Honey & Ginger Windmill Cookies - Speculaas Cookies of Holland

Isn’t it great to receive an unexpected gift?!  I think it’s amazing!

Chocolate-Lace Lollipops with Dried Fruit & Nuts

This sweet delight is a classic combination of chocolate and dried fruit, but in the form a pretty lollipop. The beautiful and unique chocolate bouquet for your Valentine!

Springerle Cookies for Easter

I bake Springerle cookies twice an year, in winter for Christmas and in spring for Easter. "Springerle" are traditional German Christmas biscuits which were used as gifts just like these days we give each other greeting cards for the holidays. It was a matter of pride to have a unique dough mold unlike anyone else's, so the "baked greeting card" would be very special. Cookies were baked, put in jars and kept for six months. After few weeks they would become very hard, but tasty, and in order to soften them up you would have to dunk them into tea or coffee. This is why Springerle were also called "dunking cookies". Special molds for these used to be carved from pear trees. I got only three different molds like this and I love and cherish them. Maybe next Christmas I will make one more addition to my Springerle family.

Vanilla Button Cookies - Just for Fun!

These are little vanilla cream cheese button cookies. They're adorable and I had too much fun with these button cookies! My favorite thing was when my children asked if they could help me to make another "button"-) These cookies are perfect for baby shower or birthday party, holiday gifts and just for fun.



Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• assorted colors of paste food coloring

Directions:

In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir till soft dough forms. Divide dough into two parts. Tint each with a different food color. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).



Remove from refrigerator, one color at a time and on a lightly floured surface, roll dough until just over 1/8" thick.

Cut 2-inch rounds with round cutter. Next on each round, just in from the edge, mark with a smaller round cutter, approximately 1.5 inches diameter, pressing slightly,  but not pushing through. Run a metal spatula underneath the dough, to make sure it is not sticking to the table, sprinkle with flour underneath as necessary.

With top of a small #3 piping tip (or with straw) cut 2 or 4 holes in the centre of each cookie so it resembles a button, make sure to push down to the counter so the small pieces fall out.



Lift dough with metal spatula onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a sil-pat, collect scraps and repeat.

Follow the same method with another color, being sure to clean your work surface between each.
Refrigerate buttons for 15 minutes before baking.

Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes.

Transfer to a cooling rack and eat with a perfect cup of tea.