Happy New Year!

Well, I can't say I am sorry to see 2012 go - other than the wonderful day my daughter got married, much of 2012 has not made it my best year yet - but here's to 2013 and better times.

I have a lot planned for the New Year - please bear with me as I learn about web pages, html, taking pictures and making this blog better! I have lots and lots of great plans and things to share with you from Event Planning for Weddings, Family Reunions and Class Reunions done on the "cheap" but with class, as well as home renovating (we have a 75 year old home that we are renovating), some genealogy tips and fun crafts and things to do with your kids. Of course there will be more baking as well. I love trying new and old recipes - especially ones from other countries!

So stay tuned! I should have a new blog with some wedding planning ideas later this week. Till then, enjoy your evening, be safe and 

                                 Happy New Year!

Coconut Lime Bars

These cookies are just a breath of heaven - the touch of lime with the coconut tastes amazing, and the chocolate enhances both flavors.

Makes 24 bars
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extraact
1 package sweetened shredded coconnut
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp crisco

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Butter a 9 inch square pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang on two sides

In a large bowl, whisk butter, brown sugar and 1/3 of the granulated sugar
Add 1 of the eggs, whisk until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of flour, salt, nuts and lime zest.
Spread batter in pan and bake until top is set and very lightly golden, about 15-18 minutes

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, 2 eggs and vanilla. Reserve 1/2 cup of the coconut, stir in remaining coconut and 1 cup flour into egg mixture. Gently spread over base,; top with reserved coconut.

Bake until golden and toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 -30 minutes.
Let cool completely on a wire rack. Using parchment overhang, lift bars from pan and cut into 24 bars.

In a double boiler, heat crisco and chocolate chips till smooth. Gently dip top of the bars into chocolate and replace on wire rack to cool.

Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Linzer Torte Cookies

These cookies take a bit of work - sometimes I wait till the last minutes because I am a little lazy, but they are so worth the work!.

Makes 36 cookies
Hands-On Time: 1hr 00m
Total Time: 5hr 00m

Ingredients

• 2/3  cup  almonds
• 1/2  cup  packed light brown sugar
• 2 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the work surface
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1  cup  (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1  large egg
• 1  teaspoon  pure vanilla extract
• 1  tablespoon  confectioners’ sugar
• 1  12-ounce jar raspberry jam 

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes; let cool.

2. In a food processor, process the almonds and ¼ cup of the brown sugar until the almonds are finely ground.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

4. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and the remaining ¼ cup brown sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the almond mixture, then the flour mixture, mixing until just combined (do not overmix).

5. Divide the dough in half, shape into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.

6. Heat oven to 350° F. On a lightly-floured surface, roll out each piece of dough to a ⅛-inch thickness. Using a 2- to 2 ½-inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Using a ¾- to 1-inch round cookie cutter, cut out the centers from half of the cookies. Re-roll and cut the scraps as necessary.

7. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

White Chocolate Rocky Road

This is a nice change from the typical chocolate barks we see at Christmas

Ingredients
14 oz. white chocolate chips
2 oz pistachios, lightly toasted
2 oz. macadamia nuts
6 oz. multi colored marshmallows
3 oz. fruit flavored multi colored jelly candies - similar to "chuckles", not the spice kind
3 oz dried cranberries

Directions
1. Line the base and sides of an 8x8 pan with wax paper and set aside
2. Roughly chop macadamia nuts and jellied candies and place in glass or stainless steel bowl
3. Add toasted pistachios and cranberries and mix gently
4. Place white chocolate chips into microwave safe bowl. Microwave for approx 30 seconds and stir, continue microwaving in 20 second increments, being careful not to burn the chocolate, stirring each time. When there are only a few chips remaining, remove from microwave and stir one last time till all is melted
5. Pour the melted chocolate over the fruit, nut and candy mixture and mix well to make sure all pieces are thoroughly covered in chocolate.
6. Pour into prepared pan and level with a spatula
7. Refrigerate for a few hours 9preferably overnight), then remove from fridge, place on a cutting board (the paper will come right off the candy) and cut into small squares.

