Know your dough

Start with one basic dough and trays of delightfully different holiday cookies are not far behind. A recipe for simple Christmas cutout cookies can be adorned with “stained glass,” rolled and cut into Linzer tarts or chocolate and vanilla checkerboards, pressed with thumbprints or sandwiched with a favorite filling.

Stir in crushed peppermint candies to create a candy cane shaped cookie, or add orange, lemon or lime zest to vary the dough’s flavor.

Recipes for rolled sugar cookies vary slightly, so a family favorite can be a good starting place.

McCall’s magazine printed a series of recipes in 1991 that worked perfectly for rolled cutout cookies. It included variations to make Candy Cane Cookies, Checkerboard Squares, Gingerbread People, Chocolate-Dipped Peanut-Brittle Fingers and Lemon Linzer Cookies (recipes follow).

But don’t stop there.

With a small cookie cutter and crushed hard candies, the cutouts can be turned into a Stained Glass Cookies. Use nesting cookie cutters to cut windows into rolled cookies. Crushed transparent hard candies (such as lemon drops, cinnamon balls or Jolly Ranchers) should fill the cutout until it is level with the dough before baking.

Lauren Chattman, author of “Mom’s Big Book of Cookies” (Harvard Common Press, 2006), says her family’s favorite is stars filled with butterscotch candy. Her advice is to let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet so the delicate windows can set up.

Parchment paper keeps the cookies from sticking to the sheets. Take care when transporting because the “stained glass” breaks easily.

Bakers can also use cutters to make small circles, ovals or stars for sandwich cookies. Or a Linzer cookie cutter can make pretty windows in the cookies.

The filling ideas are endless. Sandwich with a favorite jam (apricot or seedless raspberry are common) or make a simple vanilla filling, add a bit of peppermint and crushed candy canes for a seasonal flavor. Drizzle the outside with icing or melted chocolate and decorate with more crushed peppermint, nonpareils or toffee bits.

If you need a place to start, consider the filling ideas from Mark Scarbrough and Bruce Weinstein in “The Ultimate Cookbook” (HarperCollins, 2007). In their mix-and-match recipe for Vanilla Sandwich Creams, they offer variations for lemon, peanut butter, maple coffee, chocolate truffle, pine nut cream and chocolate hazelnut cream (some recipes follow).

Shortbreads are perfect for playing around with different flavors. Baking guru Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for tender, crumbly sables is perfect for improvisation.

She offers variations for lemon, pecan and spiced cookies in her cookbook “Baking: From My Home to Yours” (HoughtonMifflin, 2006).

Greenspan writes, “The dough for sables is shaped into logs and then sprinkled with sugar before it is sliced and baked. During the year, I coat the logs with sparkly white decorating sugar. When the holidays come around, I double the recipe and go mad with color, sprinkling some of the logs with brilliant red sugar, some with green and some with a rainbow mix. Trimmed in color and packed in festive tins, these make terrific Christmas cookies.”

McCall’s Basic Cookie Mix and Christmas Cookie Variations

Basic Cookie Mix

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt; mix well. With pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Place in airtight container; store in refrigerator (mixture will keep for up to 8 weeks). Bring to room temperature before using. Recipe can be doubled or tripled.

Rolled Sugar Cookies

1 recipe Basic Cookie Mix

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets.

In large bowl of electric mixer, combine ingredients; at low speed, beat until mixture forms a dough.

Divide dough into thirds. Working with one third at a time, on lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick; cut out with 3-inch cookie cutters. Transfer to prepared baking sheets.

Bake 8 minutes or until golden. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

If desired, decorate with icing, candies and colored sugars.

Yield: About 3 dozen cookies

Candy Cane Cookies

1 recipe Basic Cookie Mix

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Red paste food color

1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) crushed peppermint candy

Red edible glitter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets.

In large bowl of electric mixer, combine cookie mix, egg and vanilla. At low speed, beat until mixture forms a dough. Divide dough in half; remove one half from bowl. With food paste, tint dough in bowl red; add candy. Mix well.

On work surface, divide each half dough into 20 equal pieces; working with one piece at a time, roll dough into 8-inch rope. Place a plain and red rope side by side; press together lightly and twist. Place twist on prepared baking sheet; curve top to form cane. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with glitter; transfer to wire rack to cool.

