Tag Archives: cooking

November 29, 2010 · 11:06 am

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

DAY 4: These lemon poppy seed cookies are the texture of a soft sugar cookie, without the hassle of rolling and cutting. The cookies have just a hint of lemon flavor; I added a lemon glaze to intensify the lemon flavor.—

RECIPE:

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Servings: Makes 30-36 cookies
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2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
zest of one lemon (divided)
¼ cup buttermilk

Glaze:
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs light corn syrup
1 cup powdered sugar
lemon zest (from half of a lemon)
1-2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and poppy seeds. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and half of the lemon zest (save remaining zest for the glaze) and mix well. Add half of the dry ingredients; mix in buttermilk. Add remaining dry ingredients; mix well.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are set. The cookies should be puffy and fairly light in color when they are finished baking. Remove from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet. Move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mix glaze ingredients. Add more lemon juice, if needed, for a thick drizzling consistency. Drizzle/spread over cooled cookies (or dip the tops of each cookie in the glaze).

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

NoEmptyChairs.me

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES (2010) RECAP:
DAY 1: Raspberry Crumb Bars
DAY 2: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
DAY 3: Chocolate Nutella Cookies

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Tagged as baking, christmas, Cookies, cooking, dessert, drop sugar cookie, food, glaze, lemon, poppy seed, recipe

November 27, 2010 · 4:11 pm

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Chocolate Nutella Cookies

DAY 3: Chewy, chocolatey, nutty goodness. I didn’t have hazelnuts, so I substituted chopped almonds. They were really good, but next time I will try using hazelnuts so that the Nutella flavor comes through stronger.

Love Nutella? Try this Pumpkin Nutella Bread Recipe!

—

RECIPE:

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Servings: 5-6 dozen
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¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup of brown sugar
¾ cup of white sugar
1 cup of Nutella
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa
2 Tbs cornstarch
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup of chocolate chips
1 cup of chopped hazelnuts or almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream butter in an electric mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and Nutella and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each. Add the vanilla and mix for 10 seconds.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda (do not skip this step as sifting eliminates clumps of cocoa). Mix into the butter mixture on low speed until fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides at least once to ensure even mixing. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts and refrigerate the dough for ten minutes.

Spoon tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F for 9-12 minutes (do not over bake; cookies will look slightly underdone). Allow to cool on the sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes 5-6 dozen cookies.

Recipe from Simply Recipes

NoEmptyChairs.me

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES (2010) RECAP:
DAY 1: Raspberry Crumb Bars
DAY 2: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

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Tagged as almonds, baking, chocolate, christmas, Christmas cookies, Cookies, cooking, dessert, food, hazelnuts, Nutella, recipe

November 27, 2010 · 8:38 am

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

DAY 2: A classic cookie with an autumn twist. Perfect for using up that extra half-can of pumpkin from Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.

I really liked the additional spices (ginger and allspice as well as cinnamon) that the cookies are rolled in, but overall, I think that I prefer traditional Snickerdoodles. Little A, however, thought these were great!

RECIPE:

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Servings: 3 dozen
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1 cup butter, softened
2 ¼ cups sugar
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Topping:
½ cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy; beat in pumpkin puree. Mix in egg and vanilla. Mix together flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt, and ½ tsp cinnamon. Gradually mix into pumpkin mixture. Chill dough for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl. Roll dough into 1” balls. Roll the balls in the spiced sugar until well coated. Place on baking sheets. Use a glass to flatten the balls slightly.

Bake for 10-14 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; cool completely on a wire rack.

Yield: About 3 dozen

Recipe adapted from dlynz

NoEmptyChairs.me

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES (2010) RECAP:
DAY 1: Raspberry Crumb Bars

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Raspberry Crumb Bars

DAY 1: Welcome to the Second Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies! This year, I have twelve new cookie recipes to share, starting with this recipe for Raspberry Crumb Bars. They are a shortbread based cookie, which makes them pretty crumbly to eat, but I love the combination of raspberries and nuts. For the raspberry filling, I used a combination of homemade Red Raspberry and Black Raspberry Jams that I canned last summer.

The original recipe, from Family Fun magazine (printed below with a few adjustments), is baked in a 9” square pan, but I doubled the recipe and baked them in a rimmed 17×12” baking pan.

Visit: First Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies for a recap of the cookies from last year.

