Recipes: Make cookies for Easter this year

Easter offers it share of delicious traditions. I have nothing against chocolate bunnies or colorful assortments of jellybeans. I’ve eaten my share of decorated chocolate eggs, some hollow, some filled to the brim. But on a personal sweet-loving scale designed to gauge taste and texture pleasures, none of those Easter treats measure up to homemade cookies. A least from this adult’s palate preference.

So, as I consider something to gift my neighbors this Easter, I’ve decided to fill small baskets and containers adorned with ribbons with made-in-house cookies and give them out. Many families on my street moved in during the pandemic lockdown and I haven’t gotten to know them. I see homemade cookies as an opportunity to break the ice.

All three of these cookie varieties can be made in advance, as noted in each recipe.

Happy Easter!

Angel Delights

Are these Angel Delights cookies or candy? For the sake of fitting into this story, I am going to classify them as cookies, unbaked crispy candy-like cookies. Call them a no-bake treat if you like. My pal Judith Norton introduced me to them.

The cookies won a cookie contest sponsored by Eating Well magazine several years ago. Norton reduced the amount of sugar in the original recipe from 1 cup to a generous 1/3 cup. The dates and sweetened shredded coconut provide a just-right amount of sweetness even with the lesser amount of sugar. They can be refrigerated up to two weeks, stored airtight in single layer, or stacked between parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Yield: 18 to 20

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups chopped pitted dates; see cook’s notes

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups Rice Krispies

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Parchment paper or waxed paper

Cook’s notes: I find that using clean scissors is the easiest way to dice dates. It’s a nice touch to place the spheres in paper cups or fluted glassine paper cups.

PROCEDURE

1. In a large deep saucepan combine butter, sugar, and dates. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted, the sugar is no longer white, and the dates are mostly melted, 8 to 15 minutes. The mixture should be a shiny brown sticky mass. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in salt, vanilla, cereal, and coconut. Stir until combined (this requires some determination).

3. When just barely cool enough to handle, squeeze and roll mixture into 1 1/4-inch balls (to scoop I use a small ice cream scoop — 1/2-ounce size — letting the mixture mound up a little on top rather than scraping it even with top of the scoop). Place in single layer on rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or waxed paper. Refrigerate until chilled. Best served at room temperature.

Source: Adapted by Judith Norton from Eating Well magazine’s winner of its 2008 cookie contest, Frances Van Vynckt.

Mocha-Ricotta Puffs

These alluring cookies are crisp around the edges and soft like devil’s food cake in the center. I like to give them added glamour by dipping half of each cookie in melted coating chocolate; the melted coating chocolate hardens quickly and looks lovely. The cookies can be packed airtight and frozen up to 1 month, or kept at room temperature, airtight, up to 4 days.

Yield: 26 to 32 cookies

INGREDIENTS

Parchment paper

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into chunks

1 1/4 cups (250 grams) sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons instant espresso or 1 teaspoon instant coffee

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup packed whole-milk ricotta (any liquid at top of yogurt poured off before measuring)

Optional for dipping cooled cookies: 10 ounces milk chocolate flavored melting wafers, melted according to package directions

PROCEDURE

1. Position two racks to divide oven into thirds and preheat it to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  In medium-large bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and cinnamon together; set aside.

2. Working with a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter at medium speed until it’s soft and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and salt, beat for another 2 minutes. If the mixture has balled up around the beater, scrape it down. Beat in the instant espresso or coffee. Add egg, followed by vanilla, and beat for another minute or so. With the mixer on medium low, add ricotta and beat for about 2 minutes. The dough may look curdled, but it will even out when the flour goes in. Turn off mixer, add half of the dry ingredients and pulse to begin incorporating them, then beat on low until it is blended in. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients, stopping to scrape down the beater and bowl as needed. The dough will be soft, sticky, heavy, and reminiscent of fudge frosting.

3. Using a medium cookie scoop (ice cream scoop), scoop out level portions of dough or use a tablespoon to get rounded spoonfuls. Drop rounds of dough about 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.

4. Bake 26 to 29 minutes, rotating baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 15 minutes. They’ll puff and spread as they bake, you’ll know they’re fully baked when they’re firm around the edges and give slightly when gently pressed on top. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let cookies cool completely before carefully lifting them off the sheets with a wide spatula. Be careful — they can be soft on the bottom.

5. More glam? If you want to dip half of the cooled cookies into coating chocolate, melt the chocolate wafers according to package directions. Place a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper on the counter. Dip half of one cookie in melted chocolate holding it perpendicular to the chocolate and then shaking gently to let excess drip back into the melted chocolate. Place cookie on waxed paper or parchment and allow chocolate to harden.

Source: Adapted from “Dorie’s Cookies” by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, $35)

Potato Chip Cookies

Potato Chip Cookies sound unsophisticated, but trust me, they can be beguiling. It’s the combination of salty-sweet flavor and noisy crunch that wins you over. I like to use Lay’s Lightly Salted Potato Chips; to my taste, they offer the right amount of salt and a lot of crackle. For chocolate lovers, add 1 to 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips in Step 1, but try them as written at least once.

Yield: About 18

INGREDIENTS

Parchment paper

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, such as kosher

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

4 cups coarsely crushed salted potato chips (about 10 ounces), divided use

1 cup pecans, toasted, cooled, coarsely chopped; see cook’s notes

Cook’s notes: To toast nuts, place in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Toast until lightly browned in a 350-degree oven about 8 minutes. Turn on oven light and keep an eye on them because nuts can burn easily.

PROCEDURE

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. In large bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and both sugars on high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs; beat on medium speed until just combined. Gradually add flour mixture and beat on low until just combined. Stir in 2 cups potato chips and pecans.

3. Place remaining potato chips in a shallow bowl or pie pan. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough (enough to make 2-inch balls — or use a 1-ounce ice cream scoop to scoop up the dough) and then roll into balls and roll the balls in potato chips to coat. Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.

4. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Place baking sheets on wire cooling racks and let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

Source: “Martha Stewart’s Cookie Perfection” (Clarkson Potter, $35)

Cooking question? Contact Cathy Thomas at cathythomascooks@gmail.com