Christmas Cookies Galore!!!

Last night, we had our annual Christmas party. It was a great time and the dessert table was a hit. I included the Monster Cookies, Tipsy Turtle Bark, Red Velvet Peppermint Whoopie Pies, and Sugar Cut-Outs that I did last year. (You will also find, in that link, the tried-and-true favorites like Tomato Soup, Truffled Beef Sandwiches, and Rosemary Almonds). Every year, I throw out the cookies that weren't total successes and add in some new ones. I'm happy to report that this year's cookies were all pretty darn good, so I wanted to share them with YOU! I hope that you will make and enjoy these cookies and then cleanse with me in the New Year!!

Strawberry Shortbread, Adapted from Christmas Cookies Magazine, 2007

Prep: 45 min, Bake 12 min per batch, Freeze 1 hr

2 T strawberry preserves

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Strawberry Glaze:

1 T strawberry preserves

2 cups powdered sugar

1(+) Tablespoon milk

Coarse sugar (optional)...I used pink

1. Snip any large pieces of fruit in the strawberry preserves. Beat butter, strawberry preserves, and almond extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Transfer butter mixture to a sheet of plastic wrap; shape mixture into a 6-inch log. Wrap and freeze for 1-2 hrs or until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Stir together flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter mixture, breaking or cutting log if necessary to fit in bowl. Cut butter mixture into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture starts to cling together. Knead dough until smooth; form dough into a ball.

NOTE: Here is where I started to have trouble with this recipe--my dough wouldn't hold together so instead of trying to force it, I just patted the mixture I had into a pan (I used 8x8 which made for pretty thick cookies...might do a rectangular pan next time), baked and then while soft, cut them into little Christmas-shaped cookies. You could also just cut into squares or triangles.

3. (This is the rest of the recipe which I did not follow, see note above). Divide dough in half. Roll each portion of dough to a 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out dough rounds with a scalloped 1 1/2-2-inch cookie cutter. Place cutouts 1 inch apart in ungreased cookie sheets.

4. Bake in a preheated oven for 12-16 minutes or until edges start to brown. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely. Spread tops of cookies with Strawberry glaze; if desired, sprinkle with course sugar. Let stand until set. Makes about fifty-four 2-inch cookies or seventy-six 1 1/2-inch cookies.

Strawberry Glaze

Microwave 1 T strawberry preserves in a medium microwave-safe bowl on 50 percent power for 3-0 seconds or until melted; snip any large pieces in the preserves. Stir in 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 Tablespoon milk using a wire whisk. Stir in enough additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make a smooth glaze of spreading consistency. Makes about 2/3 cup.

To store: Place cookies in layers separated by pieces of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Rosemary Shortbread, Adapted from Rustic Kitchen Blog

Note: If herbs in desserts is new for you, I really encourage you to try this recipe. It is unbelievably good.

Makes 16 triangles

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling (I put pink Himalayan salt in the cookies and sprinkled with kosher salt)

1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons minced fresh rosemary, plus extra for sprinkling

1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat to 325 degrees. Stir together butter, sugar, and salt, then stir in rosemary. Mix in half the flour, then add remaining flour and combine. Press into an 8-inch square pan and the sprinkle with a little extra rosemary and course salt. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately cut into triangles. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Raspberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies, Adapted from Emeril Lagasse on www.foodnetwork.com

Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 20 min, Serves 4 dozen (more like 3)

1/2 c raspberry jam or jelly

1 Tablespoon Chambord or kirsch (I left this out because I didn't have any but I would use)

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter at room temp

2/3 c sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put down parchment or Silpat on baking sheets. In a small bowl, combine the jam and Chambord. Stir to combine. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to blend. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks, lemon and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 2 additions and beat just until moist clumps form. Pinch off dough to form 1-inch balls. Place on prepared baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Use your floured index finger to create depressions in the center of each ball. Fill each indentation with nearly 1/2 teaspoon of the jam mixture. (I put the jam in the microwave for 20 seconds which made them a lot easier to fill). Bake until golden brown, about 20 min.

Transfer to wire racks to cook completely.

M&M Pretzel Bundles, a good one for kids...

Melt 1 3/4 cup chocolate (I used half Dove and half semi-sweet Ghiradelli chocolate chips) over a double-broiler or at half-power in microwave. Stir in broken pretzel sticks (about half a large bag). Put Tablepoon-sized clumps on parchment paper and top with some red and green M&Ms.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Balls, from Christmas Cookies Magazine, 2007

1 cup butter

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup unsweeted cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

1. Toast pecans in a 325 oven for 8-10 minutes. Cool and chop. Leave the oven on.

2. Beat butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium high to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and vanilla until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and pecans.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

4. Combine remaining 3/4 cup powdered sugar, remaining 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon mixture in a small bowl. Roll cooled cookies in mixture. Makes 48.

