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| Vegetable Shortening | Vegetable shortening refers to solid vegetable shortening. |
| Vanilla Sugar & Vanilla Powdered Sugar | Vanilla sugar can sometimes be found in gourmet shops. However, it is quite simple to make. For a recipe, scroll down to the bottom of the page. |
| Spices, Extracts, and Other Flavorings | Spices have a shelf life of approximately 6 months (some are shorter, like curry). The fresher, the more flavorful the spice will be. Always use pure extracts as imitations just don't have a the flavor. Some recipes include liqueur but you may always use vanilla or another flavoring in its place. |
| Salt | You will notice that many of the recipes call for just a pinch of salt. This is to accommodate those with low salt tolerance. Typically you add 1/4 teaspoon just add to taste. |
| Powdered Sugar | Also known as confectioner's sugar. It is very fine powdered sugar |
| Nuts | Use fresh nuts. The oil in nuts quickens the aging of nuts. Older nuts will taste bitter once baked. Blanching nuts is done to remove the skin. To blanch, place nuts in boiling water for 30 seconds, run under cold water, then place in clean towel and rub off the skins. Toasting nuts enriches the flavor. Toasting hazelnuts will help remove their skins. To toast, place nuts on a greased cookie sheet in a 325-350F oven, cook until slightly brown and fragrant. Nuts will vary on cooking times, shredded coconut takes only a couple of minutes while hazelnuts take 15-20 minutes. |
| Jams, Jellies, & Preserves | For the most part these are interchangeable. Use the flavors you enjoy the most. The recipes suggest the flavors that are most authentic for the region and type of cookie. |
| Fruit Zest | Zest or rind of citrus adds concentrated flavor of the given fruit. Use a zester or peeler. Be careful to only peel the rind of the fruit and not the pith (the white part) as the pith is bitter. |
| Eggs | Large eggs were used in all the recipes. (Most all cookbook recipes refer to large eggs unless they specifically suggest otherwise.) |
| Dried fruits | Raisins, currants, apricots, figs, and other dried fruits should be plump and moist. Dry dried fruits will become harder and very unpleasant in once cookies are bakes. To plump up dried fruits, soak them in hot water or liqueur for 5-10 minutes, drain them well. |
| Coarse Sugar Cyrstals | Course sugar crystals are large grains of sugar. They can be found in any supermarket in the cake decorating section in lots of different colors. They are typically sprinkled on cupcakes. |
| Chocolate | Use the best quality chocolate you can afford. To melt chocolate use a double boiler. Melt slowly over simmering not boiling water stirring frequently. If chocolate is melted with butter a double boiler is not necessary, a heavy-bottom pan will due. |
| Candied Citrus Peel | The peel of a citrus fruit that has been boiled and dipped in a sugar syrup then into granulated sugar. It is available in some markets, mostly around the Christmas season. Available year-round through mail order. Here is a recipe if you would like to make your own. For a recipe, scroll down to the bottom of the page. |
| Butter | All these recipes call for unsalted butter. Unsalted butter is fresher and allows you to control the salt content of your cookies. Unsalted butter is often called sweet butter in the market, but sweet butter is not always unsalted, so check the label carefully. If you prefer to use salted butter omit salt from the recipe. In addition, if you would rather use margarine keep in mind the texture as well as the flavor will be affected, but they will still be yummy. |
| Almond Paste | Found in the baking section. A smooth sweet paste made from almonds and sugar. |
