From THE FRENCH COOKIE BOOK by Healy and Bugat, the best guide to making delightful French cookies.

• 1 cup plus 2 1/2 Tbsp sliced blanched almonds
• 1 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp superfine sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Heckers all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs

 
Preheat oven to 400F. In a bowl combine 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp superfine sugar and 1 cup plus 2 1/2 Tbsp sliced blanched almonds. Add 2 large eggs at room temperature and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and stir well with a wood spatula. Sift 1/4 cup Heckers all-purpose flour over batter and stir, then stir in 1 Tbsp melted unsalted butter. Using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop, create mounds separated by 2" spaces on buttered heavy baking sheets (even better on Silpat sheets). Flatten with a fork dipped in cold water

Bake one sheet at a time until the batter is edged with brown but still soft and pale in the center (approx. 7 minutes). Lift cookies from sheet, place over a tuile form or empty wine bottle - tip from the wine maniac - to create the curved shape that gives them their name. These can be reheated briefly to soften if you baked too many to shape before they harden. Tuiles keep in an airtight cookie tin (plastic does not work as well) for 3-4 days or frozen in ziploc bags.

I did this over a number of beach vacations, and they have remained favorites with my daughters.  There are many great brownie recipes out there, but these are always a hit with or without nuts. (From Nancy.)
 

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 Cup unsalted butter (8 oz)
• 2 Cups sugar (I like to combine 1 cup superfine and 1 cup Golden Baking sugar)
• 2 pinches salt
• 2 tsp Madagascar vanilla
• 4 lg. eggs at room temperature
• 6 ounces Valrhona or Cluizel unsweetened chocolate

 

1) Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat in a heavy saucepan.

2) Beat eggs and sugars until fluffy.

3) Add chocolate mixture and combing well

4) Fold in flour and salt

5) Add vanilla

6) Butter and dredge a 9x13 pan with cocoa powder.

7) Bake at 350 in a preheated oven, check after 25 minutes. They are done when sides start to pull away from the pan. Allow to cool before cutting.

• 1 1/2 tsp Bakewell Cream baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbs frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 tsp orange flower water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 16 oz unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 2 Tbs heavy cream
• 2 Tbs orange zest or finely cut candied orange peel (or the equivalent in Boyajian Orange oil)
• 3 cups Heckers all-purpose flour

 
Preheat oven to 350F. In a separate bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Mix in the egg. Beat in 1/2 of the flour mixture just until blended, then add the zest, orange juice, cream and orange flower water. Gently beat in the rest of the flour mixture as overbeating will make cookies tough.

Chill dough briefly. Make cutouts, chill again and bake for approximately 12 minutes.

We love this recipe because it allows for so many variations— ask for our Hammersong cutter instructions.

• 1 c. organic cane sugar
• 1 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 2 tsp Bakewell Cream baking powder
  
• 2.5–3 cups Heckers white all-purpose flour
  

 
Preheat oven to 400° F. Sift flour with baking powder. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and milk. Add flour mixture until the dough is soft but not sticky. Chill for at least an hour before rolling out on Silpat. Bake 12–15 min. Makes approximately 48 cookies.

Variations
* Add 1/2 cup Valrhona cocoa powder or 1 cup finely chopped toasted coconut.
* Substitute 1 Tbsp orange juice concentrate for the milk and 4 Tbsp orange zest (or the equivalent in Boyajian Orange Oil).

This recipe evolved from a ginger cookie in Star Desserts.  I have found that using a  Silpats that fit half sheet pans or one that fits onto an aluminum  or carbon steel baking sheet produces excellent results.  You get a nice sugary crust with a soft  gingery interior with the crunch and zip of candied ginger throughout.. Stem ginger in syrup was too gooshy.  Depending on how dainty you are, you should have 30-40 cookies.  I have served these with a demi sec Champagne, tea and coffee.  They are also a nice foil with an after dinner liqueur. 

