A Christmas Cookie Recipe Swap

We have a sweet show this week as we share our favorite cookie recipes in a Christmas Cookie Swap, including my Jam-Filled Peanut Butter Cookies. Guests include Tracy Hironaka-Keao (FIJI Water), John Tsukada, Gay Wong (Mutual Publishing), Kelvin Ro (Diamond Head Market & Grill), Veronica Kaneko (McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii, Jim Lenhart (Hawaii Coffee) and Ivy Nagayama (Sansei and d.k Steak House restaurants).

This show aired originally in December 2009.

JAM-FILLED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES (Sam Choy)

* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 stick butter
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 cup smooth peanut butter, at room temperature
* 1 large egg, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup guava jelly

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy, about two minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Beat in the peanut butter. Scrape down the bowl. Add the egg and beat in. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least four hours.

Dust a 12-by-17-inch sheet of parchment paper with flour, place the dough on it and dust the top of the dough. Top with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/4inch thick. Place with the parchment paper on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.

Place racks in the middle and upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.

Remove the top sheet of parchment paper from the dough, and using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut 3inch circles of dough. Top one circle with 1 teaspoon of the jelly and cover with another circle. Pinch the edges together and place on one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining circles, placing the cookies 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and from front to back, and bake for another three to four minutes, until the cookies are nicely browned. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets, on racks. Do not handle the cookies until cool they’re very crumbly and could easily fall apart.

MOM’S BROWNIES (Ivy Nagayama)

* 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
* 2 cups cocoa powder
* 4 cups sugar
* 8 eggs, lightly beaten
* 3 cups flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 2 cups chopped nuts, your preference
* 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 12-by-18 jelly roll pan or a baking sheet with sides. In a saucepan, combine the butter and cocoa powder over medium heat, stirring until melted and combined. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and eggs. Add the cocoa mixture and mix gently. Into another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients, mixing until incorporated. Fold in the nuts. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, checking periodically until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool, then cut into squares or bars.

TOASTY COCONUT SNOWFLAKES (Veronica Kaneko)

* 1 large egg
* 1 bag shredded sweetened coconut
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and toast coconut until golden brown.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into dough. Place dough on a floured surface and knead coconut into dough. Shape the dough into a half-inch thick rectangle. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Let dough soften at room temperature. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies using a snowflake cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to stainless steel cookie sheet and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. Let cool. Frost and decorate as desired.

Makes approximately 12 large snowflake cookies.

Enjoy with your favorite McCafe drink and your favorite friends.

SUPER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (Kelvin Ro)

* 1 pound, 6 ounces dark chocolate (52 percent cocoa)
* 3 ounces unsalted butter
* 5 whole eggs
* 14 ounces granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3 ounces cake flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 8 ounces white chocolate chips
* 6 ounces pecans, chopped

Preheat convection oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and pour over dark chocolate. Place over double boiler to completely melt chocolate. Whip eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract. Add egg mixture to melted chocolate (cooled slightly). Sift cake flour, baking powder and kosher salt. Discard any salt in the sieve. Add dry ingredients to chocolate mixture. Add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and pecans. Scoop onto parchmentlined baking sheet. Use silver scoop. Bake at 350 degrees for eight minutes or until crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Makes 125 cookies.

CHINESE TEA COOKIES (Tracy Hironaka-Keao)

* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup oil
* 1 egg, slightly beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 3 cups flour
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* red food coloring

Mix sugar and oil in large bowl. Add egg and mix well. Add vanilla and set aside.

In medium bowl, sift flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add flour to mixture. Roll 1 tablespoon of mixture into a ball and flatten. Add a red dot of food coloring for good luck.

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

THICK AND CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WITH COCONUT (Gay Wong)

* 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until just warm
* 1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1 large egg yolk
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 to 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or coat them with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars together until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and coconut, to taste.

Creating a jagged surface on each dough ball gives the finished cookies an attractive appearance. Start by rolling a scant 1/4 cup of dough into a smooth ball. Holding the dough ball in the fingertips of both hands, pull the dough apart into two equal halves. Each half will have a jagged surface where it was ripped from the other.

Rotate each piece 90 degrees so that the jagged surface faces up. Jam the halves back together into one ball so that the top surface remains jagged. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, the outer edges start to harden and the centers are still soft and puffy, 15-18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets with a wide metal spatula.

Makes 18 large cookies.

LOL (LOTS OF LOGS) (John Tsukada)

Tender, rich shortbread is combined with a brandy glaze and pecans in this special holiday cookie.

Prep time: 45 minutes Baking time: 12 minutes per pan

For Cookies:

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all cookie ingredients in large bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well-mixed.

Shape dough into 1/2inch balls and shape balls into 2-inch logs. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.

Place wire cooling rack over waxed paper. Dip both ends of cookie into frosting, then into chopped pecans. Place cookies on rack to set.

For Frosting:

* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 1 tablespoon butter, softened
* 1/4 teaspoon brandy flavoring (can substitute 1/4 teaspoon vanilla)
* 1-2 tablespoons hot water
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine powdered sugar, butter and brandy flavoring in medium bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often and gradually adding enough hot water for desired consistency.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (Jim Lenhart)

Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking time: nine minutes

Cooling time: 15 minutes

* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs
* 2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for nine-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for two minutes and remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 60 cookies.

*For high-altitude baking (5,200 feet), increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for eight-10 minutes and pan cookies for 17-19 minutes.