Where it all began...

Apparently I make good cookies. Not just good cookies but awesome cookies. Not my words, the words of my family and friends. Don't get me wrong, I can follow a recipe. But I'm not really sure what makes them so delectible. I almost feel as though I am cheating my family, mostly my husband, out of the tastefulness of life when I make cookies from premade dough or pour them out of a box. They even have their own name: Shari Cookies. These "Shari Cookies" have become the only request of my family as Christmas presents and are a requirement at family parties. It all started Christmas 2005 when I tried to get a cookie exchange going. I made hundreds of cookies in my college apartment all by hand (I didn't yet have a mixer), in an oven that barely fit one pan. My roommate awoke to masses of baked goods covering each and every surface of our living space, save her bedroom and our tiny bathroom. I boxed them all up, well most of them, wrapped them in holiday flare, and placed them under the trees of my unsuspecting family members. With visions of sugar plums fleeing their dreams, they awoke to the sugar spender that has now become the traditional holiday staple. My goal is to get some practice this year. Not that I'm rusty. I absolutely adore baking. However, it seems as though I always go into the holiday cold, without the proper shoes, stretch and warmup. Not this year. This year I plan to outdo all the rest, which will be hard to do, for sure. And so, "The Cookie Project" was born. Each week I plan to make one type of cookie. It must be from scratch and have all the love and tenderness of warm homemade cookies and the subsidial milk, sans the slobber of my husband's spit on the spoon. So, one homemade cookie a week. This can't be good for our waistlines, but he's not complaining...

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Xmas cookie #4

Baked Hazelnut Truffles
Yields 42 cookies
Recipe from BettyCrocker.com

Ingredients:

4 oz semisweet baking chocolate



1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
2 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur
2 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (filberts)
About 40 milk chocolate stars
1/2 cup white vanilla baking chips
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Betty Crocker® candy sprinkles, if desired

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. In large microwavable bowl, microwave baking chocolate and butter uncovered on Medium (50%) 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once, until softened. Stir in condensed milk, liqueur, flour and hazelnuts. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Shape dough by tablespoonfuls around each chocolate star. On ungreased cookie sheet, place 1 inch apart.
Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until dough is shiny and set but still soft. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool about 30 minutes.
In small microwavable bowl, microwave white vanilla baking chips and oil uncovered on Medium (50%) 1 minute to 1 minute 15 seconds, stirring once, until softened. Stir until smooth. Dip top of each cookie into melted mixture; immediately top each with candy sprinkles while mixture is still soft. Let stand until coating is set.

Sorry the pictures are so blurry. Apparently a smudgey, sugary finger had grazed over the lens of the camera and I didn't figure it out until all the pictures were already taken. These are another must have on the cookie list for Christmas. My husband likes to eat them before they are fully cooled because the chocolate in the middle comes oozing out like a volcano. I can never find chocolate stars so I always use Dove milk chocolates for the middle. I also have never boughten hazelnut liqueur. I have always used amaretto, but they are still delectable. Last year I tried to top them with edible glitter but I like the smooth shiny appearance of them plain on top. I might have actually taken them out of the oven a little too early this year, but they were still super yummy!
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