Knitted Things!

I started knitting about five years ago.  Taught myself from a kid's learn to knit book and YouTube.  (Thank goodness for YouTube!)  I was really gung ho at first, then stopped for awhile.  I worried knitting was going to be like a lot of other pursuits I started enthusiastically, then eventually stopped doing (I'm looking at you scrap booking and stamping!)  But, I found I still enjoy it and really love it.

I really love starting a project and seeing it come together.  I have knitted two sweaters for myself since starting to knit and it is always exciting to see it grow on the needles, and also a little worrisome to see if it will fit when it is all done.  I love making things for others, too.  Especially baby gifts.  Who can resist tiny, handmade clothing?

Here are a few of the items I've made recently. 

These are socks that I still can't believe I made and enjoyed making!  I have seen my brother-in-law knit countless pairs of socks and always shook my head.  Who in their right mind would take the time to knit socks?  Then I found some sock yarn on clearance and decided to give it a try.  It was in my first year of knitting and I gave up when I realized I would have  to make a second sock when I finished the first.  The sock sat on my needles for 3-4 years until this February.  I ripped out the partially knitted sock, re-rolled my yarn into a ball, and started this sock pattern.  I love the results and I am even thinking I want to knit more socks!  Glad I changed my mind!

I made this little set for my daughter's classroom teacher.  She got married in the Fall and now is due with her first baby (a little boy) in September!  She has been an amazing teacher to my daughter and I couldn't resist the opportunity to make a little something for her.  I learned seaming and mattress stitch for this project and I'm so glad I did!  I've only knit raglan (or circular yoke) sweaters up to this point because I was so afraid of the seaming process.  Now I don't have to be!  Mattress stitch is amazing!  It is almost invisible and while a little tedious, the results are worth the effort.

 

Made this sweater (only my second one for me, and my first non-cardigan) for our upcoming trip to Ireland.  I wanted something easy and pretty.  I used a cotton yarn, which I would not do again.  While very soft, it is a bit heavy.  But overall I'm happy with how it turned out.  The lace part was hard to work once the sleeves were added, but I'm glad I stuck with it. 

Next up will be some baby sweaters for my cousins twin girls due in September and hopefully a cardigan in a lovely brown wool for me!

Goat Cake

 

My ten year old daughter is obsessed with goats.  I don't quite know how it happened, but it did. And now for the last two years, when anyone asks what she wants for her birthday, Christmas, 4th of July, etc, she says, "A goat."  Her Grandpa even got her a really nice stuffed animal goat for her 9th birthday.  She loves it.  She named it Fitzgerald Goatpants.  But still she asks for a goat.

As you can imagine, she won't be getting one.  We live in a suburb.  We don't have a fenced yard.  I don't have the slightest idea how to take care of a goat.  And have you looked at goats lately?  They are adorable as babies, but when they are adults - yeeesh!  Those crazy eyes aren't very pretty to look at. 

So we buy her shirts and sweaters with goats or sheep on them.  We check out books about goats from the library.  We let her set the background screen on the ipad to a goat photo.  We made sure to pet the goats at Cedar Point last summer.  (I know - who would think Cedar Point would have goats?  They do!)  My eleven year old daughter drew her the cutest goat picture for her birthday.

And me?  I make her a birthday cake in the shape of a goat, exactly as she requested.

The cake conversation went like this:
     Me: What kind of cake do you want for your birthday?
     Daughter: lemon (Good girl! Yum!)
     Me: Great.  But what do you want on the cake?  What do you want it to look like?
     Daughter: Can you sculpt a cake.
     Me: Ummm, no.
     Daughter: Can you make it 3-D?
     Me: You mean, something on top of another cake, like a cut out?
     Daughter:  Yes.
     Me:  Yes, I could do that.
     Daughter:  Great.  I want the bottom cake to be a grass cake, and I want a goat on top.
     Me:  ooooookay.

That kid cracks me up.  So I looked for a few cute pictures of cartoon goats online and found a really cute one.  I printed and enlarged it.  Then I baked two 9x13 inch cakes, one lemon and one french vanilla.  I made the french vanilla one thinner because I was going to cut the goat out of that cake.

I frosted the lemon cake green and then covered it with green frosting using the Wilton grass tip.  I froze the french vanilla cake for about a half hour.  When I was ready to cut the goat out, I took the cake from the freezer and placed the enlarged goat picture on top of the cake. With a sharp knife I cut around the picture until I had a goat shape in french vanilla cake.  I carefully pulled the excess cake from around the cut out goat and then transferred the goat to the top of the grass cake.  I initially thought I would just frost it with a knife, and then decided stars would look nicer.  I frosted the horns first, then started squeezing stars all over the goat.  I finished with a few lines to better define the legs and then the eyes and nose.

