A Crash Course in Baking Cookies!

Plus a recipe for Peanut Butter Thumbprints + December's star produce

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I don’t like to bury the lede so am kicking this email off with an intro to (and recipe for) my Peanut Butter Thumbprints with Sour Cream Ganache! But keep reading for…

• My top cookie baking tips!

• A round up of my tried-and-true cookie baking equipment

• My favorite in-season produce for December and some ideas for how to cook with it

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Meet the Treat!

Cookie #2 in this month’s cookie parade is this sassy and elegant Peanut Butter Thumbprint with Sour Cream Ganache. I have a few criteria for what makes a cookie a “good” cookie, especially around holiday time.

First of all, it should be the perfect little mouthful. I can attest to the fact that this cookie is just that; in fact, I made sure of it about a dozen times. (They’re that moreish.) A secret ingredient contributes to this factor: Rice Krispies mixed into the dough gives them a certain je ne sais quoi, lending an alluring crispy texture to every bite. As a former pastry chef, I wanted to add a crunch similar to what you would get with feuilletine to these cookies, but with an easy-to-find ingredient. If you want to try the real thing—which is made from crispy shards of paper-thin crepes that won’t get soggy—you can order them here or here. Think of a really thin and crispy sugar cone and you’ll have the idea. In any case, the Rice Krispies do a nice job of emulating the feuilletine effect, and I promise you can find them in your grocery store. Look for the single-serve packaging if you don’t want a lot of extra, or make Rice Krispie treats with the leftovers.

Second, I believe that a cookie should have some keeping properties (specifically, that they should keep at least two days in top form), and that you should be able to pack them in a tin—either alone or with other cookies—without damaging them. You might think at first blush that these wouldn’t meet that criteria, but the ganache firms up to the degree that it cannot be easily mussed, while still remaining soft and supple to the bite. Perfect!

On that same note, I like for a cookie to not require refrigeration (at least at first). You might think that the ganache filling, made with sour cream and butter—both perishable dairy products—would; but, alas, it does not. Once the sour cream is combined with the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter, it binds up any moisture in the mixture, inhibiting spoilage. (Read more about that here if you have any concerns.) You can refrigerate or freeze these cookies if you are doing a multi-recipe bake for gifting or shipping (more on that in next week’s paid newsletter!). But these will be fine for at least two days at room temperature.

I hope you’ll give these a try and let me know what you think. And coming up in this Friday’s newsletter is a recipe for my Cornmeal Fig Bars!

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Peanut Butter Thumbprints with Sour Cream Ganache

Makes about 36

These decadently addictive cookies will keep well for two or three days at room temperature and get a bit moister as they sit. The luxurious ganache does not need to be refrigerated, as intuition might tell you; the high fat and sugar content of the mixture prevents spoilage.