Merry Christmas 2010!

Hope you all are enjoying your family, friends, and good food!

I have one last festive cookie to share for the Christmas season.

Cinnamon Candy Cane Cookies

48 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup red-hot candies, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Red food coloring, optional
• 2 tablespoons coarse sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough in half. Mix red-hots and cinnamon into one half; tint with food coloring if desired.
• Shape 1-1/2 teaspoons plain dough into a 4-1/2-in. rope. Shape 1-1/2 teaspoons red dough into a 4-1/2-in. rope. On an ungreased baking sheet, place ropes side by side; press together lightly and twist. Curve top of each cookie down to form handle of cane. Repeat with remaining plain and red dough, placing 2 in. apart on baking sheets. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
• Bake at 375° for 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 4 dozen.

I’m Not a Scrooge

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• 7 days left--check
• Christmas cards sent--check
• Wrapped the last present—check
• Got ideas for a table setup—check
• Finished the holiday grocery list—check
• Finishing bagging up holiday goodies—check
• Found a good fudge recipe to make for my dad—check
• Made my first homemade sugar cookies with royal icing—er, check

Glad to hear most everyone is trying to keep the stress out of the holiday equation this year—I think it’s great that we can acknowledge what pushes our buttons such as mom’s perfectionist flare, pushy mother-in-laws or your obnoxious uncle…all it takes is a few deep breaths and a bite of your grandma’s famous pumpkin pie to calm your Christmas!

So today I decided to continue my baking extravaganza(glad you are enjoying all the cookies!!)and wanted to make sugar cookies from scratch. When I was younger, we’d always buy either the refrigerated Pillsbury logs of premade dough or the Betty Crocker mix in a pouch. So I could never say I have made them from scratch, but since I am a fan of making everything else from scratch, I figured why not? Then came the challenge of deciding on which recipe to make. Ohh the sugar cookies out there—they all looked delicious, but I finally settled with this one.

Annie’s Eat’s Sugar Cookies

Here’s what lured me into these:

• Powdered sugar replaces granulated sugar which makes for a fluffier and melt-in-your mouth result.
• The pairing of almond extract and vanilla extract combine for a perfect sugar cookie taste!!

So I rolled and I cut with numerous holiday cookie cutters..

So far, so good..

Then I baked and let em’ cool..

Lovely!

Then I nibbled a bit..

Outstanding—much better than store bought obviously!

And then, all of the beautiful pictures of sugar cookies with perfect royal icing started calling my name.

I have never worked with royal icing (recipe I used here)but I figured why not hit two birds with one stone.

So again I mixed, measured, and colored…

Couldn’t seem to get the exact consistency, but I figured what the heck, just keep going!

Grabbed the paintbrush and began the decorating.

Did about half and they turned out semi-ok.

I lost patience and figured I’d rather eat some more then mess around—at least they tasted delicious!

Me losing patience in the kitchen?!

Yes, it’s still me don’t worry—but I can officially say I’ve met something that can kick my butt in the kitchen. I can push some Hershey’s kisses in cookies, add a billion things, but to sit and precisely decorate—I think I will have to pull a scrooge folks!!

Still try these cookies plain though, they’re great!

What turns you into a scrooge when it comes to being in the kitchen?

Jeweled, Spiced, and Everything Nice

I can’t believe Christmas in next week!!

I am a tad bit nervous to host my family at my place for the first time—well it’s the first year I’ve had my own place. Plus I am doing the cooking which shall be a blast!! I recently read an article in Body & Soul that talked about being stressed around the holidays and trying to make everything perfect and then we miss out on the true reason we even gather! So when a few cookies burn, or the cheesecake ends up cracking down the middle(fingers crossed mine doesn’t—always use a water bath!)—don’t fret, your family will still stick around, I guarantee it! Do you feel a lot of pressure around the holiday time?

Today’s post is a bit short—I have some TV/blog reading to catch up with!! No homework FOR ONCE!!

If you all decide to try these cookies, you will get endless compliments! An easy dough combined with some candied cherries to give a “jeweled” appearance will stand out at any Christmas bash—these are one of the recipes I make every year. Easy, tasty, and pretty—cheers!

