The Christmas Cookie Club

My book club celebrates the holiday season with a gift between friends. In years past, we have done an ornament swap, and this year we picked gifts for someone else in the club.

Linda, an excellent baker and chef, gave me Martha Stewart's Cookies. First, it tied to the book we read, The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman. This is about friends who swap cookies every holiday season. I love that idea! Second, Linda knows how much I love to bake and she and her daughter enjoy this book so they gave me a copy.

I decided that I would make each book club hostess cookies they chose from the book for their meeting. Yes I would still bring the peanut brittle I assured them!

The first one up was Rosie with the Blueberry Bonanza Bars. The granola is added on top of the cookie base and is cooked this way. You do not cook the granola twice.

1/2 cup silvered almonds, toasted
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 cus blueberry jam

1. Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil, allowing a 2 inch over-hang and coat with cooking spray.
2. Process the almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add flour, confectioners sugar, baking powder and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Lightly beat egg, egg yolk and vanilla in a small bowl. With the processor running, add egg mixture; process until clumps form. Pat dough into bottom of dish; refrigerate until firm and cold about 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until edges are golden about 25 minutes. Let cool 25 minutes.
5. Spread jam over crust; top with granola. Bake until jam is bubbling and granola topping is browned about 30 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Lift out and cut into 2 inch squares. Can be stored at room temperature up to a day or frozen up to a week.

Almond-coconut Granola
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
3 cups old-fashioned oats
2/3 cub slivered almonds
1/2 sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Melt butter with honey in a small saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar; stir until dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in water. Stir together oats, almonds and coconut in large bowl. Pour butter over the mixture until combined. Evenly spread out the mixture on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring frequently until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on a sheet on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for two weeks.

Note: I did not have a food processor big enough to do the job. I processed the almonds but than threw them into my KitchenAid Standing Mixer. I used it to finish the dough.