Three Doughs, Nine Holiday Cookie Recipes

When it comes to holiday treats, Institute of Culinary Education Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Kierin Baldwin knows that more is definitely more.

"Abundance and variety are two things I look for in a holiday cookie spread," Chef Kierin says.

However, she acknowledges that baking so many cookies can be time-consuming, even for a professional chef. At a recent demonstration at the Battery Park City Authority in New York City, Chef Kierin shared a shortcut for making an assortment of cookies for any holiday gathering.

Chef Kierin demonstrated three cookie dough base recipes: a brown sugar cookie, a chocolate brownie, and a classic butter cookie, and followed with tips for easily making variations on each one. Then, by adjusting the flavor profile, mix-ins, shape and texture, she created three unique cookies with each dough, resulting in nine different cookies in total.

Read on for Chef Kierin’s tips for a creating a spectacular holiday cookie plate and get the recipes below.

The Science of a Cookie

When experimenting with cookie doughs, Chef Kierin says it’s important to know a few baking basics so you can predict how different ingredients will alter the final cookie. First, she explained the three basic types of cookie dough:

• Shortbread style – These cookies are crumbly, crisp, and buttery. They are tender and break apart easily in your mouth. The primary ingredient is butter.
• Sugar cookie dough – High in sugar, these cookies have a certain chewiness and can be crisp. Drop cookies and chocolate chip cookies are two examples of this dough type.
• Cake-based cookie – These are soft treats like whoopie pies and black and white cookies. This style of cookie is tender, springy and chewy. The lightness in the cookies comes from a high percentage of egg in the final recipe.

Chef Kierin also walked the audience through the different functions of each ingredient in a cookie.

“Baking ingredients serve multiple functions, so it’s important to know what each ingredient contributes in a recipe,” she says.

She explained that fat acts as a tenderizer while also adding flavor and helping the cookie spread on the pan. It also makes a cookie crisp and crumbly because it inhibits gluten formation.

Sugar also inhibits gluten development, acting as a tenderizer, and adds crispness to the end result.

Eggs add moisture and protein. The lecithin in egg yolks is a natural emulsifier, which helps bring the dough together. The protein in the egg white coagulates as the cookie bakes, providing structure.

Flour is the starch or gluten that provides structure; and lastly, chemical leaveners (like baking powder and baking soda) create texture by creating little pockets of air. 

Take a deeper dive into the science of cookies with Chef-Instructor Stephen Chavez: Understanding the Science of Cookies

With these baking fundamentals in mind, Chef Kierin explained the techniques she used to tweak the base cookie dough recipes.

Mix-ins

After the cookie dough comes together, Chef Kierin suggested adding ingredients at this stage to transform the flavor. This can include extracts like vanilla, almond, peppermint, and strawberry. She also recommended incorporating spices, citrus juice or zest, chunks of dried fruit, nuts, miso, toffee, or tahini. One additional suggestion was praline paste, which is a smooth, thick paste made by finely grinding caramelized hazelnuts (or almonds). Chef Kierin’s Salted Praline Brownies have toasted hazelnuts incorporated into the batter, praline paste swirled into the top, and are sprinkled with finishing salt before baking.  

Another idea Chef Kierin shared was substituting different flours, like buckwheat or wholewheat flour, or adding in multiple types – though she noted this would be done while making the base dough.

Shaping

Remember that saying, “You eat with your eyes first?” At the event, Chef Kierin remarked that having a variety of cookie shapes adds to the feeling of abundance on the dessert table.

She demonstrated a few methods for shaping cookie dough, which included rolling the dough into a log and slicing, piping, rolling the dough and using cookie cutters, and the crowd favorite, checkerboard cookies (which are much easier than you'd think!).

Once the cookies were shaped, Chef Kierin shared even more ways to customize them. Her Mocha Checkerboards, which utilize the butter cookie dough base, are brushed with egg white and then dredged in sanding sugar.

Cookie dough can be dipped into sesame seeds or sweetened cocoa nibs, a favorite of Chef Kierin’s.

Her Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Crinkles were tossed in granulated and powdered sugar before baking, which creates a cracked effect on the surface.

Baking Temperature

The temperature you set your oven to is yet another method you can use to riff on Chef Kierin’s cookie dough bases.

"Baking at a lower heat results in evenly baked cookies that are crisp and sharp," said Chef Kierin. Her Almond Crisps are baked at 325°F until evenly browned.

"A higher temperature produces a cookie that is crisp around the edges with a tender, chewy center," she added. An example here would be the Sesame Cookies, which are baked at 375°F until just barely browned at the edges.

Regarding bake time, you’ll see that Chef Kierin’s recipes don’t contain baking times or ranges. “When my students ask me how long to bake cookies or any other pastry, I tell them to bake it until it’s done. Every oven is different, and it’s more important to know what to look for rather than the time,” she said.

Chef Kierin’s clues for doneness are included in each recipe. They include what level of browning to look for (ranging from just barely to evenly browned) and where to look for it (at the edges or through the center). In other variations, these checks include whether the cookie springs back lightly to the touch and if they look fully set.

After Baking

Once the cookies are baked and out of the oven, you have another opportunity to alter their flavor and add visual appeal. Chef Kierin recommended dipping cookies in chocolate, brushing on glazes, and adding toppings.

Two variations of the butter cookie dough are manipulated after baking. The Pink Confetti Rosettes are dipped in dark chocolate and garnished with a sprinkle of ground pink peppercorn, and the Cornmeal Cookies are brushed with a citrus glaze and garnished with candied orange zest.

The options are endless, according to Chef Kierin.

Get the PDF with all of her base cookie dough recipes and variations by clicking here.

Then, use your favorite flavors and mix-ins to make these cookies your own, or try some of her suggestions below using the chocolate base dough. Happy baking!