These will keep very well for two weeks, then will soften slightly if kept at room temperature.

Chocolate Cherry Cordial Cookies

This is a new recipe I have come up with using M&Ms Cherry Cordial.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes

makes about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cherry candy flavoring
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups sifted flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter milk or sour milk*
• 6 oz M&M's Cherry Cordial Candy 

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Blend in vanilla, cherry flavoring and egg.
3.  In separate bowl mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Alternately add flour mix and buttermilk (or sour milk) to creamed mixture
4. Drop by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes. Remove from oven  and let cool a minute or two on sheet, then remove them to wire rack to cool completely.

**to sour milk, use 1 tsp. white vinegar plus milk to equal 1/3 cup

 

Nutritional Information

Chocolate Cherry Cordial Cookies

Servings Per Recipe: 24
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 157

• Total Fat: 7.6 g
• Saturated Fat: 4.6 g
• Trans Fat: 0.2 g
• Cholesterol: 22.7 mg
• Sodium: 108.3 mg
• Total Carbs: 20.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.3 g
• Sugars: 13 g
• Protein: 2.4 g

 

Peppermint Bark

I  can't even tell you how many people commented on this last year when I gave out my gift baskets and asked if I would be making again this year. I actually got the idea last year after a shopping trip to Michaels. I saw several kits for making peppermint bark inside snow flakes, candy canes etc - and they were pricey. I thought, there really has to be a cheaper way of doing this -and there is! Thanks again Judith Hannemann for the photo.

Peppermint Bark

Ingredients
Wiltons Dark Chocolate Candy Melts
Wiltons Peppermint Burst Candy Melts
Crushed Candy Cane - this comes in a bag, but you could also use candy canes you crush yourself - 5 or 6 should do it.

Heat the chocolate melts in your microwave in a microwavable bowl on medium for about 30 seconds, stir and continue to heat in 30 second intervals, with stirring, until almost melted. Remove and stir until all is melted. Be careful you don't allow this to burn. If you are not sure how hot your microwave gets, then do 20 seconds each time - or adjust to what works best for your microwave. All microwaves are not the same!

Pout the melted chocolate into a 15x12 jelly roll pan and spread to the edges. While it is cooling, microwave the peppermint melts in the same manner as the chocolates. Making sure the first layer is at least set, pour the peppermint layer onto it and cover it completely.

Sprinkle the crushed candy canes across the top and set aside to cool and set.

When completely cooled, break apart for medium pieces of bark.

That's it - SO simple and SO tasty!

IF you want to be really clever, you can get a set of Christmas cookie cutters and place them over wax paper.. Take the melted chocolate and  put into a decorating bag and pipe into the molds. follow it with the peppermint and crushed candy canes.

Tip - when you are using decorating bags, instead of going crazy trying to handle the bag and getting the melted chocolate into it by yourself, take a glass from your cupboard and put the bag over it

then pour your melted chocolate in, take off cup and snip the bag!

Snickerdoodles!

Everyone loves Snickerdoodles! They are probably one of the easiest cookies to bake and among the tastiest. Kids especially love the cinnamon sugar flavor.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

2 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup butter, room temperature (you can use unsalted, but I don't)

1 1/2 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping ~

3 Tablespoons white granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon fragrant Cinnamon (I use Vietnamese)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F)

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl, set aside.

With a handheld or standing mixer, beat the butter until creamy.

Add the 1 1/2 cups sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.

Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl.

Roll the dough, by hand, into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar. Flatten the balls into 1/2-inch thick disks, spacing them evenly on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake until light brown, but still moist in the center, about 12 minutes. Remove

from pan and place on rack to cool.