I showed it to my daughter who absolutely loved it!  And so do I.  One of the things I like most about it is that I didn't copy anyone else's cake.  I listened to what my daughter wanted and made it happen.  I love knowing that she is happy and is getting exactly what she wants for her birthday cake.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

In continuing on in the theme of making snacks to replace the ones I previously bought my kids, I came up with this little muffin recipe.  It is a rework of a favorite chocolate chip muffin recipe in my repertoire.  I stopped making muffins from a box years ago, but hadn't used whole wheat or whole grain flours very regularly.  This recipe was originally for full sized muffins and made with all purpose flour.  I tweaked it a little to be 100% whole wheat and completely poppable into the mouth whole.

My kids used to love those little muffins you could buy that came about 5 to a pack.  I didn't buy them often because they were expensive, but as an occasional treat for their lunches, I would indulge when they were on sale.  No more!  The junk that was in those is crazy, especially when I can make these so easily and feel good about my kids eating them.  I usually make a big batch and then put three to a snack size baggie and then let them throw them in their lunches when they are packing them.  I often freeze them this way (in the baggies, then in a large Ziploc plastic container or another, larger zip top bag).  The kids will get them out the night before while packing their lunch, or the morning before school and they will be thawed by lunchtime.  A great, and relatively healthy sweet treat, for their lunch.  Everyone is happy!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
⅓ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Grease and flour mini muffin pans, or use mini muffin wrappers.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flours, sugars, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, thoroughly mix the milk, eggs and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and stir to combine slightly. Add melted butter and stir just until all ingredients are combined. Fold in mini chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared pans (muffin cups about 3/4 full) and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until muffin tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to cool completely on rack.

Yield: about 40 mini muffins

You can make these as regular muffins, but the cook time will be longer.  You may also want to use regular sized chocolate chips with them.

Bagged mini muffins for lunches

Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Back when I started on this real food adventure, I knew there would be a lot of pushback from my three kids.  They hate that I won't buy Kraft Mac & Cheese, pop tarts or American cheese slices.  They grumble that Hostess snacks and Entenmann's Little Bites are never purchased for packed lunches.  (I actually rarely to never bought Hostess snacks, but my kids have been known to eat a Twinkie or two.)  So when my husband said the kids might take it easier if the former snacks and foods were replaced by something equal, but healthier, things might go easier.  Queue the whole wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I would not necessarily call this cookie healthy.  But, I do know what ingredients are in it, and compared to the gmo laden processed crap at the grocery store, they're fantastic!

I found this recipe online originally at the Betty Crocker website.  I read the reviews and tweaked the recipe just a little.  I reduced the sugar just a bit and upped the flour by 1/4 cup.  They come out perfect every time and my family scarfs them down faster than I can make them.  They make a large batch, and you can feel good that everything that goes into them is all natural.  Give them a try, you won't be disappointed.

Before baking

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from: Betty Crocker recipe here

⅔ cup sugar
⅔ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour, regular or white whole wheat
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 package (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl until well combined. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Make 1 inch balls of dough by rolling in your hand. Place about 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottom edges of cookie are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheets 2-3 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Yield:  about 4 dozen

Cinnamon Spiral Bread

I will spare you all my despair over not updating my blog, including completely not doing my annual 12 recipes of Christmas.  It seems almost every time I blog, I try to explain why I haven't.  Let's just say I kinda suck at keeping this thing up to date.  That being said, I still enjoy blogging occasionally, so let's jump back in with both feet!

My awesome sister got me this fantastic new cookbook for Christmas this year.  I have checked it out of the library and renewed it too many times to count.  That's how I knew I needed to own it.  Now I do!  Squeeeeee!


So with my King Arthur Whole Grain Baking cookbook in hand, I sat down and made a loooooong list of recipes I wanted to try, including page numbers.  This is what I do for fun, leaf through cookbooks and make lists of all the things I want to make.  And knit.

I came across the Cinnamon Spiral Bread and read the description.  "This dark-brown, spiraled loaf resembles nothing so much as a giant cinnamon bun."  Done!  This is it!  I have to try this!!!! And so I did, and I thought I would share the results with you!

Cinnamon Spiral Bread - after baking before icing

Close-up  - Mmmmmmm!