Yield: 20 cookies

Checkerboard Squares

1 recipe Basic Cookie Mix

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Melted chocolate or chocolate icing and white icing

In large bowl of electric mixer, combine cookie mix, egg and vanilla. At low speed, beat until mixture forms a dough. Divide dough in half; remove one half from bowl. Add cocoa powder to dough in bowl; knead to mix well.

On work surface, on separate sheets of waxed paper, roll each half of dough to 9-by-6-inch rectangle. Using paper to lift dough, invert plain dough onto top of chocolate dough. Remove paper from plain dough. Using a long chef’s knife, cut dough lengthwise into 2-inch wide strips. Stack strips, removing waxed paper and alternating colors. Cut stack lengthwise into three equal strips. Stack strips so colors alternate; gently press stack so dough layers stick together. Wrap stack in plastic wrap; refrigerate two hours.

When ready to bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets.

Remove plastic wrap from dough; cut stack crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Place slices checkerboard side down on prepared baking sheets.

Bake 8 minutes or until golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

With pastry bag, decorate cookies with dots of chocolate and icing.

Yield: About 4 dozen cookies

Gingerbread People

1 recipe basic cookie mix

1/3 cup molasses

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

White icing

Red cinnamon candies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.

In large bowl of electric mixer, combine cookie ingredients; at low speed, beat until mixture forms a dough.

Divide dough into thirds. Working with one third at a time, on lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/8-inch thick; cut out with 3-inch cookie cutter. Transfer to prepared baking sheets.

Bake 8 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Decorate with icing and candies.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Brittle Fingers

1 recipe Basic Cookie Mix

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoons water

For the peanut brittle topping:

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/3 cup dark corn syrup

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 cups unsalted finely chopped dry-roasted peanuts

For the dipping chocolate:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 15 1/2-by-10 1/2- by-1-inch jelly-roll pan; line bottom and sides with aluminum foil. Grease foil.

In large bowl of electric mixer, combine cookie mix, egg yolks and the water. At low speed, beat until mixture forms a crumbly dough. Pat mixture over foil on bottom of prepared pan; bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven.

To make the peanut brittle topping: In heavy medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and heavy cream; over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring. Cook, stirring constantly, until butter melts and mixture is smooth. Stir in peanuts. Spread peanut-brittle topping mixture over cookies in pan.

Bake 15 minutes or until topping is brown and bubbly. Remove pan from oven; cool cookies slightly.

Using ends of aluminum foil, lift cookies from pan; cut crosswise into thirds. Cut lengthwise into 14 strips; remove cookies from aluminum foil. Cool cookie “fingers” completely on rack.

To prepare the dipping chocolate: Line another wire rack with waxed paper. In top of double boiler over water that is hot, not boiling, combine chocolate and shortening. Over low heat, cook mixture, stirring, until chocolate and shortening are melted and mixture is smooth.

Dip each cookie finger into chocolate mixture to cover halfway; place cookie on prepared rack to dry.

Yield: 42 cookies

Lemon Linzer Cookies

1 recipe Basic Cookie Mix

1 large egg

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (colored part of peel)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam (for filling)

Confectioners’ sugar (for dusting)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets.

In large bowl of electric mixer, combine cookie mix, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice. At low speed, beat until mixture forms a dough.

Divide dough in half. Working one half at a time, on lightly floured surface, with lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough 1/8-inch thick; cut out with 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out centers of half of the cookies. If desired, reroll dough centers for additional cookies. Transfer dough rounds and rings to prepared baking sheets.

Bake 8 minutes or until cookies are golden; transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

With 1 teaspoon jam each, cover flat sides of rounds. Place a cookie ring, flat side down, on top of each filling-topped round. Dust tops of cookies with confectioners’ sugar.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Sables

From “Baking: From My Home to Yours,” by Dorie Greenspan

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt, preferably fine sea salt

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature, plus 1 large egg yolk, for brushing the logs

2 cups all-purpose flour

Decorating (coarse) sugar

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and very creamy. Add the sugars and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute. The mixture should be smooth and velvety, not fluffy and airy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in two of the egg yolks, again beating until the mixture is homogenous.

Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and the counter from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek – if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple more times; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough and the dough looks uniformly moist. (If most of the flour is incorporated but you’ve still got some in the bottom of the bowl, use a rubber spatula to work the rest of the flour into the dough.) The dough will not clean the sides of the bowl, nor will it come together in a ball – and it shouldn’t. You want to work the dough as little as possible. What you’re aiming for is a soft, moist, clumpy (rather than smooth) dough. Pinch it, and it will feel a little like Play-Doh.

Scrape the dough out onto a smooth work surface, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each piece into a smooth log about 9 inches long: it’s easiest to work on a piece of plastic wrap and use the plastic to help form the log. Wrap the logs well and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours, preferably longer. (The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.)

Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Remove a log of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it and place it on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Whisk the remaining egg yolk until it is smooth, and brush some of the yolk all over the sides of the dough – this is the glue – then sprinkle the entire surface of the log with decorating sugar.

Trim the ends of the roll if they’re ragged, and slice the log into 1/3-inch-thick cookies. (You can make these as thick as 1/2 inch or as thin as – but no thinner than – 1/4 inch.) Place the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving an inch of space between them.

Bake one sheet at a time for 17 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet at the midway point. When properly baked, the cookies will be light brown on the bottom, lightly golden around the edges and pale on top; they may feel tender when you touch the top gently, and that’s fine. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest a minute or two before carefully lifting them onto a rack with a wide metal spatula to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remaining log of dough, making sure the baking sheets are cool before you bake the second batch.

Storing: The cookies will keep in a tin at room temperature for about 5 days. If you do not sprinkle the sables with sugar, they can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. Because the sugar will melt in the freezer, the decorated cookies are not suitable for freezing.

Variations: Working in a small bowl, using your fingers, rub the grated zest of 1 to 1 1/2 lemons (depending on your taste) into the granulated sugar until the sugar is moist and very aromatic, then add this and the confectioners’ sugar to the beaten butter. (Sables can also be made with orange or lime zest; vary the amount of zest as you please.)

Pecan Sables: Reduce the amount of flour to 1 1/2 cups, and add 1/2 cup very finely ground pecans to the mixture after you have added the sugars. (In place of pecans, you can use ground almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts.) If you like, instead of sprinkling the dough logs with sugar, sprinkle them with very finely chopped pecans or a mixture of pecans and sugar.

Spice Sables: Whisk 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg into the flour.

Yield: About 50 cookies

Vanilla Cream Filling

From “The Ultimate Cook Book,” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Use a few drops of milk or cream to thin this filling if needed. These fillings can be used to fill any cookies you like. Small 2-inch cutout sugar cookies work well.

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon solid vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoons salt

Place the butter and shortening in a mini food processor; pulse a couple of times, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the confectioner’s sugar; process until creamy. Add the vanilla and salt; process until well combined.

Alternately, cut the butter and shortening into the confectioners sugar in a medium bowl, using a pastry cutter or fork, until a smooth icinglike filling has formed. Add the vanilla and sugar.

Yield: Filling for about 24 cookies

Lemon Cream Filling

From “The Ultimate Cook Book,” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1  1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Beat the butter, lemon zest, lemon extract, vanilla and salt in a small bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until a thick icing forms. With beaters running, add just enough cream so that the mixture thins out into a pastelike consistency.

Yield: Filling for about 24 cookies

Peanut Butter Cream Filling

From “The Ultimate Cook Book,” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use natural peanut butter)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat the peanut butter and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and light. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla; continue beating until smooth and thick. If you find the filling too thick, thin it out with a few drops of milk or cream; beat until smooth.

Yield: Filling for about 24 cookies

Maple Coffee Cream Filling

From “The Ultimate Cook Book,” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, whisked with 1 teaspoon hot water until dissolved

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Place the butter and confectioners’ sugar in a mini food processor; process until well combined. Add the maple syrup, espresso powder mixture, vanilla and salt. Process until smooth and icinglike.

Yield: Filling for about 24 cookies

Pine Nut Cream Filling

From “The Ultimate Cook Book,” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 1/2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Up to 1 tablespoon brandy, Cognac, Frangelico or Amaretto di Saronno

Process the pine nuts in a mini food processor or large food processor with the chopping blade until finely ground. Add the shortening, process until combined. Add the vanilla and pulse a few times. Finally add the confectioners’ sugar and salt; process. Add the liquor in 1-teaspoon increments and process just until the mixture thins to a smooth cookie filling.

Yield: Filling for about 24 cookies