cookie calendar - day 24: lemon shortbread bars

Merry Christmas Eve!

Well, here we are - the very last day of the Cookie Advent Calendar! This has been an amazing and fun project and I can't believe that I actually managed to pull it off! I want to thank all my wonderful Cookie Recipe contributors who took the time to share a recipe with me - I couldn't have done this without your help and support. You are all too kind and generous!

To wrap up the Cookie Advent Calendar, I'm re-posting the recipe for my lemon shortbread bars. The reason for this is because lemon shortbread bars have a special place in my heart around Christmastime.

You see, every year since I was a young child, my parents' neighbour, Betsy, would bake a stunning variety of cookies and gift us with a cookie tray. Her assortment of treats ranged from shortbreads to pecan balls to fruitcake bites and we each had our favourites. Everything she baked was delicious, but my absolute favourite were her small lemon squares. I love Betsy's lemon squares.

For the past several years, I've been trying to replicate her lemon squares and this year, I've finally managed to do it! I love these lemon shortbread bars and am so happy to finally have a recipe of my own that I love as much as Betsy's.

Needless to say, all of us were waiting with baited breath today for the annual delivery of Betsy's cookie tray and she didn't disappoint! I managed to take a photo of the tray before everyone dived in. :)

cookie calendar - day 23: chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies

For our Christmas getogethers, I wanted to bake a cookie that incorporated peppermint, since that's one of the flavours that makes me think immediately of Christmas (eggnog and gingerbread being the other two). A friend recently shared a great orange mocha crinkle cookie recipe with me so I tinkered with it to turn it into a peppermint treat just in time for the holidays.

On their own, the cookies have a very subtle chocolate and peppermint taste, but when you add the chocolate drizzle, the peppermint taste gets a little more intense. If you want something light for a coffee break, then feel free to omit the chocolate topping.

cookie calendar - day 22: Oregon hazelnut thumbprints filled with raspberry jam

Missy Maki is one busy lady! Not only does she work full-time, she also writes a beautiful food blog AND hosts a weekly radio food talk show.

I met Missy when she answered my call for cookie recipes on Twitter and I'm so glad that she contacted me. She is full of energy and has a warm, energetic, friendly personality that is inspiring, to say the least.

You can listen to her show online or check out previous podcasts here. You can also connect with Missy via:
- her blog: Mrs. Masi Cooks
- Twitter: @missymaki
- Facebook: Simple Kitchen with Missy Maki

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How to describe myself……I am an Oregonian, full time career gal and loving and supportive wife to an amazing man. I am also a Radio Talk Show Host of “Simple Kitchen with Missy Maki” on AM 860 Sundays at 9am where I weave a warm, friendly approach to the intricate world of food and Portland foodies with a LOT of laughs, naturally!

I love cookies that are made from local items.  These cookies are a wonderful treat highlighting the bounty that Oregon has to offer – what better way to celebrate the holidays?

cookie calendar - day 21: coconut macaroons

Ange is awesome. Not only does she have an amazing food blog that makes me want to move to BC, but I think she may have been one of the first people (outside of my family) to visit kitchen frolic when it started up.

You see, I have another (currently on hiatus) blog, which is where I first met Ange. When I started up kitchen frolic, she ventured over here to have a look and has been a great source of encouragement and fun  foodie conversations ever since. So I'm very thankful to her for the support and was extremely happy when she agreed to share her coconut macaroon recipe with me for the Cookie Advent Calendar.

You can connect with Ange on her blog, foodpunk.ca and on Twitter at @ange_leung.

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I was flattered and thrilled when food blogger buddy, Stephanie of Kitchen Frolic invited me to guest blog for her Cookie Advent Calendar. Not only do I love advent calendars, I adore baking (and eating!) cookies!

I find that coconut macaroons are perfect Christmas cookies, they’re surprisingly simple to make, not to be confused with the ever complex French macaron. And if you have little kids who want to help in the kitchen, coconut macaroons will be a fun and safe project to take on. 

Coconut macaroons are basically just a combo of shredded coconut (I use the sweetened version) and egg whites. There isn’t even fat involved. Finally! A guilt-free Christmas cookie! The egg whites make the macaroons chewy and moist and the coconut gives the cookie just the right amount of sweetness. These treats go extremely well with eggnog or milk.

The best part about Coconut Macaroons is that they fit right in with Christmas, looking like little glistening snowballs. 

cookie calendar - day 20: pecan linzer cookies

Whenever I want to feel inspired, I head over to the Iron Whisk blog.