I will start by saying this recipe has a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps.  It took me most of the day to make it, although most of that time was waiting for it to rise twice.  It is worth the hard work, though, as it is so tasty and delicious!

Cinnamon Spiral Bread

Adapted from : King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

Pre-ferment:

1 cup white whole wheat flour
½ cup cool water
pinch of instant yeast

Dough:

All of the pre-ferment
½ cup milk, heated to lukewarm
3 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into 6-8 pieces
¾ cup white whole wheat flour
⅔ cup old-fashioned rolled oats, ground in food processor
⅔ cup old-fashioned rolled oats, left whole
1 cup all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast

Coating:

¼ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Topping:

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Make the pre-ferment first. Do this the night before you want to bake the bread. Mix the pre-ferment ingredients in a small (2-3 cup) bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter overnight at room temperature.

To make the dough:
Combine the pre-ferment and all of the dough ingredients in mixer bowl. Mix until combined. Switch mixing paddle to dough hook and knead on speed 2 for about 5 minutes or until dough is soft and smooth. Alternately, knead by hand after mixing.

Place dough in greased bowl. Turn to grease top and cover and let rise until nearly doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Prepare the coating by mixing together the powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Deflate the dough and on lightly floured countertop, roll it into a 40-inch-long snake. The dough should be very soft. Sprinkle the length of the dough with the cinnamon sugar topping, turning to completely coat in the mixture.

Coil the dough in the prepared pan. Scrape any remaining cinnamon-sugar off the counter and sprinkle it over the dough in the pan. Cover it loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap. Allow it to rise until it fills the pan and has close to doubled in size, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

While the oven is preheating, make the topping. Stir together the sugar, water, vanilla and cinnamon. Drizzle topping evenly over the risen loaf.

Bake for 33-35 minutes, tenting with foil after 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and after 2-3 minutes, turn bread out onto wire rack. Flip over again onto another rack or serving plate to cool completely.

When bread is completely cool, make the icing. Mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and enough milk to make a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle over the cooled bread and let set until firmed slightly. Cut into wedges and serve.

Managed to snap a picture before the kids gobbled most of it up!

 A few notes:  My kitchen was very cold when I made this.  It took my loaf a full two hours for the first rise, and I had to turn my oven to 200ºF to warm the area where the dough was rising.  The recipe originally called for traditional whole wheat flour, but we prefer white whole wheat, so that is what I used.  When making the ground oats, measure the oats whole, then grind.  Do not measure after grinding.  This is delicious heated up slightly.

100% Whole Grain Pancakes

So I promised I would be sharing some of my new favorite healthy recipes.  This is one of the first ones I made.  During Lent, we eat pancakes for dinner every other week.  Now that Lent is over, we still eat them for dinner, just not quite as often and usually accompanied with bacon or sausage.

I took my family's favorite pancake recipe and gradually changed it until it was 100% whole grain.  I started slow, just substituting a little bit of whole wheat flour for the white flour.  Each time I made them, I added a little more and a little more until I had the recipe at 80% whole grain.  Then finally I made the jump to 100% whole grain by using some oat flour in place of that last bit of white flour.  And let me tell you, my kids LOVE them!  And I love that I am feeding them something I know is good for them.  It's a win/win!  This morning I made a huge batch of these pancakes, individually froze each one, then wrapped them in packs of three and put them back in the freezer.  Now whenever my kids (or husband) want pancakes, I have premade, healthy and delicious pancakes ready to go.

100% Whole Grain Pancakes
(adapted from "Favorite Pancakes" in Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book)

2 eggs
2½ cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup oat flour
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, using a whisk, beat eggs well. Whisk in buttermilk and soda. Add all remaining ingredients and whisk or stir until fairly smooth.

Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle and cook as you would for pancakes.  Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Yield: about 26-28 pancakes


These really are so easy and so yummy!  I hope you think so, too!

Getting Healthier

Last year was crazy in so many ways.  The biggest and craziest part of the year was the diagnosis of both of my parents with cancer.  My Dad had prostate cancer, my Mom had liposarcoma.  My Dad had surgery in August and appears to be cancer free!  My Mom's cancer was inoperable and she passed away in September.  I can't say for sure if it was my mom's death or any number of other things that got me started into looking to eat healthier, but I do know it was one of the reasons.

I have struggled to lose weight the last 3-4 years.  I'm not looking to lose a lot, about 10 pounds or so, but have struggled to do so.  I was also tired and definitely had food cravings most days.  I really just wanted to feed myself and my family better. 

