Christmas Cookies

I took charge of the cookie-baking this year, because my mom, for reasons unbeknownst to me, finds hours of baking tedious and soul-destroying. I was more than happy to spare her the agony. Since we didn’t have any of our traditional cookie recipes anymore, I was free to try out whatever I wanted. So I opened up The Taste of Home Baking Book (ie, my bible) and chose a couple.

First was this chocolate-walnuty variation on the traditional Hershey’s Kiss cookies. They’re delicious and pretty, and they don’t dry out and get rock solid like their more common counterparts.

Then there were these pretzel-shaped ones– chocolate cookie with mocha-chocolate glaze and white chocolate drizzle. I had fun rolling them out and considered it good practice pre-returning-to-work-at-the-pottery-studio.

I really needed a more effective way for dipping them, though. Oh, my poor scorched fingers.

But my favorites are the least aesthetically compelling ones: the ginger snaps! I nabbed the recipe from my Uncle John, who’d made them at Thanksgiving. I added fresh ginger…because fresh = good and if I were going to have babies, I would totally have them with ginger. Just think, they’d be all weird-looking and gnarled…just like any other babies! Only spicier.

Mmm, tasty ginger babies.

But anyway. Here’s the recipe.

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, thinnly chopped
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix butter and 1 cup of the sugar. Add the egg and molasses and beat together.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until the dough is smooth.
5. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, and then roll in the remaining sugar. Put on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart.
6. Bake until fragrant and cracks appear on the top, about 8-12 minutes.
7. Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove the cookies with a spatula and finish cooling the cookies on a wire rack.

Promise me if you make them you’ll have at least three while they’re warm. Oh my god. They get soft and chewy once they’ve cooled, but while they’re still hot, they are the perfect blend of crispy on the bottom and melty on top. Guh guh guh.

 

Pumpkin Smoothie

This is what happened to the remaining pumpkin, after all the baking was done. :3

 

1 cup pumpkin

1 ½ cups milk

4 tsps brown sugar

4 tsps sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp nutmeg

 

Mix it all in a blender. Alter spices to taste. Top with whipped cream and cinnamon yumminess, mm. Makes about 4 servings.

 

 

Pumpkin Pumpkin Pumpkin

So, this past weekend, when Rob and I were at the farmer’s market picking up veggies with our cooking class, we decided to get pumpkins for pie-making. I hadn’t looked at a recipe yet, so we asked a farmer for suggestions on how many pumpkins we should get. “You’ll need about four cups of cooked pumpkin, and you’ll probably get–ehh–about a cup out of each of these,” he said. So we bought four pumpkins.

If you want to make one pie, don’t buy four pumpkins! One pie only needs two cups of pumpkins, and the three of the four pumpkins we cut up yielded seven cups. XD It was good, though, because then we got to make more yummy pumpkin stuff!

Also, when cooking pumpkin, either cut it in half and bake it in the oven, then pull the peel off OR peel it before cutting it into squares and cooking it on the stove. DO NOT cut into pieces, cook it, and then try to pull the peel off all the small, hot pumpkin squares. Ouch ouch ouch. But it all turned out ok. Even though our cooked pumpkin was super liquidy and unwilling to drain. We had to put it in the fridge overnight to help the consistency improve.

Pumpkin Pie!

2 cups of pumpkin, cooked and mashed
1 can of condensed milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

1 pie crust

 

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 30-40 minutes.

 

With some of the extra pumpkin, we made experimental pumpkin bread. And of course, we roasted the seeds, too!

 

 

Cooking Class

On Saturday, Rob and I attended a cooking class taught by two of our fellow students who have a much better idea of what they’re doing in the kitchen than most. Our day began early with a trip to the farmer’s market in town to pick up locally-grown produce for all our dishes. When we came back, we got to work and cooked from 11  to 2. Here’s what we made:

First off was this DELICIOUS butternut squash soup in acorn squash bowls. I’m normally not a fan of the squash soups, but this one was wonderfully thick and creamy, and not too sweet. Unfortunately, our masterchefs made it up as they went along, so no recipe. :/

         

         

 

Cider-Glazed Roots w/ Cinnamon Walnuts

 

Ingredients

                3 lbs root vegetables

                1 C apple cider

                1 C dark brown sugar

                ¼ t salt, plus more to taste

                ¼ t ground pepper

                ½ C chopped walnuts

                1 T butter

1/8 t ground cinnamon

 

Procedure

1)       Preheat oven to 400° F.

