Make Ahead

Caramel and sea salt has been a popular combination for gourmands for several years now, and its familiarity is growing, indicating that it’s more than a passing trend. Fleur de Sel Caramels are sweet- and- salty bonbons that can be served at any time of the year. Not as dainty as the chocolate truffles, they can blend in easily at a more casual affair. Fleur de sel is fairly easy to find at specialty food stores nowadays, and also is not uncommon at many grocery stores. It and other flaky sea salts have a less salty taste than processed salts, so their delicate quality won’t overwhelm the caramel and chocolate here.

This caramel recipe has the right amount of butter and cream to make it nice and chewy but not too sticky. The honey and corn syrup, which also help to give it a chewy quality, are interchangeable in this recipe. If you don’t have any corn syrup, you can use all honey. Likewise, if you prefer the caramel to taste less like honey, substitute more corn syrup for the honey. Be diligent in watching the candy thermometer: If you overcook caramel by just a few degrees, it will become stiff and hard to bite. Likewise, if you take it off too soon, the caramel won’t be firm enough to stand on its own.

These Sandwich Cookies are one of our signature items at Tribeca Treats. They are like homemade Oreos, but the fresh-baked cookies and the buttercream filling make them a richer, more delectable version. These cookies are also delicious when made with the Vanilla Cookie Dough (page 41) or Graham Cracker Dough (page 86) and using a variety of fillings, including vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache, cinnamon cream cheese, marshmallow icing, peanut butter icing, and caramel. Use your imagination to mix and match and create a wide variety of cookies.

This fondue recipe is more of an accessory to than variation on the Chocolate Cookie Dough, but it makes a fun and unique addition to many desserts, especially chocolate cookies. Served with the cookies and a variety of fresh fruits, this chocolate fondue can make a conversation-starting dessert “station” for cocktail parties or a romantic treat after a dinner for two. This accessory also goes well as a sauce for ice cream or poured over a slice of Rich Chocolate Ganache Cake (page 111).

While the Vanilla Cookie Dough (page 41) is good to have on hand and frozen for activities with kids, the chocolate version is perfect to keep stored if you do a lot of entertaining, as the last-minute preparation is just as easy, but the rich chocolate flavor makes it more appropriate for special occasions. By varying the thickness and size of the cookies, you can make them into a dainty dessert or a substantial accompaniment for a bowl of ice cream or chocolate mousse.

Royal icing is a sugar-and-egg-white-based frosting that fully hardens, making it a favorite icing for cookie decorating. Its pure white color also makes it easy to mix vibrant colors. Because the eggs aren’t cooked, this recipe calls for pasteurized egg whites, which can be found in most grocery stores, but separated egg whites may be used as well. Alternatively, many specialty cake supply stores sell meringue powder or royal icing powder (see Resources, page 190) to which you need only add water (and sometimes confectioners’ sugar) to mix it. Frosting cookies with royal icing is somewhat difficult and takes practice to do really well, but once you’ve mastered it, it will take your holiday and special events cookies to a whole new level (see For Royal Icing Cookies, page 12).

Sprinkled sugar cookies are the easiest way to make a festive, special cookie in a variety of fun shapes. Making them is an easy activity to involve your kids in (especially younger ones). The cookies are a delicious, personalized gift for grandparents, teachers, or friends. You can stick with one shape of cookie cutter and one color of sprinkles, or you can mix and match for endless variations of this tasty treat.

This is one of the best cookie doughs to keep on hand in your freezer, especially if you have kids. Whether you are in need of a rainy day activity or a last-minute gift, pulling this dough out of the refrigerator or freezer, prerolled, gives you a solution at your fingertips. The only effort you will need to make depends on how you choose to decorate the cookies. Because this is such a simple cookie, imperfections in the dough will be hard to hide. For that reason, it is especially important to beat the butter and brown sugar until they are completely smooth. Any lumps of either ingredient will cause noticeable imperfections in the baked cookie and make the cookie more difficult to decorate.

With its rich dark chocolate flavor and smooth, glossy ganache filling, this cookie easily transcends the basic cookie plate to more formal occasions. A dark chocolate amaretto ganache fills the center, but this recipe can also be made with espresso in the cookie and ganache, instead of amaretto, or you can try it with other liqueurs or flavorings. Please note that the addition of the liqueur or espresso to this dough makes it much softer than the other thumbprint varieties, so the recipe requires a couple additional steps in order for the thumbprints to hold their shape.

This cookie is a slightly different base recipe from the chocolate chip cookie recipes, but the basic technique is the same. The brown sugar and oats are the most noticeable flavors in this chewy cookie. For a crunchier version that highlights the raisins more, add 2 to 4 minutes to the cooking time. You can also play around with this recipe by adding semisweet chocolate chips or dried cranberries (or both) instead of raisins.

This cookie is a simple variation of Chocolate Chip Cookies (page 24). By switching out the chocolate chips for white chocolate and coconut, you get something a little more exotic. Play around with this base cookie dough and change up the flavor with a variety of different mix-ins. This particular recipe goes well with tropical themes or summery occasions.

Chocolate chip cookies should be the basis for anyone’s foray into baking. They are simple to make, an all-time favorite, and extremely versatile. Portioned on the smaller side, these cookies can make for a satisfying end to a dinner party or a welcome thank-you gift. The spectrum of chocolate chip cookies is wide, with personal favorites ranging from thin and crispy to soft and chewy. This particular recipe results in a cookie on the softer, more cakey side. It is important to chill the dough thoroughly, for at least one hour, before scooping and baking these cookies. If the dough is too soft when it goes into the oven, the cookie will spread and be very thin.

A colorful platter of crudités and dip is a sure crowd-pleaser for a party—or simply as a snack. As an alternative to lemon-thyme dip, serve the vegetables with the white-bean dip on page 51.

A thin, simple-to-prepare chocolate sheet cake provides the foundation for these nostalgic frozen treats. To soften the ice cream, leave it at room temperature for a few minutes before spreading.

This rich, pudding-like mousse is simple to make, and it’s also a real kid-pleaser. A serrated knife works best for chopping chocolate. If you don’t have one, use a chef’s knife.