Holiday Grind

tastes like a rich, warm coffee-infused milkshake! Enjoy!)

Candy Cane Latte

2/3 cup cold milk

1 shot hot espresso or strong coffee

1 candy cane

½ tablespoon kirsch (cherry liqueur) or cherry syrup

½ tablespoon crème de menthe liqueur or peppermint syrup

Whipped cream

Finely crushed candy canes (optional)

Step 1—Froth the milk using an espresso machine steam wand or my rustic stovetop method (page 300).

Step 2—Pour the espresso into an 8-ounce mug and use the candy cane to stir in the kirsch and crème de menthe.

Step 3—Fill the rest of the mug, nearly to the top, with steamed milk and stir a second time with the candy cane to distribute the flavors. Top the drink with whipped cream and a sprinkling of finely crushed candy canes. Leave the whole candy cane in the mug for a festive serving touch!

Orange-Spice Yule Latte

2/3 cup cold milk

½ tablespoon orange syrup (see note) or Grand Marnier liqueur

½ tablespoon amaretto syrup or liqueur

Pinch of allspice

1 shot hot espresso or strong coffee

Cinnamon stick

Whipped cream

Step 1—Froth the milk using an espresso machine steam wand or the rustic stovetop method (page 300).

Step 2—Measure out the flavored syrups or liqueurs into an 8-ounce mug. Add the allspice, pour in the shot of hot espresso, and stir well with the cinnamon stick to distribute the flavors.

Step 3—Fill the rest of the mug, nearly to the top, with steamed milk and stir a second time with the cinnamon stick to mix the flavorings through the drink. Leave the cinnamon stick in the mug to continue adding spiced flavor. Top the drink with whipped cream.

NOTE: You can either use bottled orange syrup or follow the Easy Homemade Fruit Syrup recipe (page 318), using orange marmalade to create your syrup. You can also use the orange bar syrup that’s created as a byproduct of making the homemade candied orange peels (page 364).

Esther’s Jelly Doughnut Chanukah Latte

2/3 cup cold milk

1 tablespoon Homemade Caramel Syrup (see note)

1 tablespoon Homemade Raspberry Syrup (see note)

2 shots of hot espresso or strong coffee

Powdered sugar for garnish

Step 1—Steam the milk using an espresso machine steam wand or my stovetop method (page 300).

Step 2—Measure homemade raspberry and caramel syrups into an 8-ounce mug, add the hot espresso and stir.

Step 3—Fill the rest of the mug, nearly to the top, with steamed milk (using a spoon to hold back the foam in your pitcher or bowl) and stir a second time to distribute the flavors through the milk. Top the drink with a cloud of foamed milk; garnish with crisscrossing drizzles of homemade raspberry and caramel syrups and a light dusting of powdered sugar. (It really does taste like a jelly doughnut!)

NOTE: To make your own raspberry and caramel syrups, see Easy Homemade Fruit Syrup and Homemade Caramel Syrup recipes (pages 318 and 315).

Holiday Recipes

Clare’s Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies

At the start of the holiday season, Clare Cosi mixes up a big batch of this sugar cookie dough and keeps it in the fridge, wrapped tightly in plastic. When she’s ready to make a sheet pan full of cookies, she breaks off a piece of dough about the size of an orange, rolls it out, and bakes up a panful so she can serve freshly baked cookies to guests with their after-dinner coffee.

Makes 48-60 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutters and how thin or thick you prefer to roll your dough.

6 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs, room temperature! 

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Step 1—Make your dough: Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the room temperature eggs and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until a smooth dough forms. (Do not overwork dough or your cookies will be tough.) Lightly pat the dough into a big ball, wrap snugly in plastic, and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Step 2—Roll your dough: First, preheat the oven to 350°F. Break off an orange-sized ball of dough, place it on a flat surface that’s been rubbed with flour, and (if you know what you’re doing) roll away! For a thin, crisp cookie—which Clare recommends—roll the dough between ¼ and ⅛ inch thick. If you prefer a thicker cookie, roll the dough ½ inch thick.

WARNING: If you skipped the chilling of the dough as suggested in Step 1, it may be too warm to work with and will stick to everything. So chill it, baby! When you take it out of the fridge, it will be firm. If it’s too firm, let it warm until it becomes pliable. If you start having trouble rolling out the dough, then read the following suggestions to prevent sticking, tearing, or the toughening of your cookies by adding too much dusting flour!

Parchment paper solution: A good way to prevent dough from sticking is to roll the dough out between two flour-dusted sheets of parchment paper. The best method for rolling, by the way, is to roll in one direction, then turn the dough (paper and all) clockwise to the right and roll again. Keep turning the dough and rolling, turning the dough and rolling, until it’s nice and thin. Before removing the paper, slide the sheet of rolled-out dough (paper and all) onto a flat pan and place the whole thing in the fridge to chill for ten to fifteen minutes. This will firm up the butter in the dough and make it less sticky so you can easily peel away the top sheet of paper without chunks of dough sticking to it.

Step 3—Cut your dough: Once the dough is all rolled out, cut the dough into shapes with cookie cutters. Place the cookies carefully on a sheet pan covered in parchment paper or silicon sheets. (If you have