Meringue Cookies

Here is Anne's "as guilt-free as holiday treats can be" 8th day recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups sliced blanched almonds
• 4 large egg whites
• Pinch kosher salt
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• Pinch ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Toast the almonds on a baking sheet in the oven until they are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool and then coarsely chop, either by hand or in a food processor.

Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and add the salt. On the second highest speed of the mixer, beat the egg whites until they come to medium peaks. With the mixer running, gently sprinkle in the sugar and cinnamon. Beat until stiff peaks form, then remove the bowl from the mixer. Gently fold in the chopped almonds in 3 additions.

Drop the batter in 1-inch balls, onto 2 parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake until light brown all over, firm to the touch, and they lift cleanly off the baking sheet, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheets. These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

Cook's Note: Try to avoid baking these cookies on a wet and humid day as the crisp exterior of the cookie will slowly melt into something soft and sticky.

Cherry White Chocolate Almond Sandwich Cookies

This 7th day cookies recipe comes from Jeff Mauro. 

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (12 tablespoons)
• 1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar (7 ounces)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chunks or chips
• 1/2 cup dried sour cherries

Filling:

• 3/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (4 tablespoons)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt

Directions

For the cookies: Heat the oven to 325 degrees F with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Mix flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl until combined. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until smooth and incorporated. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Then add the flour mixture, white chocolate and sour cherries. Mix until incorporated.

For large cookies, scoop out 1/4 cup of dough, roll in a ball, and using fingertips, pull apart into two equal halves. Rotate 90 degrees and lightly smoosh back together, with the rough edges on top. Place formed dough balls on one of the prepared baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. For smaller cookies, follow the same technique using 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Bake until the edges are slightly golden and middles are still soft but not wet, 20 to 23 minutes for large cookies, 15 to 17 minutes for smaller cookies. Let the cookies cool for 20 to 30 minutes on the baking sheets.

For the filling: While the cookies are cooling, beat the almond butter, sugar, butter and salt with a handheld mixer until whipped and light, about 2 minutes. Chill the filling until ready to assemble the cookies.

To assemble the cookies: Schmear 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling for the large cookies and 1 to 2 tablespoons for the smaller cookies onto the bottom side of the cookie. Place another cookie bottom-side down onto the filling. Repeat with the remaining cookies, cut in half and serve.

Holiday Biscotti

On the 6th day of Christmas Ms. Giada sent to me:

Holiday Biscotti

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• 12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped
• Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.
Form the dough into a 13-inch-long, 3-inch-wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.
Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.
As you dip the biscotti into the melted chocolate, you can also dip them into crushed pistachios if you like.
The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in re-sealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

Spiced Gingerbread Piggies

The 12 Days of Cookies is fun, it reminds me of my Cookie Swap party days.  I did one every year! I guess this is the new age kind of swap, you get the recipe but the down side is you don't get any samples to take home!
and on the 5th day.....Pat and Gina's Spiced Gingerbread Piggies!  How fun is that????

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup mild molasses
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Royal Icing, recipe follows
• Special equipment: 5-inch-long and 3-inch-wide copper piggy cookie cutter

Directions

Combine butter, sugar, and molasses in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in increments, and continue to beat until thoroughly mixed together.

Pour the dough out onto the countertop and divide into 3 pieces. Press each piece into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 1 to 2 hours, or up to 3 days.

Adjust the racks to the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line sheet trays with parchment paper.

Spread 2 large pieces of parchment paper out and very lightly flour them. Place a disk of dough between the parchment sheets and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with the remaining disks of dough. Rework all the scraps into balls and re-chill before reusing. Repeat with all the dough.

Cut out cookies and place on the parchment-lined sheet trays with an offset spatula, leaving 1 inch between each cookie. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the sheet trays for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling to room temperature before decorating the cookies with Royal Icing.

Royal Icing:

• 2 egg whites
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, whisked to remove lumps
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Food coloring, optional

Add the egg whites, sugar and lemon juice to a large bowl. Beat, using a hand mixer, until glossy and stiff, 5 to 6 minutes. Add food coloring, if using, and mix well. Place in icing bags with fine tips to decorate cookies.

Cranberry Margaritas

This pretty cocktail recipe comes from Rebecca Rather. To make the margaritas, fill a cocktail shaker with ice; combine the cranberry juice, tequila, Triple Sec and lime juice and,shake well (or as she puts it, shake like hell). Then strain the margarita mixture into some glasses full of ice.

If you’re feeling festive, you can garnish the drink with thinly sliced limes, fresh cranberries or a small ornament threaded with a skewer. To make the sugar rim, just run a wedge of lime around the edge of your glass, and dip it into a saucer of sugar.

