Christmas Cookies 2014

I've reached the moment in time where I have made peace with the fact that my iPhone takes better pictures than my 10-year-old Canon point-and-shoot.  Sigh.  I made a huge tray of cookies on Monday to take to work, and tried taking pictures, and they were just ... awful.  (Darkest day of the year certainly didn't help!)  So this year, instead of viewing the entire spread, you get a shot of my "snack plate" that I fixed for myself today, for periodic nibbling in-between meals, walks, knitting, reading, laundry, and maybe, just maybe, a nap.  (Because I got home from singing for Christmas Eve service well into Christmas Day last night!)  Merry Christmas!

Cookies after breakfast?  Yes, please!

TOP ROW:

Chewy Gingersnaps
I have made this recipe several years in a row now, and they have become a mainstay.  I love gingersnaps, and I love them even more when they are chewy (and STAY chewy several days later.)  Gingersnaps are one of those cookies I believe are actually better a few days after baking ... maybe it's that whole "flavors having a chance to blend" thing?  Anyhow, these are great -- nicely spiced, but not "too spicy."  A cookie for adults and children alike.  I used coconut oil this year (instead of the canola oil called for in the recipe,) and they are perfect.

Magic in the Middles
This fall, I had a peanut-butter stuffed chocolate cookie at a local restaurant, and fell in love -- I HAD to find a recipe!  King Arthur Flour to the rescue!  I strayed from the original recipe a bit, adding an ounce of Neufchatel and a tablespoon of milk to the chocolate dough, (recipe reviewers complained the dough became dry with storage,) and ended up having to add a few teaspoons of milk to the peanut butter filling (using natural peanut butter made the filling a bit dry and crumbly.)  These weren't nearly as fussy as I thought they were going to be to shape, and have been a huge hit with friends and coworkers.  My friend Dora told me, as she dropped me off after church last night, that "the chocolate cookie with the peanut butter surprise" was the best one I made this year!  They were the first to go off the tray at work, too.

Best Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Thank you, Faith Durand and The Kitchn, because these are, hands-down, the BEST cut-out sugar cookies I have EVER HAD.  The dough is a dream to work with, froze beautifully, and yielded soft, yet sturdy cookies.  I also love that the additions of both lemon zest and almond extract make the cookies themselves more of an event, rather than just an avenue for buttercream and sprinkles.  :)  Decorated sugar cookies are always my favorites, and these have elevated what I've come to think of simply as "Christmas Cookies" to a whole new level.

MIDDLE ROW:

Peppermint Cream Squares
Another Kitchn recipe I tried this year, and a good one.  For a few years growing up, we made a cookie called "Peppermint Snowballs," which I believe may have been a grandparent to these bars, and Peppermint Snowballs were always a favorite of mine.  I don't love chocolate, although I LOVE mint, and I fell for the buttery shortbread and minty cream filling instantly.  However, we gave up on those cookies after a few tries because they were too fussy and just didn't store well.  I was thrilled to find this recipe, because I missed the flavor of Peppermint Snowballs, but not the fuss and mess.  Bars to the rescue!  I made a few changes to the published recipe, (including using all of the shortbread as the crust and simply sprinkling the peppermint/powdered sugar over the warm cream cheese layer,) but may even make more changes next year.  I wanted a slightly thicker, more cheesecake-like peppermint layer on top, rather than the more moist, sticky layer I got using the original recipe.  I think I will increase the cream cheese and add an egg next year.  Regardless, these have still been hugely popular ... people who love shortbread and mint were coming back for seconds!

Fig and Cream Cheese Bars
These babies are unassuming at first glance, but folks who are brave enough to try them are richly rewarded.  I think people either love or despise figs; I am a lover of figs, both fresh and dried, and consequently, LOVE these bars.  (Plus, hello lemony cream cheese topping!)  A day after delivering tins and gift bags of cookies, I received a text message from my friend Stephanie: "It's like a fig newton but better!  Yummmm."  Agreed.  I follow the recipe as printed, baking the bars in a smaller 8- or 9-inch square pan, rather than the 9x13 called for.

Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels
Salted caramels almost seem like a cliche these days, but maybe for good reason -- starting around Thanksgiving, I start getting the "are you going to make caramels this year?" questions.  This recipe from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert is a hit, and in my opinion, both reliable and relatively easy to make.  (The hardest part of making caramels, in my opinion, is CUTTING THEM.  Sigh.)  I love the gentle flavor golden syrup lends to baked goods, (it's the not-so-secret ingredient in my pecan pie,) and these caramels are no exception.  I decided to salt the caramels using Maldon sea salt this year, instead of the coarser salt I've used in the past -- and I love the gentler flakes, instead of the crunchy chunks.  Last year, my friend's (then) 4-year-old daughter scarfed three of these caramels in one sitting while no one was looking ... smart girl.  :)  (They got a whole bag of extra caramels this year!)

