Recipe: Do-Almost-Anything Vanilla Cookie Dough

Sugar cookies are flawless when baking with children.

Nutty about Nut Goodies: “I’ve always been a fan”, she said. “This cookie comes out crisp and delicate”. Brush cookies with a lightly beaten egg white. Classic chocolate chip cookies and fudgy brownies.

Roll dough into desired shapes. For friends and business associates, I made batches of shortbread cookies with a large toasted pecan in the center; colorful red and green Santa’s Whiskers; red velvet snowballs covered in powdered sugar, Linzer cookies filled with last summer’s jewel-colored Muscadine jam; and shortbread thumbprints filled with a dollop of strawberry jam. Your kitchen will smell divine as they bake, and I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Now it is my turn to make the memories for my two little boys, and one of our favorites is making cookies.

No bake caramel oat cookies are easy sweet. Freeze for at least 1 hour, or refrigerate for 2 hours. The cookies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for about 2 weeks.

From Amanda Cook, pastry chef at Centrolina in CityCenterDC.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar together. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Gradually add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Add the chopped peanuts and beat on low speed, just until evenly distributed. The mixture will look as if it’s separating, but that’s okay.

At this point, the dough can be divided and flavored (see VARIATIONS, below) and scooped or rolled out. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and roll it into a rectangle about 1/3-inch thick with a plain pin.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, rotating the sheet after 11 minutes, or until the cookies are dry, boring and cracked. Stop once or twice to scrape down the bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and cardamom, and reserve. Continue to mix on medium-high speed until well incorporated and fluffy in texture.

Add the molasses, beating on low speed. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until a dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the bowl and all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Divide the light gingerbread dough in half. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.

If you’re making cut-out cookies, roll the dough between sheets of parchment or wax paper, stack the sandwiched dough on a baking sheet and, when it’s completely frozen, wrap airtight. Lightly flour the cookie cutters you’ll use. Working with one disk at a time, peel away the paper on both sides of the dough and return the dough to one piece of paper. If you are making cut out cookies, use the smallest cookie cutters you have to limit size. I used to make them by the hundreds. Just about any fruit preserve – lingonberry, apricot, raspberry – works with this festive cookie. Add in white chocolate chips for a different variety. Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes (check after 10 minutes).

I’ll admit I can be a hopeless, retro romantic and about 10 years ago fell in love with baking and decorating gingerbread men. Rewrap scraps in plastic and chill, until ready to re-roll.

In a bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, combine butter, condensed milk, maple extract, vanilla extract, 1 1/2 teaspoons whole milk and powdered sugar, and beat until uniform and creamy.

Use the Microplane zester to gently grate/smooth and straighten edges that may have spread during baking. Immediately use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.

Nutrition information per serving: 146 calories; 73 calories from fat; 8 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 35 mg cholesterol; 3 mg sodium; 17 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 2 g protein.