I had a baking disaster yesterday. I was looking forward to trying out a new recipe for Caramel Sea Salt Truffles because I thought that salty-chocolate combination would be quite tasty . And they would be the perfect gift for sticking in holiday packages.

The problem is, I am caramel challenged. Try as I might, I have a very low success rate when it comes to making caramel.

I stood over that saucepan for a good 45-50 minutes. The recipe recommended medium-low heat, so it took a while. I stirred and stirred, trying to keep the sugar from scorching. For a fleeting moment I pretended I was filming a Werther’s Original commercial. Finally, temperatures were reached and the completed caramel was poured into a buttered pan to cool.

It looked fine. It smelled delicious. And it was rock hard.  Ohh I was mad! The temperatures on my new candy thermometer were exact. But sometimes that happens in baking. You’ve just got to keep trying, learning the visual and textural cues that tell you when something is ready without the use of instruments. Practice makes perfect.

That fiasco beside, I have two recipes here that are pretty fool-proof. The first is for rolled sugar cookies. What’s nice about this recipe is that the dough only needs to chill for 30 minutes before you roll it out. It sticks very little and is forgiving when scraps are re-rolled, making it ideal for little hands. The cookies are delicately crunchy and perfect with or without a sweet glaze of icing.

I was feeling artsy after I baked them and decided to embellish them in true holiday fashion. I made royal icing and then a thin powdered sugar glaze to use for flooding. This is a really neat way to ice cookies. Royal icing has egg whites (either fresh or powdered), which creates a stiff, hard icing when it dries. By outlining cookies with royal icing, you create a “dam” that stops thinner icing from going over the edges. When the cookies are “flooded” with the thin icing, it creates a little icing pool that dries in a smooth, shiny layer. You can use a toothpick to guide the icing into all the edges.

The second recipe is my newest favorite. It comes from Tessa Kiros’ cookbook Apples for Jam. It is the most beautiful hot chocolate, especially when served in a mug with a big top. As much as I love the recipe for Campton Place Hot Chocolate, this one requires no make-ahead ganache. Chocolate is melted into milk, just like most true and traditional hot chocolate recipes. Meanwhile, heavy cream is sweetened with a touch of powdered sugar and whisked until it is slightly thickened. After the chocolate milk mixture is poured into mugs, the sweetened cream is poured into the chocolate mixture. The thick cream is cool and sweet, floating on top of the hot chocolate. It’s delicious. You can also make a mocha that is better than any coffeeshop’s by substituting 1/2 cup fresh espresso for the milk.  

On to the recipes:

Christmas Vanilla Sugar Cookies (At Home with Magnolia by Allysa Torey)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat well.

Add the dry ingredients, in three parts, and mix until just combined. Shape the dough into three flat disks, wrap each disk tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Working with one disk at a time, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch fluted cutter, cut out the cookies and place on baking sheets lined with waxed paper. Place the baking sheets in the refrigerator and chill for an additional 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease two baking sheets.

Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and arrange on the greased baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you choose to decorate these cookies, I recommend the powdered sugar icing I also use for Cut-Out Shortbread Cookies.

Yield: About 3 dozen cookies

Beautiful Hot Chocolate (Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros)

• 2/3 cup chopped best-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon confectioner’s sugar
• Unsweetened cocoa powder or ground cinnamon, to serve

Heat the chocolate and milk in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon so it doesn’t burn (chocolate burns easily). Bring it just to below boiling point, when bubbles form along the edges and steam rises. Whisk with a wire whisk to make sure it is completely smooth.

Meanwhile, whisk together the cream and confectioner’s sugar until quite thick but not stiff- just dense enough to sit on top of the hot chocolate.

Pour the hot chocolate into cups and gently spoon the cream over the top, dropping it first on the back of a spoon and letting it slide onto the top of the chocolate. Sieve a tiny amount of cocoa powder or cinnamon over the top and serve at once. This can be drunk as it is so that the chocolate streams through the cream, or the cream can be stirred through first.

Yield: 2 servings