Holigay Cookie Trifecta
a little history.
I come from a LARGE Italian family, and I’d venture to say that our Christmas Eve cookies may take precedence over the savory food that day. Maybe. Nana would make no less than 7 different varieties of cookies and they’d all be set out on a separate table, covered tightly by…garbage bags. Cause when you’re Italian, that’s how you roll.
Flavors would range from pistachio, to chocolate/clove/orange, to lemon, and beyond. I wanted to put my own spin on things, so I chose a couple of flavors that really took me back to childhood Christmas Eve; where my cousin and I would carefully unknot the garbage bags and gorge on our favorite cookies well before dinner was served.
the final cut.
Pistachio and lemon were high on the list and made the final cut. The chocolate spiced ones (my fave!), however, did not. I called my dad to get the recipe and he, without hesitation, replied with a resounding, “No.” They were too sentimental to him to put on the blog; and you can’t go against your very Italian father’s wishes. Respect, Sammy. Respect. Instead, I figured I’d make his favorite, from scratch: Pecan Sandies! So my chosen 3 were:
• Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
So insanely delicious. They’re chewy and plump, with the most amazing pistachio flavor. Awesome alternative to cannoli cause those are an actual pain in the ass.
• Lemon Ricotta Cloud Cookies
Ricotta works wonders on these fragrant cookies by transforming them into what seems like little clouds. I love this flavor combination.
• Toasted Pecan Sandies
These babies are perfectly brittle with a warm, toasted pecan flavor and a whisper of cinnamon. No wonder they’re Sammy’s favorite. Oh, and they’re so easy to make!
I feel like the flavors and textures of these 3 were just different enough to really compliment each other cause like, that shit matters to me! Ya gotta try them. IT’S A GAY OL’ TIME!!!
don’t celebrate christmas?
Although these specific flavors may not align with the flavors of your celebration, it’s so easy and fun to use food coloring to reflect your holiday, which is exactly what I did. The secret is using the gel kind. Gel colors are much more vibrant and, more importantly, they don’t fuck with your recipe by adding extra liquid! The Pistachio Chocolate Chips naturally come out a pale green, but the Lemon Ricotta and Pecan Sandies are neutral enough to dye whatever color you’d like!