So I started looking into things.  I looked at what some of my very healthy friends were feeding to there families.  I looked online at what other people were doing to eat healthy.  I went to Bible study where my friend Katie served delicious banana muffins that had no sugar in them and were completely whole grain!  I did more research online.  I started to think about the obesity epidemic in the USA.  I thought back to the no fat/ low fat craze of the late 80's early 90's. 

I started to think something wasn't adding up.  Here we are, one of the most developed and advanced nations in the world, and huge amounts of our population (including our children) were overweight.  I had long ago switched to butter when the trans fat information came out.  I had long ago switched to whole wheat pasta when the low carb revolution took hold.  But I was still giving my kids 1% milk,  I was still buying what I thought was a better brand of margarine to spread on my rolls and toast, I was still feeding my kids boxed mac and cheese.  Then I started reading labels, looking up what the ingredients on the label really were, finding out how many products have high fructose corn syrup in them (among other things), and questioning why I was feeding this not only to myself, but to my husband and kids as well. 

I started reading, a lot.  Most low or no fat dairy products have additives in them to make them seem thick and creamy like the real, full fat versions.  Pre-shredded cheese has a mold inhibitor and anti-caking agent in it that most block cheeses do not (and you are eating those things).  Most processed foods are that, highly processed.  Eggs are from chickens that are kept inhumanely cooped in cages and fed diets that are not natural to them.  Same with most of our meat supply.  (Cows are ruminants, they are supposed to eat grass - not corn and soybeans.)  I started wanting to know that the meat and dairy products my family consumes comes from humanely treated animals that are also not treated with unneccessary hormones or antibiotics. 

I started to wonder if God had a better plan for us.  He created so many amazing fruits, vegetables, grains and animals for us to be stewards over.  Was I doing my job there?  Was I taking care of not only my body but also the animals and land that we are tasked to care for? 

So I started making some small changes.  I changed the oils and fats we use to now only butter, extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil.  I started cooking and baking with more whole grains.  I started making more and more meals form scratch.  I started buying my eggs from a local farmer who raises her chickens humanely.  I found a local farmer of 100% grass fed beef and started purchasing my beef there.  I started buying grass fed butter, whole milk, and whole milk yogurt.  I try to use honey and maple syrup as my primary sweeteners.  I eat more fruit and veggies. I make a hot breakfast for my family once a week - totally form scratch.

And guess what?  I have lost some weight.  I have very few cravings any more, and when I do they are satisfied more quickly with a small amount of a snack instead of lots and lots of it.

 I have come to the conclusion that all this low fat, no saturated fat is nonsense and not good health.  Eating real foods, healthy natural fats, is far more satisfying to the body and soul.  Do I still have a sweet tooth, yes.  But I satisfy it with naturally sweet things like fruit and yogurt smoothies.  And I don't crave the junk anymore, and I feel better.  I hope to get my kids and husband as excited about this transition as I am, though it has not been easy.

I am planning on sharing some of my new, healthier recipes in the coming weeks.  Not all of them are sugar free, and not all of them are 100% whole grain, but they are good alternatives if you are just starting this journey into the land of healthier eating.  To make it easier for my kids, I have adapted a lot of my regular recipes and subbed in whole wheat flour and healthy oils.  They haven't complained about the muffins with less sugar and whole grains, since they were used to eating the white flour versions of these.  Stop by in the next few weeks, you may find a few new favorite recipes that are healthier for you, too!

My Mom's Tea Ring

One of my family's most cherished Christmas traditions was when my mom would make her Swedish Tea Ring.  Every Christmas Eve, she would work her magic and take flour, sugar, butter, an egg, cinnamon and a few other ingredients and make the most wonderful thing we could think of, her tea ring.  When we were little, we would eat it on Christmas morning for breakfast.  When we got older, we would indulge after Midnight mass.  She kept up the tradition for many years, but as we grew up, got married, and left home, she stopped making it.  We often talked about how yummy it was and how pretty it was, but she didn't make it.  I'm not sure why, but probably because it was a lot of work and we started celebrating Christmas with my parents at lunch or dinner, not breakfast.  Instead she would make homemade rolls and cherry and pecan pies.  But the tradition of the tea ring has stayed with me through the years.  My family has it's own tradition for Christmas morning, but the tea ring still says "Christmas" to me.  And it says Mom.

My mom in the red and green dress reading from the Christmas Book.

