This is my rendition of a recipe from my favorite celebrity chef--Pati Jinich. If you are not familiar with her, check out her website pronto! You'll thank me.
When I started my Christmas baking, I was looking for a new cookie to add to my repertoire. I tweeted Pati and asked her, "What's your all time favorite holiday cookie?" Pati, always gracious and generous in her correspondence with fans, replied swiftly, "Piggy Cookies". Without hesitation I gathered the ingredients and got to work. I didn't have a piggy cookie cutter, so I used what I had on hand, hence my Estrellas y Corazones.
Here's the hallmark of a great recipe--when the chef describes the end product and it lives up to that description. And ALL of Pati's recipes do. Warning: these cookies are addictive, and I managed to eat at least half of them all by myself.
This cookie appeals to me because, as Pati describes in her recipe notes, they are made like a cookie, but resemble a sweet roll. In essence, not too sweet and the perfect breakfast cookie with a cup of coffee.
These cookies now hold a permanent space in my holiday cookie archives.