BOTTOM ROW:

Apricot Coconut Bars
I have wrestled with these bars for years, because I love the dense, chewy, sweet, rich, apricot-coconut topping, but DESPISE the crust as written -- it is crumbly and difficult to work with, and literally shatters and disintegrates when cutting.  This year, I added an extra ingredient (an ounce of Neufchatel,) and changed my technique (creaming softened butter, cream cheese, and 1/4 cup sugar together, before stirring in the flour,) and was promptly rewarded by a sturdy, flavorful shortbread crust for that glorious topping.  (P.S. flipping the bars out of the pan upside-down on a sheet of parchment paper to cut also helped.)  Success!  Only took me three tries to figure that one out.  I think we will call this holiday season the year of Neufchatel, since it became a key player in many of my cookie recipes, all of a sudden.  :)

Cream Cheese Meltaways with Lemon Glaze
This is another one of those frequent repeats, as I get several "are you making the lemon cookies this year?" requests, again beginning at Thanksgiving.  One of my work friends reported these were her husband's favorites, and I "caught" at least one coworker rushing back for seconds of this one just moments after returning to his desk with his first selections from the tray.  I decided rather than toss out the surplus glaze this year, I would simply double-dunk the cookies.  More sugar!  Yes.

NOT PICTURED:

English Toffee (from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)
The toffee is not pictured, because it is gone!  It's gone for several reasons, really -- I have a couple of gluten-free treat recipients who deserved extra toffee and caramels this year, and well, I just really like toffee.  It's easy to sneak a bite here and there, you know?  :)

Off to eat a post-breakfast cookie now.  Merry Christmas!

the great Christmas cookie conundrum of 2014

Every year.  (shakes her head)

Christmas 2013

WHY do I do this to myself every single year?  I get way too ambitious with my holiday baking, find way too many new recipes I want to try, and end up with a "to bake" holiday cookie list longer than my forearm.  Both a little ridiculous and a lot impractical, I need to pare the list down, STAT.

Christmas 2102

That's where you come in.

Here's what made my final cut this year ... but we're still at ten items.  I'd like to cut the list back to eight, if that's humanly possible.  ;)  I do like to keep a variety of different things on the cookie tray -- some bars, some cookies, some candies, -- of a variety of different flavors/pairings/key ingredients (like lemon, chocolate, nuts, fruit, mint, molasses, etc.)

What would you cut?  What would you keep?

Magic in the Middles
Cream Cheese Meltaways with Lemon Glaze
Sugar Cookies (with buttercream and sprinkles)
Potato Chip Cookies
Apricot-Coconut Bars
Chewy Gingersnaps
Fig and Cream Cheese Bars
Peppermint Cream Squares
Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels
English Toffee (using the recipe in the Betty Crocker Cookbook)

400-calorie dinners (iv)

Life is uncertain . . . dessert first!

I know I've read a bunch in the blogosphere over the past few years about "sugar addiction" -- what are your thoughts?  I like to believe that I have a much healthier relationship with sugar these days than in years past, but honestly, I don't see myself ever giving up sugar in its entirety.  Treats are just too special a part of my life, and I love to bake!  For example . . . 

John's Valentine's Day present, which he actually finished off before Valentine's Day.  (Whoops.  Next time, I'll know better!  Bake closer to the actual holiday.)  Husband has a weakness for chocolate and peanut butter, and I thought these cookies would be the perfect way to use up some of the Hershey's Kisses that Santa left for me in my Christmas stocking.  (Confession: I really don't much care for chocolate, especially milk chocolate!  Weird, I know.)  Natural peanut butter gave these cookies a rich, crumbly, sandy texture that was . . . incredible.  At 117 calories each, these still fit nicely into my healthy eating plan!

Since the peanut butter-chocolate kiss cookies didn't last that long, I baked another batch of cookies this weekend . . .
















I'm typically not a huge fan of "light" desserts -- I feel like flavor and texture are often sacrificed, and I'd rather eat less of the "real" thing.  However, I tried swapping in a half-cup applesauce for half a cup of butter in my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, (I did leave one stick of butter in tact,) because I believe oatmeal cookies are best when soft and slightly cakey.  HUGE success.  I also used all whole-wheat pastry flour instead of AP, which I believed also paired well with the applesauce -- whole-grain treats can get a little dry and "wheaty," in my opinion, but the extra moisture from the applesauce is a big help.  At only 86 calories apiece, they certainly don't taste "light" or lacking in anything!