On September 16 of this year, she passed away at the too young age of 69.  She had only been diagnosed with stage IV cancer 6 weeks earlier.  To say it was a shock is an understatement.  In our family she is Christmas.  She spent a week every year decorating every corner of her house.  She had an enormous angel collection and Santa collection.  She had peach colored Christmas decorations to match the color of her bathroom.  She put lights up over the English bar in her dining room and every window or ledge had some Christmas decoration.  She had what looked like an elf on the shelf waaaaaaay before they were called that.  She put on a green and red striped floor length dress and read a Christmas story to her grandchildren.  She often had themed gifts for not only her grandchildren, but her children and daughters and sons-in-laws.  She would come downstairs and tell the grandkids to go in the other room so she could fill the stockings.  Christmas was always an event with her and my dad.  She made sure we always were all together to celebrate, not worrying about whether it was on December 25.  I am so grateful to her for that.  Once we moved to Illinois, we only went home about three times a year.  To know I was going to get to see my two older brothers and older sister, their spouses and all of my nieces and nephews at Christmas every year was such a blessing.

So with her on my mind right now, I knew I had to try my hand at a tea ring.  I made two and my kids told me they were delicious.  My husband told me it was great.  And I had a little piece of my mom again, if only for a moment.  I decorated it just the way she did, with green and red maraschino cherries.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I always did, and now will in memory of my mom.

Tea Ring decorated with red and green maraschino cherries

 Tea Ring
Adapted from The Betty Crocker Cookbook: Swedish Tea Ring

1 package active dry yeast
½ cup warm water , (105 - 115º)
½ cup lukewarm milk, (scalded then cooled)
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
3½ - 4 cups all purpose flour
Filling:
4 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
⅔ cup sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turn dough greased side up. Cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch dough down. Divide dough in half.

On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough into a 15x9-inch rectangle. Spread with two tablespoons of butter (like buttering a piece of bread). Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Sprinkle half of sugar mixture evenly over dough. Roll up tightly, starting with the 15-inch side. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal well. Stretch roll slightly to make even.

Transfer dough to greased or parchment lined baking sheet. With sealed edge down, shape into a ring. Pinch ends together to close ring. With kitchen scissors, make cuts 2/3 of the way through the ring at 1-inch intervals. After ring has been cut, pull out each piece carefully and turn on it's side. Let rise until double, 40 to 60 minutes.

Repeat method with other half of dough.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Bake for 23-29 minutes, or until golden brown. If tea ring browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Glaze:
In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Spoon over warm or cooled tea rings. Decorate with maraschino cherries if desired.

Tea Ring before adding the glaze.

Notes: The best part of this recipe is that it makes two!  One to eat and one to share.  that is exactly what my mom did when we lived in England for five years.  She would make several tea rings then we would deliver them to friends to share on their Christmas morning. 

Have a blessed Christmas!  Thank you for sharing in my 12 Recipes of Christmas!

Spiced Spritz

I have been making spritz cookies for my husband for almost as long as we have been married.  His Grandma and mom both used to make them every Christmas, and so I started making them, too.  We always made the basic butter variety, simple and delicious.  Through cookie exchanges I have tried chocolate spritz and frosted spritz, but never any that were as good as the basic butter version I had been  making for years.  Then I saw this recipe for spiced spritz cookies and thought that I must try these.  I am so glad I did.  So are my kids.  And the husband.  They still love the traditional butter version, and these do not replace those.  But if you are looking for something a little different, something with a lovely spiced flavor, then this recipe is for you!

Spiced Spritz

1 cup butter, softened
⅔ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Glaze:
1½ cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Combine butter, sugar, egg, salt and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy and well combined. Add flour and all the spices. Beat on low until mixed well.

Place dough into cookie press fitted with desired disc. Form cookies 1-inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to rack to cool.

To make glaze: Stir together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.


Notes: If dough is too soft after mixing, refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.  Place cookies on a cooling rack with wax paper underneath. When drizzling cookies with glaze, glaze will drip onto wax paper instead of your counter.  Glaze can be drizzled over warm or cooled cookies. These cookies will perfume your kitchen with spicy sweetness!

Only 1 more recipe until Christmas!  (It is a very special one - come back Monday for my last recipe of the year!)

Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints

Whenever I think of thumbprint cookies, I think of the traditional butter cookie with jam in the middle.  My husband loves these.  They were never a part of my holiday traditions growing up, and I'm just not a huge fan of jam in baked goods.  Seems too healthy.   So when I came across this gem of a recipe, I knew I had to make it.  And let me tell you, these do not disappoint!  It is a chocolatey cookie (tasty in it's own right) then filled with gooey caramel, then drizzled with more chocolate!!!!  Oh yes, this is a good cookie!

Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints
from Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season by Lisa Zwirn

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1¼ cups sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt

Caramel Filling:
20 caramels, unwrapped
¼ cup heavy cream, (or whipping cream)

Chocolate Drizzle
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the whole egg and egg yolk. Mix in the vanilla extract. With the beaters on low speed, add the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Mix until well combined. Gather the dough into a ball, then divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line cookie sheets with parchment or a Silpat.

Remove one dough half from the refrigerator. Roll pieces of the dough into 1-inch balls. PLace about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Make an indentation in the center of each ball using the handle end of a wooden spoon (or your thumb), being careful not to go all the way through the dough.

Bake for about 13 minutes or until the cookies feel just slightly firm. Immediately upon removing the cookies, again use the handle on the wooden spoon to reinforce and slightly widen the indentation. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the Caramel Filling:
Heat the caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Using the smallest, narrowest spoon you have, spoon the caramel into the indentations of the cookies, filling just up to the rim. If the caramel becomes too thick, place the saucepan back over low heat for a few seconds. Let the caramel set before drizzling the cookies with chocolate.

For the Chocolate Drizzle:
Melt the chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals on medium power, stirring after each interval, until melted and smooth. If not too hot, spoon (or pour) chocolate into a disposable decorating bag. PLace the cookies close together, but not touching, on racks set over wax paper. Cut just the tip of the decorating bag and drizzle chocolate in a zigzag pattern over the cookies. Let the chocolate completely set before storing cookies.

Store layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container.

Yield: 60 cookies

Notes:  This cookie is like a Rolo in cookie form!  For longer storage, store in refrigerator.  I used a metal 1/8 teaspoon to spoon the caramel into the cookies.  Any spoon small and pointy will work best for this.

Only 2 more recipes until Christmas!

Peanut Butter Tart with Chocolate Ganache

This is another one of those Pinterest finds.  I saw this recipe and knew I wanted to try it.  Peanut butter and chocolate.  They should be best friends, and in this tart they are.  The shortbread crust is a nice foil to the rich peanut butter filling and decadent chocolate ganache topping.  This dessert is a showstopper!

 

Peanut Butter Tart with Chocolate Ganache

From Orgasmic Chef's "Peanut Butter Tart with shortbread Crust and Chocolate Ganache Glaze"

Crust:
10 ounces shortbread cookies, crushed
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
Glaze:
½ cup heavy cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Mix cookie crumbs with butter and press mixture evenly into pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Filling:
Place cream cheese and peanut butter in mixing bowl. Beat with mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the powdered sugar and butter and beat until fluffy. Thoroughly fold in half the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture. Gently fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon into crust and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 1/2 hours.

Glaze:
Heat 1/2 cup cream in microwave until very hot, about 1 minute and 15 seconds. Add chocolate chips and stir until smooth. If not already cool, cool until lukewarm and spread over peanut butter filling. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 1/2 hours.

Notes:  This was LOVED in my house by ALL the inhabitants, young and old alike.  Be sure to use creamy peanut butter for a smooth and velvety filling.

Only 3 more recipes until Christmas!

Chocolate Shortbread Wedges

I have looked at many shortbread recipes and notice how simple the ingredient list is.  I have longed to make shortbread, but worry I'll be the only one in the house to like it.  Then I found this recipe.  And I decided it didn't matter whether I was the only one who liked it, or everyone liked it,  I was going to try this recipe.  And I'm so glad I did.  These not too sweet shortbread wedges are rich, crumbly, and oh so chocolatey.  The perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of coffee in the late morning or early afternoon. 

Chocolate Shortbread Wedges

From "Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season" by: Lisa Zwirn

1½ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease a 9 1/2-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

Beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy. Add the sugar and beat well until fully blended. Mix in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt until fully incorporated. Spread the dough in the pan, pressing evenly with your fingers to make the dough as smooth as possible. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Prick the dough with a fork all the way to the bottom of the pan in two concentric circles. Bake in the upper middle of the oven for 63-65 minutes or until the shortbread feels mostly firm around the edges and semifirm in the center. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the outer ring of the tart pan. Place the shortbread, still on the pan bottom, on a cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, cut the shortbread into quarters while it is still warm. Cut each quarter into 4 equal sized wedges. Using a spatula, carefully transfer wedges to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes: Be sure to cut the shortbread while warm (too hard to cut when cool) and cool on a rack - they are difficult to remove if left to cool on pan bottom.

Only 4 more recipes until Christmas!