2)       Chop roots into 1 in pieces.

3)       Whisk cider, brown sugar, salt and pepper small bowl until sugar dissolves.

4)       Pour cider mixture into 9×13 baking pan.

5)       Add root vegetables and toss to coat evenly.

6)       Cover with foil and bake for 20 min.

7)       Uncover and bake for 1 hr. stirring every 20 min or so.

8)     Meanwhile, cook walnuts in frying pan over medium heat until fragrant (2-6 min).

9)       Remove and add butter and pinch of salt.

10)   Stir until evenly coated and spread out on a plate or foil to cool.

11)   Mix in with vegetables, when done, and serve.

 

 

         

 

Brussel Sprout and Romanesco Gratin

Ingredients

1 ½  lbs brussels sprouts, trimmed, quartered lengthwise through core

1 ½ -to 1 ¾ lbs of romanesco (or cauliflower), trimmed and cut into small florets

2 ¾ C heavy whipping cream

½ C chopped shallots

1 T chopped fresh sage

1 ½ T olive oil

½ C plain dry breadcrumbs

½ C pine nuts, lightly toasted

2 T chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

 

Procedure

                1) Fill large bowl with ice and cold water.

2) Cook brussel sprouts in large pot of generously salted boiling water 2 minutes.

3) Add romanesco to same pot; cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes longer.

4) Drain and transfer vegetables to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.

5) Combine cream, shallots, and sage in large saucepan. Bring to boil.

6) Reduce heat; simmer until mixture is reduced to 21/2 cups, about 10 minutes.

7) Season with salt. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.

8) Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

9) Add breadcrumbs and stir until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.

10) Transfer to bowl; cool. Stir in pine nuts and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

11) Butter 13×9 baking dish and arrange half of vegetables in dish.

12) Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then 1 1/2 cups Parmesan.

13) Arrange remaining vegetables evenly over, then sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups Parmesan. 14) Pour cream mixture evenly over.

15) Cover gratin with foil. Bake covered 40 minutes at 375° F.

16) Uncover; sprinkle breadcrumb topping over and bake uncovered 15 more minutes.

 

 

Apple and Cinnamon Dumplings

 

Ingredients

                For filling

2 sm tart apples (1/2 pound), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/3 C raisins

1/3 C bread crumbs

1/3 C light brown sugar

1 ½  T unsalted butter, melted

¼ t cinnamon

 

For dough

2 C all-purpose flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

3 t granulated sugar plus 1/2 tablespoon for sprinkling

5 t cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 C whole milk plus 1/2 tablespoon for brushing

 

For syrup

1 ½ C unfiltered apple cider

1 C packed light brown sugar

 

 

Procedure

1)       Toss together all filling ingredients

2)       Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and 3 tablespoons granulated sugar into a bowl.

3)       Blend in butter and shortening with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.

4)       Add 1/2 cup milk and stir with a fork just until mixture is moistened.

5)       Turn out dough onto a floured work surface and gently knead until a soft dough forms (do not overwork dough, or dumplings will be tough).

6)       Roll out dough on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a rough 16- by 11-inch rectangle (about 3/4 inch thick).

7)       Cut into 6 rectangles.

8)     Divide filling among centers of squares. Bring all 4 corners together over filling and pinch together to seal.

9)       Transfer dumplings to a well-buttered 13×9 baking dish and arrange about 1 inch apart.

10)   Brush tops with remaining 1/2 tablespoon milk and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar.

11)   Bring cider and brown sugar to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

12)   Pour syrup around dumplings, then bake dumplings at 425° F until golden brown and syrup is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

Today was another Pushing Daisies day and my friend Nadia’s birthday, so celebratory pie was in order!

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 unbaked pastry shell

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Add butter and mix well. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 350º for 50-55 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.

 

Pear and Gruyère Pie

Pear pie with Gruyère cheese baked into the crust.

Inspired by Pushing Daisies!

 

For the filling I used:

About 5 cups pear, peeled, thinly sliced (1 bosc, 3 comice, 5 seckel)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt

Once I tossed that together, filled the pie crust, added the top crust, and grated generous amounts of gruyere over it all, I baked it at 425 for 10 minutes and then reduced the heat to 375 for 35 minutes.