Recipe HERE!

The Search is Over

Before I get to the cookie of the day…

I was listening to the radio this morning as I was getting ready—it was the morning talk show between the two older guys who head the “Morning Show” and the younger gal who is the meteorologist. They always talk about random things, but today I was extra interested—they were discussing how often a person should eat cheeseburgers a week, then it went to how often a person should eat fast food a week, and then it got to the ingredients lists on popular condiments(more on that later). Anyway, I was thinking how it’s kind of funny how people automatically think fast food is filled with heart-clogging saturated fat, but there is actually a lot of healthier options popping up in this day and age. Some great examples here. I highly recommend the book Eat This Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide which I refer to quite often. It breaks down why something is bad instead of just saying, “Eat this, not that.” As for cheeseburgers or any fast food, I always think homemade can be made healthier, but nothing is off limits once and awhile.

As for the condiment ingredients discussion, they named off a bunch, but I was surprised by what was in Heinz 57 Sauce—why is there raisin concentrate and apple concentrate?? Just a reminder for me to really look at ingredients more thoroughly for packaged foods! How concerned are you with the ingredients in your food?

C-o-o-k-i-e Time!!

So guys, I am relieved to finally proclaim the search for the best molasses cookie is O-V-E-R after reading this post and making this recipe! I searched high and low since I started baking/cooking to achieve the fluffy yet chewy, cracked top molasses cookie—thankfully I stumbled upon this recipe which quieted all fears about finding the right molasses cookie!

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Find the recipe/nutritionals/etc. HERE!

After Christmas Cookie

I'm sad to say that the Christmas Cookie Countdown is done for the year, but all good things come to an end, right? Not to say that the cookie posts will stop, because I've still got plenty to post, and lots more cookies I want to bake throughout the year =) Today is a cookie that takes a little work but ends up looking almost as good(if not better) as a store bought cookie, and probably tastes a whole lot better too! Just make sure you follow the directions carefully, so you're hard work will pay off! They are supposed to resemble a Poinsettia flower, which is usually associated with Christmas--but I think you should make these little gems all year long! And the cool thing is, the flavor comes from gelatin mix, so you can use raspberry, cranberry, or strawberry.(I used strawberry) You can also get creative for what you want to use as the inside of the flower; I used gumdrops, but you could do a couple yellow sprinkles or whatever else you have lying around. Good luck with these!

Strawberry Poinsettia Blooms

Makes: 3 dozen cookies

Prep time: 25 min -- Start to Finish: 1 hr 50 min

Ingredients:

3/4 c butter or margarine

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 box(4 serving size)strawberry gelatin

1 egg

2 c all-purpose flour

1 box of gumdrops

Directions:

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, gelatin, and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or with a spoon. On low speed, beat in flour.

Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Heat oven the 375 F. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls about 2 inches apart. With sharp knife, make 6 cuts in top of each ball about three-fourths of the way through to make 6 wedges. Spread wedges apart slightly to form flower petals (cookies will seperate and flatten as they cook).

Bake 9-11 minutes or until set and edges begin to brown. Cool 2-3 minutes, then press a gumdrop into the center of each cookie. Cool completely--about 15 minutes.

Christmas Cookie Countdown [Day 6]

Happy Monday everyone! I know this week is not going to lack on excitement and bustling all around. There's Christmas Eve and Christmas, plus I want to get out and look at lights still and of course cook for our Christmas dinner. We actually get together with our small family on Christmas Eve, then usually hang out around our house on Christmas. So for this year, my grandpa is making his famous spaghetti sauce, which I actually don't think he has a recipe for; everytime he adds more or less of something, but each time it comes out equally good. I am making the dessert, the bread, and one appetizer. I have to make my famous Hawaiin rolls, which everyone requests. They are quite a job, but well worth it. They fill the kitchen with such a sweet smell! Keep your eye out for that recipe coming soon! For the dessert, I got a recipe from Taste of Home for a Paradise Pumpkin pie, which looks stunning. Hopefully the taste will be as equally stunning! And then for the appetizer, I am still deciding, but I am leaning towards stuffed mushrooms. Needless to say, it will be a busy day, but well worth the work!

