Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse [Hardcover]

Liv Hansen (Author), Kaye Hansen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Come holiday time, there’s no better way to celebrate than by baking up some special cookies. In Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse, mother-daughter bakers Kaye and Liv Hansen share their most enchanting cookies, from simple to showstoppingly beautiful. These irresistibly pretty cookies are perfect for snacking and gifting, decorating the tree, and, of course, leaving for Santa.

And they are definitely not your grandmother’s cookies! With both classic and creative flavor combinations and adorable designs, the Hansens’ cookies have been pleasing loyal customers at their cozy upstate New York bakery for years. Now they bring their customers’ favorite recipes home to you. Kaye handles the baking, imbuing the cookies with the traditional flavors of Christmas, like cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla, but also more modern touches like coconut, chocolate, and pistachio. Her daughter, Liv, provides the artistic flair, using innovative techniques and plenty of colored (yes, colored!) chocolate to yield truly special cookie creations that look as good as they taste.

All of the Hansens’ best cookie creations are here, from simple roll-and-slice cookies to bars and cutouts, including Coconut Dreams, Chocolate Pecan Rounds, and Creamy Christmas Butter Cookies, as well as step-by-step instructions for making truly impressive decorations. Imagine a dazzling 3-D Christmas cookie tree decked with silver dragées, or a breathtaking gingerbread house. From chewy Apricot-Chocolate Triangles to tangy Lemon Drop Cookies, Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse is a fanciful, fabulous take on everyone’s favorite holiday treat.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kaye Hansen is a self-taught baker and the owner of the Riviera Bakehouse in Westchester, the bakery of choice for devoted customers from Albany to New York City. Liv Hansen trained as a painter before turning her eye for color and composition to buttercream and melted chocolate. The bakery has been featured in the New York Times, and the Hansens have appeared on the Today show, Food Network, and The View. Both Kaye and Liv reside in Rockland County.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Rudolph Chocolate Shortbread

Makes 3 dozen cookies

This recipe is a chocolate variation of our regular shortbread. We pipe a red chocolate nose on Rudolph and sprinkly it with red sanding sugar—see how it glows!

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Grease 2 cookie sheets.

On a piece of wax paper, sift together:
• 3 1/2 (3.5) cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 (.5) cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 (.25) teaspoon salt

Place the ingredients in a large bowl of an electric mixer.

Add:
• 17 ounces (4 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 (.5) inch cubes

Mix on low speed until the dough comes together.

On a lightly floured board:
• Roll out the dough 1/4 (.25) inch thick. Use a Rudolph cookie cutter, or a cookie cutter of your choice, to cut out the dough. Place Rudolphs 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Prick each cookie once with a fork. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not attempt to move the cookies before they have completely cooled or the legs might break off.

Melt:
• 1/4 (.25) cup white wafer chocolate or 2 ounces white chocolate

Add to the melted chocolate and stir until well combined:
• 6 drops red candy color (add more or less as desired)

Pour the melted chocolate into a pastry cone. Cut a small tip off the end of the cone. Pipe a red nose on each Rudolph.

Before the chocolate dries, sprinkle the noses with:
• Red sanding sugar

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; First Edition edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400080584
• ISBN-13: 978-1400080588
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.5 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #866,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I thought, December 5, 2005

By 

C. Simon (Ellensburg, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse (Hardcover)

I purchased this book with high hopes and great expectations. I have the Whimsical Bakehouse and was thrilled by it. This book was not what I assumed it would be. It is a collection of Christmas cookies of varying types. There are bar cookies, gingerbread, and cutouts, to name a few. I was hoping to find a book with wonderful decorating ideas for Christmas cutout cookies since that is what is displayed on the cover. In fact, they only give a template for that cookie but no real instruction as to how to achieve the look. Now, I am quite proficient at decorating, but sometimes need some great ideas to kick start my creativity. In fact, there were quite a few truly adorable cookies in the front section of the book, but no further information on them.

If you are one who prefers to figure out on your own how to achieve a certain look or don't mind the trial and error method then maybe you will like this. If you are looking for a collection of cookies to add to your library than this is a good option. However, if, like me, you are wanting to "WOW" people with spectacular, highly detailed Christmas cookies, this is probably not what you are looking for.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars DISAPPOINTING, June 19, 2007

By 

Ms. Mary B. Pirrone V "cookbook junkie" (grosse pointe, mi) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse (Hardcover)

Cover cookie - NOT IN BOOK - NOR IS PRACTICALLY ANYTHING LIKE IT. Has some good 'cookie' recipes - however, bought it for state of the art style impressive decorating, as seen in upscale merchandise (like the cover picture) - also saw their 'cake' book - ALSO HAS GORGEOUS COVER - VERY LITTLE INSIDE ABOUT HOW TO ACHIEVE THIS LOOK. I would say it borders on false advertising.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST cookies!!!, January 1, 2009

By 

C. Stephens "Christina, mom of 2" (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse (Hardcover)

I think this is the best Christmas cookie cookbook - ever! Normally I might like one or two recipes out of a cookbook but with this one, you CAN'T go wrong! I did all my Christmas baking out of this book this year and they were ALL keepers! My husband took a bite of the pecan cream cheese pastry crescents (basically Rugelach) and immediately said, "Homerun!" The lemon crumble bars are the best I have EVER had ... the rainbow cookies will be made in my house every Christmas from here on out. I wasn't looking for a cookbook with ton of fancy decorating tips b/c there is no way I would have time for that. The rainbow cookies took a ton of time but where worth the effort. Most of the other cookies/bars were assembled/baked very quickly. Nothing seemed overly complicated but every one of the cookies was simply AWESOME!
I am buying several of these books and sending them to friends and family. If you are looking for the best cookie recipes you can find, buy this book! You won't be disappointed! I love that there is a huge variety of cookies in just this one book so I didn't have tons of computer print-outs or other cookbooks in my kitchen. Just this one slim book! It's perfect!