Another of our favorite Brooklyn traditions shared with new and old friends in Paris.
story
The Cookie Party
Thought it’s known simply as “The Cookie Party,” it’s so much more than that. It’s a nice moment of sharing traditions with friends new and old, it’s cultural delicious exploration, it’s ornament- and overall merry-making, plenty of cocktails and, yes, lots of cookies to enjoy.
There are certain stand-bys we need to make each year, but each year we also have a rotating sampling based on new favorites from that year, often based on travel, but sometimes just because of what friends introduced to us that year.
The cookie party must-haves:
- Garam Masala Oatmeal Raisin (aka our Family in a cookie)
- Candy Cane Kulfi
- Christmas Trees w/ Saunf
- Mini Candy Canes
- Cardamom, Chocolate Pistachio
- Gingerbread Bears w/ Red-hot Hearts
- Gingernsnap Bites
- Pralines
Then as you might expect, sometimes those new items end up being part of the yearly repertoire, like Pirjo’s Finnish glögi.
The only hiccup was that we had to wait until January to have it! I ended up getting very sick the week before. Instead of in the kitchen making batches and batches of cookies, I was curled up in bed.
So when we finally had it the first weekend in January, it meant that everyone was in Galette de Roi mode, and we had at least 3 brought by friends that day, each from different pâtisseries. It became both a fun taste-test, as well a fun tradition to add to Cookie Party 2022.
recipe
Cranberry Old Fashioned
This is definitely a bit of a misnomer, but that’s what we called it the day of the party because i developed the recipe based on some I found of the same name, and it just stuck. I’d change the name on my recipe, but you can see I had made a nice label for the jar it was served in!
That said, next time I make this I will add an orange rind and/or Grand Marnier. Though I supposed I should be careful w/ the Grand Marnier because it’s already quite a dangerously-easy-to-drink, hard-hitting cocktail.
Final note on cocktail parties in France. It’s considered a bit uncouth to have cocktails during the day. Even having a cocktail at apero time (after 5pm) is unlikely unless it’s more along the lines of a spritz or something light. But, hey! This was an imported, American party, so I went right ahead and tried to inspire others to go ahead and day-drink American style. 🙂
Batch Cranberry Old Fashioned
Ingredients
Spiced Cranberry Simple Syrup
- 1/2 cup cranberry juice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar dark and/or light
- 1 cinnamon sticks
- 2 whole cloves
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1 full star anise, brooken
- 2 orange peels 3 x 3inch peels
Candied Cranberry Garnish
- fresh cranberries
- simple syrup enough to lightly coat
- granulated sugar enough to coat
Cocktail
- 8 ounces bourbon or whiskey
- 8 ounces cranberry juice we used no sugar added
- 2 ounces cranberry simple syrup recipe below
- many dashes angostura bitters per taste, a couple dashes per serving
Instructions
Spiced Cranberry Simple Syrup
- In a small saucepan (same as you made the sugared cranberries in, including the leftover juice!) add cranberry juice, brown sugar, and whole spices (not the orange peel!).
- Turn heat to high and stir occasionally until it reaches a boil and sugar is dissolved. Then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the orange peels and keep aside until cool. Strain into a jar and keep chilled until ready to use. Store in the fridge.
Sugared Cranberries
- Toss your whole cranberries in just enough cool simple syrup to coat them. Allow them to dry a bit, then toss with sugar, and spread out on a rack to dry overight. (Note: Don't believe the recipes that say to cook the cranberries. They just get too soft to work with.)
- Once they dry, you can use the stem of rosemary, or a toothpick to skewer them and some orange peels.
- If using rosemary branches, here are 2 tips: 1) remove the rosemary leaves for the part you want to go through the fruit, leaving some leaves at the top as beautiful and fragrant garnish. 2) Unless you have nicely whittled the bottoms of your rosemary branches, it can be helpful to first pierce a hole with a toothpick, then put in the rosemary.
Batch Cocktail
- In your large serving container, mix bourbon, cranberry juice, spiced cranberry simple syrup (and maybe Grand Marnier next time). You can mix it ahead and let it sit, tightly covered.
- When ready to serve/party, put it out with the garnishes, ice, and a nice glass. Might be helpful to have the below serving notes posted unless you have someone manning the bar:
- Get your glass and add a bit of ice. Add your desired amount of cocktail and garnish with candied orange peels, sugared cranberries and/or rosemary.
Notes
recipe
Snickerdoodles
When deciding what else to add to the tried and true selection of cookies we discussed making madeleines (which had appeared at prior cookie parties), meringues or macarons as a nod to our current favorites in Paris.
When two of our annual cookies were foiled by ingredients I didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to find in France, we needed to find an alternative to round out or flavors. I thought of a favorite from childhood that includes the very American cinnamon: Snickerdoodles.
But in the end we decided to keep it an imported tradition, and stay away from making things that expert patissiers were doing all around us.
Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Cookie Batter
- 250 g salted butter
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 3/4 c flour
- 1 1/2 c sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Sugar Coating
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
Instructions
- Allow butter to soften. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (optional). Measure and mix flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda, and keep aside. Make the sugar/cinnamon mixture in a small bowl and keep aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add the dry ingredients slowly. When you have a cohesive dough, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Roll into balls of uniform size, and roll in the sugar mixture, and place on prepared cookie sheet, 2 inches apart (they will fall into flat rounds). Cook until they begin to crack on the top and they keep their shape when moved to the side (depends on the size of your cookie; tart checking at 6 mins). You want them chewy, so don't over cook them unless you plan to use them for ice cream sandwiches (which is not a bad plan!).
Notes
- if not using salted butter/margarine, add 1/2 tsp salt
When the first batch ended up a bit crispier than I like, we turned them into mini ice cream sandwiches instead. YUM.
Mmmmmm how many days until ’till next the Cookie Party 2023?!