A Sweet Christmas Cookie Swap

on December 16, 2010 at 4:48 pm

This week we’re having a Christmas cookie swap on the show with guests Tracy Hironaka-Keao (FIJI Water), John Tsukada (Aloha Shoyu), 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. Kodama 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 with 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 1/4-inch thickness. 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 3-inch 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 from the oven and cool baking sheets on racks. Do not handle the cookies until cool; they’re very crumbly and could easily fall apart.

SUPER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(Kelvin Ro)

* 1 pound, 6 ounces dark chocolate (52 percent)
* 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 parchment-lined 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.

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

* 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached allpurpose 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 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 spray 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 and remove with a wide metal spatula.

Makes 18 large cookies.

TOASTY COCONUT SNOWFLAKES
(Veronica Kaneko)

* 1 large egg
* 1 bag shredded sweetened coconut
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 1/2 cups 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.

A Sweet Christmas Cookie Swap

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