Two tone Cinnamon Cookies

It is kind of hard for me to think about cookies today after the horrific events yesterday in Newtown, CT. My heart goes out to all the families affected and I pray God will heal their spirits.   I actually came across a beautiful video by Ryan Kelly of Celtic Thunder that I feel is perfect for today. I hope it lends some comfort to all of us who have loved ones we are missing this Christmas season  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0AfdSgK9Mc&feature=share&list=PL8D2FA76ECFFA97EA

On a lighter note, my husband and I went to see "The Hobbit" yesterday. If you are a fan of Lord of the Rings, do yourself a favor and go see it. Rarely do I think a movie outshines a book, but this one really does. The things you imagined in your head as you read it are fully fleshed out in this movie. It has made all the characters even more endearing and leaves you wanting more. At close to 3 hours, it should feel like you have been there too long, but we were shocked to realize how long we had been in the theater. It just flies by.

 Onward to the cookie making. Today I am going to share some 2 Tone cookies with you - As you can see from the picture below, I wasn't super successful in the decorating portion. The original recipe said to do the white chocolate frosting first on all of them, then the cinnamon. Well, by the time I started the cinnamon, most of the white chocolate had already dried and I was unable to make the marbling. My recipe will reflect the changes needed. Thanks to Judith Hannemann http://www.bakeatmidnite.com/ for the photography.

Makes: 14 servings Yield: about 14 cookies

Prep 35 mins Chill 1 hr Bake 375°F 8 mins  per batch

Two-Tone Cinnamon Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 3 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 recipe Cinnamon Glaze (see recipe below)
• 1 recipe White Glaze (see recipe below)
• Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine butter and cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill about 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough until 1/4 inch thick. Using a fluted round 3-1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out dough. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool.

4. Fill a small resealable plastic bag with Cinnamon Glaze; snip off one small corner. Set aside. Spoon White Glaze over tops of cookies, spreading almost to the edges. Do only a few cookies at a time, then adding cinnamon glaze over top and running your knife thru it lightly to marble the two colors. This will ensure all  your cookies will look uniform in their marbling. Place cookies on a wire rack set over waxed paper.  Let stand until glazes are set. Makes about 14 cookies.

• Place cookies in a single layer in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Cinnamon Glaze

Ingredients

• 1 cup cinnamon-flavor pieces, bittersweet chocolate pieces, or semisweet chocolate pieces
• 2 teaspoons shortening

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine cinnamon-flavor pieces and shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted.

White Glaze

Ingredients

• 1 cup white baking pieces
• 2 tablespoons shortening

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine white baking pieces and shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted.

Peanut Butter Munchies

Here is a nice little cookie -rich chocolate outside and creamy peanut butter fondant inside. Once again thanks to Judith Hannemann for photo

Makes: 32 servings Yield: 32 cookies

Prep 40 mins Bake 350°F 8 mins  per batc

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat together butter, the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the 1/4 cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Beat in as much of the dry ingredients as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining dry ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon. Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1-1/4 inches in diameter. Set aside.
3. For peanut butter filling, in a medium mixing bowl combine powdered sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth. Shape mixture into 32 (3/4-inch) balls.
4. On a work surface, slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter ball. Shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chocolate dough and peanut butter filling balls.
5. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
6. Bake cookies in preheated oven for 8 minutes or until they are just set and surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. Makes 32 cookies.

• Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition Facts

Choco Peanut Butter

Servings Per Recipe 24

---

Amount Per Serving

---

Calories 171

Calories from Fat 73

---

• % Daily Value
• Total Fat 8.5 g
  13%
•     Saturated Fat 3.5 g
  18%
•     Trans Fat 0.2 g
• Cholesterol 18.1 mg
  6%
• Sodium 67 mg
  3%
• Total Carbs 22.2 g
  7%
•     Dietary Fiber 1.3 g
  5%
•     Sugars 14.2 g
• Protein 3.5 g

Chocolate Blooms with Raspberry Ganache

I am so happy to share these with you  - they were easy to make and taste marvelous dahling, simply mahvelous! Thanks again to Judith Hannemann for the photo

The Recipe

Yield: about 56 cookies

Prep 40 mins 

Chill 15 mins 

Bake 350°F 8 mins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces
• 3/4 cup finely chopped almonds (optional)
• Raspberry Ganache
• Fresh small raspberries (optional)

