You
need only one of your five senses to alert you to the holiday season
— that of smell. The savory aroma of freshly baked Christmas cookies
has such an effect on us that candle makers market sugar cookie
scents, national chain stores like Bath and Body Works fill their
shelves with bakery-based fragrances and real estate agents advise
home sellers to whip up a batch of Toll House favorites to attract
would-be buyers.
That’s quite an accomplishment for such tiny sweet treats.
Now that the snow is beginning to fall and the temperatures are
dipping, it’s the perfect time to rev up your oven and try a cookie
recipe or two from some favorite bakeries — Simma’s, Suzy’s and
Canfora. Or, if you’d rather ditch the apron and oven mitts, drop by
your local bakery and buy a batch of sweets to-go.
Pecan
fingers
1 1/4 pound butter
10 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/2 cups cake flour
5 cups pecans (small pieces)
3/4 teaspoon salt
Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla and mix until blended. Add
flour, salt and pecans; mix until well blended. Shape cookies into the
size of a little finger. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
Simma’s Bakery
817 N. 68th St.,
Wauwatosa (414) 257-0998
Spumoni
cookies
4 cups flour
4 heaping tablespoons shortening
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
4 tablespoons baking powder
Mix with milk until smooth. Split dough in three equal parts. Use
food coloring to color one red and one green. Twist together and cut
into individual pieces; they will bake to double size. Bake at 350
degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
Canfora Bakery
1100 E. Oklahoma Ave.
Milwaukee (414) 486-7747
Cherry
chocolate nuggets
2 cups butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups flour
12-ounce bag mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup Maraschino cherries
(drained and each cut into four pieces)
Cream butter and powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla and salt. Slowly
add flour until well blended. Mix in chocolate chips, pecans and
cherries. Drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at
350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Suzy’s Cream Cheesecakes & Distinctive Desserts
5901 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee; 1775 E. Bolivar Ave., St. Francis
(414) 453-2255