Easy as!

 

Chocolate Crème de Menthe Squares

Since the fire that destroyed my family’s house two weeks ago,  everything’s been thrown into a strange state of chaos and unfamiliarity. Meals have been no exception.

My friend Kelly who lives across the street came out to sit with me at 4:15am when she heard about the fire. Besides giving me a pair of shoes to borrow, she also offered to make me banana pancakes. Although I couldn’t fathom the thought of food around the tight twisting of my stomach as the firefighters sat smoking cigarettes on  what was left of the porch roof, it was a nice gesture.

One of the first tasks our neighbors undertook while doing their best to provide us with stability and generosity was arrange a schedule for cooking us dinners. Despite their attempts to coordinate, we still received enough paper plates stacked high with homemade brownies to last us a month.

Now that life has settled down a little and we’ve moved into the house we’re renting for the year until we can have ours rebuilt, it’s become a serious effort for my mom to concoct dinners. She’s been trying to recreate as many of our favorite meals from memory as possible, for the sake of comfort and familiarity. At the same time, the lack of cookbooks and our limited pantry stock have forced her to experiment and branch out.

This is the only other recipe I have left of my mom’s besides the few I’ve already put up here. I’d typed it up to post later. Fortunately, it’s one of the ones that has the most memories attached to it, simple as it is. It was my mom’s go-to recipe for impressing guests and pleasing the whole family, passed down from her mother. I copied it from fancy script on a worn, torn, yellowed scrap of chocolate-splattered parchment.

Cake Base
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
4 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp salt
½ cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
16 oz can chocolate syrup

Mix ingredients; put in greased 13×9 pan. Bake 350° for 30 min.

Crème de Menthe
½ cup butter
2 tbsps crème de menthe
2 cups confectioners sugar

After cake is cooled, spread over cake.

Chocolate Glaze
6 tbsps butter
½ pkg chocolate chips

Mix and melt. Cool and spread over cake. Chill. Cut into squares.

I wish I’d begun this project sooner so I’d have more saved, for my mom’s sake. But what’s gone is gone, and we work with what’s left as best we can. At least there’s something, and well, at least there’s us to appreciate it.

 

Basic Pie Crust

Based on recipe from The Good Housekeeping Book of Illustrated Desserts.

For 1-Crust Pie

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
3-4 tbsp cold water

In medium bowl, with fork, stir flour and salt. With pastry blender, cut shortening into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbles. Sprinkle cold water, a tbsp at a time, into mixture. Mix lightly with fork after each addition, until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Shape into smooth ball. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll out dough into round about 1/8 inch thick. Cut dough about 1 1/2 inches larger around than upside-down 9-inch pie plate. Roll dough around rolling pin; transfer to pie plate and unroll. Ease into bottom and up side. Make decorative edge.

To bake without filling, preheat oven to 425°. With fork, prick bottom and side of crust in many places. Bake 15 min. Cool.

For 2-Crust Pie

2 cups all-purpose floud
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup shortening
5-6 tbsp cold water

Follow steps for making 1-Crust Pie dough. Shape into two balls, one slightly larger. Roll out larger ball and place in pie plate. Trim egdes. Fill. Roll out smaller ball, cut a few slashes or design in center, center over filling. Make decorative ede.

 

White Chocolate Berry Pie

1 pie crust, bought or homemade
5 oz white chocolate
2 tbsp milk
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
2 cups sliced strawberries

Prepare and bake pie crust. Cool completely. Microwave 4 squares white chocolate and milk about 2 min or until almost melted. Stir until melted. Cool to room temp. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and orange peel in small bowlwith mixer on low speed until smooth. Beat in white chocolate mixture. Fold whipped cream into white chocolate muxture. Spread in bottom of pie crust. Arrange strawberries on filling. Drizzle with remaining melted white chocolate. Refrigerate 1 hour or until serving. Store in refrigerator.

Serves 8.

Variations I haven’t tried: raspberries instead of strawberries; german sweet chocolate (with 1/4 cup milk) instead of white; graham cracker crust instead of plain.

 

Muffin Cup Brownies

At UCSCA, I also made individual-serving brownies in paper muffin cups with strawberry halves on top. I wasn’t all that impressed with the recipe I chose and they definitely needed more batter per cup, but I liked the idea! It’s an easy way to make simple brownies look like a legitimate fancy dessert.