A New Kitchen

We've moved to a temporary home until the end of February.   It's a home with a much smaller kitchen and so I had to make some decisions while packing up about what items needed to go into storage.   I kept only a couple of cookie sheets and a couple of mixing bowls and send the rest to storage.   I also sent my springform pans, my bundt pans, my mini loaf pans, my mini muffin tins and a few other specialty pans to storage.   I think I might miss them.

In the meantime, I have a lot of ingredients for cookies and cakes and other desserts that I need to use rather than moving them again.    So my goal is to continue working my way through the cookie book making new recipes (and some old ones) while using up ingredients in my freezer and pantry so I don't have to move them.   On Sunday I decided we needed some cookies, but I didn't have any eggs.    I did have peanut butter and chocolate chips and found a recipe for Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies that only called for peanut butter, sugar, evaporated milk, cornstarch and chocolate chips.    But when I went to bake them the first ones started to brown after only being in the oven for about 8 minutes (the recipe said to bake them for 12 to 15 mintues) but when I took them out they were still kind of gooey.    I turned the temp down on the oven (it had been set at 350) and tried again.   This time I left them in for 10 minutes, but then they were crispy on the outside but gooey in the middle.   I think this is how they are supposed to be, but they don't look pretty at all so I didn't take any pictures.    However, Mark swears they are delicious.

Today I went to the kitchen againdetermined to have better success than on Sunday.   (After all, today I had eggs!).    I started with Cherry Coconut Bars because I had maraschino cherries and coconut that I would like to use rather than moving.     I thought things were going fine, until I took them out of the oven after the recommended time and they were dark brown on top -- not quite burnt but not very pretty at all.   Grrr!    Oh well, I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top of them to camoflauge the dark brown tops and they seemed to taste pretty good.    And lesson learned -- the oven temperature is hotter than the dial says that it is.   

So for my next attempt I had a 1/2 bag of caramels that I needed to use so I found a recipe for chocolate caramel cookies and even though it said to bake them at 350 I turned the oven down to 325.   The cookies turned out beautiful until it was time to melt the chocolate chips for the chocolate portion of the cookie.   And that is when I discovered that the microwave here is hotter than my old microwave too.    Know what happens when you try to melt chocolate chips but get them too hot -- they kind of turn into a play dough type substance (tasty, but not spreadable with a knife).   Since Foster isn't old enough to play with an edible play dough, I decided to use it anyway on top of the coookies.   So on top of the shortbread cookies I placed a caramel and then used my fingers to shape the chocolate topping on the cookies.   Again, not pretty, but tasty, although I think the chocolate overwhelms the caramel in this cookie so I'll need to tweak this recipe for the future.  

So now I know that both the microwave and oven are hotter than I expected.   Hopefully my next attempt at dessert will turn out better -- and prettier so that I can post pictures!

Holiday Basket Recipes

It has been recommended that the cookie baskets need some sort of "key" or a chart telling people what kind are in them.   Well, this is the next best thing.   This also provides you with a recipe for each kind of cookie if you want to make them yourselves :)

Dipped Cherry Cookies

2 1/2 C flour

1/2 C sugar

1 C butter (room temperature)

1/2 C chopped maraschino cherries (drained) --- get the ones without the stems

2/3 C white baking chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 t almond extract

1 package vanilla candy coating

• In a large bowl cobine the flour and sugar.   Cut in the butter until crumbly.   Knead in the cherries, white chocolate, and almond extract until you have a ball of dough.
• Shape into balls (about 3/4 to 1 inch) and place onto parchment lined baking shets.    Flatten slightly with a glass dipped in sugar and bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes.   Remove to wire racks to cool.
• Melt the candy coating and dip the top 1/2 of each cookie into the candy coating.   Place on waxed paper to cool.

(As a bonus, whatever is left with the candy coating you can use to dip pretzels -- delicious!)

