Christmas Cookies

I am a firm believer that simpler is better, especially when it’s Christmas cookies for a 29 sugar inundated Kindergarteners. They don’t really care what they eat, as long as it tastes like sugar {and perhaps chocolate}. So, this year, for the Christmas party at Keenan’s school, I made chocolate chip cookies.

Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c butter
1/2 c peanut butter {I use creamy, but feel free to use crunchy}
1/2 t vanilla
1 egg
1 c flour
1/2 rolled oats {I use the quick cook ones}
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 c chocolate chips {I get the Guittard chips and I like to use half milk and half semisweet chips}

Combine sugars and beat with butters until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Mix flour, oats, soda, and salt together and then add to wet. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes in 350* F oven or until lightly browned at the edges.

And you get cookies that look like this :

 

Mmmm…Carrot Juice!

This morning, while I was en route to work, I stopped at Safeway and picked up some carrot juice. I chose mine from the Odwalla case and man, am I ever pleased!

See, I was having headache issues {truth be told, I’ve had a headache for the last couple three days}, and wasn’t feeling all that hot. I wasn’t hungry, I wasn’t all that keen on standing up, I just hurt.

So, about the juice. Carrot juice is packed with vitamins A, B, and E, along with several minerals. All of that helps us maintain good prenatal health {for you ladies out there who are interested in having babies}, eyesight, bones and teeth, liver and nails, skin and hair as well as aiding in cancer prevention. Now, if all that is true, sign me up.

Odwalla packs nearly one pound of carrots in each serving of juice. That’s a lot carrots. And, the only thing in that juice bottle is carrots. That’s it. There is not a single thing added to it.

That stuff tastes good, which is definitely an added bonus. It’s smooth, sweet, and earthy. Delicious.

And, my headache is better. I have no idea if that’s because of the juice or because it just went away. But I can now stand up without jarring my brain, so something good has been accomplished here.

 

Green Tea Mini Crispy

I am not sure whether to classify this as a cookie or a snack. Someone at work had received these from a vendor and was handing them out to employees. They taste slightly of peanut butter, curry, and green tea.

These were actually pretty good. They certainly aren’t sweet by American standards, but they were sweet in that peanut butter Pad Thai sort of way.

If I ever came across them in an Asian market, I don’t think I would buy them, but I am glad I got a chance to try these cookies, or snacks, or whatever they are.

 

Help

Help. My recipe box has gotten out of hand. It is full to the brim. I need to get it organized. Here’s what I have to do:
1. Hand write all the recipes that have been printed off the computer onto recipe cards. There are a lot of these.
2. Write all the recipes from magazines that I have ripped out and folded up onto recipe cards. There are quite a few of these as well.
3. Organize everything, because the other day I found chili verde in the pie section. That will not do.

Now, I ask you, dear reader, what do I do when my nice, organized recipe box is still full to the brim? Where do I put these recipes? Do I weed out ones that I’ve never made, but would someday like to make? No. I just can’t.

Is there a book in which to put recipe cards?

Well, yes there is. The folks at Lang make them, but none of them are my style. Observe.

Does that look like me to you? Not so much….but they do have the refill pocket pages, which could come in handy.

I may have better luck with a photo album with slots for 4×6″ photos. That may be more cost effective, though would take up more space on a bookshelf.

Or, I could get another 4×6″ recipe box, and split my current slew of recipes between the two, and that would give me plenty of room for awesome, wonderful finds in the future. And it doesn’t take up much space, which is wonderful in my kitchen with next to no counter space.

I think I’ll work on this little project tonight.

 

Pie.

I love pie. I just do. I like fruit pie better than cream pie. I like sweet potato pie better than pumpkin pie. I love a slice of warm apple pie {hold the ice cream, thanks} after supper, and I almost like eating pie more than I like baking it. Notice, I said almost.

That’s the kicker. Almost. I love the process. First, making the crust so it’s perfect and flaky. Rolling it out and making the little design in the edges. Then, the filling and assembly. Then, the second crust if necessary. And then baking it so that your entire house smells of pie, whether it’s apple, sweet potato, or chess.

