Brown Sugar Cookies

Another addition to my holiday treats I gave out this year was Brown Sugar Cookies.  The recipe is from my Best Bakesale Cookbook that I bought to support Cookies for Kids' Cancer.  I had everything in my pantry, so this was easy to throw together.

My cookies didn't end up looking like the picture next to the recipe (they look like they spread out nicely, mine didn't spread so much) but I think that the flavors were all still there, so I don't think it was that much of an issue.  I used my deep teaspoon scoop to put them on the baking sheet.  After I did my first batch and noticed they weren't spreading, I ended up flattening the next few trays, which made them look a bit better.

I had made different things for my family and my husband's family (mostly due to the Chanukah parties being a week apart and wanting to try new things and not just repeat everything for the second round).  These were in the second round, so they went to my in-laws.  When it came time for handing out presents, I passed the treats out to everyone.  About 10 minutes later I see my husband's uncle sitting on the couch popping these in  his mouth one after another.  I gave a good amount of cookies to each family, but I'm not quite sure my husband's aunt got to enjoy any of these, as they were most likely gone by the time they got in the car to go home!

Brown Sugar Cookies (as printed in Best Bakesale Cookbook)

Ingredients
1 1/2 stick butter (6oz)  unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
- Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add the egg and beat well.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Place the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a separate bowl and mix well.  Add to the butter mixture and beat until everything is well incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again.
- Drop large teaspoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and bake until the edges are just brown (8 - 12 minutes).
- For crispy cookies, let cook on the sheet.
- Let the cookie sheet cool completely between batches and repeat with the remaining dough.

French Farmhouse Garlic Chicken

Garlic is one of my favorite ways to add flavor to any dish.  When I saw this recipe for French Farmhouse Chicken in the Better Homes & Gardens Big Book of 30-Minute Dinners I saw that it called for 40 cloves of garlic.  Yes, you read that right, 40 CLOVES.  Crazy, right??  Well, I decided to give it a shot, and I am very glad that I did.

This dish was easy to make after a long day.  Peeling the garlic did take some time, and although the recipe says if you're pressed for time you can peel it after cooking, I think it was worth it to do it before.

And no garlic clove went to waste.  This is definitely a meal to have when everyone's eating it.  Otherwise, make sure you have plenty of breath mints on hand!

French Farmhouse Garlic Chicken (from Better Homes and Gardens)
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
4 small skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 3/4 pound total)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
40 small cloves of garlic (peeled or unpeeled, halving any large cloves)
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp dry white wine or chicken broth plus,  divided
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
4 tsp all-purpose flour
hot mashed potatoes or cooked rice

Directions
- Rinse chicken; pat dry.  Season with salt and pepper.
- In a 10-inch skillet cook chicken and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes or just until browned, turning once.
- Slowly add 1/2 cup white wine or broth, lemon juice, basil, and oregano,.
- Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is tender and no longer pink.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken and garlic to a warm serving platter.  Keep warm.
- In a small bowl stir together the flour and the 2 tablespoons dry white wine or broth.  Stir into pan juices and bring to a boil.
- Cook and stir for 1 minute more.  Spoon sauce over chicken.
- Serve with potatoes or rice.

Mini Cheesecakes with Strawberry Sauce

Since I am off work this week I am able to sit down and go back to post the things I made back in October for my party.  This recipe is definitely apropos for the holiday season, though.  With all the parties going on this month, these are perfect to serve to crowds both large and small.  And you can make them in advance, which is always an added bonus during this busy time of year.

For my bridal shower last year my bridesmaids each brought a dish to serve.  One bridesmaid, Jamie, brought these mini cheesecakes, which came from a family recipe.  I am not usually a big cheesecake fan (most places I've had it the slice is huuuuge like at Cheesecake Factory or Junior's in NYC), but the individual size makes these just the perfect amount of cheesecake.  After the shower there was a decent amount leftover (as there is at any party with multiple desserts) so my mother-in-law (who hosted the shower at her home) popped some in the freezer and served them with our Rosh Hashannah meal later that week.

These are great leftover.  We had a few left after our party as well, so we wrapped them individually in foil and froze them.  The day before we waned to eat them we popped them in the fridge then took them out before we sat down to dinner so they came back up to room temperature by the time we ate them.

Mini Cheesecakes (a family recipe from Jamie at Skinny Apple, Fat Appetite)

Ingredients

24 Keebler Ready Crusts, Graham, individual sized

4 Eggs

1 Cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

3 Bricks Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cream

cheese until smooth.  You can use either a standup mixer or a hand

mixer.

- Pour approx ¼ cup of filling into each individual crust.

- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden.

- Allow cheesecakes to cool completely before eating.

 

Strawberry Sauce 

Ingredients

2 cups fresh strawberries, cut

¼ cup sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest

Directions

- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.

- Cook on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, until sauce thickens.

- Allow sauce to cool completely before serving.

Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels

One week ago today 26 innocent children and women lost their lives on what should have been just a regular school day at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  In the wake of this tragedy, many people are asking what they can do to help the victims.  Today, the blogging community is gathering together to honor the victims and to spread the word about Newtown Youth & Family Services which has been helping families for over 30 years in the Newtown area and is assisting the survivors (parents, students, school staff and others) and the families of the victims with counseling, etc.  To donate to this non-profit organization, please go to http://www.newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org

I had this post for holiday treats ready to go for this morning, which was just going to be an additional holiday treat that I wanted to share, but after I heard about the Cookies and Crafts for Sandy Hook movement, I knew this would be an appropriate post.  While I made these on my own, these can be made with kids.  You can have them help dip the pretzels and sprinkle the peppermint onto them.

I'm sure everyone is holding their loved ones a little tighter this week; I know I am...




Another addition to my holiday gifts was chocolate peppermint pretzels.  I came across this recipe in Runners World Magazine, of all places.  It mentioned the anti-oxidants of the dark chocolate along with the nutrient-rich carbs from the pretzels.  This way, it makes us feel better about eating chocolate covered pretzels, right??  And the best part is, 70% chocolate doesn't have any dairy in it, so as long as the pretzels don't either, these are parve so you can have them after a meat or dairy meal.

The original recipe says to use a microwave-safe bowl and to melt the chocolate in the microwave.  I'm always skeptical about that because you can end up over cooking it and the chocolate isn't as smooth and easy to work with.  My favorite way to melt chocolate is to use a double boiler.  I have this bowl from Pampered Chef and I love it!

A few tips - after melting the chocolate, I put the pretzel in the bowl and used a toothpick to pick it up by the bottom opening, letting the excess chocolate run off before putting it down on the parchment paper.  This worked, though every so often I had to get a new toothpick because the old one broke.  Also, for the peppermint sticks - we used mini candy canes.  Unwrap them, put them in a Ziplock bag, and use a hammer or mallet to crush them.  Not all the way down to a fine powder, but close enough that you can sprinkle the bits and be able to eat them easily.

These were so ridiculously easy to make that I will definitely make them again.  Peppermint for the holidays, maybe nuts for another time of year!

Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels (recipe slightly adapted from Runners World Magazine, December 2012)

Ingredients
1 12-ounce package bittersweet (70%) chocolate baking chips
1 tbsp butter
15-20 whole-grain pretzels
3 peppermint sticks, crushed ***I used about 10 mini-candy canes

Directions
- slowly melt the chocolate and the butter either in a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl, stirring often.
- Dip the pretzels into the melted chocolate and place on a parchment-lined tray.
- Let cool slightly, sprinkle with peppermint
- Refrigerate to cool completely.

Pecan Sandies

For the holidays this year I decided to give our families containers of holiday treats.  We buy gifts for our parents and nephews, but we see aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc so I always felt weird not having things for everyone we spend the holiday with!  So I made a whole bunch of cookies and other holiday treats.  Everything seemed to get good reviews (and my husband kept telling me to take pictures for my blog already so he could eat more), so hopefully they weren't just being nice!

One type of cookies I made was pecan sandies.  I had never had them before, but I kept seeing recipes for them in all of my cookbooks, plus Food Network Magazine included them in a spread on holiday cookies, so I decided to give them a go.  After looking at all the different recipes, I opted for the one from Food Network Magazine, as they looked the most interesting (most were just basic round cookies, these were textured and had a pecan on top, so it looked nicer than the rest).

The original recipe calls for turbinado sugar, which I didn't find at either of my regular markets (I'm sure if I looked elsewhere I could have found it, I was just short on time) so I improvised a bit.  I think they came out great, and will definitely make them again.