Adapted from Rebecca Rather’s “The Pastry Queen Christmas”
Yield: 4 servings

• Wedge of lime
• Sugar
• Ice cubes for shaking and serving
• 1/2 cup cranberry juice or cranberry juice cocktail
• 1/2 cup silver or other 100% agave tequila
• 1/4 cup orange liqueur (Grand Marnier, Triple Sec or Citronage)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• Garnishes: thinly sliced limes or fresh cranberries

1. Run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass, and dip the edge in sugar to coat. Fill glasses with ice. Set aside.
2. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine all the ingredients, and shake like hell.
3. Strain into ice-filled glasses and serve.

Mint Cookies

OK so I was a little behind on posting the Food Network Stars 12 Days of Cookies, it was a busy week!  So I have posted 4 today, all caught up. Here is Melissa's recipe for Mint Sandwich Cookies:

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Colored sugars, such as green, blue, red, silver and white

Mint Filling:

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 or 2 drops mint extract
• 1 or 2 drops red or green food coloring
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting, optional

Directions

For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until smooth using a handheld mixer in a medium bowl. Add the flour slowly, mixing on low, until incorporated. Scoop the dough into a ball using your hands and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the dough has firmed slightly, about 30 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll the dough about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out as many rounds as possible with a small cookie cutter and transfer to ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie. Re-roll the dough scraps and repeat until all the dough is used. Use a smaller cutter, about 3/4-inch, or cut freehand with a small sharp knife to punch a small window out of half of the cookies. Place the cutouts on the baking sheets and sprinkle all the cookies and cutouts with the colored sugars.

Bake until golden around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

For the filling: Place the sugar, butter, mint extract, food coloring and 1/2 teaspoon of water in a medium bowl and beat on medium speed until well combined and fluffy. Spread a thin layer of mint filling on the cookies without the windows and place the wafers with the windows on top. Sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar, if using, and serve the sandwich cookies with the cutout cookies on the side.

Paula's Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

Paula's recipe, YUM (can't ya just here her saying that as she takes a big ole bite? Love her):

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Brown Butter Icing, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 1 or more cookie sheets.

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add egg and beat until mixture is light in color.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in oatmeal, raisins, walnuts, and vanilla, blending well. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Brown Butter Icing.

Brown Butter Icing:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan heat butter over medium heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in sifted powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in enough water (2 to 3 tablespoons) to make an icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle on warm cookies.

Gingersnaps

Alton Brown's Gingersnaps:

Ingredients

• 9 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 7 ounces dark brown sugar
• 5 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 ounces molasses, by weight
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
• 4 ounces finely chopped candied ginger
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, clove and salt.

Place the brown sugar and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the molasses, egg and fresh ginger and beat on medium for 1 minute. Add the crystallized ginger and using a rubber spatula, stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well combined.

With a 2-teaspoon-sized scoop, drop the dough onto a parchment-lined half sheet pan approximately 2 inches apart. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 12 minutes for slightly chewy cookies or 15 minutes for more crisp cookies. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired, and allow the cookies to stay on the sheet pan for 30 seconds before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all of the dough. Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days. If desired, you may scoop and freeze the cookie dough on a sheet pan and once frozen, place in a resealable bag to store. Bake directly from the freezer as above.

Shortbread Cookies

Here is Ina Garten's recipe for shortbread cookies:

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk, about 1-inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes, until firm but still pliable.

Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick on a lightly floured surface and cut with a 3-by-1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. If there are still bits of unmelted chocolate after about 5 minutes, return to the microwave in 5-second intervals, stirring, until completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.

Drizzle or dip 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it. Place the cookie back on the parchment-lined baking sheet and let stand at room temperature until the chocolate has firmed up, about 20 minutes.

Cook's Note: If a 3-by-1-inch cookie cutter is not available, you can cut the shortbread into rectangles using a fluted pastry wheel for decorative edges or simple cut with a butter knife.

Gifts in a Jar

Apparently today's obsession is JARS!  First post was DRINKS in a jar and now....GIFTS in a jar! And they are not all food gifts.  Here is the link to some smart ideas:  http://texascottage.blogspot.com/2011/11/10-christmas-gifts-in-jar.html.

Holiday Cheer

This is a clever way to serve up a little holiday cheer!  All you need is some mason jars, red and white ribbon, red and white straws and your favorite festive beverage (shown here with eggnog).  'Tis the season!

Quick and Easy Christmas Party Appetizers

Yesterday Mike and I went to the "Christmas Capitol of Texas", aka Grapevine.  I love to stroll Main Street and look in all the shops, especially this time of year.  It is all about Christmas!  I found an abundance of treasures in each store that we went into.  I went in one of my favorite places to get a hard to find brand of candle (will post later) and I scored (actually Mike found it while I was sniffing Christmas candles) this easy way to make a cheese ball for a Christmas party. Everything is in the box except the cream cheese, butter and the crackers or bread that you would like to serve with it!  It is yummy!

Here is another quick and easy one from Kraft, Beer-Cheese Dip.

