In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the buer and sugar on medium speed until fluffy and pale, about 3 minutes. Add the orange zest, vanilla, and almond extract and beat on medium speed until combined. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix just until blended. Scrape down the bowl.
Scoop up a rounded tablespoonful of dough, then use your finger to push the dough onto 1 of the prepared cookie sheets. Fill both cookie sheets with dough, spacing the mounds 2 inches apart. You should be able to fit 12 cookies on each cookie sheet.
Dip your thumb in a lile flour and use it to make a dent in each ball of dough. Spoon a small amount of jam intoeach dent. Youcan vary the types of jam you use to make different flavors of cookies.
Bake the cookies until lightly browned, about 18 minutes. Ask an adult to help you remove the cookie sheets from the oven and set them on wire racks. Let cool for 10 minutes, then use a metal spatula to move the cookies directly to the racks. Let the cookies cool completely and serve.
MAKES ABOUT 24 COOKIES
umbprin Cookies
Use your thumb to create a small indent in the center of these buery, almond-scented cookies before baking, and fill each one with your favorite fruity, jewel-toned jams, like raspberry, blackberry, or apricot.
cups all-purpose flour½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
cup ( sticks) unsalted buer, at room temperature
½ cup sugar teaspoon finely grated orange zest¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup raspberry, apricot, or blackberry jam
To make the cookies, in a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the buer and sugar on medium speed until blended, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Si the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a separate bowl, then add to the buer mixture. Mix on low speed just until blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 2 hours.
Position 2 racks in the oven so that they are evenly spaced and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Moisten your hands with water, scoop up a tablespoonful of the dough, and roll the dough between your palms into a ball. Place the ball on a prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough, evenly spacing the balls on the cookie sheets and flaening them a lile. You should have 20 balls.
Bake the cookies until puffed and slightly firm, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through (ask an adult for help!). Let the cookies cool for 5 min-utes, then use a metal spatula to move them directly to wire racks. Let cool.
To make the filling, in a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the marshmallow creme, powdered sugar, buer, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth.
Turn half of the cookies boom side up. Use an icing spatula to spread a dollop of the filling on the surface of each upside-down cookie. Top each with a second cookie, placing the flat side onto the filling. Serve right away.
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COOKIES
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted buer, at room temperature
½ cup firmly packed
light brown sugar large egg
teaspoon vanilla
extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sied½ teaspoon baking soda⅛ teaspoon salt
FILLING
cup marshmallow creme
½ cup powdered sugar, sied
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted buer, at room temperature½ teaspoon vanilla extract
MAKES 10 WHOOPIE PIES
Chocolat Whoopi Pies
Is it a pie? Is it a cookie? Is it a cake? You won’t even care once you take a bite of these awesome choco-licious treats! And who can resist a sweet, gooey marshmallow filling?
Kee ’e cooUnless you like your whoopie pies super gooey, you might want to store them in the fridge.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the buer and granulated sugar on medium speed until fluffy and pale, about 5 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined. Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix just until blended. Scrape down the bowl.
Dump the dough onto a clean work surface and divide it in half. Add one half back to the bowl and sprinkle the food coloring and peppermint extract, if using, over the dough in the bowl, then gently knead until well combined and evenly colored. If the color is not as dark as you’d like, add more food coloring and gently knead it in.
Cut 4 sheets of wax paper, each one about 18 inches long. Set each dough half on the center of a wax paper sheet and use your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle. Cover each piece of dough with a second wax paper sheet and, one at a time, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough halves into 16-by-10-inch rectangles. Remove the wax paper from one side of each dough rectangle and place the colored rectangle over the plain one. Starting from a long side and using the wax paper on the boom piece of the dough to help, tightly roll the dough into a log. If you like, scaer the coarse sugar on
cups all-purpose flour teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
tablespoons (½ sticks) unsalted buer, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar large egg yolk½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon red, blue, or green food coloring, plus more as needed½ teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)
About ½ cup coarse decorating sugar, for rolling (optional)
MAKES ABOUT 48 COOKIES
Pinwhee Icebox Cookies
These whimsical cookies are chilled in the refrigerator to help them set into perfect colorful pinwheels. You can make them into cookie pops by inserting ice-pop sticks before baking (follow the directions on page 29).
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