Opera Singer in the Kitchen: Alfajores and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from The Cookiepedia {Review + Giveaway}

More baking!! I am loving it and I hope you are getting in some too! A few weeks ago Quirk Books sent me a few cookbooks to look through and I feel in love with Cookiepedia. Do you have trouble deciding what to make every year and you get stuck making the SAME cookies every year? I felt that way this year even though I did express that I hardly baked last year. It still counts

I perused through the cookbook and stood in the kitchen for a while trying to decide what to make first. Ha! The cookbook focuses on reinventing the classic cookie so I decided to make a classic and a fancy cookie.

One of my husband's favorite cookies happen to be Oatmeal Raisin so I went with that recipe. The recipe gives you the option for add-ins, like chocolate chips, nuts, etc, but I decided to keep them as is. A note was placed on the recipe stating that refrigerating the dough before baking would make for a taller and chewier cookie, so I went with that recommendation.

Since we moved to our new place it is always hard to get used to your new appliances. While they might not be NEW, they are new to your life. Such is the case with our oven. I believe my oven bakes a little hotter than usual so I have to keep an eye or cook things a little less time that specified. I know I can get this fixed.

I first cooked them a little longer thinking they did not look cooked enough, only to find out that they got a little crunchy. :-( Luckily I had a second batch of cookies and I baked them at the lowest time recommended and they came out PERFECTLY! Chewy and delicious. Even Ryan liked them.

What about these beauties? They look perfect for Christmas since they are dusted with powdered sugar. The description read: "A cross between a shortbread and snickerdoodle cookie." Yes please! Since I had dulce de leche left from my Boozy Cake, I decided I definitely needed to make this recipe.

The dough requires refrigeration twice but in essence this recipe is SUPER quick. Even though there is an option to use store-bought dulce de leche, you can make your own crock-pot dulce de leche. These cookies are quite popular in South America even though they originated in Spain. These would be perfect to make with your kids too!

Alfajores

by Stacy Adimando from Cookiepedia

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients (3 dozen)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
store -bought dulce de leche for filling or homemade (see note)
powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Cream the butter and sugar together for a minute or two, until they look light and fluffy.

In the meantime, sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set it aside.

Add in the egg and egg yolk one at a time, mixing after each addition. add vanilla extract and mix briefly. add in flour mixture and mix just until the dough starts to come together.

Working quickly, turn out the dough and use a little heat from your hands to make it a solid ball. pullout a large plastic wrap and flatten the dough on top to make a disk. double wrap it and refrigerate for 1 hour, until firm.

Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. roll dough to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. rotate the dough between rolls to make sure it’s not sticking to the surface.

Using a 2 inch fluted or round cutter, cut out cookies and carefully transfer them onto sheets, placing them about 1 inch apart.

Chill sheets again for about 15-20 minutes, until the dough is very firm. then bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until tops of the cookies have just firmed and bottoms are starting to color slightly.

Cool the sheets on wire racks before assembling the sandwiches.

Drop, pipe or spread a teaspoon of dulce de leche into the center of each cookie, then top with another. sift powdered sugar over the assembled sandwiches.

Note

You can make your own dulce de leche by placing several cans in a crock pot, covering them with water and cooking for 6 hours over low heat. This is what I did and used for the recipe.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

by Stacy Adimando from Cookiepedia

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 13 minutes

Ingredients (2 dozen)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats or quickcooking oats
2/3 cup raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for a few minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix a bit more.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl. Pour in the flour mixture and run the mixer motor on low, just to work it in. Stir in the oats and raisins with a spoon.

Scoop out tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking. Let cool and enjoy.