And now, more 400-calorie meals we've enjoyed this past week:

Cream of Wild Rice Soup:

A Minnesota classic, which we served at our wedding just under a year ago, vegetized by doubling the mushrooms and adding a little cubed seitan instead of chicken.  (Does anyone besides me find too much seitan to be overpowering?)  The result is a nutritious, warm, comforting, and filling supper, perfect for a bitter cold evening.  (Of which we've had many this winter!  Sigh.)

Breakfast Burrito:

Fill a whole-wheat tortilla with 2 oz refried beans, 1/2 oz cheese, 4 oz shredded Yukon gold potato (hashbrowned-up using a little olive oil cooking spray in a cast-iron skillet,) one egg over-easy, home-canned salsa, and a little sour cream ... perfect for a weekend brunch or a speedy weeknight supper!

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas:

Ok, so, one "light" food I REALLY don't believe in is reduced-fat cheese.  I mean, c'mon . . . cheese is fat!  What the heck is reduced-fat cheese anyway?  I slightly adapted this recipe, choosing to use 6 oz full-fat Monterey Jack instead of the 8 oz reduced-fat cheese called for.  This meal is relatively quick to prepare, given you're making your own homemade enchilada sauce, and even more delicious leftover.  (Somebody at work is always curious about what I have for lunch!)

Polenta and Roasted Veggies:

I threw this together one evening last week when John was working late, and boy, did he miss out!  (He was able to enjoy leftovers for lunch the next day.)  I decided to roast the veggies instead of pan-sauteeing, which freed up my attention to whip up the polenta.  Although the blue cheese does lend the polenta an unusual, slightly grayish color, this was one heck of a flavorful, colorful, healthy meal!

Stir Fry:

I find that most of the calories in stir-fry actually come from the rice . . . bummer.  Keeping my rice portion down to a 1/2 cup left room on my plate for loads of broccoli and tofu!  I had been wanting to try this recipe for "Chipotle-Orange Broccoli & Tofu" for some time.  It was . . . just okay.  The tofu and broccoli were delicious, but the sauce was nothing special.  Bummer!  I think my biggest complaint was that the citrus flavor wasn't at all present!  You'd think that something with "orange" in the recipe title would be citrusy . . . notsomuch.

Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms:

Like artichoke dip?  You will LOVE these.  Seriously, make them tonight!

And, Quiche:

I typically cut my quiche into six slices; eight slices makes for more sensible portions for me these days.  (If you still want to enjoy a heartier portion while keeping an eye on your calorie intake, I'd recommend a crustless version -- pastry is kind of a calorie-bomb, unfortunately.)  This meal was a cinch to prepare, thanks to a homemade pie crust stashed away in the freezer and some pre-roasted sweet potatoes.  John loves quiche 'cause he loves eggs, and will take care of these leftovers before I can blink an eye most weeks.

~~~~~~~~~~

Off to make a pizza!  :)

400-calorie dinners (ii)

Two more all-star recipes to add to the 400-calorie dinner collection this week:

Falafel-Stuffed Eggplant:

I bookmarked this recipe ages ago . . . what took me so long to try this?  Light yet filling, with a welcome burst of summery flavors to brighten up the bitterest of cold winter days.  (I can imagine how much tastier this would be when everything was actually in season!)  I did modify the recipe slightly, adding the eggplant pulp to the filling, instead of "reserving for another use."  (Huh?  What on earth would anyone do with just around a cup of eggplant goo?  Hm.)  352 calories, loaded with fiber, protein, A, C, calcium, and impressively high in iron.  John claimed he wasn't all that hungry prior to dinner this evening, but managed to gobble up his portion just fine.  Must have been good!

Sauerkraut & Sausage Casserole:

This dish is as warm and cozy as the previous was bright and summery.  (Hey . . . I crave variety!)  After making my own vegetarian kielbasa, this dish was a snap to prepare, and I love the combination of tangy, salty kraut, (homegrown, home-cultured, and home-canned at our house!), savory faux sausage, sweet onions and apples, and tender-crispy potatoes.  A bargain dinner at 297 calories, packed with protein and loaded with vitamin C, there's definitely room for a chunk of dark rye with butter alongside this entree, or alternately . . .

Dessert!

German Honey Cookies:

If you enjoy simple yet surprising sweets, this is a cookie you MUST try.  There is enough honey in the dough to be clearly present in the baked cookie, yet the copious amount of vanilla and ground ginger sneak in and hang out in the background.  The cookies are sweet but not cloyingly so, buttery without being overly rich, and friendly to the healthy eating plan at 97 calories each.  I made a few modifications to the original recipe, following a more traditional method of creaming the butter and sugar together by hand, then stirring in the honey, egg, and vanilla, before finally adding the dry ingredients, and I also subbed in half whole-wheat pastry flour for some of the all-purpose.  This is only the second time I've made these, but I much prefer this batch -- my first attempt (years ago) was soft, pillowy, and almost cake-like using the technique in the recipe; this batch is soft, toothsomely chewy, and dense -- a perfect cookie texture, in my opinion.  (P.S. watch 'em like hawks, and pull them out of the oven JUST as they begin to brown and are completely set -- over-baking these beauties turns them tooth-breakingly crispy in a heartbeat.  Or, if you like crispy cookies, by all means, over-bake away!  I bet they would make great dunkers, in that case.)  Someday, I'll try these with fresh ginger in lieu of the ground, and likely achieve cookie nirvana.  :)

"C" is for "cookies"

. . . AND "Christmas!"

Since I went all out and made a dozen different holiday cookies/bars/candies this year, I figured I better do a blog post review and recap, as I tried many new recipes!

Top row, L-R:

Cream Cheese Meltaways with Lemon Glaze

These have been a HUGE hit the past two years in a row -- there's never any left on the tray at the end of a party, and several people have asked me for the recipe.  If you like lemon even a little bit, make these -- you won't be sorry.  :)  (Plus, they are really pretty easy!)

Maple-Walnut Bars

A new recipe I tried this year, and although they are delicious, they are far from perfect.  :(  For starters, they were nearly impossible to cut without shattering the bars, (the crust largely crumbled into oblivion, and the topping frequently separated from the crust,) and personally, I don't think they have enough maple flavor to suit my tastes.  (The recipe called for 1/4 cup maple syrup in the topping, to which I added some maple extract, and it still wasn't "maple-y.")  I might ditch these next year in favor of the Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies I made last year.

Sugar Cookies
Even though these are far from "fancy," these are still one of my favorite cookies on the tray.  In fact, I may have one with my tea right now.  ;)

Chocolate Crinkles
I'm not a huge chocolate fan, although I do enjoy chocolate-mint things around the holidays.  I added some peppermint extract to these babies . . . delicious!  Beautiful!  Although, I have to confess, not great keepers -- after a few days, their texture has gone downhill and I'd now describe them as a little stale/dry.  :(  Definitely won't be one of the cookies I make in advance next year!

Potato Chip Cookies
Yeah . . . potato chip cookies.  Salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy, nutty, buttery . . . holy hell.  My only complaints were as follows: 1. wish I would have refrigerated the dough before rolling, as it was kind of a sloppy mess, 2. the recipe didn't call for nearly enough ounces of potato chips to meet the quantities of crushed chips called for, and 3. I baked them a couple of minutes too long, so they were on the crispier side.  Next year, I'll fix all of those things and we'll have cookie nirvana.  ;)

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
A new favorite, and a repeat for years to come, I'm certain.  These soft, chewy, pillowy cookies are topped with the most flavorful icing ever.  I didn't think I could like pumpkin cookies without cream cheese icing . . . I was wrong.  These have also been awesome keepers (in the fridge) -- soft and perfect for days.

Middle row, L-R:

Buckeyes
Yeah, you're right . . . those squares look nothing like buckeyes.  That's because the recipe as-is is an epic fail, (c'mon, Real Simple, you've never let me down before!)  After chatting with a friend of mine about this, I've determined the original recipe is missing at least 2 cups of powdered sugar in the peanut butter base, maybe as much as 4 cups.  So, what did I do to rescue this year's batch?  I dumped the peanut butter slop into the pan of melted chocolate, added a few splashes of cream, melted the whole shebang down, and cooled it in my silicone pan.  Ta-da!  Fudge?  Not really.  Truffle?  Not exactly.  But peanut-butter-chocolatey delicious, and flying off the cookie tray faster than you can say, "fail, rescued!"

Apricot Coconut Bars
These are another repeat that I have received many compliments on and requests for these past couple of years.  However, I'm not entirely pleased with them -- basically, the crust is a crumbly mess!  Boo!  I was convinced the problem was that I was using a 9-inch pan, (the recipe calls for an 8-inch,) and the crust was falling apart because it was too thin.  This year, I used an 8-inch pan as directed, but no . . . still a mess!  Next year, I'm going to try chilling the bars before cutting, and making sure I flip the bars and cut them upside-down.  Any other suggestions?

Ginger Bars
This recipe has been on my back burner for years of holiday baking, and I just got around to it this year.  Frankly, they are simple to prepare and delicious, (moist, chewy, and faintly spicy,) but nothing special.  I'd take a gingersnap or gingerbread person any day of the week!  (And one problem that I didn't anticipate is that many people think they are a brownie!  Oops!)  I'm definitely not going to delete the recipe from my bookmark list, but will likely return to making gingerbread people next Christmas.

Chewy Gingersnaps
A perfect, classic, simple gingersnap recipe -- nothing fancy, which is ok, in my opinion.  :)  I've made gingersnaps with candied ginger or fresh ginger in the past, and sometimes, all you want out of a gingersnap is a soft, chewy, spiced molasses cookie.  This recipe delivers.  (P.S. they've kept beautifully -- still soft and chewy days later!)

Fig and Cream Cheese Bars
This is another recipe that I have been eyeing for years, and finally got around to trying this year.  WHAT WAS I WAITING FOR????  :)  Totally a new favorite of mine, and a hit with all who love figs.  Moist, with a crunchy yet sturdy crust, chewy from the figs, with just enough tangy cream cheese layer on top to offset the sweet richness.  The crust has softened with refrigeration, but still has just enough "bite" to it.  Good thing these bars are out of sight, as otherwise they might already be gone!  (Additionally, these look impressive, but were actually pretty easy to prepare, as you don't have to pre-bake the crust -- just layer the three different components in the pan and bake!  Pretty simple, if you ask me!)

Bottom row:

Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels
I didn't make these last year, and everyone missed them.  These are moist, chewy, intensely flavorful caramels, (it's the golden syrup, I swear . . . the caramels have more depth and are less tooth-achingly sweet than most,) that are only improved by the addition of coarse salt at the very end.  Our friends' picky four-year-old snuck three of these in a row while the adults were chatting over coffee, if that gives you any indication as to their appeal.  :)