RECIPE:

Raspberry Crumb Bars

Servings: 32
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1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch square pan with butter or cooking spray. (**See Note below for using larger baking pan)

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Add the flour and salt and beat just until the flour is incorporated. The dough will be crumbly. Press about two-thirds of the dough into the greased pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.

While the shortbread cools slightly, mix the oats and nuts into the remaining one-third of the dough. The mixture will be very crumbly; it is easier to use your hands to mix the topping.

Spread the raspberry jam on the shortbread, then evenly cover the jam with the crumb topping. (TIP: for easy jam spreading, heat the jam slightly in the microwave; stir and pour over crust.)

Bake the bars for 20-25 mins, or until the topping is golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack for about 15-20 minutes. While the shortbread is still slightly warm, cut it into 16 squares, then cut each square in half diagonally. Once the triangles cool completely (they are very fragile while warm), lift them from the pan with a metal spatula.

Makes 32 triangles.

**NOTE: I doubled the recipe and baked them in a 17×12” rimmed baking sheet for 7-8 minutes for the crust, and then the whole bars for about 18 minutes. Using this sized pan makes for slightly thinner bars than the original recipe, which I liked. Yield: about 70 triangles.

Recipe adapted from Family Fun magazine

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as baking, bar cookies, christmas, Christmas cookies, Cookies, cooking, dessert, food, jam, raspberry, recipe, shortbread crust, streusel, triangles

November 21, 2010 · 3:13 pm

Thanksgiving Dessert: Caramel Apple Cheesecake Tart with Streusel Topping

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A combination of so many things that I love: apples, cinnamon, cheesecake, caramel (I used homemade Dulce de Leche, or try this Caramel Sauce), and a buttery, slightly sweet oat topping. A perfect end to a Thanksgiving meal- a perfect end to just about any meal!

The recipe is long, but not complicated. While there are a lot of ingredients, each layer is easy to put together. Just make sure you have all of your layers ready to go before putting things into the pan.

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For a more pronounced caramel flavor, you could drizzle individual servings with additional caramel sauce at serving time.

I used a Cream Cheese Pastry recipe for the crust, but you could also use any basic pie crust. I bake this in a tart pan (mine has an 11” diameter). You could also use a deep dish pie pan, but you might want to reduce the amount of streusel topping and increase the baking time to make sure cheesecake layer sets.

Cheesecake layer on the bottom.

A caramel apple filling made with apples, brown sugar, dulce de leche or caramel sauce, and cinnamon. Use a spoon to gently and evenly distribute apples over the cheesecake filling. Try to not mix the two layers together.

A chunky streusel topping with a nutty oat flavor gets sprinkled over the apples.

Cover edges of tart with a pie crust shield. I do not own one that fits my tart pan, so I make my own out of foil. See How To…Make Your Own Pie Crust Shield. Since the tart pan has steeper sides than a regular pie plate, when you are tracing the circle to cut out, be sure to cut a circle that is about 1/2” smaller than the outside edge of the tart pan.

Bake until center is set (it will still jiggle just a little in the center, but will continue to set as it cools) and streusel is golden brown. I leave the foil on for all but the last 5 minutes of baking time.

The hardest part: keeping little fingers (and a few big ones) from picking at the streusel topping while the tart cools completely.

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RECIPE:

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Tart

Servings: About 12
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Cream Cheese Pastry Crust:
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
4 oz (½ pkg) cream cheese, softened
1 Tbs powdered sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
1 ½ cups flour (divided)

In a food processor, combine butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and salt. Process until smooth. Add ½ cup flour. Pulse just until flour is incorporated (do not overmix). Repeat with another ½ cup flour. Scrape dough from sides of bowl and repeat with the last ½ cup flour.

On a floured surface, flatten dough into a ½” thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, or until firm enough to roll. Dough can also be frozen for later use.

Cheesecake Layer:
12 oz (1 ½ pkg) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth with a mixer.

Apple Layer:
4 cups peeled and sliced apples (about 3-4 apples)
½ cup Dulce de Leche or Caramel Sauce
3 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp ClearJel or cornstarch
½ tsp cinnamon
scant 1/8 tsp nutmeg
pinch salt

Combine all ingredients.

Streusel Topping:
6 Tbs butter, melted
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
2 Tbs brown sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp kosher salt

Combine all ingredients. Mix until crumbly.

ASSEMBLY:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Move oven rack to lowest level.

