Delicate Mint Sandwich Holiday Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cloves in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 6 minutes with a handheld beater. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
• Form dough into a 12-inch log (2 inches in diameter) on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll up in the plastic wrap. Chill dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Cut 1/2-inch thick slices from the log with a sharp knife and arrange on 2 ungreased large baking sheets, about 1-inch apart.
• For basic sugar cookies, sprinkle generously with coarse sugar and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned and slightly puffed.
• Cool on baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely.
• For Chocolate and Walnut Cookies:
• Make basic dough according to recipe above, but adding the cocoa powder to the flour mixture and folding in the nuts just after mixing the batter. Bake for 15 minutes and then cool on sheets for 3 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.
• For Almond-Orange Cookies:
• Make basic dough according to recipe above, but adding both the orange zest and ground almonds when you add the flour mixture.
• When cookies are formed, make a slight depression in the middle and fill each with about 1 teaspoon marmalade. Top each with a good pinch of sliced almonds. Bake for 20 minutes and then cool on sheets for 3 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder. In another large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the yolks and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until well combined. Divide the dough into 2 pieces.
• Lightly dust a piece of parchment with cocoa powder. Roll 1 piece of dough on the prepared parchment to between 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch thick. Using a 2 1/4-inch round, fluted cookie cutter, stamp out as many cookies as you can. Transfer the cookies to the prepared sheets. Roll and cut the remaining dough; you can reroll the scraps once. Chill the unbaked cookies for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Bake until the cookies are set and the tops look dry, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through cooking. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely, about 45 minutes.
• For the filling: Beat the confectioners' sugar and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add just enough milk to make a creamy filling. Beat in the mint extract.
• When the cookies are cool, flip half of them over. Spread or pipe about 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling on the flipped cookies. Top with the other halves and press together gently.

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well in between each addition. Add the yolk and vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low. Stir together the flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl, then add it to the dough in two batches, mixing well in between each.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a piece of plastic wrap (the dough will feel a bit wet but will come together once chilled). Form the dough into a disc and wrap tightly. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
• Place some cocoa powder in a small bowl. Scoop a 2-tablespoon piece of dough and roll into a ball. Dip the bottom of a flat-bottomed jar or glass in the cocoa powder and press the cookie out into a flat 3-inch disc. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough. Bake the cookies until set and just starting to turn darker brown on the bottom, 9 to 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the buttercream: Melt the butter with the mint in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook the butter, gently mashing the mint, until the butter starts to take on the flavor of the mint, about 15 minutes. Strain the butter into a small bowl and immediately place it in the fridge to solidify, about 30 minutes.
• Scrape the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed until it is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the confectioners' sugar in batches. Beat in the heavy cream, salt and food coloring. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
• Build the cookies: Pipe buttercream on the bottoms of 9 cookies to cover in an even layer. Top each with another cookie, then chill until the buttercream is hardened, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, line a plate with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate and vegetable oil together in a small saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Working with one cookie at a time, gently place in the chocolate and spoon more chocolate over the top until completely coated. Use a slotted spatula or spoon to remove the cookie from the chocolate and place on the lined plate. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until the chocolate is hardened, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• For the cookies: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Beat the cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar together in a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the egg, vanilla and lemon zest and beat until smooth, another minute. Scrape down the bowl again. Add the almond and coconut flours and the salt. Beat until a slightly sticky dough forms. Halve the dough and shape each into a flat disc. Wrap each in plastic and chill in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Work with one disc of chilled dough at a time, leaving the other in the freezer. Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll to 1/4-inch thickness. Carefully peel off the top sheet of parchment. Dip a 3-inch round cookie cutter into some coconut flour to help keep it from sticking to the dough and cut the dough into rounds. (The dough is very soft, so you will likely have to leave the cookies in place and scrape away the surrounding dough.) If you like, use mini cookie cutters to cut a hole from the middles of the rounds for half of the rounds. The dough will probably be too soft to transfer the cookies, so slide the parchment paper with the rounds onto a baking sheet. Gather the scraps of dough together and flatten into another round. Wrap the disc of dough in plastic, and chill in the freezer. Place the baking sheet of cut cookies into the freezer to chill for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, repeat the process with the second disc of chilled dough. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. (You should be able to cut a total of 18 to 20 rounds.)
• Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for 5 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees F and continue to bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until lightly golden on the edges, about another 10 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack. (Do not try to transfer the cookies from the baking sheet until completely cooled.) Increase the oven to 350 degrees F and repeat with the other cookies.
• For the frosting: With a handheld mixer, beat the butter in a bowl until light and airy. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix on low speed until smooth. Transfer a third of the frosting to a piping bag and set aside. Divide the remaining frosting evenly between 2 bowls. Add about 1/2 teaspoon red gel paste to one bowl and 1/2 teaspoon green gel paste to the other. Mix until the color is evenly distributed, adding more gel as desired. Transfer to two more piping bags. Cut off the tips of the bags when ready to assemble.
• To assemble: Pair off the cookie rounds into tops and bottoms, using any cookies with cutouts as tops. Arrange the flat sides of the bottom cookies facing up. Pipe about 3 tablespoons frosting onto the bottom cookies. Smooth the frosting with an offset spatula. Top with the flat sides of the top cookies facing down, pressing gently so that the frosting is pushed to the edges of the cookies.
• Put the crushed peppermint candy and sprinkles on separate plates. Place the sanding "sugar" in a bowl. Roll the edges of each cookie in the candy or sprinkles, or spoon the sugar over the frosting. Sprinkle any cut-out windows with more decorations as desired.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the frosting, extract and, if desired, food coloring. Spread filling over half of the crackers; top with remaining crackers. , In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Dip cookies in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.