• 1 cup India Tree Golden Baker’s Sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp Vann’s ground allspice
• 1/2 cup India Tree Superfine Cane Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanns Muntok Pepper, ground
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1/3 cup Lyles Treacle Syrup
• 2 1/4 cup Hecker’s All Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp Bakewell Cream Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Vann’s Saigon Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Vann’s ground ginger
• 8 oz soft unsalted butter
• At least 1/2 cup Australian Crystalized or Glaceed Ginger

 
Preheat oven to 325 deg F. In the mixer bowl, add the Golden Baker’s Sugar, butter and beat with the paddle attachment until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and then the treacle. Sift dry ingredients and incorporate. Fold in diced candied ginger.  I chop the cubes into a finer dice.   You should refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes. Using an ice cream scoop or spoon make balls of dough. Roll them into the Superfine sugar and the place them on a Silpat or parchment paper. With a spatula, flatten them slightly before baking. Bake about 10 minutes. They should be crisp on the edge, but soft in the center. Allow to cool before removing to a cooling rack. Store in an air tight container.

We adapted these from Donna Hay’s Flavors. It is featured in the Armchair Cook section.

• 1 oz butter
• 1/4 C 22% coconut milk
• 3 C dried shredded coconut
• 3 egg whites
• 3 oz Cluizel Mangaro Noir
• 3/4 C India Tree superfine sugar

 

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Mix together the egg whites, sugar, and coconut.

3) Using a tablespoon, make balls, flatten, and lay on a Silpat-lined baking sheet.

4) Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool.

5) In a small saucepan, bring coconut milk just to a boil. Remove and add chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth, then refrigerate.

6) When ganache is cold and thick, sandwich a layer of it between two macaroons. These are a wonderful treat with espresso or iced coffee,

(Betsy Cukla’s adaptation of a recipe by cookie author Marilyn Moore)

• 1 1/2 c. Heckers all-purpose flour
• 1 c. organic cane sugar
  
• 1 c. stone ground cornmeal
• 1 c. unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. Bakewell Cream baking powder
• 1 tsp. orange flower water (vanilla extract can be substituted but the flavor will be different)
• 1/4 tsp. salt

 
Preheat oven to 375. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add orange flower water and egg; beat well. Combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Add by hand to butter mixture. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Roll out dough, make cutouts, and chill; then bake for 10–12 minutes. Approximate yield: 48 3x4" cookies.

From Lisa Yockelson’s marvelous book, Baking By Flavor, comes one of our favorite recipes, great for summer picnics as well as cookouts. We had excellent results when we adapted the recipe using the following ingredients: products from our store. Quantities are easily doubled.

• 1 cup plus 1 Tbs cup Heckers all-purpose white flour
• 1 Tbs almond flour
• 1/3 cup plus 2 Tbs fine yellow cornmeal
• 1/3 cup plus 2 Tbs India Tree superfine sugar
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted and cooled
• 1/4 tsp Bakewell Cream baking powder
• 1/4 tsp French Almond Essence
• 1/4 tsp Nielsen Massey Vanilla Paste
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 12 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbs granulated sugar for sprinkling top of unbaked cookie
• 2/3 cup dried cherries
• 24cm (9.5") round tart pan with removable bottom

 
Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter tart pan. Sift flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
Cream butter, then add superfine sugar, ground almonds, and extracts. Continue to cream for 2 minutes. Add sifted ingredients and mix on low speed until soft dough forms. Mix the cherries and almonds in with flat paddle. Press dough into prepared pan and prick the dough here and there with the tines of a fork. Sprinkle with sugar and bake about 30 minutes or until golden and set. Allow to cool before removing from pan. This dough also works well with dried cranberries.
Leftover dried berries can be marinated in a jar filled with a liqueur of your choice. This is divine mixed into a summer fruit coupe or used as a topping for sorbet or ice cream.

(Makes 36 3" cookies)

• 1 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 1/4 c. flour mixed with 2 Tbsp. rice flour

 
Cream butter and sugar until flight and fluffy. Add the flour in two increments, mixing lightly. Mix in milk.
Shape dough into 3 rectangles about 1" thick and place in a lightly-floured ziplock bag. Seal and refrigerate for 1 hour. (The dough can be frozen at this point. Allow to thaw in refrigerator overnight.)
Chilled dough is ready to use when it is cool to the touch but you can still leave an indentation in it. Roll cookies to desired thickness and cut out shapes. Place on a lightly greased baking or Silpat sheet and chill until firm.
For thin cookies (1/8" thick) bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. For thicker cookies (1/4" or more) bake at 300° for 15-20 minutes. Transfer to racks and allow to cool completely.

