Recipes

Move over gingerbread man; there’s a new cookie in town! These one-bite slice-and-bake spiced ginger and lemon cookies pack a flavorful punch. Be prepared—they are the first to go on any holiday cookie tray.

If you’re looking for ginger cookies that go beyond the gingerbread man, welcome these dainty, one-bite cookies that pack a spicy punch.
The combination of lemon rind, candied ginger, molasses, and cloves ensures these easy-to-make cookies are requested for every holiday dessert bar. The sparkly sugar coating balances the spice from ginger in these little gems.
Make the dough weeks in advance and freeze it. Then slice and bake as you need them!

WHAT IS AN ICEBOX COOKIE?
Like many butter-based cookies, icebox cookies start by creaming butter and sugar together, adding egg and then flour, along with any spices or flavorings.
Instead of dropping the dough onto cookie sheets, you form it into cylinders and refrigerate or freeze them until firm. Truth be told, many drop cookies can be turned into slice-and-bakes, including chocolate chip cookies!

KEEP YOUR DOUGH COLD
Icebox cookies need to be cold when you slice them. Cold dough tends to spread very little in the oven, which means your cookies retain their shape once baked.
I prefer to put them directly into the freezer. This not only shortens the time it takes them to become firm enough to slice but also, if you don’t plan to bake them all at once, they are already in the right place to store.
If the dough hardens too much in the freezer, just leave it out at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing.
TIPS TO MAINTAIN THE SHAPE
These cookies are really tiny! Only 1 1/2 inches after baking. You can easily make the rolls larger, up to two or even three inches wide. You will end up with fewer cookies but there will still be plenty to go around.
Since the dough is soft to begin with, the log often flattens on the bottom as it chills. Roll the log back and forth to reform it into a round shape before slicing. Then, as you slice the cookies, roll the log a quarter-turn away from you after you slice each cookie to prevent the bottoms from flattening too much.
On the other hand, you could just make the roll into a square shape. They won’t look like pennies, but no one will be the wiser!

THE BEST SUGAR COATING
For these shiny pennies, I used coarse natural cane sugar. It’s light brown and is sometimes called turbinado or demerara sugar.
Granulated sugar would work fine, too; it’s just not as dramatic looking. Place a shallow bowl of sugar next to the work area, and drop the cookies into it as you slice them. Then transfer them to baking sheets.
You can dip them into the sugar on one or both sides, you decide. More sugar makes the cookies sweeter.
WAYS TO ADAPT THIS RECIPE
Finely chopped candied ginger produces minute, peppery little pops in the cookies, barely noticeable, but enough to add some je-ne-sais-quoi mystery!
You could use candied orange or lemon peel instead if you like, and in place of the lemon zest, use orange or lime zest. I like the perkiness of the lemon and ginger in these, but you should make yours according to what you might have on hand and what you like.

HOW TO STORE AND FREEZE ICEBOX COOKIES
The rolls of dough, double wrapped in plastic, will keep in the freezer for up to three months, after which the cookies will lose some of their zest but will still be fine.
Once the cookies are baked, they will keep well for up to a couple of weeks in an airtight tin. The baked cookies can also be stored in the freezer in heavy-duty freezer zipper bags for several months.
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This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy. LEGGI TUTTO

Looking for a beautiful holiday treat to add to your repertoire this year? These peppermint marshmallows are just the thing! Fun to make, great to gift, and delicious to eat on their own or in your favorite cup of cocoa.

This post is written in partnership with If You Care.
There’s something joyful and magical about making your own marshmallows! Not only is the process fun to do, but you can customize the flavor to your liking.
These festive peppermint marshmallows are great for topping hot cocoa or just nibbling when you want a treat. Expect loud proclamations of “You made these?!” and “I didn’t even know that you can make homemade marshmallows!” when you serve them.

How do you make marshmallows?
Marshmallows aren’t difficult to make, but it’s helpful if you have a candy or deep frying thermometer. After all, you ARE making candy! 
First you’ll line your pan with If You Care parchment paper, spray it with cooking spray, and dust with a little confectioners sugar and cornstarch.
Then you’ll start making the marshmallows! Simply soften unflavored powdered gelatin in cold water. Cook a combination of sugar, corn syrup, water and a pinch of salt until it reaches 240°F. 
While the syrup is cooking, melt the gelatin in the microwave, add it to a stand mixer bowl, and whip it while you add the hot syrup. Add the peppermint extract, scrape into the prepared pan, drop a few drops of food coloring and swirl away. Let the whole things sit around overnight and then cut and serve!

What is the purpose of the parchment paper?
Non stick parchment paper makes fast work of a sticky task like marshmallows.
Once the marshmallows have “cured” overnight, you lift them out of the pan with the sides of the paper, then move directly to a cutting board. No worrying about the marshmallows sticking to the pan or damaging the red swirls of color on the top by flipping them upside down.
And If You Care is the right parchment paper for the job. It’s unbleached and 100% natural, so once you use it, it can go right into the compost bin. 

