Xmas cookie #3

Dulce de Leche Cookies
Yields 40 cookies
Recipe from Pilsbury.com

Ingredients:

Garnish

1 cup flaked coconut

Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

3 tablespoons dark rum or 1/2 teaspoon rum extract plus 2 1/2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

Filling

1 cup caramel apple dip (from 16-oz container)

 

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Spread coconut in ungreased shallow pan. Bake uncovered 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Turn off oven. In food processor bowl with metal blade, place cooled coconut. Cover; process until ground. Set aside. Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Add egg yolks, rum and vanilla. On high speed, beat about 1 minute or until blended. In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. On ungreased nonstick (not insulated) cookie sheets, place balls about 2 inches apart. Dip bottom of small glass into 1/4 cup sugar; press on cookies to make about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake 10 to 11 minutes or just until edges begin to brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. For each sandwich cookie, spread about 1 teaspoon of the caramel apple dip on bottom of 1 cookie, spreading to edge of cookie. Top with second cookie. Gently squeeze until filling oozes out a little around the side. Roll edges of cookies in ground coconut.

These are little sandwiches from heaven! They look so pretty but they are super easy! I was initially a little intimidated by toasting my own coconut, but it was easier than I thought. Plus, it tasted super yummy and I didn't use it all for the cookies so I ended up using it in some brownies that I made. I was apprehensive that the caramel dip would be too runny to sandwich between each cookie, but after I squeezed it in and rolled it in coconut, it stuck like glue. They were very sweet and caramelly. My husband says they were awesome. I happen to agree...

Xmas cookie #2

Apple Cider Snickerdoodles
Yields 1 1/2 dozen
Recipe from FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups apple cider

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 3 tablespoons for rolling

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped red and green crispy apple chips, plus whole chips for garnish

2 teaspoons apple pie spice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the cider in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Continue to cook until syrupy and reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 12 to 14 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Beat the butter with 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar and the light brown sugar in a separate bowl on medium-high speed until fluffy and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the reduced cider and the egg (the mixture may look slightly curdled). Stir in the flour mixture and 1/4 cup of the chopped apple chips until combined.

Stir together the remaining 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of chopped apple chips and the apple pie spice in a small bowl. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls, using lightly moistened hands if the dough is too sticky, and then roll in the spiced sugar mixture. Place the dough balls 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets and top with a few pieces of whole apple chips. Bake until the edges are just set but centers are still soft, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating pans halfway through the baking time. Cool 2 to 3 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Let me tell you a little story about a cookie named Apple Cider Snickerdoodle. We are not friends, nor will we ever cross paths again. I never tried one and will never, ever, ever make them again. It was the worst cookie experience I've ever had. Ever.

I didn't have apple pie spice, nor could I find any in a store. Therefore I had to use a mix of cinnamon and nutmeg that I came up with on my own. Then, the recipe said to bake them for 11 to 13 minutes with the apple chips on top. This is extremely inaccurate. They were done after about 6 minutes when I was supposed to turn the pan. And, by that time, the apple chips on top of the cookies were burnt to a crisp by that time. I had to chip the burnt cookies off the pan and suffer through the smell of burnt failure for the rest of the night. I'm lucky I got the batch that is pictured above after much trial and error. My husband says they were ok. The world may never know...

Xmas cookie #1

Raspberry Frosted Candy Canes
Yields 36 cookies
Recipe by Betty Crocker

Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tsps vanilla
1 egg
3 cups flour
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp butter or margarine, softened
3 tbsp raspberry flavored syrup
2-3 tsp milk
3-4 drops red flood coloring
1 cup white baking chips
1 tsp veggie oil

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F (if using dark or nonstick cookie sheet, heat oven to 325°F). In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, 1 cup butter, the vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in flour.

Divide dough into 9 pieces. On floured surface, shape each piece of dough into 16-inch rope, slightly less than 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut each rope into 4-inch lengths; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bend 1 end of each cookie into candy cane shape.

Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until bottoms are light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.

In small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, the syrup, milk and food color. Spread on top and sides of cookies; let stand until set before drizzling with melted white chips.

In small resealable plastic food-storage bag, place white baking chips and oil; seal bag. Microwave on High 1 minute. Gently squeeze bag until chips are smooth. Cut off tiny corner of bag. Squeeze bag to make stripes on cookies to look like candy canes. Let stand until frosting is set before storing.

These are a hubby fave, so they were required on the cookie list. These are so soft. I bake them the least amount of time so they bake just enough to stay together. I also used to cut each rope like it says to do in the recipe. This year, however, I knew about how much goes into each cane so I picked off pieces of dough from the bowl and rolled them into canes. The dough is yummy and stays in the shape of the candy canes. Only one broke this year! I use Smuckers raspberry syrup for the frosting because it has the best taste. And I can't find anything else!!

Christmas Cookies!