Pecan Sandies (slightly adapted from Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients
2/3 cup pecans, plus 36 more for decorating
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
brown sugar for sprinkling

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until browned (10-12 minutes).  Let cool completely.
- Sift 3/4 cup flour, the salt and baking bowder into a medium bowl.
- Pulse the toasted nuts with the remaining 2 tbsp of flour in a food processor until finely ground.
- Beat the butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes).
- Add the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined, then stir in the nut mixture.
- Pat the dough into a rectangle on a piece of plastic wrap; wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours or overnight)
- Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of parchment into a 9-by-6-inch rectangle, slightly less than 1/4 inch thick.
- Sprinkle the dough with brown sugar.
- Slice the dough into sixths cross-wise and length-wise to make 36 rectangles.  ***I used a pizza cutter for this step
- Arrange the rectangles about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Pierce each rectangle a few times with a fork, then press a pecan onto each.
- Bake, switching the position of the pans halfway though, until golden brown (10-12 minutes)
- Let cool 3 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Gingerbread Cookies

I love the holiday time and all the yummy treats that come with it.  I think no matter what religion you are, you can appreciate a good cookie.  When my running club announced the date for our annual holiday party and said that everyone could bring either an appetizer or a dessert, I knew I wanted to make something festive.  I had never made gingerbread men before, but I always enjoyed eating them, so I decided to whip up a batch for the party.  First stop was to NY Cake & Baking Supply, which is not too far from my office to pick up the proper cookie cutter.  I had to leave the store quickly or else I would have bought almost everything they sell!

I turned to my trusty How to Cook Everything where I found the recipe for "Aunt Big's Gingersnaps" which has an adaptation to make them into Gingerbread Men.  The recipe is very simple to follow.  As with most cookie recipes, you have to let the dough chill for a bit in the fridge, so I made the dough Friday night, then chilled it until Saturday morning.  That afternoon I decorated them and let them set before the party that night.  For the icing, I mixed 1 cup confectioner's sugar with 2 tbsp boiling water (if the icing is too thick, just add more water).  I put it into a sandwich bag, cut the tip of the corner off and piped the icing right onto the cookies.  For the most part, they came out looking well, though there were a few "special" ones.  A few I salvaged, turning a wonky face into something different - one ended up with eyebrows, and another became a vampire.

The cookies were a hit at the party, too!  It was crowded, so not a lot of people saw me bring them in.  The pile kept getting lower and lower, and when people found out I brought them, they told me that they'd already had a few of them.  If they were going back for seconds, then I don't doubt these were delicious cookies!

Gingerbread Men (as printed in How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman)

Ingredients
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 heaping tsp baking soda
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 heaping tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt

Directions
- Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter, sugar, and molasses until smooth.
- Mix the baking soda with 2 tbsp hot water and beat into the dough.
- Combine the flour, spices, and salt in abowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the dough and beat well.
- Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Remove from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before you are ready to roll it out.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- When the dough is sightly softened, roll it out as thinly as possible; use a gingerbread man cutter (or hand-cut if you're brave) to cut the cookies out.
- Bake on ungreased  baking sheet until golden around the edges (about 10 minutes), watching carefully to prevent burning.  ***For softer cookies, remove the dough from the oven when the center is still puffy and soft
- Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a rach to cool.
- Decorate if you wish.
- Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to several days.

Cranberry & Chocolate Cookies

Last year my husband and I went to the New York Chocolate Show.  One of the events on the day we were there was a cooking demonstration by Johnny Iuzzini, who we had watched as a judge on Top Chef: Just Desserts.  At the end of the demonstration Johnny mentioned that he'd be signing autographs over by the bookstore section, and aside from his own cookbook he would love for us to purchase another book - the Best Bake Sale Cookbook, which was published by the founders of Cookies for Kids' Cancer.  We thought it was such a good cause, that we made sure to purchase that book.

One of the recipes in it is for cranberry and chocolate cookies.  Essentially it's a chocolate chip cookie with the added yum of dried cranberries.  What's not to like???  I had made these previously to bring to a party and they were a hit there.  This year I participated in a holiday cookie exchange, and while I had a few ideas of what to send, I knew these were tried and true, so I opted to make these to send off to her.  I also included them in my gifts for my family for Chanukah along with a few other treats.

The cookies are extremely simple to make (basically just throw everything in the mixer and then put on a cookie sheet and you're done).  I hope that when they make it to my secret cookie exchange buddy she and her family enjoy them!

And if you get a chance to check out the charity's web site, please do; it's a great cause!

www.cookiesforcancer.org

Cranberry and Chocolate Cookies (as published in The Best Bake Sale Book)

yields 3 - 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 sticks (10 oz), unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 tbsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup quick cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

Directions

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

- Line cookie sheets with parchment paper

- Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle and beat until smooth and creamy.

- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, one at a time, beating well between additions.

- Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

- Place the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl and mix well.

- Add the dry mixture into the butter mixture and beat until everything is well incorporated.

- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the chocolate chips and cranberries and beat again.

- Drop the dough by heaping teaspoons about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.

- Transfer to the oven and bake until the cookies begin to brown at the edges (12 to 15 minutes).

- Cool on the cookie sheet.

- Transfer to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining dough.