Do I really need a candy thermometer?
You don’t necessarily need a candy thermometer, but it does make your life a lot easier.
If you have a thermometer, you can turn the heat on medium high and cook the syrup much faster. 
But if you don’t have a thermometer, you can still make marshmallows. Just cook the syrup at a medium to medium low temperature. Test the syrup by placing a small glass of water next to the stove. Drop a little bit of syrup in the water. Once the syrup reaches the “soft ball” stage, where you can reach in and pick up the syrup, and it’s malleable in your fingers, you’re at the right temperature. 

How do I know when the marshmallow is done?
The marshmallow mixture will fluff up until it’s about triple in volume and be opaque white.
Don’t under beat the mixture: It needs a full 8 to 10 minutes to reach its full volume. Otherwise it will be dense and overly chewy. But don’t over beat it either! You want it still warm enough that you can pour it into the pan as a liquid and add the food coloring. If you beat it too long, the marshmallow will solidify in the bowl and it’ll be tough to scrape out into the pan. LEGGI TUTTO

1 Preheat the oven and prepare the baking sheets: Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
2 Make the filling: In a very clean, large mixing bowl, use a whisk, hand mixer, or stand mixer with whisk attachment to whisk together the egg whites and cream of tartar, just until the cream of tartar is fully incorporated and the egg whites have a lot of bubbles.
Add the sugar to the egg whites, one tablespoon at a time, whisking it in completely after each addition, for a minute or so if you’re doing it by hand, or about 30 seconds if you’re using an electric mixer.
Add the vanilla, then continue to whisk at high speed, until the egg whites are glossy and silky in texture. Stop the mixer and rub a little of the meringue between your fingers. It should feel smooth and you should not be able to feel any gritty sugar between your fingers.

3 Add the walnuts: Whisk the ground walnuts into the meringue just until well combined, about 30 seconds. Set aside. (If you are using a stand mixer, use a spatula to transfer the meringue to a small bowl, then wash out the mixer bowl and return it to the stand.)

4 For the dough: In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment to cream the butter, yeast, sour cream, and egg yolks for about 2 minutes—it’s fine if the mixture looks split or a bit broken.
Add the flour and salt in three batches, mixing slowly until the flour is thoroughly blended into the dough, about 10 seconds each time.

5 Prepare your work surface and divide the dough: Sprinkle a work surface generously with powdered sugar. Transfer the dough to the work surface. If the dough is still a little shaggy, knead in the dryer bits until you have a cohesive ball of dough. Use a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough into four equal pieces. Shape each of the pieces of dough into a round disk, about 1 inch thick

6 Roll and cut the dough into wedges: Using a rolling pin, roll one piece of the dough into a circle about 10 inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch thick, a little bit thinner than if you were rolling out pie dough. With a bench scraper, knife, or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 triangle wedges.

7 Fill the cookies: Spoon a small amount of the meringue mixture onto the wide end of a wedge of dough, about a heaped 1/2 teaspoon of filling. You may use a little more or less depending on the wedge of dough, as they won’t likely be all perfectly evenly sized.

8 Shape the cookies: Roll up the dough from the wide end to the tip, like you would a crescent roll. (The filling may spread along the wedge of dough a bit as you’re rolling it up, but it shouldn’t spill out too much over the sides. Use a light hand and don’t worry if they’re a little messy.)
You can gently bend the ends in to form a crescent shape or just leave them straight. It’s up to you.
Transfer the cookie to the lined baking sheet.
Complete this process with the rest of the dough, rolling out the three remaining balls of dough, cutting them into wedges, and rolling up the cookies with the filling, to make 32 cookies.
You will have a good amount of filling leftover (a half cup or so).

9 Bake the cookies: Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking to ensure that they bake evenly. They should be light in color when they are done, and just barely lightly browned on the ends. You can check for doneness by touching one of the cookies, if it springs back when gently poked, the cookies are done.

10 Cool the cookies: Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to wire cooling racks. Let the cookies cool completely, for about 30 to 45 minutes. Save the baking sheets. You’ll use them again to glaze the cookies.
11 Make the glaze: In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 6 tablespoons of the milk. Once you have incorporated as much of the powdered sugar as will absorb into the milk, add more milk gradually, by the teaspoon, until the glaze is thick but pourable, a little bit thicker than Elmer’s glue.

12 Glaze the cooled cookies: Place the cooling racks on lined baking sheets to catch any dripping glaze.
Spoon about a tablespoon of glaze over the top of each cookie, using a spoon to gently coax the glaze into dripping down the sides— you want to cover the cookies as much as possible. Let the glaze set for an hour or so, until it is no longer tacky.

13 Enjoy! The cookies will keep in a tightly lidded container for up to three days at room temperature or up to three months in the freezer. LEGGI TUTTO