~~~~~~~~~~

Other highlights from this holiday season include returning to the church choir just in time to sing for Christmas Eve, (always a late night, but always magical,) having a chance to see "White Christmas" on the big screen at the Riverview, (we had so much fun, we're already planning on making time to see "It's A Wonderful Life" next year,) plenty of get-togethers with family and friends, and the gift of an iPad!  I feel a little extreme in the technology department right now, (iPhone, iPad, and MacBook all at my disposal . . . sheesh!), but I have a feeling the iPad will become my primary "device," especially when it comes to using bookmarked or other digital recipes in the kitchen.  (An expensive "cookbook," but an extremely useful one!)

Hope you are enjoying a lovely holiday season with your friends and family!

dairy and carbs

Coupled with my busy schedule lately, we've been rocking a pretty tight budget, too.  I'm not complaining, though -- I love a challenge in the kitchen.  In order to shave a few dollars here and a few dollars there off our grocery budget, I have been exploring even more things I can cook or bake from scratch.  I've discovered that with some extra labor, we are able to eat very well and very healthfully, largely organic, and still stay on a moderate budget for groceries.

Here are a few things I worked on this weekend . . .

Homemade crackers!

This is actually my second attempt at making these crackers, and like any new skill, practice makes perfect.  :)  While I wouldn't say these crackers are "perfect," they are crispy, delicious, easy, and are just so much better than storebought crackers!  (Cheap!  No preservatives!  No packaging!)  If you've never made homemade crackers, I encourage you to give them a try.  It's worth it!

Cookie of the week -- snickerdoodles!

I need to pack a snack for the bus most nights, and honestly, there aren't many things that are easy to eat on the bus.  (Especially since you're not technically supposed to eat on the bus, so I have to be kinda sneaky.)  Giant cookies to the rescue!  I've been churning out a batch or so of cookies per week, using my #16 disher to portion out the dough, resulting in large, satisfying, tide-me-over bus treats.  :)  You know you'd look forward to a long ride home if you had a cookie waiting for you in your lunch bag, too!

I managed to go through an entire gallon of organic, grass-fed whole milk today.  How?

First, buttermilk and yogurt:

I have been serially reculturing buttermilk for several months now, with excellent results, and have recently experienced consistent success with yogurt reculturing, too.  I've found that a heating pad set on "low" provides a warm, consistent temperature for those little reproducing cultures.  Fortunately, John and I both have bad backs so we have two heating pads, (comes in handy when I want to make both yogurt and buttermilk,) but unfortunately, they have auto shut-off functions, so I have to check on things periodically and turn heating pads back on.  Win some, lose some.  Dairy abound!