Remove pastry dough from refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle 1” larger than a 10-11” tart pan. Transfer to ungreased tart pan. Crimp edges, if desired.

Pour cheesecake filling into crust. Carefully top with apple layer. Sprinkle with streusel topping.

Cover edges of tart with a pie crust shield or aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes on lowest rack of oven. Reduce heat to 375°F, move tart to center rack, and bake for 15-25 additional minutes, or until just the very center (not the edges) jiggles when shaken lightly. Cover entire tart with foil if streusel begins to brown too much. Cool completely on a wire rack.

NOTE: This can be made into bars by cooking in a rectangular baking pan (put crust on bottom of the pan only, not up the sides). A 7×11” pan will give you about the same thickness as the tart, or use a 9×13” pan for slightly thinner bars.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as apple, apple pie, apple tart, baking, caramel, caramel apple, cheesecake, cooking, dessert, food, recipe, streusel, tart, Thanksgiving

November 18, 2010 · 8:29 pm

Thanksgiving Meal Prep Planning

For me, an enjoyable, stress-free Thanksgiving is all in the advance planning. Best plan: pot-luck meal where you have limited cooking responsibility! But it is still possible to have a low-stress day and prepare the entire meal yourself. With one oven. Here is our menu this year, and the plan for getting it done with the least amount of Thanksgiving Day chaos.

—

Our Thanksgiving Menu:
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Herb Brined Roast Turkey

Gravy

Rolls

Cranberry Sauce

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Roasted Garlic Stuffing

Green Beans with Bacon and Almonds

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms

Pumpkin Pie

Cherry Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie

—

Thanksgiving Gameplan:

Monday (or earlier):
- Make rolls; parbake and freeze
- Cube bread for stuffing, set out on trays to dry; roast garlic for stuffing and potatoes, refrigerate (see Roasted Garlic Stuffing for full recipe)
- Eat all of the leftovers in the fridge so you have room for all of your advance preparations and Thanksgiving leftovers! Keep eating leftovers Tuesday and Wednesday until your fridge is empty; no more leftovers? Order pizza.
Tuesday:
- Prepare brine (see Turkey Timetable below)
- Prepare Make-Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes; refrigerate
- Make cranberry sauce; refrigerate
Wednesday:
- Add turkey to brine (see Turkey Timetable)
- Chop vegetables for stuffing; place in Ziploc bags; refrigerate
- Prepare veges for Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Mushrooms (this is a new recipe I’m trying this year from Kalyn’s Kitchen. It sounds great, but does require a lot of oven space and time, so I am going to try to roast it for half the time on Wednesday, refrigerate, and then finish on Thursday)
- Cook bacon and toast almonds for the Green Beans with Bacon
- Make pies
Thursday:
- Prepare stuffing. Cook for 30 minutes in oven. Transfer to crock pot. Keep warm on lowest heat. **Do this before putting the turkey in the oven
- Prepare and roast turkey (see Turkey Timetable)
- Remove mashed potatoes from fridge; place in covered casserole dish; let potatoes come to room temperature (I am going to reheat the potatoes in the oven; you could also reheat them in a crock pot on low for several hours)
- Remove sweet potatoes from fridge and place on baking sheet;cover and let come to room temperature.
- Remove rolls from freezer. Place on a baking sheet and cover with foil or plastic wrap.
- Sit and enjoy family for the next hour or two while the turkey cooks!
- When turkey is done: remove from oven and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- As soon as turkey comes out of oven: mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes go in the oven
- Make gravy; keep warm on low heat
- Steam green beans; stir in bacon and almonds (see Bacon Beans for full recipe)
- While you are preparing beans, have someone else begin to carve the turkey, and kids begin to put food on the table
- Remove potatoes and sweet potatoes from the oven. Bake rolls for 5-7 minutes, until hot and golden brown.
- Relax and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Turkey Timetable:

Tuesday evening: Prepare brine. Cover and let it sit overnight.
Wednesday morning: Add turkey to brine; Let it sit in a cool place (below 40°F) for 12-24 hours (I usually go with close to 24 hours)
Thursday (Thanksgiving!):
- 4 hours before you plan to serve the meal: Remove turkey from brine. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
- 3 ½ hours before eating: Prep turkey and put in the oven. Roast until cooked through (about 2 ½ to 3 hours total)
- 30 minutes before eating: Remove turkey from oven and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Serving time: Carve and serve turkey.