For today's cookie, I decided to make a fun one! Not only does it scream Christmas, but they took me about 20 minutes all together to make. I'm just going to call these Christmas Chocolate Cheer cookies, because they make me happy to look at them!

Christmas Chocolate Cheers
Ingredients:
1 box Pillsbury Butter Recipe Chocolate
1/3 C oil
2 eggs
1 tub of chocolate frosting
1 bag of Hershey's Christmas Kissables

Directions:
1)Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
2) Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute, then press your thumb into the center of each cookie. After that remove from cookie sheets.
3)Spoon some frosting into a pastry bag or a zip loc and snip the end. Pipe frosting into the indent of the cookie and top with 3 Kissables!! Gourmet in a snap! =)

Christmas Cookie Countdown [Day 5]

I searched many different websites to try and find a perfect molasses cookie to make an appearance on my Christmas platters. After filing through about 25 different ones, I ended up picking two and then narrowed it down to the one on The Pioneer Woman blog website. Hers had a dash of cardamom in them which I couldn't pass up. Also I am one to judge by pictures, and I wanted a fluffy cookie that had a irresistible crackle on top. Her's looked just like the one I was searching for! So I did everything like the recipe instructed, taking extra special care to watch them crack in the oven so I could take them out after a minute, and I ended up with flat cookies. The only thing I can think of that would have affected this is that my baking soda possibly could have been a bit old. (Next time I am opening a new box) Needless to say, these cookies were not a failure, my dad claimed they were the best molasses cookie he ever had tasted. So I will work on getting them to look nice and puffy, but in the meantime these cookies did make their way into my recipe book. Thanks Pioneer Woman!!

Get her recipe here ---> Pioneer Woman's Recipe

My cookies may have turned out flat, but they're not flat on taste!

Crispy on the outside, and chewy in the inside.

Just like a real molasses cookie should be!

Christmas Cookie Countdown [Day 4]

Since I was feeling a bit ambitious today, and because I made a "baking" trip to Wal-Mart yesterday, I decided to share with you two festive cookies today. I also picked up mini holiday cookie cutters and they are so adorable! They are Wilton brand and were $2.76 for 6 of them. I think I have the perfect idea for what I am going to use them for. I also got about 5 different bags of chocolate chips, some assorted nuts, marshmallow creme, candied cherries, and some other goodies I need for the rest of my Christmas Cookie Countdown! We decided that we probably aren't going to be delivering our trays till next Friday(so after Christmas), just because things are kind of hectic around here with me coming home, my great grandma is going to be moving in with my grandma and grandpa, and just the general holiday bustle. So we decided on delivering after, that way people can have treats around the house for their New Year's celebrations, which I thought was clever. Either way, people never can not take a giant plate of cookies, right?! Now I am searching the internet high and low for a really good biscotti recipe to make. If you have one, please share!

So now to the best part--the cookies! These were based upon my need to use up things that I have before I went out and bought more. The first was an experiment. I had a 1/2 bag of perppermint chips and a bag of Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix, so as a result, the Peppermint Oatmeal Crunchies were born! (A little bit of a warning; the smell of these cookies is so great, people will automatically gravitate towards the kitchen!)

Peppermint Oatmeal Crunchies
Makes 3 dozen 2-inch cookies. Prep Time: 7 minutes. Bake Time: 9 minutes
Ingredients:
1 bag Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix+ingredients listed on mix
3/4 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch chips
Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 375 F
2)Mix together cookie mix and ingredients listed on package. Once well mixed, add in the 3/4 cup of peppermint chips.
3)Drop cookie dough by rounded Tbsp onto a ungreased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet covered in tinfoil/parchment paper.
4)Bake each batch for 9 to 11 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Hint of Mint Munchies

