2012 - Slice and Bake — and Partake

After a shopping trip to Oxford, I came home and baked Grandma Baker's Overnight Cookies two ways. Charlie doesn't like nuts and mine have pecans; I made two dozen each.

I made the dough yesterday and left it to rest in the fridge in paper towel tubes. The rolls hold their shape better when I slice them that way. (Also, I turn the roll as I slice, so that one side doesn't get flattened in the process.)

I decided at the last minute to try sprinkling them with sanding sugar . It's an improvement in taste and looks. I also followed my own advice from last year too and used more pecans (in mine!).

The dough for Cinnamon Swirl Cookies was ready to be worked today too. I had two rectangles in the fridge. These are rolled out to larger rectangles, then topped with a filling of cinnamon, sugar, pecans and orange zest. I debated whether I wanted to zest or not and kept it in the end.

The dough was a bit fiddly, so I kept some of the scraps handy for repairs! After I spread out the filling, I rolled the rectangles into logs, patched and sealed them, popped them into paper towel tubes and refrigerated for an hour or so (while I baked Overnights).

They were superb! Especially warm and fresh from the oven. They're better than Snickerdoodles because you get a blast of cinnamon in every single bite. The filling is sweet and soft and buttery; the cookies tender and chewy. I'll have to test them again when they're cooled and ready to be put away.

*They tasted great about an hour later. And they tasted great even later when I packed them up for the freezer. These are definitely going on the list for next year's Christmas cookies.