What You Need

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup  KRAFT Ranch Dressing

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup  beer

2 green onions, chopped

Make It

BEAT cream cheese and dressing in medium bowl with mixer until well blended.
STIR in remaining ingredients.
REFRIGERATE several hours or I suggest chilling overnight

Serve with Wheat Thins, Ritz Crackers, and cut-up veggies.

Brunch With Santa at Jorge's

Jorge's is a great place to eat.  This sounds like fun and it's for a good cause.  I'm in!

Rustic Snowflakes

My daughter-in-law Jennifer found this great tutorial for making rustic snowflakes using twigs, pine needles, buttons, buttons stickers, berries, twine, felt and of course a hot glue gun.  She is going to give it a try and I can't wait to post pics of her snowflakes.  In the mean time here is the link and a picture from the Little Things Bring Smiles blog http://www.littlethingsbringsmiles.com/2010/12/rustic-snowflake-tutorial.html.  This looks like fun and what a great gift for friends and teachers (and mother-in-laws.....just sayin').  I love you Jen!  Thanks for the link!

Christmas Wreath

This is so pretty and it sounds fairly easy to make! 

You will need different size Christmas ornaments, Styrofoam wreath, a glue gun, and a pretty bow.  That's it!

Step 1: Take all the "hanger" pieces off the ornaments. Glue the biggest ornaments on first in an even pattern around the Styrofoam wreath. 
Step 2: Glue the next size down ornaments on.
Step 3: It's starting to fill in now. Continue gluing on the smaller ornaments.
Step 4: Fill in all the extra space with the smallest ornaments you have. Not all the ornament are connected to the wreath, glue them on to one another. Fill in anywhere you can still see the wreath.
Step 5:  Glue on that pretty bow!

I think this would be beautiful hanging from a mirror!

Pizza!

I make pizza about once a week, I usually use Boboli or some other ready made pizza crust.  I wanted to make pizza tonight but did not have a crust and did not want to go to the grocery store so I decided to make my own crust.  It turned out great, I don't know if I will ever do it any other way now.  Here is the crust recipe:

2 cups all purpose flour                  

1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp cooking oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pizza pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray . Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add liquids and stir to incorporate dry ingredients. Knead dough by hand 6-8 times on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough thinly. Place rolled dough onto prepared pizza pan, add favorite sauce and toppings. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, depending on crust thickness

I brushed the crust with olive oil, added pizza sauce, 2 cloves garlic,minced, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil.  I served it with fresh grated parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper. The Cupcake Cab complimented the meal nicely!

A Thanksgiving Must Have!

Here is one of my favorite desserts to serve on Thanksgiving Day.  It is rich and decadent and everything that it's name says it is......Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. YUM!!

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomato Corn Muffins

This Italian twist on the corn muffin looks and taste yummy.  The colors make you think of the holidays and they make you all warm inside!

Ingredients

• 2 (8 1/2-ounce) packages corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
• 2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes (from an 8-ounce jar)
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 2 muffin tins.

In a large bowl combine the muffin mix, corn, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir to combine. In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk sour cream, and eggs until well blended. Add the buttermilk mixture to the muffin mix. Stir to combine. Spoon the mix into the muffin tins, filling up the cups about halfway. Bake until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes

Scents of the Season

I love the all the scents of the holiday season!  I was browsing through Pintrest and came across this concoction to simmer on your stove to make your house smell like the holidays.  This stove top potpourri mix is an easy inexpensive way to make your home smell wonderful. It makes a wonderful gift for friends, neighbors, teachers and co-workers.

Here's the recipe:

Holiday Stove Top Potpourri Mix

• one whole orange or just the orange peel
  
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1 Tbsp. whole cloves
• 3 sticks of cinnamon or a small handful of small pieces of cinnamon
• a bit of grated nutmeg if desired

Quarter the orange.  Put all the ingredients into a saucepan.  Fill pan with water.  Place on the stove on the smallest burner, on the lowest setting.  Refill water as needed. 

http://www.make-it-do.com

Glowing Hurricane Glasses

I'm no Martha Stewart but I think I could pull this idea I found on her website off!  This would be a beautiful way to decorate your mantle for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It looks so festive! All you do is wrap hurricane glasses in layers of colorful tissue paper to cause a  glowing effect:  It looks like there are multiple colors but only one shade is used.  Lovely and simple!

You will need:
Assorted sizes hurricane glasses or similar clear glass cylinders
Tissue paper in assorted colors
Tape
Small votive candles

And Here Are The Directions:
1. Cut 4 pieces of 20-by-26-inch tissue paper in half crosswise. Lay flat on a work surface, and make a 1- to 2-inch fold on the bottom of one piece.

2. Make a larger fold in another piece, and fit it into the fold of the first piece of paper. Repeat process with remaining pieces of paper, making some folds thinner and some wider.

3. Wrap around hurricane glasses, and then secure with tape. Place a small votive candle in each. Be sure wick is cut short and doesn't come in contact with the paper.