Christmas Cookies!!!!
Well, the time has finally come for the penultimate cookie experience. The cookies have been made, and eaten, and the recipes are in the process of being blogged. I will keep posting all the recipes until each and every one has been posted. Since I am up to my elbows in cookies, I am taking a hiatus from baking. I will continue to bake after a few weeks so no worries my fond followers. Stay tuned!!

Week Fourteen: Rum Balls and Butter Rum Cookies

Rum Balls
Yields 4 dozen
Courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, cooking spray

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

3 large eggs

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark rum

Coarse sanding sugar, for rolling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. Melt butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in chocolate mixture, then fold in flour. Pour batter into prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until top is shiny and a cake tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Break up brownie into small pieces; transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With machine on low speed, pour in rum, and mix until crumbs start to come together to form a ball.

Shape into 1-inch balls, and roll in sanding sugar to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet; refrigerate, uncovered, until cold, about 2 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Ms. Martha Stewart and I have a love\hate relationship. I love how crafty she is but sometimes her recipes and crafts are a little out of my league. I found this recipe when I was looking for rum recipes last week and wanted to give it a try. My mother-in-law makes awesome rum balls that are gluten-free. I wanted to try this recipe because I love brownies and figured this would be a new way to try them. I also tried different decorations for them as well. Hers are always rolled in powdered sugar. My friend Lisa gave me the cute colored sugar as a gift one year and I had the Christmas non-parels sitting in my cupboard. I like the sugar crystals better and it looks really cute! These are really strong. I didn't have dark rum on hand because I hate the way it tastes, so I used our St. Lucian rum once again. These also taste a whole lot better once they are refrigerated.
Since I feel as though I have jipped my readers by not continually making cookies and taking breaks some weeks, I decided I would double it up this week. Here is a bonus recipe that I also made tonight!! Enjoy!

Butter Rum Cookies
Yields 4-5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar, divided by recipe directions
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp rum
2 1/2 cups unsifted flour
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped orange peel

Directions:
Cream butter with 3/4 cup sugar until light. Beat in egg yolks, flavorings and rum. Gradually add flour, using hands to knead in last of it. When dough is smooth, shape into rolls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, wrap in waxed paper (or plastic wrap) and place in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight. Cut into 1/4 inch slices and roll each slice with hands to form a ball. Roll balls in a mixture of the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and orange peel. Place on cookie sheet and flatten with a flat bottom glass dipped in the sugar-orange mixture. Bake on lightly greased and floured cookie sheet at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container for at least 1 day before serving for best flavor.

These cookies were easy to make but included a lot of waiting time. Once again I used the Admiral Rodney Rum from St Lucia to flavor these cookies. I tried one straight out of the oven and it tasted wonderful. The orange is a bit much so I wouldn't use as much as the directions say. They are very soft cookies and the added sugar in which they are rolled add some much needed sweetness with all the butter. These are cute and sparkly cookies that would be great in a cookie tin as a gift as they would package very well.

Week Thirteen: Chocolate Chip and Coconut Rum Cookies

Chocolate Chip and Coconut Rum Cookies
Yields 24-30 cookies
Courtesy of Cooks.com

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp light rum
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.

Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and rum. Beat the mixture well.

Fold in the flour mixture, coconut, and chocolate chips. Form the cookies on a baking tray, using a small ice cream scoop. Bake at 375°F for about 8-10 minutes.

After cleaning my kitchen, I realized that we have a lot of hard liquor that we never drink! I have used it in many a recipe but we just aren't big drinkers. I figure I need to start using some of this stuff in my recipes and the best place to start would be in cookies! When we were on our honeymoon in St. Lucia, we bought rum that is very cheap there but extremely expensive here. We thought it would be great to have on our one year anniversary. However, when we popped the bottle, it tasted horrible! Very rummy...so it has been sitting on our counter ever since. I loved it in this recipe. It was not overwhelming and the coconut made the cookies seem like a tropical trip. All these needed were little plastic umbrellas! They were very soft and tasted better once they had been sitting for a little while rather than right out of the oven. We had company so they were gone in a couple of hours, so I am not sure what they would have been like a few days out. I'm sure it would have been like getting on the plane coming home from vacation, sad, but glad to be back in the real world. Actually, nope. Just sad.

Week Eleven and Week Twelve: Thanksgiving

Although I have no pictures, I can honestly tell you that I did not slack off these two weeks. It was my first year making Thanksgiving dinner in its entirety for my family as well as my in-laws. I love to cook and bake, but this was a huge undertaking. My mother-in-law had been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the past thirty years and this was the first time she was passing on the torch. No pressure, right? I used BonAppetite.com for all my recipes and guides. It was the best, most complete guide to the entire dinner that I could find. And the recipes were amazing! I am always for easy and make ahead recipes for a big event so these were perfect. I will add the menu in the comment section and if you would like any of the recipes, let me know!
It was a great meal and everything turned out wonderful! There were many long nights in the few days prior and even the night before I was up until three am. It was amazing to have such a great, supportive family telling me how yummy it all was and made all the hard work competely worth it. I am looking forward to making Thanksgiving dinner every year from now on! Happy Holidays!!