Pour Some Sugar on Me

Christmas cookies are usually my taller half's job, but I decided to take a swing at it this year as a way of jump-starting something closely approximating cheer. Even though I love traditional holiday cookies, I went off-script and baked three decidedly different treats: zaletti, a cornmeal cookie with roots in the Veneto region of Italy; brutti ma buoni, another Italian goodie that loosely translates as "ugly but good"; and a New Mexican take on the traditional thumbprint cookie made with red chile powder and green chile-peach jam—with the added bonus of candied bacon.

Zaletti

(makes about 25 cookies)

• ½ cup dried currants or finely chopped raisins
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup flour
• ½ cup fine cornmeal
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Coat the dried fruit in the tablespoon of flour. In a stand-up mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients until well combined. In three increments, add the dry ingredients in the bowl to the butter mixture and mix well to form a dough. Gent­ly knead in the dried fruit. Form the dough into a log about 12 inches long, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut ¼-inch slices from the log and place an inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden brown on top, turning pans 180 degrees at the halfway mark. Cool completely on wire racks before storing.

Brutti Ma Buoni

• (makes about two dozen cookies)
• 6 egg whites
• 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup toasted almonds or walnuts, coarsely chopped
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur or almond extract
• Butter for greasing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a parchment-lined cookie sheet and dust it with flour. Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gently fold in sugar, nuts, cocoa powder, flour, amaretto and vanilla extract. Drop heaping tablespoons onto parchment-lined, greased baking sheets at least one inch apart. For firm cookies, bake about 30 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Reduce baking time for chewy cookies. Cool on wire racks before storing.

Red Chile Thumbprints

(makes about 20 cookies)

• 2½ cups flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon red chile powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Jam for filling
• Chopped candied bacon (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, chile powder and salt. In a stand-up mixer, beat together butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. In three batches, add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Shape dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out tablespoon-sized balls of dough with your hands and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Make a well in each ball with your thumb and fill with your choice of jam. Cool slightly on baking sheets and then transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Place candied bacon into jam center, if desired, and serve.

Candied Bacon

(makes about a cup)

• 6 slices raw, thin-cut bacon
• ¾ cup light brown sugar (more, if needed)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Dredge bacon slices in brown sugar until well coated. Place slices on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turn over carefully using tongs and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, or until fairly dark but not burned. Transfer slices to parchment paper, cool completely and chop up if using for thumbprint cookies.

Santa Fe Reporter