Culinary twists on a Christmas tradition
Ways to glam up three traditional Christmas cookie doughs.
DanielWilson has been a force in the kitchen for as long as he can remember. He’s especially good at crafting desserts, starting with the mini pecan tassie that’s a staple at family gatherings this time of year.
Even as a young child, he loved to bake and cook with his mother, Carol. By the time hewas in high school, he not only had perfected the tart’s delicate cream cheese dough and syrupy filling, but he was happily making entire dinners for his parents and three siblings, inspired by the food and creative chefs featured on Food Network.
A career in the culinary arts beckoned.
Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York answered the call, and when he graduated in 2012 with a concentration in pastry arts, he quickly found his dream job: A nine-month internship at Walt Disney World in Florida turned into a full-time job as a pastry chef for the theme park.
“I’m pretty artistic,” says Mr. Wilson, 29, who grew up painting and drawing. So being able to create food that relies on visual aesthetics as much as it does on taste was exciting.
And he made some pretty fab desserts during his time at The Boathouse in the Disney Springs resort. Therestaurant isknownfor its over-the-top desserts, including a show-stopping baked Alaska that stands 2 feet tall and takes five days to prepare.
In 2016, he returned to Pittsburgh to be closer to family and got a job as a pastry chef at Soba. Gigs at Mad Mex, Salud Juicery andRootsNatural Kitchen in Oakland followed. All the while, he kept his TV tuned to the Food Network, waiting for an opportunity to demonstrate his culinary chops in a competitive cooking show.
His shot came in January. He saw — and successfully filled out — an application seeking contestants for a Christmas-themed decorating show.
Gingerbread houses are a family tradition during the holidays. “But I was open to anything,” he said, which was a good thing because the showended up being “Christmas Cookie Challenge.”
Now in its fourth season, the show co-hosted by ex-football player Eddie Jackson and “Pioneer Woman” Ree Drummond pits five bakers from across the country against each other in a series of timed cookie-baking challenges. The winner walks away with $10,000.
Several lengthy video interviews followed, as well as a livecall audition in April from his Friendship kitchen duringwhich he was tasked with creating — and also explaining in detail — a Christmas fantasy theme out of gingerbread. (He chose Snow White and the seven dwarfs.)
Then he waited. And waited some more. He finally got the call in July that he’d been chosen.
“Itwas always in the back ofmy mind,” he said, but then again, it was in the midst of a pandemic.
At the beginning of August, following a coronavirus test, Mr. Wilson flewto NewOrleans for a week of filming. “After quarantining, of course,” for two days prior to the competition, he said.
Located in a warehouse the size of a football field, the studio felt more Hollywood than professional kitchen. “But as soon as we walked on set, it was an explosion of Christmas.”
On set during round one, the bakers had 90 minutes to create three “puzzle piece” cookies from scratch with a holiday theme.
Mr. Wilson decided on a Christmas fireplace, using a smoked cherry cookie with vanilla icing. The end result was beautiful, but because he used frozen cherries and liquid smoke instead of the smoked fruit he learned to make in culinary school, it also
was too soft.
“And then it just snowballed” with the judges, he said, ending with his elimination.
“ButReewas reallylovely,” he said. “And it was such a fun experience.”
Maybe your current cookie situation won’t earn you a spot on the Food Network this holiday season. But almost everyone can turn out better cookies if they follow these few easy tips from Mr. Wilson.
For starters, he said, it’s essential to chill your cookie dough to prevent it from spreading out too quickly once you put it in the oven. This is especially important if you’re going to be rolling it out for cut-outs, and you need the dough to hold its texture. A half-hour in the fridge should do the trick, but overnight is even better if you have the time.
It’s also a good idea to line your cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat so there’s a bit of insulation between the cookies and the heat of the pan. It eliminates the need for greasing, and the cookies will bake more evenly. They’ll also be easier to lift off the pan without breaking or cracking.
Space the cookies far enough from each other so that they won’t melt into one another as they bake — 2 inches usuallyworks— and portion them uniformly so they cook at the same rate and size. (A small ice cream scooper works wonders.) If youneedtoflattenthedough on the cookie sheet, use an offset spatula.
Overbaking has ruined more than its fair share of Christmas cookies. So watch carefully and take the cookies out of the oven right when the edges start to brown, said Mr. Wilson. “And be sure to rotate the pan halfway thru baking so they cook evenly” if you don’t have a convection oven. “All ovens have hot spots,” he said.
Once out of the oven, wait for a fewminutes before taking them off the pan. Otherwise, they could break or crumble into pieces when you slide them off the spatula.
Above all, don’t be afraid to experiment with newflavors, textures and combinations.
To that end, Mr. Wilson offers three easy add-ins that take three basic holiday cookie doughs — sugar, snickerdoodle and chocolate — to the next level.
They include everyday ingredients thatmost home cooks already have in their spice cabinets and pantries, and unlike icing, no particular skill set: toasted nuts, aromatic spices, bits of chocolate or candy, and dried fruit.
As for the pastry chef’s next act? He’s transitioning out of the food business so he can enjoy weekends off. But baking is still in his blood, so he’ll wait and see what happens.
In the meantime, “I’m already busy decorating cookies.”