Peppermint Patties

I have caught the Pinterest bug.  There is no denying it, that website can suck hours from my week, and I justify it by saying, "It's better than Facebook.  I get all kinds of great ideas on there!"

And that is true.  I am never angry after looking at Pinterest.  (Same can't be said of FB.)  I haven't played any games that wasted a half an hour of my day (or more!).  (Same can't be said of FB.)  And I find lots of amusing or delicious things to make or do, even if I rarely have the time to do or make them (Probably because I'm wasting too much time on FB!)

And here is my proof.  This recipe came from Pinterest.  Well, that is where I found it initially.  And it is a Pinterest worthy recipe.  Cool, minty, yummy, and incredibly like a real York peppermint patty, but better, because I made them!

 

Peppermint Patties

Adapted from Blue-Eyed Bakers "Peppermint Patties" recipe

3 cups confectioners sugar, separated
1 ½ tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons vegetable shortening
1 candy cane , crushed (optional)

In mixing bowl, beat 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, corn syrup, water, peppermint extract and 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening until well combined.

Place a sheet of wax or parchment paper on your countertop. Pour 1/2 cup confectioners sugar on wax paper. Add mixture from mixing bowl on top of powdered sugar and work in with your hands by kneading and smooshing ingredients together. (This can be quite sticky, you may want to spray your hands with baking spray before starting to knead dough together.) Knead dough until smooth and powdered sugar is completely worked in. Dough should no longer be sticky but is still pliable. Shape dough into a log about 2 inches by 8 inches long. Wrap tightly in parchment paper and freeze until very firm, at least 1 hour.

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Remove dough and slice into rounds with a sharp knife. Place rounds onto parchment lined baking sheet. Use your fingers to flatten and make the discs round. Place baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until the rounds are very firm, at least 2 hours (or overnight).

When ready to dip the peppermint rounds, place chocolate and 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable shortening into a double boiler pan over hot (but not boiling) water. Over low heat, stir chocolate and shortening until completely melted. Turn heat off on stovetop.

Line another baking sheet with parchment. Take a few patties from the freezer at a time. Dip one at a time into chocolate and coat completely. Allow excess to drip off and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with crushed candy cane if desired. Repeat until all peppermint patties are coated.

Let patties stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour. Store at room temperature in an airtight container between layers of wax paper. If kitchen or house is hot, store in refrigerator.

Here is a picture of the middle:

 

 Looks delicious, doesn't it?  It is!

Only 5 more recipes until Christmas!

Giveaway Winner!

Sorry this post is about five days late!  I got busy with substitute teaching, Christmas shopping, and Christmas baking. 

The winner is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

RACHAEL HARDISON

Congratulations, Rachael!  I will be e-mailing you soon to get you address so I can send out your goodies!

Thanks to all who entered my first giveaway!

Buttermilk Biscuits

In the last few years I stopped buying muffin mixes and have been making all of my muffins from scratch.  I also make homemade rolls and pizza dough.  I don't make biscuits often, but my husband likes them, so I decided to try my hand at homemade buttermilk biscuits.  Am I glad I did!  These biscuits are flavorful and flaky, and best yet, fast and easy to make!

Buttermilk Biscuits
Adapted from Southern Living: 30 Years of our Best Recipes "Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits"

2 cups all purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold butter, cut up
¾ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Line baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.

Put flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Stir to combine. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Add buttermilk, stirring with a fork just until flour is moistened. Turn dough out on to lightly floured pastry cloth. Knead 4 or 5 times.

Roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter. Place biscuits on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.

Yield: 16 biscuits


Notes: If you do not have parchment or a Silpat, grease the baking sheet.  After initially cutting out biscuits, gather dough scraps and re-roll and cut biscuits again.  If you don't have a biscuit or round cookie cutter, the mouth of a drinking glass works great.

Only 6 more recipes until Christmas!

Cranberry and Pistachio Icebox Cookie

I heard about the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap in October and found myself intrigued.  I love a good cookie swap, and thought it would be fun to mail my cookies to someone else.  I looked into it and signed up.  I have received two of my three packages and the kids and I have enjoyed tasting and eating them!

So far I've received Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies from David over at From Ballparks to BBQ and Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Cookies from Susan at The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen.  Both were super yummy!  I hope whoever gets my cookie creations enjoy them, too!

These cookies are a sturdy butter cookie studded with salty pistachios and sweet cranberries.  The combination is out of this world! 

