Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour your work surface.
Flour your rolling pin and cookie cutters. Roll out the dough to ¼-inch thick on the work surface. Cut into desired shapes and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the scraps and continue until all the dough has been used. Bake until the edges are just golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then more to a wire rack to cool completely.
Place the confectioner’s sugar in a small bowl. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and whisk until a smooth, thick but pourable consistency is reached. Drizzle the frosting on the cookies and decorate them with blue sugar or sprinkles.
VARIATION: Use 1 cup all-purpose flour and ½ cup whole wheat flour, or ¾ of each.
DRESS IS UP: Black and White Chocolate – Dipped Chanukah Cookies: Our go-to Chanukah activity is cookie decorating. The kids love to pile on mountains of sprinkles, fluff, licorice, chocolate chips, mustard, and glue. (I threw those last into see if you’re listening. If you’re like Hubby, you’d be noodling and going, “Fine, fine.”). And when our cousins Samara and Ilana come over to create their masterpieces, our humble cookies become candidates for the Kid’s Cookie Hall of Fame. But we grown-ups deserve our day, too, so I recently added this slightly more refined chocolate ganache version to the mix. I mean, how many rainbow sprinkles can a person eat?
To make Chocolate Ganache¸ bring 1 cup of heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Place 4 ounces chopped milk chocolate in a small bowl and 4 ounces chopped white chocolate in another small bowl. Pour half of the warm cream into each bowl. Let sit for a few minutes, then stir with rubber spatulas to melt the chocolates. Let cool slightly before dipping your cookies. Divide the cookies into two equal batches. Dip the cookies in one batch in the milk chocolate, covering each cookie halfway; dip the cookies in a second batch in the white chocolate, dipping each cookie halfway. Sprinkle the frosted parts of the cookies with gold and silver decorating sugar.
MAKE IT PAREVE: These are so easy to make nondairy: just sub margarine for butter. Because it’s traditional to eat dairy delicacies on Chanukah, and I rarely have occasion to make dairy desserts, I seize the opportunity to use butter in this recipe. But it’s a great quick cookie recipe and shouldn’t be relegated to Chanukah – just use cookie cutters that are not holiday themed.
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Pizza Soup
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
2 Tbsp oil or butter
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups milk
¼ cup water
½ cup shredded cheese, plus more for garnish, optional
Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Using a wooden spoon, sauté until onion is soft, 5-7 minutes.
Add crushed tomatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes. Add sugar, salt, basil, garlic powder, milk, and water and stir to combine. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Ladle soup into bowls to serve.
Garnish with additional shredded cheese (optional).
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Hot Dog Garlic Knots
Yield: 36 knots
Ingredients
1 ¾ cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. oil
2/3 cup water
6 hot dogs, each cut into 6 pieces
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. parsley flakes
pinch salt
Directions
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, yeast, oil, and water. Knead until smooth. Add 1 additional tablespoon of water if necessary. You can use your hands or knead the dough with an electric mixer.
Grease a bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and let rise for 35-40 minutes. You can keep it in the mixer bowl or place it in a separate bowl.
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Divide dough into 4 parts. Cut each part into 9 pieces. Stretch each piece into a rectangle and wrap it around a piece of hot dog. Tie a knot at the top, and tuck the two ends underneath. You can also simply wrap the dough around the hot dog. Place wrapped hot dogs on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olive oil, garlic powder, parsley, and salt. Toss hot dogs in garlic mixture as soon as they come out of the oven.