Christmas Cookie Collection: Chocolate Cream Cheese Graham Cracker Bars

Ah, Christmas Cookie Season, that decadent and delicious time of year when moderation is thrown out the window. Sweet, sweet Christmas cookie season.

And in that spirit of rich decadence, here's a sweet little confection I recently made for the C+H Sugar Holiday recipe spree (full disclosure--they gave me a $20 gift card for ingredients. I felt fine about this as I often use their products anyway!). Dense, rich, and decidedly not low-fat or low-carb, these little morsels fall into the territory of so bad, but so good--and are completely habit-forming.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Graham Cracker Bars

- makes about 24 small bars -


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup sugar (I used C+H's baker's sugar, which is really quite wonderful--it falls somewhere between confectioners' and granulated sugar in texture)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (pecans would also work nicely I think)
• About 1 cup chocolate cream cheese frosting (it was leftover from a batch I made from this recipe)--or the frosting of your choice.

Procedure

1. Prepare the base. In a saucepan, heat butter and sugar until the sugar is completely absorbed in the liquid. Add beaten egg and stir to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the graham cracker crumbs and nuts. Press into a greased and parchment-lined 8x8-inch pan. Pat in firmly and evenly. Let this chill for about 2 hours.
2. Spread the frosting thickly and evenly on top of the graham cracker base. Let chill until it is firm, and if desired, decorate the top with festive christmas icing (I used Wilton's glitter gel in red and green and their opaque writing icing in white).

Gingerbread Mad Men: A Recipe for Serious Eats

They say you have to learn the rules before you break them. But is it ever possible to break them just a little bit while you learn them? Case in point: gingerbread men.

I haven't made enough of them to feel comfortable messing with the classic recipe but wanted to have a little fun with this batch nonetheless. The solution? Using a classic recipe—in this case, from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book—but decorating them as Gingerbread Mad Men, inspired by the characters in the AMC series.

Note: I am pretty much obsessed with Mad Men (I blame my friend Julie). I only discovered it about a month ago and actually am not caught up to the end of Season 3 yet, so please, no spoilers!

You can check out the full entry -- plus the recipe I used -- on Serious Eats!

Cookie Love: Red and Green Christmas Cookies

What do black and white cookies wear to holiday parties? Festive red and green frosting, of course! This fun take on the classic New York treat starts with the classic cakey drop cookie, but instead of the traditional fondant, I went for a more rich (and in my opinion, more delicious!) combo of colored buttercreams for the top. This was also a great choice because Challenge Dairy was kind enough to send me a bunch of coupons for free butter to bake with (say what you will, but I will always accept candy from strangers and free butter)! They were intended for a party, but they didn't last long enough!

The recipe can also be found on my latest entry for Serious Eats!

Red and Green Christmas Cookies

- makes 8 to 12 cookies, depending on size -

For the cookies:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  
• 1 large egg
  

For the frosting:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter--I used Challenge Dairy's unsalted butter
  
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar (you may not use all of it)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  
• red and green food coloring

1. Make the cookies. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; in a separate small bowl, stir together buttermilk and vanilla.
   
2. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth (the texture is somewhere between cake batter and drop cookie batter).
   
3. Using a cookie or ice cream scoop, put mounds of batter about 3 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you use a cookie scoop, you will probably get about 12 medium-sized cookies; if you use an ice cream scoop, which is generally a bit bigger, you will get about 8 big cookies. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and let cool until they are room temperature.
   
4. While the cookies cool, make the frosting. In an electric mixer, cream the butter, adding the vanilla, and then the confectioners' sugar, bit by bit, until it has reached your desired consistency. Separate your frosting into two separate dishes. Combine the frosting in each dish with food coloring (I used about 10 drops of green and 10 drops of red for strong, vibrant colors) until fully combined.
   
5. To frost, first turn the cookies over—you will actually frost the flat bottom side. Frost the cookies one side at a time. I found that I could get a sharper line down the middle if I started frosting from the outside in, finishing with a stroke down the center. When adding the second color of frosting, the key is to make sure you frost the part where the two colors touch last, frosting the dividing line in one smooth stroke (no backtracking or you will drag the other color of frosting back with you!).
   
6. Serve immediately; store at room temperature in an airtight container. I found that these tasted best either the day made or the next day.