Raspberry Ganache Ingredients

• 6 ounces chopped (70 percent cocoa) dark chocolate
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam (optional)
• 1 tablespoon raspberry liqueur (optional)

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat shortening and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla; beat until combined.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and cocoa powder. Beat as much of the flour mixture into the butter mixture as you can with mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture. Stir in chocolate pieces. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. If desired, roll balls in chopped almonds. Place balls 1-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb into the center of each ball to make an indent.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set. Immediately use the rounded side of a 1-teaspoon measure to press down the center of each cookie. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. Spoon Raspberry Ganache into center of each cookie. Let stand 1-1/2 to 2 hours or chill about 15 minutes or until set. If desired, garnish each cookie with a fresh raspberry

For Raspberry Ganache:

1. In a small microwave-safe bowl combine chopped (70 percent cocoa) dark chocolate, whipping cream, and jam, if desired. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 1 minute. Stir until melted. If desired, add 1 tablespoon raspberry liqueur. Stir until smooth. Let stand until slightly thickened (about 15 minutes). Makes 1 cup.

 Make sure you let the ganache set before you serve or store.•    Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw cookies, if frozen, before serving. You can store filled cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days

 

Disaster!

Well - I had a disaster in the kitchen yesterday while trying out a cookie i had found on pinterest - a mint meltaway - it looked and smelled so good while i was making although i was surprised to see 5 teaspoons of flavorings -

 i should have followed my gut and reduced it to 1 or 2 since there were 2 flavors. Anyway, I was happily arranging the next cookie sheet of mint meltaways to go into the oven when i noticed smoke coming out of one of the burners - I opened the oven and a ton of smoke came out

- i quickly rushed to take out the cookie sheets and to shut the door to my hallway so my fire alarm wouldn't go off, then ran to close my french doors into the living room, hoping to keep the roiling smoke into just the kitchen a dining room - threw open the vent over the stove, opened the mudroom door to the outside - ugh, it was awful! This is how the cookies looked

All this is to say, that I will never recommend a recipe without trying it first! I certainly don't want any of you to have this kind of problem with a recipe you see here. The same will go for crafts and DIY things I will post after Christmas - the good, the bad, the delight, the disaster!

Now non to our regularly scheduled program in the next blog - you get a twofer today!

This cookie is from heaven!!!

When I came across this cookie I knew I had to make it - the melding of chocolate, caramel and hazelnut just had me doing the food dance!!! They are a little expensive to make with the hazelnuts, but well worth it. This will become a yearly cookie for me! Thanks as always to Judith Hannemann for the photo. This one I am entering into the Holiday Favorites from the Shine Supper Club http://shine.yahoo.com/supper-club/

 Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Thumbprints

 Yield: about 36 cookies

Prep 40 mins Chill 1 hr Bake 350°F 10 mins  per batch

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup finely chopped hazelnuts (filberts)
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 14 vanilla caramels, unwrapped
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1 teaspoon shortening
• Toasted whole hazelnuts (about 36)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine flour and cocoa powder; set aside. In a medium bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and salt; beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolk, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour mixture. Cover; chill for 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two cookie sheets; set aside. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place the 1 cup hazelnuts on a sheet of waxed paper. Dip balls in egg white and roll in hazelnuts. Place 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are firm.

3. Meanwhile, for filling, in a small saucepan cook caramels and cream over low heat until caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth, stirring frequently.

4. Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, use the rounded side of a 1-teaspoon measuring spoon to press down the center of each cookie. Transfer to wire racks; cool. Spoon about 1 teaspoon filling into the center of each cookie.

5. In a small microwave-safe bowl combine chocolate pieces and shortening. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 30 to 45 seconds or until softened; stir until smooth. Place a small mound of chocolate on top of each cookie. Top with a whole hazelnut. Let stand until chocolate is set.

Nutritional Information

Chocolate, Hazelnut and Caramel Thumbprints

Servings Per Recipe: 18
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 208

• Total Fat: 11.3 g
•     Saturated Fat: 4.8 g
•     Trans Fat: 0.2 g
• Cholesterol: 24.7 mg
• Sodium: 129.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 24.7 g
•     Dietary Fiber: 1.4 g
•     Sugars: 16.5 g
• Protein: 3.2 g

Tomorrow, I will be adding Chocolate Almond Thumbprint with Raspberry Ganache!