• 1 tsp Nielson-Massey vanilla extract
• 17 5/8 oz hazelnut flour (approx. 4 cups)
• 17 5/8 oz India Tree powdered sugar (approx. 4 cups)
• 6 egg whites
• Silpat
• Wafer paper

 
Preheat oven to 350F. Beat egg whites until stiff, gradually mixing powered sugar until thick and fluffy. If you have our wafer paper, cut into small squares or rounds and place a drop of this batter on top of each wafer. If you don’t have wafer paper, place small rounds of batter on a Silpat.

Create a soft meringue by beating 2 egg whites with 2 cups of India Tree powdered sugar. Using a pastry bag and a no. 8 star tip, swirl some of the meringue onto each round of batter. Top with a whole hazelnut. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

These brownies will wow your guests and disappear before your eyes!

• 1 tsp Bakewell Cream baking powder
• 1 1/2 Cups Hecker’s All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tlb butter and 1 Tlb Valrhona cocoa powder, for pan preparation
• 1 tsp Nielsen Massey Mexican Vanilla extract
• 2 cups India Tree Light Muscovado Sugar
• 2 disks Ibarra chocolate
• 2 Tbs Vann’s Chinese cinnamon
• 4 large eggs
• 10" square cake pan
• For Topping:  1Tbs. melted, unsalted butter, 1Tbs. Golden Baker’s sugar, Chinese cinnamon (to taste), and 1/3 cup of our sliced almonds.
• pinch salt
• 1/2 lb unsalted butter
• 4 oz Valrhona Cocoa Pate

 
1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter cake pan and, using flour duster, dust with Valrhona cocoa powder.

2) Roughly chop buttter and cocoa pate with Ibarra Chocolate Disks. Melt in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Allow to cool.

3) Beat sugar with eggs until the mixture is thick and silky. Add to cooled chocolate/butter mixture.

4) In another bowl, sift flour, cinnamom, baking powder, and salt.

5) Fold dry ingredients into chocolate,egg and butter mixture just until blended.

6) Add vanilla, and pour into prepared pan.
Make toppings: Stir sugar, cinnamon and sliced almonds into melted butter and spread on top of batter. Bake for 30 minutes, but do not overbake. The center should be a bit moist. Cool and cut into squares.

(from Stephanie Gorenflo)

• 1 c. organic cane sugar
• 1 c. pumpkin puree
• 1 c. unsalted butter
• 1 egg (room temperature)
• 1 tsp. Bakewell baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Madagascar vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 c. Heckers all-purpose flour

 
Preheat oven to 350°. Cream together the sugar, butter, pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add dry mixture to creamed mixture; mix until thoroughly combined. Drop by a 1" scoop onto a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 10-12 min, just until the top springs back to the touch.
Frosting:
Combine 6 Tlbs. unsalted butter, l C. Golden Baker’s sugar, and 1/2 C. heavy cream in saucepan, heating slowly and stirring constantly until sugar is melted. Remove from heat and add 2C. powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla, beating with mixer until frosting reaches a smooth, spreading consistency. Cookies should be frosted while still warm; the frosting will set as they cool. Sprinkle orange colored sugar on top if desired. WARNING; Always make a double batch of these cookies because they will disappear immediately. (Note: cookies freeze beautifully, even when frosted.)

These brownies truly are killer, and the cappuccino flavor is a nice twist on a classic favorite. ( adapted from Gourmet)

Chocolate Glaze

• 6 oz Cluizel Noir Cafe chocolate
• 2 Tbs unsalted butter
• ½ cup heavy cream

Brownie Layer

• 8 oz Cluizel Cafe Noir chocolate
• 1 cup walnut pieces
• ¾ cup or 6 oz unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups India Tree superfine sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• 4 large eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup Heckers all-purpose flour

Crema Layer

• 8 oz mascarpone cheese
• 6 Tbs softened unsalted butter
• 1 ½ cups India Tree confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 tsp Vann’s Saigon cinnamon

 

1)Preheat oven to 350° F.

2) Butter and flour a 9x13x2" baking pan.

3) Chop butter into small pieces. Chop walnuts finely.

Make brownie layer:

1)  In a heavy gauge saucepan or in a bowl over simmering water melt together chocolate and butter.

2)  Remove from heat and stir until smooth, add vanilla.  Cool mixture until lukewarm.

