The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book

"Everything from swirls, crescents, pinwheels, shortbread, and pistachio “pine cones” will have mouths watering and bakers ready to create cookie gift plates this winter."—Booklist

"A welcome gift to any baker hoping to augment their holiday cookie repertoire."—Library Journal

"Another must-have cookie book."—Eat Your Books

"It’s bigger, better and even more full of deliciousness, featuring only the cream of the crop of flour, butter and sugar creations — including 35 that weren’t in 2018′s [The Great Minnesota Cookie Book]."—Minnesota Star Tribune

A fresh batch of deliciously distinctive recipes from the Star Tribune’s beloved annual cookie contest—with even more recipes, enticing photographs, and bakers’ stories

Cold winters call for warm kitchens and cookie baking, especially around the holidays. The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book, a compendium of Minnesota’s rich baking traditions and innovative recipes, stirs up winning treats from twenty years of the Star Tribune’s popular holiday cookie contest.

Significantly expanding and updating its 2018 predecessor, The Great Minnesota Cookie Book, this collection features thirty-five new recipes, including Grasshoppers and Dark Chocolate Fig Rolls, Tiramisu Twists and Cardamom Cherry Buttons, Diablo Snowballs, Spumoni Squares, and Maple-Roasted Walnut Delights. This sweet-tooth treasure trove of cookie recipes will inspire bakers to discover how many ways flour, sugar, butter, and eggs (plus several unexpected ingredients) can be combined to create new favorites for the holidays—or any time of year.

The best of the best, these contest-winning cookies are accompanied by beautiful photographs and baking tips, insights, and essays. Indulge in these delightful, mouth-watering recipes while Minnesota’s best bakers share stories of cherished holiday traditions, recall memorable cookie moments, and celebrate how baking brings us together.

Lee Svitak Dean was the longtime food editor at the Star Tribune, where she guided the Taste section to multiple James Beard Awards, an Emmy, and national recognition as “Best Food Section.” She is author of Come One, Come All: Easy Entertaining with Seasonal Menus.

Rick Nelson was the Star Tribune’s restaurant critic and food writer for twenty-four years. He is a James Beard Award winner, and his writing has been included in four editions of the annual Best Food Writing anthology, which highlights the finest American food journalism.

Contents

Introduction

A Baker’s Dozen: Tips for Great Cookies

Sandwich Cookies:

Alfajores 

Almond Sandwiches

Apple Pecan Stars

Cinnamon Cookie-Butter Sandwich Cookies

Clareos

Peanut Stars

Pistachio Orange Cookies

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Rosemary Lemon Creams

Drop Cookies:

Acorn Cookies

Bacon Cornmeal Venetos

Brandy Cherry Cookies

Buttery Blueberry Buttons

Candy Cane Sugar Cookies

Cardamom Cherry Buttons

Cardamom Cookies

Cardamom Crescents

Cardamom Orange Sugar Cookies

Cashew Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Chocolate Decadence Cookies

Chocolate-Dipped Triple Coconut Haystacks

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Coffee and Irish-Cream Dreams

Cranberry Cat Kisses

Devil’s Delight Cookies

Diablo Snowballs

Double-Chocolate Cherry Drops

Espresso Hazelnut Truffle Cookies

French–Swiss Butter Cookies

Frosted Cashew Cookies

Grasshoppers

Hot and Sassy Peanut Butter Buds

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Italian Almond Cookies

Italian Cream Cake Cookies

Lime Coolers

Limoncello Kisses

Malted Milk Ball Cookies

Maple-Roasted Walnut Delights

Mocha Cappuccino Cookies

Nut Goodie Thumbprints

Orange Almond Melting Moments

Orange Ginger Drops

Orange Kisses

Persian Molasses Crinkles

Pumpkin Cookies

Ricotta Sugar Cookies

Sambuca Chocolate Crinkles

Snowball Clippers

Strawberry Margarita Gems

Sugar Plum Doodles

Swedish Almond Chocolate Macaroons

Swiss Chocolate Buttersweets

Taffy Treats

Whiskey Gingers

White Chocolate–Cherry Tea Cakes

Cutout Cookies:

Chai Crescents

Cherry Almond Turnovers

Cherry Pinwheels

Cranberry Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies

Cranberry-Filled Cookies

Ginger Creams

Kolaches

Lemon–Lime Christmas Trees

Minnesota Sundae Cookies

Orange Chocolate Cookies

Smoky Blue-Cheese Cherry Cookies

Spiced Orange and Rye Shortbread 

Viennese Wafers with Lemon

Zazvorniky

Refrigerator Cookies:

Almond Palmiers

Cappuccino Flats

Cinnamon Bun Cookies

Cranberry Lemon Drops

Cranberry Pecan Swirls

Korova Cookies

Marzipan Cherry Shortbread

Nancy’s Anise Pecan Cookies

New Scenic Cookies

Orange Turmeric Cookies

Pistachio Pine Cones

Swedish Shortbread Cookies

Bar Cookies:

Almond Ricotta Bars

Almond Triangles

Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

Kit-Kat Treats

Kossuth Kifli

Spumoni Squares

Other Cookies:

Almond Spoons

Chai Meringues

Chocolate-Drizzled Churros

Chocolate Salami

Cranberry Pumpkin-Seed Biscotti

Dark Chocolate Fig Rolls

German Sour Cream Twists

Gingerbread Cornmeal Biscotti

Macadamia Nut Tarts

Nutmeg Sticks

Raspberry Truffle Tartlets

Royal Sweets with Chocolate Balsamic Sauce

Tiramisu Twists

Cookie . . . or Bar?

Nanaimo Bars

Cookie Memories:

Ambassadors of Scandinavian Treats

Sandbakkels

Laverne’s Million-Dollar Cookies

Salted Peanut Cookies

Cinnamon Dreams

A Cookie by Many Names

Russian Tea Cakes

In the Kitchen with Hedvig

Ranger Cookies

Mrs. Hewitt’s Molasses Crinkles

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Sesame Ginger Cookies with Miso

The Ultimate Cookie Pairing

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Baker Memories

Acknowledgments

Index

Cookies A–Z

Cookies by Category

Cookies by Contest Year

Cookies by Contest Baker