Double Chocolate Orange Cookies

I was daydreaming my way through Walmart a few weeks ago, thinking about cookies and what to make, and i came across this area with all kinds of M&M's - some I had seen before, some were new to me  - what caught my eye were orange and cherry cordial. I thought, oh I could make something really nice with those, so I bought them. The first time I tried this recipe, I went a little overboard with the chocolate chunks and M&M's, so I made a second batch bringing down the amount and they turned out perfect. Here is the recipe. Thanks again to Judith Hannemann for the photo

Ingredients

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla flavoring
• 1/2 tsp orange extract
• 4 ounces semi sweet chocolate chunks
• 3/4 cup orange flavored M&M's 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Heat the semi sweet chocolate chips and butter in a microwave safe bowl in 20 second increments, stirring between each until almost melted - do not overheat or it will burn. When it is almost all melted take it out and stir till all of it is melted in. In small bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. 2.In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks. 3.  Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Prep Time 20 minutes Total Time 45 minutes Yield Makes 2 dozen Nutritional Information Double Chocolate Orange Cookies Servings Per Recipe: 12 Amount Per Serving Calories: 339 Total Fat: 16.9 g Saturated Fat: 9.6 g Trans Fat: 0.2 g Cholesterol: 42.5 mg Sodium: 150.3 mg Total Carbs: 46.2 g Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g Sugars: 34.1 g Protein: 3.7 g

Christmas Cookies Day 2 - Orange Macademia Cookies

Orange Macadamia Nut Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg
2 tsp. orange extract
7 ounces toasted and chopped macadamia nuts
1 tsp. grated orange peel 

 Preheat oven to 300 degrees 

1.In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside

2. Blend brown sugar, butter and cream cheese in a large bowl to form a smooth paste.

3. Add Macadamia nuts and orange extract and blend at low speed until combined. Add flour mixture.  Do not over-mix

4. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 18- 20 minutes, transfer to wire rack to cool.  Makes about 3 dozen.

Tomorrow, I will introduce you to the cookie mashup that I put together - Chocolate Orange 

Christmas Baking

Pfefferneuse Cookies

     

My friend Judy –the midnight baker – has been encouraging me to start a blog for months now. She makes the best main dishes around and is a pretty handy baker of sweets as well. I finally decided its time to start, because I am going into Christmas cookie baking mode. Each year I try to find the most interesting cookies to make up baskets for the people we care about. We have some amazing friends. My husband and I struggle with disabilities – he is in a wheelchair due to a combination of work injuries and post polio syndrome, and I have a lot of difficulty standing or walking due to my knees.

     Anyway, our neighbors and friends help us out by mowing our lawn all summer, raking and bagging our leaves in fall and snow-blowing and shoveling us out in winter. Judy often helps out when we have bad days by bringing dinner over, and when we go away, she has a warm meal waiting for us upon our return. I don’t think you find too many friends like this these days! Even our 76 year old neighbor buys us subs when the church in town has a fund raiser –all we are able to do for her is take out her garbage and pick up or mail things; as I said amazing friends who all help each other when they can.  I used to have dreams of opening my own store with handmade soaps, scrubs and bath bombes, but after taking a business course realized I was too out of the way for it to fly. Then I became allergic to the scents, and the dream went down the drain. I still like to make soap occasionally, so one day in the future I will probably blog about that.

      I am a dreamer by nature – have you ever seen the movie with Michael Keaton and Henry Winkler about two guys who work in a morgue? It's called Night Shift. Michael Keaton is hysterical in it – he calls himself an idea man and keeps a little cassette recorder with him at all times to record his ideas when they pop into his head – I am a little like that – only I get my ideas when I am supposed to be sleeping and end up with insomnia trying to figure out if I can do these things or not!

     Anyway, now that you know a little about me, on with the cookies! A big thank you, by the way, to Judith Hannemann, the Midnight Baker http://www.bakeatmidnite.com/p/about-us.html for taking this beautiful photo.