Cranberry and Pistachio Icebox Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook Icebox Cookies recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup pistachios, chopped and sifted
½ cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
½ cup sugar, for rolling

Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. Add the flour, salt, pistachios and cranberries. Mix on low until combined.

Divide dough in half. Take one half and roll into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap log completely with parchment paper, making sure to cover ends. Repeat with second half of dough. Refrigerate until firm at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one log at a time from refrigerator. On clean surface spread out 1/2 cup sugar so it is the length of the cookie log. Unwrap cookie log and roll in sugar to coat outside completely. With sharp knife, slice dough into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Place rounds 1 inch apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown around the edges. Leave on cookie sheet one minute before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.

Yield: 50 cookies


Notes: If you want to make half of the dough plain for a delicious icebox butter cookie, cut pistachio and cranberry amounts in half. Instead of adding them with the flour, spread half of dough on a piece of wax paper. Cover with chopped pistachios and cranberries. Gather dough up and work the pistachios and cranberries in by kneading the dough with your hands. Roll into log. Proceed as above.

Only 7 more recipes until Christmas!

Almond Poppy Seed Bread

I am an almond lover.  I love raw almonds, flavored almonds, almond extract, almond paste, almond anything!  When I saw this recipe in a magazine I subscribe to, I knew I had to try it.  This is a great bread to gift to friends, family, teachers, bus drivers, neighbors, or  anyone you want to share a delicious treat with.  (In fact, enter my giveaway and bake it in the cute foil pans I will send you if you win!)

Almond Poppy Seed Bread
Adapted from Cooking Light "Almond Bread"

6.75 ounces all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons poppy seed
⅔ cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 (7 ounce) package almond paste
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup almond milk

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, oil, and almond paste. Mix at medium speed until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Beat in vanilla. At low speed, add half of the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Add almond milk and beat just until combined. Add remaining flour mixture and beat just until combined.

Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf


Notes: If you do not have a kitchen scale, 6.75 ounces is a little more than 3/4 cup.  You can use this calculator to convert ounces to cups.  If you do not have almond milk, don't buy it just for this recipe.  Use regular milk.  I use almond milk because I have to buy it for myself every week and figured almond milk in almond bread was a perfect fit.  This is a moist and lovely cake; for added elegance sprinkle 1/4 cup sliced almonds on top before baking.

Only 8 more recipes until Christmas!

Fluffy Lime Salad

I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but I do know that it is fabulous.  Yummy, sweet, and green, perfect for your holiday table!  (And because it uses gelatin, it is make ahead, perfect for those busy Christmas dinners when the kitchen is crowded with dishes being prepared or heated up.)

Fluffy Lime Salad

1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple
1 pkg. (3 oz.) lime gelatin
3 tablespoons water
1 pkg. (8oz.) cream cheese, softened
½ cup peanuts
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 container (8 oz.) whipped topping (like Cool Whip)

Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple aside. In a small saucepan, combine gelatin, water and reserved pineapple juice. Cook and stir over low heat until gelatin is dissolved. Refrigerate until syrupy, about 20-30 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in gelatin mixture until smooth and well mixed. Stir in peanuts, marshmallows, and reserved pineapple. Fold in whipped topping. transfer to clean serving bowl if desired. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Yield: 10-12 servings


Only 9 more recipes until Christmas!

Garlic Chicken Puffs

I cook and bake a lot.  I make dinner almost every night for my family, as well as bake goodies for friends, teachers, doctors and family members.  I really do enjoy being in the kitchen and feeding others.  But one recipe area I lack is appetizers.  That's why I was so happy I tried these yummy (and easy) chicken puffs.  These were a snap to put together and a hit with young and old alike.

Garlic Chicken Puffs
adapted from: TidyMom's Garlic Chicken Puffs Recipe

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¾ cup canned chicken breast, shredded
2 (8 count) cans refrigerator crescent rolls


Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with no stick spray.

Mix cream cheese, garlic powder, garlic salt and chicken with spoon in medium mixing bowl until well blended.

Unroll crescent rolls and divide rolls into four rectangles (two triangles rolls in each square). Cut each rectangle in half, then cut each half diagonally to create 4 triangles. (You should get 16 triangles from each package of rolls.)

Place 1 teaspoon of chicken mixture onto the center of each triangle and fold corners up and over the filling.

Place puffs on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 11-14 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yield: 32 puffs


Notes: I just mashed the chicken with  a fork to shred it quickly and easily.  You could substitute your own cooked, shredded chicken for the canned chicken.  These also reheat in the oven well!

Only 10 more recipes until Christmas!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!