When I lived in Texas, there was a cupcake place that used batter left over from their upscale cakes. They would put out a Yes flag when they had cupcakes available and a No flag when they sold out. The flavors would change based on the cakes. I once bought a box of four as a treat for the family. The cupcakes had the lovely density of sturdy cakes, and yes, frosting swirled up over an inch. They also did mini cupcakes.
I looked at the Washington Post's Christmas Cookie feature this past Sunday. As expected, nine of the ten require lots of butter, although these were not cookies that I would have baked even when I was eating lots of butter. There was, however, a recipe for jam thumbprint cookies that used almond flour and no butter that I might try.
I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas cookies, so I miss the sugar cookies and the shortbread particularly this time of year. I will still bake a half recipe of the Pfeffernusse, since those cookies use just half the butter of most cookie recipes.
My new Christmas cookies are the Spiced Rye Ginger Cookies from King Arthur, as well as the cranberry-pistachio biscotti I discovered last year. I'm hoping the German Cinnamon Stars I baked yesterday will earn a place in the rotation. That dough might work for other simple shapes as well.
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