Dear Climate Culinarians,
Let’s get coffee! When did you last say that? I did it just before the holiday. But something was missing: cookies. Even though they are such a convenient way to share a meal.
Wait: Are cookies a meal? I say yes! And the calories agree. Also, a plate of cookies fits into this month’s theme of meal sharing:
Socializing over a hot drink and cookies is quick, cozy, and easy to scale: Who says no to a tea cookie party? That’s why this month’s recipe gives you a mountain of cookies. To celebrate having readers from four countries now (thank you!!), I’ll turn out four variations of a simple slice-and-bake cookie.
What are your favorite cookies? Are you hosting or attending a cookie swap this holiday season? Let me and our fellow Climate Culinarians know!
I love these cookies for four reasons: their taste, their prep-and-freeze readiness, their versatility (make them as simple or elaborate as you want) … and because they are inspired by Gabi Frankemölle, a German foodblogger with whom I wrote two books. Gabi introduced me to cream cheese as a cookie ingredient. And to alliteration* in recipe titles.
*(She named hers Cream Cheese Christmas Cookies, aka 4C - the recipe is in German, though).
Make a large batch of these cookies and feed a crowd! Or fill your whole cookie jar collection. Or bake only a portion and save the rest for later - these slice-and-bake logs freeze well. Finish them straight from freezer just before friends arrive, or when you need something to bring to a get-together.
Please note:
I present four variations that require different levels of effort. The base is simple: making the dough, rolling it into logs, and slicing cookies.
When baking, I always weigh ingredients, so I use a scale and measure in grams instead of cups. It’s more accurate!
These cookies turn out best if you cool the dough twice. I like to split the work over a few days and make just one step after dinner, then cool the dough overnight.
In a pinch? Make the dough, form the logs and freeze them for 30 min before slicing.
Makes about 160 small cookies
370 g all purpose flour (about 3 cups)
150 g almond flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks butter (226 g), room temperature
8 oz cream cheese (226 g)
220 g granular sugar (a bit more than 1 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp baking cocoa (if using)
For decoration: colorful sugar nonpareils, almond slivers
No matter how many variations you want to make, you will
make dough - chill - shape logs - chill - slice cookies - bake.
In a medium bowl, combine the flours and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl - a stand mixer with the paddle beater works great here! - combine sugar, butter and cream cheese and beat until light and fluffy. Stop to scrape down the sides once or twice.
Add about half of the flour mix and incorporate just enough (streaks still visible), then add the rest of the flour mix. Continue beating until a dough comes together.
Turn out the dough on a silicone baking mat or kitchen counter. If it’s not smooth yet, give it a quick knead with your hands. Divide dough into two parts.
From here, you’ll proceed depending on how many different types of cookies you want to make. I’ll describe the following options, and you take it from there:
A = non-chocolate cookies only (almond sliver, colorful rim, other decoration - or none at all!)
B = cookies with chocolate only (cocoa swirls, marbled cocoa, or just one of these)
C = four different cookies (cocoa swirls, marbled cocoa, almond sliver, colorful rim)
For A: Shape each half of dough into squares or rectangles and wrap them in beeswax or plastic wrap.
For B: Place one half of dough in the small bowl and gradually (spoonful by spoonful) knead in cocoa with your hands.
If you plan to make swirls only: Separately shape the cocoa dough into squares or rectangles. Repeat with the white dough. You have 2 pieces of dough. Wrap each in beeswax or plastic wrap.
If you plan to make both swirls and marbles: Divide cocoa dough in half, set one piece aside, shape into a square and wrap. Do the same with the white dough. These 2 medium-size dough pieces will become your swirl cookies later. For the marble dough, you’ll need another 4 pieces of dough, 2 cocoa, 2 white. So you’ll divide the remaining cocoa dough in half, same with the remaining white dough. Shape each one into square or rectangle and wrap. In total, you wrapped 6 pieces of dough, 2 of them are medium, 4 of them a bit smaller.
For C: Divide the two parts of dough again. Shape 2 of the pieces into squares and set aside. From the remaining 2 pieces, place one in the small bowl and gradually knead in cocoa with your hands. Then proceed as in B for both swirls and marbles. You’ll have 8 pieces of dough, 3 of them with cocoa.
Chill dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or over night.
Place dough pieces on a silicone mat or kitchen counter. No matter which decoration you choose, you will create logs of dough. Don’t make these logs too long. When in doubt, go with more individual shorter logs rather than less, longer log.
For A: Cut or pinch off about a quarter of one dough piece and roll to a log, about 1 inch thick. Wrap each log.
For B: Turn out the larger white dough on a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat. Roll it out into a rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with the larger cocoa dough piece.
With the help of the parchment paper or mat, place one rectangle onto the other. Gently press. From the long side, slowly roll up the dough tightly, using the parchment paper to help. Make sure the two layers stick to each other. You have a thick log. Divide it in two. Gently roll each piece so it becomes a log of about an inch in diameter. Wrap and set aside.
Turn out the smaller four pieces of dough on parchment paper and individually roll each piece into a rectangle of the same size, about 1/4 inch thick. With the help of the parchment paper, place dough rectangles onto each other, alternating white and cocoa dough.
Gently press dough so the four layers are snuck. Roll them up, pressing gently. Divide into two or three pieces. Roll to get each log to a diameter of about an inch. If you want more marbling, knead once or twice like play-doh before you form a log. Wrap all your logs.
For C: Treat the 2 large white dough pieces like A, then continue with the 6 other pieces like B.
Place all the dough logs in the fridge for several hours (overnight is best). No rush! They will be okay waiting in the fridge for a few days. You can also freeze them for 3 months.
Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper (re-use what you used earlier).
Take the chilled dough logs from the fridge, one at a time, starting with the cocoa-type doughs (if using). Discard wrap. Place each dough piece on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, slice into coins, about 1/3 inch thick. You can gently reshape them if needed. Place slices on a baking sheet, 1 inch apart.
Once you filled one sheet, chill it. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F while you slice the rest of the cookies.
For the decorated rim cookies: Gently pour nonpareils onto a small, rimmed baking sheet, forming a thick line roughly the length of your logs. Roll one dough log in the nonpareils until covered, pressing gently. Repeat with as many logs as you like. Slice coins, 1/3 inch thick.
Continue to slice coins from the remaining dough logs. Gently press an almond sliver on top (if using).
Bake cookies for 10 min, until the edges turn very slightly golden. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
I believe a shared meal is the best opportunity to talk about climate solutions. And to connect, of course. So I hope you’ll enjoy discussing your new knowledge about happiness and meal sharing, along with these cookies.
Eat, read, repeat!
Petrina
Climate Culinarians is a weekly newsletter delivering food for thought to people who care about what they eat. I’m Petrina Engelke, journalist and book coach. I help readers discover links between yummy food and global warming - with a focus on solutions and actions we can take. Read more about this newsletter & me here.
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