Maggie Ciambrone of Irondequoit took first place in the 2023 Holiday Cookie Contest at the Rochester Public Market for baklava chocolate chip cookie. Judging the annual holiday cookie competition at the Rochester Public Market was a fun annual holiday event for me until it was canceled due to the […]
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Judging the annual holiday cookie competition at the Rochester Public Market was a fun annual holiday event for me until it was canceled due to the pandemic. I was happy to have been invited to resume the tradition this year.
I enjoyed admiring and sampling what Rochester's bakers dreamed up and sharing notes with my fellow judges: Shirley Green, the city's commissioner of the Department of Recreation and Youth Services, as well as Charles Previte, Michael Warren Thomas and Chris Clemens.
Congratulations to the winners, who were:
First place: Maggie Ciambrone of Irondequoit for baklava chocolate chip cookies
Second place: Leah LaClair of Rochester for coconut brown butter cookies
Third place: Colleen Irwin of Irondequoit for cranberry walnut wheels
The thick, chewy baklava cookies were loaded with chocolate chips, nuts and other goodies. The coconut brown butter cookies were thin, golden and very, very buttery. The attractive cranberry walnut wheels had an appealing pop of cranberry flavor.
Ciambrone elected to keep her recipe a family secret. Here are the other two:
Coconut Brown Butter Cookies
Leah LaClair said this recipe reminded her of baking another recipe for coconut cookies with her grandmother as a child. This version is abbreviated from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted from The City Bakery via The Martha Stewart Show. Find more detailed instructions and tips on SmittenKitchen.com.
Yield: 1 dozen to 4 dozen, depending on size
1 cup (2 sticks or 225 grams) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (125 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (145 grams) packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
4 cups (240 grams) dried, unsweetened coconut chips
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom until it is almost a nut-brown color. Remove from heat and pour butter and browned bits into a measuring cup. Add 2 tablespoons water to bring the butter amount up to 1 cup. Chill in the fridge until it solidifies, about 1 to 2 hours.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
Scrape chilled browned butter into a large mixing bowl. Add both sugars and beat until fluffy. Add egg and beat until combined, scraping down bowl as needed, then vanilla. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl. Pour half of flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined, then add remaining flour and mix again, scraping down bowl if needed. Add coconut chips in two parts as well.
Form a few balls of dough and arrange on a cookie sheet with a lot of room for spreading; use the back of a spoon or your fingers to flatten the dough slightly. Bake the tray; 1 tablespoon scoops will take 10 to 11 minutes to bake; 2 tablespoon scoops, 12 to 14 minutes, and so on. Take the cookies out when they’re deeply golden. If cookies have not spread until fairly thin, add 2 more teaspoons water to the dough, mix thoroughly and bake a few more. Continue the process of adding water and baking until the results are to your liking.
Cool cookies on baking sheet for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cookies keep for up to one week at room temperature. Extra dough can be stored in the fridge for several days or in the freezer for a month or more.
Cranberry Walnut Wheels
Colleen Irwin got this recipe from a friend and baked the cookies for the first time this year. They are headed to the Candles and Cookies event at Plymouth Spiritualist Church on Dec. 20. She advises making the dough in stages; the dough has to chill twice.
For the filling:
½ cup fresh cranberries (if frozen – thaw then pat dry)
½ cup walnuts
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
For the dough:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Make filling and let set while dough is being prepared: In a food processor, combine cranberries, walnuts, brown sugar, lemon zest and juice. Process until finely chopped.
Make dough: In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended. Using your hands, knead to form smooth dough. Between two sheets of waxed paper, roll out dough into 12-inch square. Slide onto cookie sheet. Chill until starting to firm up, about 30 minutes.
Remove top sheet of waxed paper from dough and spread evenly with filling, leaving ½-inch border on two sides.
Starting with one of the bare edges, using the bottom sheet of wax paper to help you roll, roll up the dough jelly-roll fashion. Press to firm up roll and seal edge. Wrap in wax paper and chill until firm, at least 4 hours. For best results, let set overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut roll into ¼-inch slices. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven 12 to 16 minutes until golden around edge. Cool for 5 minutes on sheet then transfer to a rack and cool completely.
Store in airtight container in cool dry location. The rolls can be made ahead and baked at a later date. These cookies freeze well.
Tracy Schuhmacher covers food and drink for the D&C. Keep up to date with her food finds by subscribing to her weekly ROCFlavors newsletter.