To store: Place cookies in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temp for up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months. Thaw cookies, if frozen, before serving.

Coconut Candy Bars AKA Homemade Almond Joys, from Christmas Cookies Magazine 2007, also known as The Bars Suzanne will Live to Regret because She Can't Stop Eating Them They're So Good

2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 1/2 cup whole almonds, toasted*

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 c butter, melted

1 14-oz package flaked coconut

1 14-oz can (1 1/4 cup) sweetened condensed milk

18 oz dark chocolate pieces, melted**

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For crust, place graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup of the almonds, and the brown sugar in a food procesor. Cover and process until almonds are finely chopped. Add butter; cover and pulse with four or five on-off turns or until mixture is well combined. Press crumb mixture on bottom of an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 12 min.

2. Combine coconut and sweetened condensed milk in a medium bowl. Spread mixture evenly over crust. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup almonds evenly over coconut layer. Bake for 10 min.

3. Spread melted chocolate evenly over top of baked mixture. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. (If desired, chill in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set). Cut into bars. Makes 36.

Note*- To toast nuts, spread them in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until nuts are slightly golden brown, stirring once or twice.

Note**-To melt dark chocolate pieces, place chocolate pieces in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power for 3 minutes or until mixture is melted and smooth, stirring once or twice.

To Store: Place bars in a single layer in an airtight container; cover. Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

Printable version here.

Babycakes Brownies

First of all, I ask your forgiveness for being so MIA as of late. I was on a cleanse developed by Kirsten McCormick, my friend and owner of Running with Forks. for 21 days and was cooking very simply as my choices were so restricted. The cleanse required that I give up all animal products (Vegan), all sources of gluten, and of course, sugar, alcohol, and sweeteners. I felt really great afterward and realized how little animal protein I actually need! The weekend after my cleanse, I had to go back to my hometown for a funeral and my husband's family and I all had dinner together--we opened bottles of wine and kept 'topping off.'

I would not recommend this.

I had a massive hangover the next day as I had just re-toxed my recently de-toxed liver. Poor liver. Poor me! I felt horrible. Anyway, my stomach hurt and so I told myself that I could eat crackers and bread until the stomach pain went away. Well, it kept on keeping on! 5 days later, my stomach still hurt until I realized (duh!) that I was making it hurt by eating wheat! I am not sure if I have wheat intolerance, gluten intolerance, or just a sensitivity to one of these things, but as soon as I stopped eating that stuff, I felt better.

The interesting thing is that I have never had issues with wheat....that I knew of! It wasn't until I went off gluten (found in wheat products and some other grains) that my body kind of just tightened up. I lost some bloat that I had thought was just 'normal.' I had a similar experience with milk. After three weeks of not drinking milk, I became lactose-intolerant which I think is really a good thing. There exists lots of evidence that suggests adult humans should not be drinking milk at all.

So, now I find myself in a place where I am finding new and interesting ways to eat delicious foods without dairy or gluten! Hence I picked up this cookbook, Babycakes. If you live in New York or Los Angeles, you may have heard of this bakery. They bake only Vegan, Gluten-Free, and mostly Sugar-Free products. If you're thinking, "Nasty," I can assure you I was with you 100%. But the remarkable thing about this bakery is that their cupcakes were rated #1 in LA ABOVE traditional bakeries!

These are the Brownies from this cookbook. I ate three (quality control....just a sacrifice I have to make for my readers!) but I'd recommend one or two if you can stand it--they're rich!

The one drawback to the cookbook is that you will have to purchase a bunch of ingredients that you can either find at Whole Foods or you will have to order online and are a bit pricey but for me, it's totally worth it. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Babycakes Brownies

1 Cup Garbanzo-Fava Bean Flour

1/4 Cup Potato Starch

2 Tablespoons Arrowroot

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 Cup Sugar

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut oil, plus more for tins

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup hot water or coffee (I used coffee)

1 Cup Vegan Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease three 12-cup mini muffin tins with oil.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, potato starch, arrowroot, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the 1/2 cup oil, applesauce, vanilla, and hot water to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips just until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Using a melon baller, scoop the batter into each prepared mini-muffin cup. Bake the brownies on the center rack for 10 minutes, rotating the tray 180 degrees after 5 minutes. The finished brownie will have a firm edge with a soft center and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the brownies stand in the pans for 10 minutes; they are best served warm. To maintain freshness, leave the brownies in the tins until ready to serve. Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Printable version here.

Game Day Apple Bars

There are the 'fruit dessert' people and the 'chocolate dessert' people of the world. Perhaps I am from an alternate universe because I really, truly am both. Maybe I just love dessert...that must be it.