Second, I made my first-ever batch of homemade ricotta!

Although I found I needed to drain my ricotta about twice as long as the recipe suggested, I found this recipe simple and foolproof otherwise.  My recipe yielded about 2 1/2 cups of cheese from a half-gallon of milk, plus the leftover whey.  Now, what to do with the whey?  Any suggestions?

I've also been working on stocking my freezer with tasty, homemade bread products for the coming summer months, as it will likely be too hot to bake for much of the summer.  This afternoon, I made more bagels!

I use a little more than half whole-wheat bread flour in the linked recipe, with great results.  (Specifically, about 3 cups WW bread flour, and about 2 cups white bread flour.)  Previously, I've only made plain bagels -- John requested "everything" bagels this time.  So, I made a half-batch plain, and smothered the other half with dried onion, dried garlic, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and salt.  MMMMMMMMM.

We did actually eat some "real" food this weekend, too, so I'll be back soon with a post on meals.  Until then, keep enjoying all of this dairy and carb goodness!

Lately I've been . . .

Watching . . . 

The snow pour down outside.  Yes, it's May 1st, and it's snowing.  Let's hope to heck it doesn't stick!  Thankfully, we don't have too many plants that are "up" yet, and we covered those that are with empty milk jugs for protection.  C'mon spring, get here and stay put already!

Reading . . .

Anne of Green Gables.  You know you want to, too.

Eating . . . 

Well, basically, carbs.  :)  More specifically . . .

Whole-wheat penne, smothered in sauteed bell peppers, Field Roast Italian sausage, and homemade 5-Minute Marinara . . . awesome.  And can I just give a quick shout-out to Costco, for carrying the most delicious, organic crushed tomatoes in GLASS JARS!?!!???!?!??

Egg sandwiches on Whole-Wheat English Muffins

100% Whole-Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Pizza!

And Peanut Butter Cookies, loaded with extra peanuts, chocolate chips, and coarse sea salt

Planning . . . 

on a busy month!  We have lots of volunteering, family get-togethers, activities with friends, and birthday camping coming up!  I am looking forward to all of these events individually, but also bracing myself for the challenge of managing my long work days & commute, gardening, and home life in the midst of all this fun.

Looking forward to . . . 

Warmer temperatures and less rain next week.  Time to build some potato towers, finish seeding the spring veggies, and hopefully watch some sprouts pop up!

What have you been up to?

Christmas = cookies!

Christmas definitely equals cookies at my house.  After nearly 5 pounds of flour, three pounds of butter, assorted other ingredients, and 11 1/2 hours of my time yesterday, I have nine varieties of Christmas cookies on hand!  I always enjoy my baking day; afterwards I enjoy eating and sharing homemade cookies over the following weeks.

Here's what I made this year:

Double Ginger Crackles

A soft, chewy, yet sturdy molasses cookie, with a double punch from ground and candied ginger.  I like that these cookies focus only on the ginger, omitting the more traditional spices found in molasses cookies.  However, I'm sure they'd be delicious with the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, too!

White Chocolate and Peppermint Brownies

If you are careful to catch these beauties just as they approach done, you will be rewarded with the richest, fudgiest brownie ever!  I enjoy the white chocolate and crushed peppermint candy topping -- my mom makes "peppermint bark" (white chocolate and crushed candy canes) yearly, but I've found it's too sweet for me in my "old age."  These brownies offer a taste of that childhood candy, but in a more balanced package.  Plus, chocolate and peppermint is such a classic holiday flavor, and the candy canes add a pop of color to the cookie tray.  Win-win-win!

Apricot Coconut Bars

After trying these bars for the first time last year, I received complimentary phone calls and emails from several choir colleagues about these!  Better make 'em a frequent repeat.  These remind me somewhat of a lemon bar, as they have a shortbread crust covered in an eggy, fruity topping.  However, these bars have more texture than a lemon bar, filled with chewy dried apricots and plenty of flake coconut.  (I choose to use unsweetened coconut, which is a variation from the recipe.  I find it makes the bars just a little less sweet, with more coconut flavor.)  Side note: John doesn't care much for coconut, but he still loves these!

Anise Tea Crescents

I enjoy "wedding cakes" just as much as the next person, but I really love the surprising licorice flavor the anise seeds give this cookie.  (Plus, I love Cooking Light cookie recipes . . . you'd never guess in a million years that this is a "light" cookie!)

Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies

Bless the Post-Punk Kitchen for developing the simplest, easiest to work with recipe for gingerbread vegans!  I love so much about this recipe -- the yield is small to moderate, (important when you are making a plethora of cookies as I do,) it calls for basic pantry staples (canola oil!  Woot!), results in a soft, yet sturdy cookie, and is so deeply SPICY.  The bestest.

