dough on lightly floured surface into an 11 inch circle about ¼ inch thick. Brush circles with egg wash; sprinkle with ½ cup of the walnuts, ¼ cup of the brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon of the cinnamon.
4. Using sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut each circle into 16 equal triangles. Starting from the wide end, roll up each triangle of dough; place on baking sheets seam side down. Brush rolls with egg wash. Repeat with remaining dough and topping.
5. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Transfer rugelach to a wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted From: Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine, December 2007