Coconut Macaroon Cookies Dipped in Chocolate

Posted by on December 18, 2009

I love this recipe, it’s beautiful and festive and doesn’t involve that much time for decorating.  Dipping them in chocolate is optional, I perefer them with chocolate, of course!  I also love that the ingredient list is so short, you just mix the first three ingredients together, top with a cherry, & bake. 

I also love to package my cookies in a small goodie bag, I usually put 1/2 dozen in each bag and tie with a pretty ribbon.  These make the most beautiful gifts, and I feel like I’m sharing a small piece of my heart!  Merry Christmas!

Recpie:

1 14 oz. package sweetened flaked coconut
3 tablespoons flour
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar of maraschino cherries, halved
1 ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

1)  Preheat oven to 350’.  Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper-very important!
2)  Empty bag of coconut into a large mixing bowl.  Measure flour into coconut and toss to coat.
3)  Add vanilla and pour condensed milk over coconut mixture.  Mix well.
4)  Using a 1 ½ teaspoon cookie scoop, portion out onto parchment paper, being sure to level off when scooping to make for evenly sized cookies.  There is no levening in this cookie, so you can place them pretty close together on your sheet.
5)  Top cookie with maraschino cherry, I cut them into pieces if they’re too large.
6)  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, slide entire sheet of cookies off of baking sheet onto cooling rack.  Cool completely.
7)  Pour chocolate chips in a microwaveable glass dish, shallow enough to dip the bottoms of your cookies into.  Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between, do not over heat chocolate, it will burn!  You want to stir until smooth and all chips seem to be melted.  It does not have to be hot.
8)  Carefully dip each cookie bottom into the chocolate and place right back onto your parchment paper.  Allow to set up.  To move the process along, you can place the entire sheet in your refrigerator.  When they’re set you’re good!  They can be packaged or put onto a tray without mess.

Enjoy!

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Santa Thumbprint Cookies

Posted by on December 18, 2009

Ahhhhh, a butter cookie topped with some delicous raspberry preserves, what’s not to love?  I love this simple, old fashioned cookie. 

1 cup softened unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sifted flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped nuts
¾ cup raspberry jam, or your favorite

1)  Preheat oven to 400’.  Cut a sheet of parchment paper to cover your cookie sheet.
2)  In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream butter, vanilla & sugar until light & fluffy.
3)  Combine flour and salt; add to butter mixture and blend well.
4)  Place nuts into a small bowl.  Shape dough into 1” balls and roll in nuts to coat.  Place on cookie sheet and press a divot with your thumb into the center of each cookie.
5)  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from heat and carefully slide the parchment with the hot cookies onto your cooling rack.
6)  Using a small spoon, carefully spoon about ½ teaspoon of jam into centers.  Cool completely.  I like to let these cookies sit out overnight for the jam to set.  Store in an air tight plastic container being careful not to disturb centers.

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"People Cookies"

Posted by on December 16, 2009

Hello everyone!  These are actually Gingerbread Cookies, however, since Ryan could talk, he has called them “People Cookies.”  I think it’s the most appropriate name for them as no one of them looks the same, they all seem to have their own personalities.  Try to bake them when your family is home, the aroma is amazing, I believe companies have tried to make candles with this scent!  Involve your kids in the decorating, they will LOVE it!  I do the piping and my boys place the raisin eyes and cinnamon buttons on each cookie.  They also are more than willing to taste, you know, to be sure they’re good….

You will want to be sure to refrigerate the dough at least an hour before you roll it out.  I like to make the dough a day or two ahead of time, then bake.  When you do this, the dough gets pretty hard.  You have to let it sit out at room temperature for at least an hour.  I start out by cutting off about a 4″ chunk and I work it with my hands until I’m able to put it onto a floured board and roll it out.  From that point on you just keep adding new dough to the scraps on the counter, kneading it together to form a pliable dough you can roll out.  Also, when measuring the flour, be sure you sift the flour to be sure that you aren’t using too much, the dough will be too dry with too much flour and will make it hard to roll out. If this is the case, simply add a little water, kneading to get it to a rolling out consistency.

When baking, I line my cookie sheets with parchment paper.  This makes for non stick baking, as well as easy removal right out of the oven onto a cooling rack.  The cookies will cool faster on the rack on  parchment than on the pan.  In addition, wait until they’re mostly cool before you remove them to give them a chance to set up.

Decorating takes practice.  I use an icing that I pipe onto the cookie, I use a Wilton 12″ featherweight decorating bag with tip #5.  You can find these at most any craft store, I got mine from a Michael’s and I think JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts carry them too.  After decorating, I let them sit out, uncovered over night for the icing to set up.  I then carefully package them. You can use royal icing as well, however, it gets extremely hard and I don’t like the taste as much.