Pfefferneuse

So I’m thinking the best cookie to make first for Christmas is Pfefferneuse.; my great grandmother and grandmother used to make this every Christmas and I remember taking a few of them with their powdery sugar and just delighting in them. The ones you buy in the store are a sad replacement.  The big secret if you are a novice to this is that Pfefferneuse needs a few weeks to become soft, so if you are thinking of making them around the 20^th of December, you are in for a big disappointment, because they will be hard as a rock and not delectable at all!

I have a big problem with letting things grab my attention and more than once have made a dish only to find after it’s in the oven for a bit, that I forgot an important ingredient – does that happen to you? So this year I have been keeping a pencil with my recipes and marking off the ingredients as I add them. Hopefully that will keep me from frustrating mistakes. I am not a novice baker, but I am a scattered person at best.

Pefferneuse needs quite a bit of time in the fridge before you bake it, so making it in the evening and baking it next day is really handy. My plan is to make several refrigerator friendly recipes, leave them overnight and bake them the next day while I am making my next batches of cookies. In theory, this should work….time will tell. Make sure you take out all the things that need to soften like butter and cream cheese well before you start your baking spree.

Honey and molasses make one part of the flavor and a bunch of ground spices make up the other. If you find other recipes for this on the web, make sure they have cardamom in them. Cardamom is used in a lot of German and Scandinavian cooking and has a very distinct flavor. The tough thing is finding a store that sells it. I went to my local price chopper, shop rite and Wal-Mart. All I found was one of those 3-4 ounce bottles for over $11.00. Really? Trust me, unless you are making Scandinavian breads every other day, you are never going to use this up! Then I thought about our local health food store and decided to try that – sure enough, they had some – Cardamon is $42 a pound, so I was grateful to only have to put a teaspoon in my little baggie – cost 83 cents – much better than buying that bottle. 

In a non- reactive pot, combine the molasses, honey and butter stir over low heat until the butter has melted.

When you melt the butter in the molasses and honey, make sure it doesn’t come to a boil, it will taste burned!

The mixture will become thin, just be patient.

 Remove from heat, transfer it to a large bowl, and let it cool until it is lukewarm.

While it is cooling, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Once the honey mixture is lukewarm, beat in beaten egg and anise extract. Mix well, then gradually stir in dry ingredients to make a stiff dough. 

Make a log and wrap it in saran wrap and leave in fridge at least 5 hours, or as i did, overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line baking sheets.

Let the dough warm up just a little, and dust your hands with flour. Then make balls about 1 inch in diameter and place on baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 11-14 minutes, cool thoroughly and roll in confectioner's sugar.

Store in an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper. Like fruitcake, these cookies get better and softer as they age. If desired, before serving, they may be rolled once again in confectioner's sugar - I always liked them double rolled -part of the fun as a kind, was liking off the sugar!!!

Recipe for Pfefferneuse

1/4 cup molasses

1 1/4 cups honey

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in pieces

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 TBSP unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cardamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Scant 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

pinch of salt

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1/4 tsp. pure anise extract

confectioner's sugar for dusting 

In a non- reactive pot, combine the molasses, honey and butter stir over low heat until the butter has melted.

When you melt the butter in the molasses and honey, make sure it doesn’t come to a boil, it will taste burned!

The mixture will become thin, just be patient.

 Remove from heat, transfer it to a large bowl, and let it cool until it is lukewarm.

While it is cooling, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Once the honey mixture is lukewarm, beat in beaten egg and anise extract. Mix well, then gradually stir in dry ingredients to make a stiff dough

Make a log and wrap it in saran wrap and leave in fridge at least 5 hours, or as i did, overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line baking sheets.

Let the dough warm up just a little, and dust your hands with flour. Then make balls about 1 inch in diameter and place on baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 11-14 minutes, cool thoroughly and roll in confectioner's sugar.

Store in an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper. Like fruitcake, these cookies get better and softer as they age. If desired, before serving, they may be rolled once again in confectioner's sugar