Cashew Apricot Brown Sugar Cookies

The big girls went out to their friends' this weekend and my little munchkin stayed home with us. She had the brilliant idea of making sweet cookies with me, and I was happy to oblige. She's only 5 years old but she's already a very strong-minded little girl. She went into the pantry and picked a bunch of ingredients and we were ready to roll.

"Jackie, can we make cashew apricot brown sugar cookies with Mrs. Winsor's honey? Please, pretty please!" she asked.

"Dried fruit and nuts in cookies? Why not!" I exclaimed.

I can never say "no" to mon p'tit coeur (my little sweetheart). I suggested that we add candied ginger and cinnamon extract and she was ok with it. I'm glad we used our family friend Mrs. Winsor's honey. She makes her own honey on her property in Virginia and sent some to us for Christmas. We've already gone through one bottle and these honey cookies got us started off on the second. I'm glad we didn't use molasses because this particular honey has such a nice floral note. The cookies turned out absolutely delicious. Merci Mrs. Winsor!!

Strawberry Mint Milano Cookies (Chocolate Sandwich Cookies)

February 14th is nearly on its way, and the color of these delicious strawberry-mint thin, crisp butter cookies is reminiscent of Valentine's Day. I'm planning a super romantic dinner for Lulu. I was home alone today, so I took the opportunity to start testing out some of the dishes to make a perfect Valentine's Day dinner.

Pink was the theme color I was looking for. I couldn't find strawberry-flavored white chocolate at the store, so I substituted pink-colored mint chocolate apeels and bought some strawberry extract. The sandwich cookies freeze well, so I stacked and stored them for Valentine's Day.

Unfortunately, after taste-testing the cookies I realized I forgot to make them heart-shaped! I was a little bummed out. If you're planning on making these cookies for your sweetie, draw hearts on the other side of the parchment paper with a pencil, and pipe the cookie batter along the line of the heart. Oh well, I'm sure Lulu won't mind!

** Note: The strawberry mint Milanos are pictured with tuile cookies.

Rose Cookies

I thought it would be nice to make a holiday cookie that captures the distinct flavor of rose. Rose, usually in the form of rose water, is often found in Indian and Middle Eastern desserts, but it's not commonly used in Western treats. For this dessert I used rose paste, because it adds a pleasing pink color to the cookies. I also added some rose to the cream filling as well.

I love making desserts like this for the holiday season because you can prepare several logs ahead of time and store them in the freezer for later use. That allows me to spend more time with visiting friends and family instead of being stuck in the kitchen.

In case anyone was wondering, I photographed the cookies with the reindeer because his expression reminded me of my little munchkin. The reindeer in the picture exactly mimics her expression when Lulu asks her his favorite question:

"How much do you love Lulu?" Lulu always asks.

"Thiiiiiiiiis much", our munchkin says and opens her arms, just as the reindeers does.

Gingersnap Cookies

Gingersnap cookies really symbolize the holiday season. They're flavored with a blend of spices, which give the cookies a really intense flavor. I make mine with cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper, and of course, ginger.

The texture is chewy on the inside with a "snappy" outer layer. Lulu loves eating them with a warm cup of tea.  I've been making us ginger tea with soy milk every evening to ward off the cold, and these cookies go perfectly with it.

Mandarin and Ginger Sandwich Cookies

Using the same sugar cookie dough I used for the pinwheel cookies, today I made mandarin and ginger flavored sandwich cookies. The flavor is repeated in the cream as well, and to give the treats a holiday vibe I topped them with green, red and white Christmas sprinkle toppings.

I know it's the holiday season when the citrus trees in our garden start producing copious amounts of fruit. I took some Chinese mandarins from the garden to make these cookies. They were so incredibly fragrant and sweet that after eating all the segments, I couldn't throw away the zest. I think they were put to good (and delicious) use!