Here is the recipe.  Enjoy!

Gingerbread Boys and/or Girls

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons molasses
3 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dark raisins
Cinnamon candy for buttons or gumdrops

1)Cream butter and sugar together in  large mixing bowl or stand mixer. 
2)Add egg, beat until light & fluffy. 
3)Add molasses, mix well. 
4)Sift dry ingredients & mix into creamed mixture a small amount at a time.  Knead into a ball, cover with saran wrap & chill.
5)Preheat oven to 375′.
6)Roll out to 1/4″ on a lightly floured board.  Cut with gingerbread boy/girl shapes. 
7)Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Watch carefully, smaller cookies may take 8 minutes while a very large cookie may take 10-11 minutes.  It is good to remove them from the oven when they’re slightly brown and puffed up.  When they cool, they settle into a flat cookie.  You will have a crunch exterior and a soft interior, YUM!

Icing

4 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons water

Beat in a medium size bowl butter and vanilla.  Add powdered sugar and add water, a tablespoon at a time.  You may have to add a small amount more for the right consistency for piping.  You do not want too much water as the icing will run down the sides of the cookie.

My little boy absolutely loves these cookies.  I hope you and your family have as much fun as we do making, decorating, and eating them!  Have fun!  Email me if you have any questions!

Angie

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Whew!

Posted by on December 15, 2009

Hello everyone!  I must apologize for the lack of posts the last couple of days.  Last night I took my final exam for recertification in food safety in the State of Illinios.

I also have been working on cookie recipes and photos to post by Wednesday, I actually have a few of my favorites I will be sharing with you.

I hope you all are taking time to enjoy this bessed time of year.

Angie

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My Favorite Pans….& Memories….

Posted by on December 12, 2009

My favorite pans may not be the most sophisticated, but I think they are the best.  They last forever, in fact, you can find the best ones in antique stores, they are non stick, you don’t have to worry about using the right utencils when cooking with them for fear of scratching, they are not expensive (bonus!), and lastly they have excellent heat conduction.    They are old fashioned, which I adore.  (Grandma Inez’s kitchen was full of them)  They are cast iron pans. 

I bought a two burner griddle pan a few years back on Ebay, I just love it!  I also have a couple of Griswald skillets, they are antiques, they are amazing for even heat distribution when you’re searing or frying.  You have to care for them properly to keep them in good working condition.  You never use dish soap on them, this will remove the natural seasoning that is created through cooking.   Simply fill the pan with hot water, clean food debris from the pan with a scotch brite scrub pad (non soap), dry the pan with a paper towel,  put about a teaspoon of oil into the pan and rub into the pan, top and bottom with a paper towel. Should they become rusty, not a problem.  You have to remove the rust with steel wool & water, rinse well, dry with paper towel & coat with oil.  Place into a 300′ oven for about an hour, you’re ready to go.

If you have a chance, go to an antique store and just look at all the beautiful utencils and kitchen gadgets, they’re fascinating.  I loved my Grandma’s kitchen, it was full of rustic & very functional kitchen tools, pots & pans.   She would have me overnight and she would very gently supervise me in the kitchen, allowing me to make messes and mistakes.  I so love her for those memories.  Ok, now I’m teary!  Geeze!  I started out talking about pans and I am now really missing my Grandma…..

Aren’t memories precious?

Angie

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One of my favorite comfort foods….

Posted by on December 11, 2009

It is absolutely freezing here!   All I want to do when it’s like this is cook and bake….or read cooking magazines….or read cookbooks…..or if I can wrangle the tv away from my four year old Ryan, watch the Food Network…all food related, of course!  Speaking of cookbooks,  everyone should have a good basic, go-to cookbook for general reference.  I love The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.  You can find just about anything you need for the basics.  Mine was given to me as a birthday gift from my Mom, I think in 1992.  It has split in half and completely tattered, it’s my favorite cookbook.  I thought to write about this today because I had to go to it for reference on cooking a whole chicken….

If you don’t cook whole chickens, it’s time to start.  I see roasting chickens on sale all the time, prices range from $ .49/lb to 1.49/lb.  That’s a great deal!  I will buy a couple for my freezer and use when needed.  In addition to it being so economical, it’s one of the easiest meals to prepare, you can usually get a couple of meals out of them (especially if you roast two), and it is absolutely the most moist and tender chicken you can make.  I simply rinse the chicken thoroughly, pat dry with paper towel, rub with about a tablespoon of olive oil, and season top and bottom generously with salt & pepper…..that’s it.  Roast at 325′ for 25 minutes per pound.  Internal temperature should read 170′ or higher.  When you remove it from the oven, let it rest with a little foil over the top for about 15 minutes, then enjoy!  The skin will be crispy and the meat juicy and tender.  You can season the chicken any way you like, my friend Deb’s Brunswick Chicken stew has really gotten me hooked on smoked paprika, you could certainly sprinkle your chicken with that as well, yum!  Consider throwing baking potatoes in the oven with your chicken and a vegetable and dinner is a done deal.  EASY & DELISH! 