Chewy Chocolate-Cherry Cookies

I wasn't entirely sure these cookies were a success straight out of the oven, (they seemed a bit dry to me at first,) but once they cooled . . . watch out!  Chocolatey, rich, and decadent, with a nice sour pop of dried cherry every now and then.  These may be a frequent repeat for years to come!

Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies

These were another cookie I wasn't entirely sure about when I finished them, but after a day's storage . . . YUM.  They softened with time, the maple flavor deepened, and the warm spices mingled to create something perfectly delicious.  I keep these on the bottom of the cookie "tower," as if they were on the top, I'd keep sneaking one here and there between meals.  :)

Cream Cheese Meltaways with Lemon Glaze

John labeled these as one of his favorites of this year's selection, and I agree -- the soft, buttery, fluffy cookie topped with crunchy, sweet-sour glaze is practically perfect.  :)  I enjoy the bumpy, rustic look my cookie scoop gave these cookies, too!  More little pockets for glaze to soak in, right?

Basic Sugar Cookie Dough with buttercream and sprinkles:

A classic I almost considered skipping these this year, but I'm so thankful I didn't.  Real Simple creates amazing recipes, and this sugar cookie dough is no exception.  Simple, classic, tasty, and easy to work with, this dough has booted my GRANDMA'S recipe for sugar cookies out of my holiday cookie rotation.  :)  Can you believe it?  If left relatively thick, the cookies bake up soft yet sturdy, with rich vanilla flavor that is only complemented by a bit of frosting and sprinkles.  You want a decorated sugar cookie base to have some flavor, but not be overwhelming, you know?  I've been delighted with this recipe, and again, appreciate the moderate yield.

With my baking done, I'm ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy the rest of my Christmas vacation!

What did you bake this year?  Do you focus more on family favorites, or exploring new recipes?

time for comfort food

I had been battling a migraine most of last week, and wasn't feeling very well when I sat down to do the weekend meal plan on Thursday night.  It was definitely time for some comfort food!

Breakfast burritos!

Even though a burrito might not seem like comfort food for a good little midwestern girl like myself, I can pretty much always eat beans and cheese.  Adding hash browns and eggs just gilds the comfort food lily, in my opinion.  :)

Chickpea Patties!

While the chickpea patty itself doesn't really fall into "comfort food" territory, at least for me, sweet potato tater tots sure do.  :)  (Side dish not pictured!)

Seitan and Dumplings:

I tried a new seitan recipe this time, which I was really happy with.  I find seitan can sometimes be too "strong" tasting for me . . . maybe too much nutritional yeast?  Anyhow, this recipe was quick and simple, offered lovely, light flavor, and worked beautifully in the Herbed Chicken and Dumplings recipe I frequently tweak for a vegetarian option.  (What do I do?  Sub cubed seitan for the chicken, adding it with the broth later in the recipe, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.  I also double the soup base ingredients, and triple the dumplings.  One never can have too many dumplings, if  you ask me!)

Mushroom Potpie:

This was incredible.  Simple to prepare, smelled amazing when it was in the oven, and tasted fantastic.  (I subbed a pie crust for the puff pastry called for, as that was what I had on hand.)  Pot pies can sometimes be too heavy; not this one!  It was rich and satisfying without weighing me down.  (P.S. artichokes on the side!)

And cookies!

I made these Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Cookies to take to church choir rehearsal on Saturday morning, and it's a good thing there was plenty leftover!  John stated that these might be his new favorite cookie.  Rich and crumbly, with big peanut flavor and loads of melty chocolate chips . . . heaven.

How do you define comfort food?

the cookie plan

As my Facebook friends know, I started thinking about Christmas cookie-baking this week.  (You know, I did observe that whole "one holiday at a time" plan, and then as soon as Thanksgiving was over, it was time!)  I decided to draw myself a chart this year, which helped a lot!  I devised rows for bars, cookies, and candies, and categories such as "classic," "chocolate," "ginger," "lemon," "fruit," and "nut."  I then went through all of my past blog posts about cookie-baking, adding recipes I might like to make and/or repeat from years past.  And then I went through my bookmarked cookie and bar recipes, just to make sure I wasn't missing anything!  :)  Once I had all of my ideas down, I chose one or two selections in each area.  Here's what I believe to be my final list:

Basic Sugar Cookie Dough (with frosting and sprinkles)
Merengues (likely not dipped in chocolate and nuts)
Anise Tea Crescents
White Chocolate and Peppermint Brownies
Chewy Chocolate-Cherry Cookies
Double Ginger Crackles
Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies
Cream Cheese Meltaways with Lemon Glaze
Apricot Coconut Bars
Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies

Ten cookies/bars this year, and no candies.  This might be the first year of my life baking for the holidays and NOT making candy.  I'm also still debating whether I should switch out one of the cookies for a bar in a similar category . . . thoughts?

