Here are the winning recipes in the Sandwich Cookie category in our Dallas Morning News Holiday Cookie Contest 2021.
First Place, Sandwich
Eggnog Macaron, by Suzanne Whitbourne of Fort Worth
Ingredients:
Macaron cookie:
90g confectioners sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
75g almond flour
60g egg whites
50g granulated sugar
Ganache:
11 ounce bag white chocolate chips, plus more for decoration
100g storebought eggnog
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon eggnog flavoring
1/4 teaspoon salt
Bourbon Buttercream:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons bourbon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Macaron shell:
Sift confectioners sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and almond flour through a fine sift and set aside.
Whip egg whites to stiff consistency. During this process, slowly add granulated sugar on 3 occasions to the egg whites.
Add the almond flour mixture to the egg whites mixture. Carefully mix (macaronage) until the batter is thin enough to flow like lava, or create a figure 8 when flowing downward from the spatula.
Pipe the mixture onto a baking sheet to make small round buttons (macaron shells). Tap the tray onto a flat surface to release air bubbles. Allow the macaron shells to dry in room temperature for 30 minutes.
Bake the shells at 350 F convection setting for 10 minutes.
Ganache:
Microwave eggnog and white chocolate chips for 20 seconds, stir, repeat and stir until all melted.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg, flavoring and salt and mix until completely incorporated.
Place in piping bag and pipe a tube of ganache on the edge of the macaron shell, leaving a space in the center for the buttercream.
Bourbon buttercream:
Whip butter on high until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add confectioners sugar and keep whipping. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, bourbon and salt and keep whipping.
Add bourbon if too thick, add confectioners sugar if too runny.
Place in pipping bag and add a dollop to the center of the ganache
Finish by placing another macaron shell on top.
To decorate, drizzle melted white chocolate on top (I placed 15 white chocolate in a piping bag and microwaved it 15 seconds at a time until melted), add sprinkles to your liking.
Second Place, Sandwich
Walnut Shortbread “Burnt” Caramel Sandwich Cookie, by Christine Safieddine
Ingredients:
Walnut Shortbread Cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2/3 cup toasted* walnuts, chopped fine
Fleur de sel or Maldon type of salt
Caramel Cream:
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 sticks European Style butter
Directions:
Caramel Cream:
Bring whipping cream to a boil and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt granulated sugar on medium heat, stirring constantly until all the sugar is melted. Break up any lumps and allow the sugar to melt until it reaches a deep amber color. Remove from the heat and add unsalted butter, stir to blend, and then add the cream. This will spit and bubble when the butter and cream are added. The volume will also increase, so continue to stir constantly and be careful of getting burned. Once the cream has blended, place the pan back onto the heat and bring to a boil, cook until the temperature reaches 226 F on a candy thermometer. Pour the caramel into a shallow dish and place plastic wrap directly onto the top of the caramel to seal it. Place the dish into the refrigerator and leave overnight or up to 4 hours.
Once the caramel has set up, remove from the refrigerator and allow to come back to room temperature. In a mixer bowl, place 1 ¼ sticks (6 ounces) of high fat European Style butter and the room temperature caramel. Beat on high until the mixture is light and fluffy. Remove and place into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Use immediately or place in the refrigerator until ready to use. When you do use it, bring it to room temperature before trying to pipe it onto the cookies.
Walnut Shortbread Cookies:
In the mixer bowl, cream 1 cup softened unsalted butter and 2/3 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in 2 egg yolks and mix to combine, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and add 2 cups sifted flour, toasted walnuts and stir to just combine. The dough will be rough. On a clean, lightly floured surface, turn out the dough. Form it into two balls, flatten each and wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
Baking: When ready to bake, heat the oven to 300 F. Remove one disc of the cookie dough and allow to warm up about 10 minutes. Unwrap and place on a lightly floured surface and roll out to ¼-inch thickness. Cut out 2-inch cookies in desired shape. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with a few granules of salt. Repeat for second disc of dough. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until edges and bottoms are slightly brown. Cool slightly in pan and then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Assembly: Take one cookie and turn salt side down, pipe caramel cream into the center and top with a second cookie, salt side up.
* To toast walnuts, place on a ungreased baking sheet in a 350 F oven for 10-15 minutes, checking and rotating the pan as needed so they do not burn. Remove and allow to cool before chopping.
Third Place, Sandwich
Scrumptious Spumoni Sandwich Cookies, by Lori Millner
Ingredients:
Pistachio Cookie:
1 ½ cups unsalted shelled pistachios
½ cup granulated sugar plus 2-3 tablespoons more for rolling
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 large egg white
Powdered sugar for rolling
Chocolate Cookie:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 3-4 tablespoons powdered sugar
Cherry Buttercream Filling:
3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ teaspoon almond extract
2-3 teaspoons kirsch, or to taste
2 tablespoons chopped cherries, such as tart dried cherries, maraschino, or Luxardo
Directions:
Pistachio Cookie:
Heat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Process pistachios in food processor until very finely ground. Put ground pistachios in mixing bowl. Add the sugar to the bowl and stir. Add vanilla and almond extracts and the egg white. Stir with spoon and then mix with hands until a paste forms. The paste should hold its shape.
Take about two teaspoonfuls of dough and roll in a ball. Roll the dough in granulated sugar first, and then the powdered sugar. Place on the parchment paper and flatten cookies with the back of a large spoon or bottom of a glass. They should be uniform in size and not too thick. Cookies should be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter after flattened.
Bake about 13-15 minutes or just until bottoms begin to brown. Transfer to cooling racks after 2 minutes.
Chocolate Cookie:
Heat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Stir together flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend in the butter. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract.
Put powdered sugar in a small bowl. Roll about 2 teaspoonfuls of cookie dough into a ball and roll in the powdered sugar. If dough is too sticky, place in freezer for about 5 minutes.
Place on the parchment paper and flatten cookies with the back of a large spoon or bottom of a glass. They should be uniform in size and not too thick. Cookies should be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter after flattened.
Bake about 8 minutes until cookies are just set. Cool for 2 minutes on sheet then transfer to a wire rack.
Cherry Buttercream Filling:
Whip powdered sugar and butter together. Stir in almond extract and kirsch.
Beat until smooth consistency. The frosting should be thick and dense to make it spreadable with a knife, much thicker than you would put on a cake. Add more liquid or powdered sugar to make it the right consistency.
Stir in chopped up cherries.
To assemble cookie:
Pistachio and chocolate cookies should be completely cooled. Spread icing on the bottom of one of the cookies with a knife or flat spatula. It should be the same thickness as each of the cookie sides of the sandwich. Smooth around the edges of the icing with a knife for a smooth look.
Tip: The diameter and thickness of the cookies is up to the baker! They are quite filling and scrumptious, so smaller and thinner may be better so you can eat more than one. They freeze nicely as well.
Makes about 20 cookies.