Of course, I recommend removing all the chicken from the bone when you’re through with dinner & store in plastic bags, label & date, and into the freezer.  (or refrigerator if you’re going to use within a couple of days)You can use that at a later date, for maybe, chicken burritos, tacos, or quesidillas?  Soup?  Chicken salad?  Chicken pot pie….endless possibilities!    Don’t forget to save the carcass, it makes for the best stock ever, you can use the recipe I posted last month for the turkey carcass.

Have a good day!

Angie

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Christmas Memories & Traditions….

Posted by on December 8, 2009

I will never forget the time I was doing some holiday shopping at a JC Penney and was in a checkout line to purchase some gifts for my boys,  and struck up a conversation with a very pretty 70 (ish) year old woman.  We began a short dialogue of small talk and we both agreed that this very special season had gotten out of hand.  She then began to reminisce of her childhood and spoke of how the treat they most hoped for was to find an orange in their stockings on Christmas morning.   She beamed when describing how incredibly delicious it was.   Foods did not travel the way they do now, fruits & vegetables were truly seasonal.   She shared with me how special it was to go to church on Christmas Eve because burning candles illuminated the Christmas tree.   They kept a bucket of water next to the tree to put out the occasional flare up.  I was very touched that a stranger would share her fondest memory of Christmas with me.   How beautiful and simple, I just love that.

My favorite Christmas memories, of course, involve food.  Every year, my Mom would make gingerbread cookies.   Nothing says Christmas like the smell of cinnamon & cloves wafting through your house.  She would outline the gingerbread men with white icing,  give him raisin eyes, a wide smile, and cinnamon candy buttons….soooooo cute!  The cookie itself is the best holiday cookie I’ve ever had.  It has a slightly crunchy exterior with a chewy interior, very, very delicious.  It is a tradition in my house to make these with my boys, we cut them out to bake and we decorate them together. My little Ryan calls them “people cookies”.   It’s great fun and we all look forward to it every year.    I would love to share that recipe with you next week, when I regain my energy from this week’s posts.  It’s never too late to start a new tradition!

Thanks for reading!
Angie

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Shrimp Cocktail

Posted by on December 7, 2009

RECIPE:
1- 2 lb. package frozen cooked & peeled shrimp

1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons brown sugar

To thaw shrimp, place into a large bowl in sink and allow water to slowly run into bowl, stir frequently.  Drain well.

Sauce:
Mix well, refrigerate.  Serve with cooked & peeled shrimp.  Garnish with fresh parsley and fresh lemon wedges or slices.

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Light Artichoke Dip

Posted by on December 7, 2009

Yes, this is my version of that delicious coma inducing holiday dip that I could easily eat half of the pan!  It actually tastes very much like the original, but significantly lower in fat. FYI, non fat anything is against my religion. 

RECIPE:
1 8 oz. softened light cream cheese
½ cup non fat plain yogurt
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 15 cans drained and chopped artichoke hearts

Topping:
1 tablespoon melted butter
¼ cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried

1)  Preheat oven to 350’.
2) Coat a small 10” casserole dish with cooking spray.
3)  Into a medium sized mixing bowl, beat cream cheese.  Add yogurt, mayonnaise & parmesan cheese, beat with mixer until well blended.  Fold prepared artichokes into bowl.
4)  Spread evenly into prepared baking dish.
5)  Melt butter in a small microwaveable dish, add bread crumbs, parmesan and parsley, mix well.  Top artichoke mixture evenly.
6)  Bake for 25 minutes, serve immediately with gourmet crackers

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Chunky Vegetable Salad

Posted by on December 7, 2009

Use the following vegetables, washed and cut into bite size pieces, you can use whatever you like.  The brighter the better, a nice alternative to the typical vegetable tray, it’s a very festive looking dish for your table.

1-2 heads of broccoli
1 head cauliflower
2 seeded cucumbers, skin intact
2 pints of grape or cherry tomatoes
1 red onion, sliced into thin wedges
2 large carrots, peeled
2 large stalks of celery

Combine all vegetables in a large mixing bowl.  Generously drizzle olive oil over vegetables, about ¼ cup.  Mix well.  Season with 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon granulated or powdered garlic, 2 teaspoons dried oregano.  Toss to evenly distribute seasonings.  Splash about 2 tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar over veggies and mix well.  You can keep in the refrigerator for a day or two before your party, the vegetables will marinate.

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