Makes 3 dozen 2-inch cookies

**The ingredients above are all you need to make these gourmet tasting cookies**

Ingredients:
1 bag Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Mix

3/4 C Andes Creme de Menthe chips

1)Preheat oven to 375 F
2)Mix together cookie mix and ingredients listed on package. Once well mixed, add in the 3/4 cup of creme de menthe.
3)Drop cookie dough by rounded Tbsp onto a ungreased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet covered in tinfoil/parchment paper.
4)Bake each batch for 9 to 11 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Christmas Cookie Countdown [Day 3]

Today I was rummaging through my baking boxes(which I organized a few days ago finally!)and I found a gift I got quite awhile ago. It was a package of sugar cookie mix with a small snowflake cookie cutter inside a cooking mit. It was from Better Home and Gardens, and it really is a cute gift idea. I have no clue where the person who gave this to me got it, but I wish I knew so I could get some for gifts. But then it got me thinking I could make my own! Pick up a neat little Christmas oven mitt and fill it with a bag of cookie mix and attach a little cookie cutter with a ribbon! What a cheap, but nice homemade gift. If you went to the Dollar Store, you could whip up one of these for under $4! I have a feeling I may be making a few for last minute gifts. Anyway, when I found this mix, I figured I better use it, but I didn't want to make another plain ol' sugar cookie for our Christmas platters. So I decided I was going to create my own cookie with one of my favorite spices in the world! I opened my spice rack and pulled out my beloved cardamom spice!! Something about the holiday season brings to mind the delicious loaves of cardamom bread I would recieve each year from a family friend. The golden loaves would be topped with a dusting of red or green sugar and I would eat a slice each morning for breakfast, savoring each bite. Then to my delight, I got the "secret" recipe one year from her, and realized how much work goes into making a masterpiece like that. I am going to make the bread sometime, but for now I wanted to clone the taste of this scrumptious bread, and make it into a cookie! My creation was a yummy one for sure because everytime I would turn around, a little snowflake cookie would be missing! "Dad did you take one of those cookies?" I would yell into the living room. "Yeah, wow these are really good." And this went on about 5 times over the course of the day. Even my dog got out of his comfy bed and came to see what the tantalizing smell was. I ended up giving him a broken piece and that was a mistake, because he kept drooling for more. Needless to say, I am so happy I could clone this bread into a bite size cookie!

Cassie's Cardamom Snowflake Crisps

Ingredients:

1 bag of sugar cookie mix(the standard size)+ingredients listed on bag

1 tsp. cardamom spice

1/4 C flour for dusting surface

1/2 C powdered sugar+1 tsp cinnamon for dusting

Cookie cutter (I used a small snowflake)

Directions:

1)Mix all ingredients together as stated on sugar cookie pouch and add in the cardamom.

2)Let chill for 1/2 hour, just so it is easier to handle. Meanwhile, preheat oven to the temperature stated on mix. Then roll out to 1/4" thick on floured surface and cut with cookie cutter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet(or one with tinfoil/parchment paper) and pop in the oven for the amount of time stated on the mix.

3)Mix powered sugar and cinnamon together in a cup. Once out of the oven, use a sifter to dust the powdered sugar mixture over the warm cookies. Enjoy with a glass of hot chocolate! =)

Christmas Cookie Countdown [Day 2]

Well, today looks like another full day of baking for me! Not only is it -12 below out, I just found out some bad news on the weather channel last night. More snow is on the way, and supposedly this storm is supposed to be worst then the last. (The last we got about a foot of snow) My California trip at the beginning of January is looking better every day, even though it won't be hot there, it'll be about 70 degrees warmer than here! I will take that any day. But there is something about winter; the hot cocoa, the pretty trees laced with glistening snow, the feeling of being with your family crammed in the house sitting by the warm fireplace--it all makes the season. So even though the cold weather can put a damper on things, I just don't know if my year would feel complete without these things. But that does not mean that moving to a southern state is not in the cards after college. I'm sure after a few more winters of scraping my car, letting it run for a half hour to warm up, and how my skin gets extremely dry in the winter, I will be headed to a place where I will be decorating palm trees for Christmas. =]

So todays cookie is a fun holiday pinwheel cookie that starts with a tube of store bought sugar cookie dough. I actually picked this up about a month ago when they had a really good sale, and figured I could make something out of it eventually. When I came across this recipe, I knew I could put it to use!