3) In a mixer bowl beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until creamy, then add the chocolate mixture and nuts.

4) Fold in dry ingredients.

5) Pour batter into pan and smooth top. Bake in middle of oven 20-25 minutes or until tester comes out dry. Put brownie layer in refrigerator or freezer so that it is completely cold before adding crema layer.

Make crema layer:

1) With electric mixer beat mascarpone and butter until light and fluffy.

2) Add sifted confectioner’s sugar and add vanilla and cinnamon, beating until well combined.

3) Spread over chilled brownie mixture and cool again in refrigerator or freezer.

Make glaze:

1) Slowly melt the chocolate in  a heavy saucepan over low heat.

2) Remove from heat, add butter and cream, and stir until glaze is smooth. Cool to room temperature.

3) Spread over crema layer. Chill brownies again until layers are set.
*(Note: It’s best to cut these brownies while chilled, then serve at room temperature. They keep well for several days, covered, in refrigerator, and we have also frozen them with success.)

These cookies are so easy and delicious! It’s great to have a back-up roll in the freezer at all times for unexpected guests or cookie cravings.

• 1 1/4 Cups Hecker’s all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Niellsen Massey Tahitian Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Fleur de Sel
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 Cup Valrhona or Cocoa Barry cocoa powder
• 1/4 Cup India Tree superfine sugar
• 2/3 Cup India Tree light Muscovado sugar
• 5 1/2 ounces unsalted butter at room temp.
• 5 oz of Cluizel bittersweet chocolate pistoles

 
*Pre-heat oven to 325F

1) Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda together

2) Beat butter with paddle attachment until creamy

3) Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla, and beat for about a minute on high

4) Reduce mixer to low speed and add sifted dry ingredients until just incorporated

5) Add chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate (Dough will be crumbly)

6) On a work surface, gather dough into a ball and divide in two.

7) Shape into logs about 1 1/2"in diameter. You can form them easily in a split cardboard paper towel roll.

8) Wrap rolls in Freeze-tite and keep in freezer until solid (they keep well for up to one month, then may start to lose some flavor)

9) Cut into 1/2" thick slices and bake on Silpat-lined half-sheet pans for about ten minutes.

10) Allow to cool before devouring.

Fiddled with and adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s  Paris Sweets

• 1 1/4 cup Hecker’s All Purpose flour
• 1/3 cup Valrhona Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 5.5 oz soft unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup India Tree Light Muscovado sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup India Tree Caster Sugar
• 1/2 tsp fleur de sel
• 1 tsp Bourbon vanilla essence
• 6 oz Valrhona Guanaja or Cluizel Maralumi noir chocolate

Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda in bowl.  In a mixer with paddle blade, cream butter & add both sugars, salt, vanilla. Beat until incorporated.  Add dry ingredients.  Dough will be crumbly, do not overwork as you ad the chocolate pieces.  Turn dough out on a silpat (this is easiest), gather together and divide in two mounds.  Roll each of these into a 1.5" wide logmaking sure you don’t have air holes in the center. You can roll the silpat around them to do this or place in cut open paper towel cylinder.  Wrap in Stretchtite and refrigerate until ready to bake.  They can also be wrapped in Freezetite and placed in the freezer for several weeks. 

Preheat oven to 325 F, cut in to 1/2 inch rounds and bake on a Silpat about 10-12 minutes.

Korova was the name of the infamous milk bar in Clockwork Orange.  It was also the name of the restaurant where Pierre Herme created these cookies. 

• 1 cup India Tree Superfine sugar
• 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbs Valrhona cocoa powder
• 1.25 cups ground hazelnuts
• 1.5 Hecker’s all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp Vann’s Chinese cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/8 tsp Vann’s ground cloves
• 14 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large egg yolks

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Using a pastry blender, tamis or sifter, combine in a large bowl the ground hazelnuts, sugar, flour, zest and spices. With the same pastry blender cut in butter until moisture is crumbly. In a prep bowl mix yolks with lemon juice and, with a fork, mix into the dough until it clumps together. Pat into two disks and chill until firm.

On a Silpat, roll dough into 1/4 inch sheets. Use your nifty Linzer cutter set to cut out the cookies (pull away the scraps) and bake on the Silpats for about 10-12 minutes. Cool completely before covering the base with jam, then topping it with the cut out cookie. Using a dredge sprinkle with India Tree Powdered Sugar.