CLASSICSUGARCOOKIE DOUGH
This classic sugarcookie dough canbe rolled out for cut-out cookies or dropped by rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheet. Even chilled, the doughwill spread as itbakes, so be sure to space the cookies several inches apart on the pan. Dough canbe refrigerated overnight or frozen forup to a month.
1½ cupspowderedsugar 1cupbutter, softened 1 teaspoonvanilla ½ teaspoonalmond
extract
1egg 2½ cupsall-purposeflour 1 teaspoonbaking soda 1 teaspooncreamof tartar
In large bowl, beat 1½ cups powdered sugar, the softened butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the almond extract and egg with electric mixer onmediumspeed, ormix with spoon, untilwell blended.
Stir in flour, baking soda and creamof tartar. Divide dough in half, shape into two disks andwrap in plastic wrap. Coverand refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll each diskon lightly floured surface until ¼ inch thick. Cut with 2- to 2 ½ -inch cookie cutters into desired shapes. Onungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts at least 2 inches apart.
Bake 7 to8minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 1 minute to allowcookies to harden; remove fromcookie sheets to cooling racks and cool completely. Makes4dozen cookies. Forwhitechocolate peppermintsugarcookies: Stir ¾ cup choppedwhite chocolate chips and ½ cup crushed candy canes (from about6candy canes) into the batter after the dry ingredients; mix to combine well. Refrigerate, roll out and bake as directed.
Forhazelnut toffee sugarcookies: Stir 1 cup toastedand chopped hazelnut and ½ cup English toffee bits into batterafter the dry ingredients and mix to combinewell. Refrigerate, roll out andbake as directed.
Forcranberryorange sugarcookies: Stir 1 cup dried cranberries and 1 teaspoon orangezest into the batter after the dry ingredients and mix to combinewell. Refrigerate, roll out andbake as directed.
CHOCOLATECOOKIE DOUGH
Whodoesn’t love a crispy, chocolate-y cookie? This dough pulls together quicklyand is full of delicious chocolateflavor, making it perfect for dunking in milk or yourmorning coffee. Dough canbe refrigerated overnight or frozen forup to a month. 2⅔ cupsall-purposeflour ⅓ cupunsweetened Dutch-processcocoa powder ¾ teaspoonbaking
powder
½ teaspoonsalt
1 cup(2 sticks) unsalted
butter
1cupsugar
1 largeegg 2teaspoonspurevanilla
Whisktogetherflour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
In bowl ofan electric mixer fittedwith thepaddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugarwith a mixeron medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg andvanilla. Reduce speed to low. Graduallyadd flourmixture and beat until combined. Dough can be refrigerated overnight or frozen forupto a month.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with Silpatbakingmats orparchment paper. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on preparedbaking sheets about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake until set, about8minutes. Cool onbaking sheets for5 minutes before transferring to awire rack to cool completely.
Makes 3dozen cookies. Forchocolatepistachio seasaltcookies: Mix 1 cup
chopped pistachios into the prepared cookiebatter. Portion as directedand right beforebaking, sprinkle coarse orflaky sea salt on top. Bake as directed.
ForMexicanhot chocolatecookies: Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon chili powder to thebatter along with the flourmixture and beat until incorporated. Portion and bake as directed.
Forsmokedchocolate cherrycookies: Add a handful of dried cherries (about ¾ cup) and ½ teaspoon of liquidsmoke to the prepared cookiebatter and mix until incorporated. Portion and bake as directed.
SNICKERDOODLE COOKIEDOUGH
Germanin origin, snickerdoodles delight with their crinkly sugarand-cinnamon topping and distinctive crackling. Like mostdropcookies, they’re easy tomake, and are easily adapted to include your favorite add-ins. Dough can be refrigeratedovernight or frozen forupto a month.
1¾ cupssugar, divided ½ cupbutter, softened ½ cupshortening
2eggs 2¾ cupsall-purposeor
unbleachedflour 2teaspoonscreamof
tartar 1 teaspoonbakingsoda ¼ teaspoonsalt 2teaspoonsground cinnamon
Preheat oven to400 degrees.
Mix1½ cups sugar, butter, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, creamof tartar, baking soda and salt.
Shape dough into 1¼-inch balls.
Mix remaining ¼ cup sugar and the cinnamon. Rollballs in cinnamon-sugar mixture, then place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake8to 10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet towire rack.
Forchai snickerdoodles: Prepare dough as directed and shape intoballs. To the cinnamon/sugar mixture, add 1 teaspoon powdered ginger, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom and ½ teaspoon black pepper. (You also could add white chocolate chips, if desired.) Roll doughballs in sugar/spice mixandbake as directed.
Forrumpecan snickerdoodles: Add 1 cup toastedand chopped pecans to prepared cookiebatter and shape into balls. Roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture and bake as directed. After they arebaked andwhile cookies are still hot, brush the tops ofcookies withrumusing a pastry brush.
Foreggnog snickerdoodles:
Prepare dough as directedand shape intoballs. Roll in cinnamon/ sugarand bake as directed. Drizzlewarmcookies with a glazemadefrom ¼ cup eggnog,⅛ teaspoonnutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup powdered sugarand a splash ofrum(optional).