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5A Wednesday, December 11, 2013 – Daily News County Fare & tasty fresh 5 tips to power up your holiday cookies Whether you're tempting Santa or hosting a party, you're going to need a gorgeous assortment of holiday cookies. Heck, even nonbakers get swept up by the sweet kitchen frenzy. So here's how to amp up your cookie game, troubleshoot the crumbles and throw a playful, memorable cookie exchange with a little help from the Bay Area's best pastry chefs and chocolate experts. It's hardly surprising that Alice Medrich loves chocolate, not just during the holidays, but all year round. The queen of chocolate and author of the new "Seriously Bitter Sweet" (Artisan, $25.95, 336 pages) brought the notion of Parisian-style chocolate truffles to Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto — and the nation — 40 years ago. So when you ask her what she's baking these days, the list is long, luxurious and very, very chocolatey. Her Bittersweet Decadence Cookies are an exercise in richness. Her brownies are deeply delicious, especially when topped with almostcaramelized coconut flakes. And her rugelach are filled with cocoa nibs — the crunchy, roasted, hulled bits of cacao bean that release a deeply primal, almost wine or berry scent. For Angela Gong Salvatore, it wouldn't be Christmas without her fennel pollen-dusted Anise Drop Cookies. The pastry chef at San Francisco's Waterbar has made them for her family for years. And Emily Day, who runs San Francisco's yearold Flour & Co. bakery, is all about the classics: Peanut Butter Blossoms, sugar cookies and no-bake chocolate-peanut clusters — one of her family's holiday favorites — that just beg to be left out for Santa. "I'm a traditionalist," she says. "You can't fancy up Christmas." They've shared not only their favorite recipes, but tips to help home bakers up their game this holiday season. Even experienced bakers wind up with the occasional cookie debacle — "It's unevenly baked, it spread out too much, it completely flopped!" says Day, who dispenses advice on a regular basis. So ask not for whom the cookie crumbles. It won't anymore. Tame the temp They may believe in sugar plum dreams and reindeer transportation, but Day and Medrich regard oven dials with a healthy dose of skepticism. Just because the knob or digital display says 350, doesn't mean it is. It could be 400 degrees. Or 250. It could be absolutely anything, says Day, who has lived in a lot of different apartments. No two ovens were ever the same. "If your oven is way off, nothing will work," Medrich says. "Cookies are little. They can overbake in two minutes. Get a sense of whether your oven is anywhere near the tem- Tehama District Jr. Livestock Annual Meeting Thurs., Jan 16th 6pm held in the Tehama Ro om @ Tehama Distric t Fairgrounds MediaNews Group photo Clockwise from top right, Raspberry Linzer Cookie, Nibby Cookies, Lacy Coconut Brownie, Sugar Cookie Stars and Hamentaschen with Cocoa Nibs and Currants. perature it should be and compensate if it isn't." An oven thermometer costs $7 — a bargain when you consider the cost of those burned cookies to psyche and wallet. Stick the thermometer in the oven, wait for the oven to heat up, then check it. Dials can be recalibrated, but the fix-it-right-now solution is easy: If the dial says 400 when the thermometer says 350, set the dial for 400. Rotate the pans Convection ovens heat fairly evenly, but regular ovens have hot spots. Halfway through the baking time, flip the pans from front to back and top to bottom rack. Exercise "rotation anxiety," says Medrich, and make sure you have good cookie sheets. "Pans that are too dark will overbake the bottom of the cookie before the top is done. Burned and underdone at the same time," she says. "A lot of the ones people have are too thin and too dark, or the one from the cupboard is from a million years ago." The best pans are inexpensive, restaurant supply half-sheets. Avoid nonstick and dark coatings. Rock the parchment paper Parchment isn't some high-falutin', overly Martha-ish trick. It's the cheapest, best tool in your baking arsenal. It speeds cookie production, compensates for lousy sheet pans and makes post-bak- ing cleanup a breeze. Want to make a lot of cookies but you only have two pans? "One secret is to put all the cookies on parchment," Medrich says. "While your two pans are in the oven, you're portioning out the cookies on parchment on the counter. When your pans come from the oven, slide the paper with the cookies on cooling racks." Repeat, repeat, repeat. You can't scoop cookies onto a hot baking sheet, because by the time you scoop the 12th one, the first several are oozily half-cooked. "But if your cookies are already set up," Medrich says, "you can slide the parchment on the sheet and put it in the oven right away. You can go like crazy." Chill out It's a rare