But everyone will bring brownies to the Superbowl party. So, if you're like me, bring these and you'll have both fruit and chocolate sugary goodness. You'll impress all your friends and they'll love you forever. No, really. Especially if you serve it warm with vanilla ice cream.

These bars are really easy to make and if for some strange reason they don't all get eaten, they make a nice little breakfast treat. Enjoy!

Crust:

2 packages graham crackers

4 Tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

1 8-0z package cream cheese, room temperature

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/8" slices

Topping:

2 Tablespoons flour

2 Tablespoons cold butter

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 Tablespoons slivered almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a food processor, pulverize graham crackers until finely ground. Dump contents into a bowl and mix in the melted butter. It should resemble wet sand. Pack the mixture into a 8X8-inch pan, pressing to compact. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the topping. With your fingers, scrunch all the ingredients together until the butter has incorporated all of the flour and sugars but is still crumbly. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

4. Meanwhile, wash out the food processor and reassemble. Put in the cream cheese and turn on till soft. Add the sugar and process till combined. Add the egg and process until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and process another 5 seconds or so.

5. In rows, lay apple slices slightly overlapping like shingles to cover the graham cracker crust. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the apples. Take the topping out of the fridge and sprinkle over the cream cheese mixture.

6. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until cream cheese is set and is golden brown.

Makes 12 bars.

Printable version here.

"Someone Loves You" Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a good recipe to make for anyone who's feeling a little bit down. Hey, they can run an extra mile on the treadmill when they're feeling better!

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup all-natural smooth peanut butter
1/2 granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or chocolate bar cut into chunks)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or chocolate bar cut into chunks)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cream the butter, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla until light. Add the egg and mix until fluffy.

3. Blend the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt with a whisk. Add these dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Add the dark and white chocolate.

4. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls down on a lightly greased baking sheet (or silpat mat). Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden.

Printable version here.

Mom's Apple Crisp

My mom used to make this for breakfast growing up...I'd eat it at my fold-up table in front of the TV with my little Smurf mug filled with milk. Oh, it brings back such warm fuzzy memories. Then in college, I'd make it and eat half a pan at a time...so now I make it when there will be other people to enjoy is apple-y goodness. In this version, I added 1/2 c. dried cranberries.

6 c. sliced tart apples (6 medium)
1/2 c. flour
1/8 t salt
1/2 c oats (or more)
3/4 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. nutmeg
1/3 c. butter, softened.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a squar 8 x 8 baking dish. Place apples in baking dish.

2. Mix remaining ingredients thoroughly. Sprinkle over apples. Bake 20 minutes covered with foil, then 20 minutes uncovered, or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream.

*Best vanilla ice cream in the world as far as I am concerned, is Dr. Bob's:

Printable version here.

Valentine's Day S'mores

Since I wanted to keep this menu fairly easy, I used some short-cuts from the grocery store. If you want to make everything from scratch, by all means, do! But I find that buying the graham crackers and good-quality marshmallows saves a lot of time and effort, especially for how quickly these will be eaten up! I used marshmallows from the Little Flower Candy Company, which, incidentally, also makes killer caramels.

In this case, you really do need a heart-shaped cookie cutter. If you don't have one or don't want to buy one, forgo the heart shape--it'll still taste good!

I really enjoy the combination of raspberries and chocolate--my husband preferred this dish without, though...so don't use the raspberries if you're not totally into them. If you want a different flavor, you could always put a little liqeur into the chocolate (cointreau for an orange flavor...or a coffee liqeur...amaretto for an almond flavor...mint extract...or a little espresso powder). Go easy, though, so you don't make the sauce too runny.

2 graham cracker sheets
2 oz. semi-sweet good-quality chocolate
2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 marshmallows

Optional:
1/2 pint raspberries
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon favorite liqueur (brandy, cointreau, framboise, etc)
2 Tablespoons sugar

1. Cut out heart shapes out of graham crackers and carefully set aside.

2. In a double broiler or a microwave at half-power, melt together the chocolate and the cream. Dip the graham hearts in the chocolate and put on a sheet of parchment paper to dry. If you have extra chocolate, save for later. (Wink wink nudge nudge)

3. Mash together the raspberries, vanilla, liqueur, and sugar.

4. Preheat boiler. Put the marshmallows on a cookie sheet and place in broiler with the door open. Watch carefully as these can burn quickly (as I'm sure you already know from campfire memories). Bring to a toasty golden brown color and remove from oven.

5. Assemble. Put one chocolate-covered heart on the plate. Place the marshmallow over that, and then put another heart on top of that. Drizzle the raspberry mixture around.

Printable version here.