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

 

1/2 C butter, softened

1/2 C butter flavored shortening

2 C sugar

1 egg

1 t rum extract

1/2 C evaporated milk

1/2 C French vanilla nondairy creamer

5 1/2 C flour

1 t salt

1 t baking soda

1/2 t nutmeg

• Cream the butter, shortening and sugar.    Beat in the egg and rum extract.   Add the salt and baking soda and mix well.    In a separate measuring cup mix together the evaporated milk and creamer.   Add to the mixture alternately with the flour.
• Combine the nutmeg with 1/3 C sugar.   Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the nutmeg mixture.
• Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.   Flatten slightly with a glass dipped into the nutmeg/suguar mixture. 
• Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.   Cool completely on wire racks.
• For the icing combine 1 C powdered sugar with 5 to 6 teaspoons of creamer and spread onto cooled cookies  

Marbled Chocolate Peanut Cookies
PEANUT BUTTER DOUGH
1 C butter
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 C sugar
1 1/4 C brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla extract
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 C chopped peanuts

Cream peanut butter, butter and sugars.   Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.   Add baking soda and salt and mix well.    Mix in flour.    Stir in chopped peanuts.   Set this mixture aside.

CHOCOLATE DOUGH
1 C butter
1 C brown sugar
3/4 C sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla extract
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 C baking cocoa
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
12 oz. chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars and then beat in vanilla and eggs.   Mix in baking soda and salt.   Mix in cocoa and then flour.   Stir in chocolate chips.

In a very large bowl add 1/3 peanut butter dough and then 1/3 chocolate dough.  Repeat this with the remaining dough layering the doughs in the bowl and then fold them gently together so that the dough is slightly marbled.   Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Butter Pecan Cookies

1 C butter softened

1 C brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 t vanilla extract

2 C flour
3 t baking powder
1 t salt

1 egg white

2 C chopped pecans

2 T butter

1 C pecan halves

Cream butter and brown sugar.   Mix in egg yolk and vanilla.    Mix in baking powder and salt and then mix in flour.    Refridgerate for an hour or two so that you can roll dough into balls.  

In the meantime take 2 cups of chopped pecans with the 2 T butter and place in the oven at 325 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes (stir every 2 minutes or so).    Set aside to cool.   Beat egg white until foamy.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then roll in toasted and chopped pecans pressing the pecans into the cookie dough balls.   Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.   Dip a pecan half into egg white and press into the cookie dough ball.   Bake at 350 for 11 minutes.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

3/4 C butter
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2 T water
2 C semisweet cholocate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2  C flour
1 1/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 packages Andes mints

• Microwave butter, brown sugar, water and chocolate chips until the butter and chocolate chips are completely melted.    Cool for a few minutes.
• Place chocolate mixutre into a mixing bowl and beat in eggs.    Mix in baking soda and salt and then mix in the flour.   Refridgerate the dough for a couple of hours until you can roll it into balls.
• Roll dough into balls about 1 inch in size.   Bake on parchment lined baking sheets at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  
• Break each mint into two pieces.  As soon as your remove cookies from the oven place a mint piece on top of each cookie.  Once mint begins to melt spread over the top of the cookie with a knife.   Remove to wire racks to cool.

Cranberry Lemon Sandwich Cookies
COOKIES
1 C margarine, softened
1 C butter flavored shortening
1 C sugar
1 C powdered sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla extract
4 C flour
1 t cream of tartar

1 t lemon extract

1/2 t salt

1 C dried cranberries

• Cream margarine, shortening, and sugars.   Beat in eggs, vanilla, lemon extract, cream of tartar and salt.   Mix in flour.  Stir in dried cranberries.
• Refridgerate dough for a couple of hours or unti it is easy to handle.
• Roll into 1 inch balls and place onto parchment lined paper.   Flatten slightly with a glass dipped in sugar and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
• Cool on wire racks

FILLING

2/3 C margarine

2 3/4 C powdered sugar

1/4 C milk

1 t lemon extract

Combine filling ingredients and beat until smooth.   Spread on bottom half of cookies and top with the remaining cookies.

And for good measure and your entertainment, a few pictures from the cookie making ....

Cherry Cookies and Sickerdoodles waiting to be wrapped 

Caleb doing some post-production taste testing

Kitchen table is filling up!

Foster is helping!