sugar cookie recipe that doesn't call for a multiple-hour respite in the fridge. It's not just a matter of firming the dough, although that's a critical factor. The cookie dough needs to go into the oven cold. "If you let it sit around too long and it gets warm, it's a disaster from there," Day says. The cookies "ooze and do their own thing." But chilling does something equally important, Medrich says, "Many doughs improve if they're allowed to rest overnight in the fridge. You get better flavors and better looking cookies." Make them cute Once the cookies are out of the oven, be patient. Let them cool. It's tempting to start wrapping — or eating — the sweets. Day says, "I have a tendency to be, like, Oh! The cookies are done!" But they're not done until they're completely cool. Don't stack them, don't pack them and for heaven's sake, don't try to apply icing until every vestige of heat is gone. Then go ahead and get creative. Karen Mitchell at Napa Valley's Model Bakery dips her sugar cookies in "goop" — a glossy, liquid icing — to create a smooth, shiny coating before adding royal icing embellishments. She keeps tubs of the stuff, tinted in every color, in the bakery fridge. Day adds pizazz with the wrapping. "Use tissue paper to line whatever you're going to do," she says. "Cello bags are always cute with a ribbon, or use plain Chinese to-go containers. Use the pages of an old cookbook as wrapping paper. Put your personal spin on it." Just remember to leave a small assortment by the fireplace. With a glass of milk and a carrot for Rudolph. Gold Exchange All proceeds go to Make a Wish Foundation Exotic Manhattan Note: This smoky, spiced holiday cocktail can be made ahead in batches. Punt e Mes is an Italian vermouth. Both it and the bitters can be found at BevMo and other liquor stores. Taste Catering pairs this cocktail with a smoked chicken salad, served in red endive leaves, and topped with a green apple-black cardamom compote, puffed rye berries and hazelnut oil. 2 ounces Templeton Rye Whiskey 1 ounce Punt e Mes 1 ounce fresh strained orange juice Cardamom bitters Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice, using just a drop or two of bitters to give the cocktail its unique spin, but not upset the integrity of the drink. Shake, then strain the cocktail into a martini glass and garnish with a strip of orange zest. – Taste Catering WE ACCEPT FOOD STAMPS WE FEATURE BLACK CANYON ANGUS BEEF 8049 Hwy 99E, Los Molinos, CA "Your Family Supermarket" NO CARDS REQUIRED FOR EVERYDAY LOW PRICING OR SALE ITEMS CUSTOM CUT MEATS AT NO EXTRA CHARGE We appreciate your business - and we show it! HOURS: 7AM - 9 PM DAILY Prices good December 11-17, 2013 384-1563 Meat Specials We Accept EBT Boneless Boneless Bone-In Beef Pork Cross Rib Shoulder Roast Butt Roast Bone-In Beef New York Strip Steaks Fresh Pork Loin Chops Frozen Imitation Crab Meat Turkey Breast Center Cut Bone-In $ 349 lb. $ $ 179 lb. 599 $ lb. 299 $ lb. 199 $ 299 lb. lb. Produce Specials Fresh Crisp Avocados Clementines Garden Salad 12 oz. bags 1000 10 $ for Sweet Creamy Head of Lettuce Fresh Cantaloupe Honeycrisp Full of Nutrients Apples Washington Grown 3 lb. bag California Grown 1000 10 $ for 1000 10 $ for $ 399 ea. 4 2 for$ 00 $ 229 lb. Grocery Specials COUPON COUPON Granulated Sugar COUPON Butter Quarters Flour 5 Pound Bag 1 pound Package, Salted or Unsalted 4 Pound Bag $ SAT. 12/14 & SUN. 12/15 • 9AM-5PM KIDS CRAFT AREA 30 Vendors Including: Arts & Crafts, Furniture, American Indian Jewelry & More Note: This cocktail can be made ahead in batches and served over ice or straight up. Taste Catering pairs this with an appetizer of citrus-cured gravlax, avocado mousse and pickled radish on olive biscotti. 2 ounces Charbay Blood Orange Vodka 1 ounce Carpano Antica 1 ounce Campari Combine all the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake, then strain into a martini glass and garnish with a blood orange slice, or serve it over ice in a tumbler. For more Cookie Recipes, see page 6B One Wish Christmas Fair TEHAMA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS Raffles ★ Santa Pictures Accepting canned food donations & unwrapped new toy donations Blood Orange Negroni 169 First 1 with coupon with $20 purchase Good Only at IGA One Coupon per family Coupon Valid: Dec. 11 thru Dec. 17, 2013 $ 169 $ First 1 with coupon with $20 purchase Good Only at IGA One Coupon per family Coupon Valid: Dec. 11 thru Dec. 17, 2013 249 First 1 with coupon with $20 purchase Good Only at IGA One Coupon per family Coupon Valid: Dec. 11 thru Dec. 17, 2013 Grocery Specials Canned Vegetables 14.5-15.25 oz. cans Select Varieties Sugar Cream Soup 2 pound Bag, Powdered or Light Brown 10.5 oz. Can Select Varieties Chicken Stuffing 6 oz. Package Big Savings & Value Broth Vegetable Oil 14.5 oz. Can Chicken or Beef Big Savings & Value 48 oz. 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