Filled with drool-worthy desserts, I always spend way too much time daydreaming about making the treats that Ilan does and wistfully wishing that I could have been even half as talented when I was 17! Seriously - 17! I don't remember what I was doing at 17, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't baking up professional-looking desserts and blogging about them. I'm currently, um....many years past 17 and still can't accomplish half the baking Ilan does.

Anyhow, Ilan is definitely one talented teenager who is definitely going to make his mark, no matter what he ends up doing!

p.s. Ilan - if I ever meet you in person, I'm giving you cookie cutters. Really.

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I love cookies. I don't have cookie cutters. I was still able to come up with this. If you have cookie cutters, you have no excuse not to make these!

The traditional linzer cookie is made with black currant jam sandwiched between two almond cookies. Over the years most people have moved to raspberry jam because it’s easier to find and has a brighter colour that is much more appealing to the eye. Any jam can work though, really. It’s best to use a jam that’s acidic though to balance the sweetness of the cookie. If you use a sweet jam, like strawberry, mix in some lemon juice. I was considering using kiwi jam but I ran out of kiwis. That would’ve been super cool though. Green cookies. You could also use lemon curd or lime curd if you don’t like jam or are looking for a new flavour combination.

cookie calendar - day 19: molasses spice cookies

I cannot thank Jen enough for being the one who sent me and Paul to our first Toronto Underground Market back in September. Previously, we were either busy on the day of the event or couldn't get our hands on tickets, but a few months ago, I won tickets from Jen and we had a fabulous time attending our first TUM.

But, event tickets aside, Jen has one of my most favourite food blogs. It's gorgeous. Her photos and writing style are elegant and always makes me hungry. There's just something about her blog that makes me feel warm and happy - like a really good meal does.

When Jen sent me her cookie recipe, I was extra happy because I had tried making my own molasses cookies for the Cookie Advent Calendar, but they didn't turn out (12 raw cookies went into the oven, 1 massive blob of cookie came out of the oven - but that's a story for another day!) So, I'm glad that she's sharing her recipe with us as I really want to get the hang of molasses cookies!

You can follow Jen here:

blog: foodpr0n.com

twitter: @foodpr0n

facebook: foodpr0n

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I love molasses spice cookies. That chewy texture and deep molasses taste is so good, especially with a cup of coffee. Several years ago, I undertook a quest to find the right recipe that matched the molasses spice cookies that Starbucks had. I’m not sure I found the recipe, but after several taste-tests from my fellow SB addicts, we found one we liked and then of course, I tweaked it to my tastes. This one has a more pronounced molasses taste, as that’s what I love. I also dumped in some nutmeg and adjusted the quantities of the salt and other spices.

This recipe is pretty easy. Just need to make sure the butter and eggs are brought up to room-temperature before you begin. The molasses should be in ml, but I like making this all in one bowl – less to wash!

cookie calendar - day 18: dark chocolate sables with sea salt and chili

One of the best things about learning to be better cooks in the kitchen is that Paul and I have been eating a whole lot healthier these days than we were even a year ago (with much more trips to the market and WAY less take-out). And we're continually learning and making better choices, which is helped along by all the great information we get online and in our cookbooks.

So I was really happy to meet Roxanna, whose blog, WholesomeHedonist, is all about making better, healthier choices. Of course, healthy does not mean boring - just check out the name of the cookies she submitted for the Cookie Advent Calendar!

Here's a quick bio about Roxanna:

Roxanna Kassam Kara is a former processed food marketer who runs WholesomeHedonist.com, a site that demystifies marketing claims, helps people navigate the supermarket and features yummy natural food ideas.  She spends her spare time with her husband and toddler, whom she would refer to as El Guapo and Hefe on her blog if only they would let her. You can follow her on Twitter at here or on Pinterest here.

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I love me a good project. If it involves lists, coloured file folders and clipboards, I’m in. Of course, the actual doing of the work never seems quite as exciting as the planning…except when it comes to holiday cookie baking.

There is nothing better in the world than holiday baking – I love waltzing around the kitchen, Christmas music playing in the background, surrounded by sticks of butter and chocolate and tins of brown sugar. That’s my idea of heaven. But even better than the baking is planning the baking - going through my stack of cookbooks and earmarking the recipes I’m going to make. I have a long list of requirements: they must be able to be made ahead, they must store well once baked (to give in cookie tins,) they must be a little bit different, and above all, they must be GOOD. Not treat-in-the-lunchbox good; not even eat-for-breakfast-tomorrow good. They must be constantly-on-your-mind, sneak-one-every-fifteen-minutes, dear-God-did-he-eat-the-last-ONE? good.