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Ingredients:

1 (32 oz/the family size) tube of sugar cookie dough (I used Pillsbury)

1/2 C all purpose flour

6 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided

Red and green food coloring

Directions:

1)Take your granulated sugar and divide it in half.(3 Tbsp and 3 Tbsp) Place a few drops of red food coloring in one pile of sugar, and green in the other. Like this:

2)Divide cookie dough out into four pieces and sprinkle flour onto work space. Roll out one piece at a time into a 12x7 rectangle. On two of the rectangles, you will be spreading the green sugar on, on the remaining two you'll do red. Make sure you get all the way to the edges, and don't be afraid to put a lot, otherwise it might not show up good once they bake!

3)Starting with the shortest side, you are going to roll up the rectangles like a jelly-roll. (You will be a pro if you make homemade cinnamon rolls often) Then roll them in wax paper and refrigerate for about 1 hour to make it easier to handle. This is what you should have so far:

4)Next preheat your oven to 350 F. Then take the logs out and unwrap them. Cut each roll into about fourteen slices and place on a ungreased cookie sheet.(or if you're like me, use tinfoil on your pan for easier cleanup) If it gets a little hard to slice the cookies, spray your knife with cooking spray, or pop em' back in the refrigerator to harden up a bit. Here's what they look like before you put them in the oven:

5)Bake 7-9 minutes, or until edges are slightly brown. Cool 1 minute, and remove from pan to cooling rack. This recipe makes about 50 cookies, give or take a few depending. They are soo pretty once they're done; a perfect addition to my cookie platters!

Kickoff To My Christmas Cookie Countdown[Day 1]

I was so glad to be home from college and start my Christmas cookies! I got right to work this morning and baked for about 5 hours. It was really exciting.(Yes even the cleanup afterward wasn't too bad.) So I headed into the basement to check out all the goodies I had, and I noticed my brand new pizzelle press in the box on the shelf that I got for my last birthday. Perfect! I decided I would make pizzelles for my first Christmas cookie. I remember getting them in a coffee can piled high from an older lady that lives in town. There are many variations of the pizzelle, but the most common is vanilla, anise, or lemon zest, although I do have a recipe for chocolate also. You do need a pizzelle press to make these(which somewhat resembles a waffle iron) and you can get them pretty cheap at places such as Target, Wal-Mart, or if you prefer to buy online, Amazon carries a good selection.(Check out Ebay too!)

A little history on the pizzelle cookie--is a traditional Italian waffle cookie that can either be hard and crisp or soft and chewy depending on your preference. Pizzelles came from the Abruzzo region of south-central Italy. The name comes from the Italian word for "round" and "flat" (pizze)which is also the meaning of the word pizza. They're most common during Easter and Christmas, also at some Italian wedding. Other than eating them just as a cookie, they can be used to sandwich a filling such as cannoli cream or hazlenut spread.(Peanut butter & jelly might be good to try too!)
Here's the recipe I used today. I plan on making some chocolate ones in the near future also.

Anise Pizzelles
Ingredients:
*3 eggs
*3/4 C white sugar
*1/2 C butter,melted
*1 Tbsp. anise extract
* 1 3/4 all purpose flour
*2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:
1)In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until thick. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder, and blend into the batter until smooth.
2)Heat the pizzelle iron, and brush with oil. Drop about one tablespoon of batter onto each circle on the iron. You may need to experiment with the amount of batter and baking time depending on the iron. (Newer models like mine have a automatic timer and a light that turns from green to red) Bake for 20 to 45 seconds, or until steam is no longer coming out of the iron. Carefully remove cookies from the iron with a spatula. Cool completely in single layers before storing in an airtight container. If you want to freeze them, put in layers with tinfoil in between and place in a ziploc storage bag.

Here's what it looks like when placing batter into the pizzelle press.

Here's what emerges after about 45 seconds!

And here's how many cookies you get from one batch.

(Amounts may vary)