What are you planning on baking this year?

after the leftovers

For whatever reason, John and I ended up with a super-awesome stash of leftovers this weekend -- no one knows why!  Leftovers are handy because meals are ready FAST, but that also means I miss out on opportunities to make meals!  :(  After we finished the leftovers, I did squeak in a little cooking this weekend:

I promise, somewhere under that mountain of herbs, lie some savory broth, rice noodles, tofu, and bean sprouts!

I always follow this recipe for pho, subbing in vegetable broth and tofu for the turkey stock and shredded turkey, and reduced-sodium tamari for the fish sauce.  A great light, healthy, invigorating lunch or supper!

Oh.  Yeah.  More soup.  Do you sense a theme?

















We still had some garden squash to use up, so John requested another batch of butternut soup.  I used more squash and less butter this time; no surprise John preferred the previous batch!  ;)  Heh.

Alongside our soup, we enjoyed a cutting board full of extras:



Rosemary bread, olive oil for dipping, sliced honeycrisp apple, and havarti.  Apples, cheese, bread, and soup just scream fall to me!

Time for more treats, too!

Another batch of Fluffy Sprinkle Sugar Cookies won't last long . . . I think John ate nearly half the batch yesterday straight out of the oven!

I am definitely on a soup kick lately . . . what are some of your favorite fall meals or go-to recipes?

we're back!

Oh my, was that a long illness.  Just as soon as I started feeling better, John took a turn for the worse.  Consequently, I haven't been doing much cooking these past couple of weeks!  However, come Sunday, we both finally had appetites.  Hurry up, Catherine -- cook something!

Dinner Sunday night was a simple, nutritious, and flavorful lentil soup:

Is anyone else as obsessed with Real Simple's recipes as I am?  Winter Lentil Soup has made it onto my list of all-time favorite soups.  Check out this recipe, seriously . . . I know that it doesn't look like much, but sometimes simple is better, right?  John and I both love kale and sweet potatoes, John loves lentils, (although I'm not a fan, there aren't many in this soup, and they are not the dominant flavor,) and I've come to realize I don't cook with leeks nearly often enough.  I even skimped and used dried thyme instead of fresh, then tried to make up for that switch by using half vegetable broth and half water, instead of all water like the recipe called for.  Slurp!  Plenty of leftovers -- some for the fridge, some for the freezer!

On the side -- buttermilk biscuits!

Buttermilk might be my new favorite baking ingredient.  Every recipe I've used it in bakes up light, fluffy, and tender, and has just the slightest sour tang.  Yum!  If you are interested in learning how to serially culture buttermilk, let me know -- I'll do a post.  It's so easy it almost doesn't merit a post, but I'd be happy to oblige!

More baking . . .

Treats for John's house:

Peanut Butter Banana Bread
(By the way, I subbed sour cream for the yogurt called for in the recipe, as that was what John had on hand -- success!)  John doesn't much care for banana bread, but thought he might be able to enjoy it more if it was infused with peanut butter, one of his favorite flavors.  I think it's a hit, and I managed to use up all of the overripe bananas littering up his kitchen.  :)

And treats for my house:

Pumpkin Molasses Spice Cookies . . . thank you, Mama Pea, for introducing the world to the softest, doughiest, chewiest, best molasses cookie EVER . . . let's just say I'm glad this recipe only made 24 cookies, because they are incredibly addictive.  These may be making a repeat appearance around the holidays at my house!

Let's hope we are able to keep the germs at bay for a while!  More cooking, please!

eat-a-thon

Sometimes the weekend feels like an eat-a-thon . . . or more accurately, maybe a cook-a-thon?  I do the majority of my cooking over the weekends these days, (i.e., when John's around,) and have a tendency to live off leftovers during the work week.  Does anyone else seem to follow this pattern?

Here are a few more things we made/ate this past weekend . . . 

Magic Kale Salad with Maple-Glazed Tempeh:

Fluffy Sprinkle Sugar Cookies:

Homemade pizza:

Zucchini Bread:

And breakfast -- scrambled eggs with feta and basil, courtesy of John, and whole-wheat buttermilk pancakes with strawberries:

It was a tasty weekend!