The is adapted from Maida Haiter’s French Cookie Book. I have used ground almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, sifted cocoa with confectioners sugar, and added ground spices. The variations are limited only by your imagination!

• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup India Tree confectioners/powdered sugar
• 2 1/2 oz almond flour
• 2 cups Heckers all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp rum
• 6 oz unsweetened butter
• pinch salt

 
Cream butter well, add salt and sugar and beat until smooth, Add rum and ground almonds and mix in egg yolk. Form dough into slightly flat ball and refrigerate. I roll these out on a Silpat, cut out the cookies, remove exterior pieces and place on a baking sheet in a preheated 350F oven, approximately 15 minutes. These should be pale. I use a flavored sugar syrup glaze and add the sparkling sugar or dragees etc. Others put the sugar on before they bake them.

The name Speculatius comes from the Latin speculator, which means overseer. This cookie has its roots in the Middle Ages when it was a kind of edible picture book for illiterate peasants. This recipe is from CHRISTMAS BAKING, by Christian Teubner. Makes 30 large cookies.

• 1 c. (50 g) almond flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. plus 3 Tbsp. (160 g)unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp. each cardamom, cloves, and mace
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups (300 g) Golden Baker’s sugar measured without packing
• 3 c. (400 g)Heckers all-purpose flour
• 4-6 Tbsp. milk
• Additional milk

 
Cream butter and sugar together; beat in salt, almond flour, egg, and 3 Tbsp. of milk. Add all-purpose flour and spices and enough milk to form a stiff dough. (You may have to knead the dough to work in all the flour.) Refrigerate for 30 min. Dust each speculatius form with cornstarch. Press enough dough firmly into each mold to pick up the pattern. Trim excess dough with dough scraper. Unmold onto Silpat or greased baking sheets, leaving about 1" between each cookie. Brush cookies with milk. Bake at 400° F for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.

• 3 ½ cups Heckers all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 5 cups (500 g) India Tree powdered sugar
• Aniseed, for sprinkling the baking sheet, or Anise essence

 
Beat the eggs and powdered sugar until the mixture is light and airy. Work in the flour and let the dough rest, wrapped in foil, at least 1-2 hours.
Briefly knead the dough once more and roll out to 3/8" (1 cm) thickness. Dust the upper surface of the dough with flour or cornstarch and smooth out. Press the mold into the dough. (Never sprinkle the mold with flour or cornstarch since this will cause the fine carved details to disappear.)
Cut out the Springerle (using the molded borders as a guide) and allow to dry overnight on a baking sheet thinly dusted with flour. Preheat the oven to 325° F (160° C).
Coat a baking sheet very lightly with flour, sprinkle with aniseed, and place the Springerle on it. Bake for 20-30 minutes on the center shelf with the oven door slightly ajar. Cookies should be very light in color. The dried upper surface should remain as white as possible, but the lower part should rise to form a little "foot."
Makes 30-60 cookies, depending on the size of the molds.

• 1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 extra large egg yolk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 Cup granulated sugar, plus a bit extra for rolling
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Cups Hecker’s all purpose flour

 

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2)In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter at high speed for about 1 minute. Add the sugar, and beat 3 to 4 minutes at high until light and fluffy.

 3) Add the yolk and vanilla and beat a few more minutes until light and fluffy. Slowly add the flour and salt and mix at low speed until the dough just comes together.

 4)Shape the dough into logs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll the logs in sugar, then wrap each one in plastic and refrigerate until firm.

 5) Slice the logs into 1/2" thick rounds. Bake 10-12 minutes, until they’re lightly browned on the bottom.

8 ounces or 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 
2/3 cup India Tree caster sugar 
1 tsp  Nielsen Massey vanilla bean paste1  large egg
2 1/3 cups  Caputo pastry flour1/4 tsp. Bakewell baking powder1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Sift  together flour,  baking powder and salt
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until the mixture is silky in texture.  Then
add the egg and beat until fluffy.  Fold in sifted flour mixture.  Divide dough into two balls, 
and immediate roll them out between two sheets of parchment paper.  Then refrigerate or
freeze until firm 

Cut out desired shapes and reroll remaining scraps repeating chilling process

Bake cookies in a preheated 350 F oven for approximately 10-15 minutes.