Everyone does cookies for Christmas. There are lots and lots of variations you can choose from - from sugar cookies to chocolate sandwich cookies to frosting-kissed butter cookies - and one batch of cookies is almost always enough to serve a big crowd. The downside to cookies is that it’s hard to stand out on a holiday dessert table with something that lies so close to the plate and might look similar to everything else on the table. This year, my bring-to-the-party holiday treats are going to be cupcakes with a holiday twist: a peppermint twist!

My Candy Cane Cupcakes were inspired both by the red and white stripes on a candy cane and the stripey zebra cake I made not too long ago. The cupcakes start with vanilla cake that is flavored with peppermint extract and layered into the cupcake pan in such a way as to create red and white stripes. The technique is identical to the one used in the zebra cake: the batter is divided and food coloring is added to one part, then alternating spoonfuls of batter are put into the muff cup and baked. The heat of the oven does the rest of the work for you and you end up with a beautiful candy cane-like cupcake.

The cupcakes are very moist and keep very well. The peppermint flavor is not aggressive, although it is distinct, and it really complements the look of the cake. If you want to increase the peppermint and get and even more candy cane-like flavor, feel free to do, but I prefer these to be a little bit understated. The cupcakes aren’t very sweet on their own and, though they look really interesting plain, I think they do need frosting to make them into something special.

I opted for green frosting to make these especially Christmasy, but there is no need to color it if you prefer the look of white frosting or simply don’t want to fuss with more food coloring. The frosting is vanilla cream cheese. I didn’t add any mint to the frosting so that there would be a nice balance between it and the cake. Normally, I wouldn’t be that excited by green frosting, but on these particular cupcakes I think it looks amazing. These are sure to be showstoppers at any holiday party.

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 This is the Baking Bites 2008 Holiday Gift Guide for Bakers - about time, too, since there are only a few weeks of shopping left before Christmas and Hanukkah begin! If you like to bake or spend time in the kitchen, you might use these as inspiration for your wish list. And if you have a baker in the family and simply like to munch on some tasty homemade baked goods, it never hurts to butter up the baker with a gift to get him or her into the kitchen and try out a new recipe (I know, because it definitely works on me!).

Kitchen Gear and Accessories
You don’t need fancy equipment to make things happen in the kitchen, but having good equipment that lasts a long time makes things go a lot smoother.

• Good measuring tools are essential. The Adjust-A-Measure set includes adjustable spoons that can be used for any small amount and a measuring cup that works well for both wet and dry ingredients, thanks to the unique way it pushes ingredients out with a plunger (similar to the one Alton Brown uses on Good Eats).
• In the unique equipment department, an Aebleskiver pan is a really fun gift. The light, spherical Danish pancakes are easy to make and a great change of pace from regular pancakes - plus they can easily be filled with jam, fruit or chocolate before serving.
• I almost always recommend a stand mixer as a great gift for a baker who doesn’t have one. They’re very helpful for cutting down on mixing times and make kneading bread dough a lot easier (and less messy). There are plenty of good inexpensive stand mixers, and I would check out the KitchenAid Classic as a solid option under $200 and opt for a heavier duty model if your budget can be stretched. The KitchenAid store is offering free shipping right now, and their outlet has some good deals, too.

Bakeware
There are a few items that bakers need more than other cooks, so these are a few baking-specific ideas.

• Baking pans with silicone handles pretty much eliminate the need for pot holders because the handles never get hot. They’re built right into the pan, minimizing the chance of slippage and providing a solid grip on a hot object. It’s a nice feature if you’re looking for a some new bakeware.
• You can’t go wrong with a good cake cover. It provides plenty of storage space for cakes, muffins, cupcakes and even cookies, as they can be stacked inside. The Wilton Cake Caddy is one of the best I’ve found, with a wide base, roomy top, easy and secure clips for sealing the container, and a handle on top that makes it easy to carry anywhere.
• Vanilla is a key element in sweet baking, so a bottle of good-quality vanilla is a great little gift. Sonoma Syrup Co’s Vanilla Bean Crush has an excellent and is full of specks of real vanilla bean. A jar of vanilla paste - which is thicker than regular extract but can be used the same way - will also have lots of seeds from real vanilla beans and is just as good a choice.

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The apron, which measures 21×25-inches, is made of 100% cotton and is shaped like a cookie gingerbread man - buttons, eyes and all. The straps that tie at the neck and around the waist have a candy cane-like stripe to them. Because of the shape of the apron, when it is tied on, it looks like the child is getting a hug from a giant cookie. The oven mitt is also cotton and follows the same styling. It will depend on the age of your child if you want to let him or her lift the cookie sheet from the oven, but this will keep their hands safe in a kitchen with potentially hot equipment.

This is one set that will make a very cute pre-Christmas gift to get everyone into the holiday/cooking-baking spirit!

Some of the most famous sandwich cookies - like Oreos, for instance - contrast the flavors in their cookies and their fillings, aiming for a balanced cookie. But to deliver the most flavor bite-for-bite, I like to put the same flavors into the sandwiching cookies and the sandwiched filling. These Mocha Sandwich Cookies follow this structure. The sandwiches have chocolate wafers, flavored with some instant coffee, on the top and bottom and have a mocha cream, flavored with some additional cocoa powder, in the center. There is enough of a difference between the flavors of the two components to give the cookie a good contrast, but there is no mistaking the overall chocolate-coffee combination here.

The chocolate cookies are a slice-and-bake type of cookie dough. I find that this is a very easy way to go for sandwich cookies, since you are pretty much guaranteed that all your cookies will be the same size and slicing the cookie rounds off a log of frozen dough couldn’t be easier. The cookies bake up to be crisp, but once they have been filled and sit around for a little while, they take on a softer texture that blends well with the filling. The filling is like a creamy frosting and adds a bit of extra sweetness to the overall sandwich.

These cookies can be stored at room temperature, but they also also taste good when they have been chilled or even frozen. I mention this because the filling can be quite soft/creamy and if you want to stack the cookies up to transport them, you might end up with some of the filling squishing out the sides. Chilling them before packing them up is a good way to go to keep everything intact.

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