I digress.

I bought an issue of RealSimple magazine last month and I am just tonight getting around to reading it. {RealSimple is one of the few magazines I will buy} I found a recipe. But first, look.
{photo by David Prince and found here}

Uh….yes, please. Here is the recipe, which I most definitely will try soon.

Gingery Apple Crumb Pie
1 piecrust
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed into small pieces
3/4 c plus 1 T all-purpose flower, spooned and leveled
3/4 c sugar
2 1/2 pounds apples {Granny Smith, Braeburns, or Empires work well}, peeled and thinly sliced
1 T grated fresh ginger
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t kosher salt

Set an oven rack in the lowest position and heat oven to 375*F. Place the pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet. In a food processor, pulse the butter, 3/4 cup of the flour and 1/4 cup of the sugar until large clumps form. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until needed. In a large bowl, toss the apples, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and the 1 T of flour. Transfer the apple mixture to the crust, sprinkle with the crumb topping, and bake until the top is golden and the apples are tender, about 55-60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

There is just something about the process of pie, especially where there is fruit involved. The peeling and slicing of the apples, the pitting of cherries, the slicing of rhubarb and strawberries. It’s calming.

Or, maybe I’m just weird.

 

Birthday Cupcakes

Yesterday, Keenan and I made cupcakes for his birthday party that afternoon. Rather, he helped me mix the batter, and then I did the rest.

I found an awesome recipe over at Picky Palate, which you can find here. We did red, blue, and green…in hindsight, I will fork over the money for the good food coloring next time. My blue isn’t nearly blue enough. The red isn’t all that great either, but green is gorgeous. Otherwise, these are fantastic. They taste delicious and are colorful. They manage to simultaneously be dense, yet puffy at the same time.

For the frosting, I used my favorite cream cheese frosting. I would not double the batch as this recipe will frost about three dozen cupcakes. {I doubled it and I have A LOT of frosting left over.} Anyway, here’s the recipe for that:

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 lb softened cream cheese
2 sticks unsalted softened butter
1 t vanilla
4 c powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add sugar, a cup at a time, on low speed until incorporated. Beat on high until fluffy.

I think they turned out rather well – the kids liked them anyway. Besides, who can turn down a cupcake?

 

Turkey + Bacon

I will try this recipe someday, when I have more than two people to feed for Thanksgiving.

Can you blame me?

{picture courtesy of wan life to live}

 

Bizcochitos

I have always been a fan of anise. When I was in high school, my mom worked at this banquet hall and she would make bizcochitos for some of the banquets there. Her cookies were light, crumbly, and in the shape of cacti.

I wanted to make some for Thanksgiving yesterday, so I hunted down a recipe. Traditionally, they are supposed to be rolled out like a sugar cookie. I am currently lacking in the rolling-pin department so I had to get creative. First, I tried the tines of a fork, like peanut butter cookies, but they were too thick. I ended up using the bottom of a glass. I think they turned out rather well, if I do say so myself.

Bizcochitos
1 c shortening or lard (I used shortening)
1 1/4 c sugar, divided
1 egg
1 t anise seed (not ground)
3 c flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 c water
2 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350*F. In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream together shortening and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth; add eggs and anise seed and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to shortening mixture. Add enough water until dough clumps together.

And here is where we deviate from the recipe.

What you’re supposed to do:
Turn dough out onto an unfloured surface and roll to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut into diamond shapes, or cut out with a cookie cutter. In a shallow bowl, combine 1/2 c sugar with 2 t cinnamon. Dip the top of each cookie into the mixture and place on an ungreased sheet pan.

What I did:
Roll cookies into balls that are about the size of a walnut. Roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture(still 1/2 c sugar + 2 t cinnamon). Place on a cookie sheet with a Silpat (or cheap Target variation) liner. Press bottom of glass down on each cookie until they are about an 1/8 of an inch thick. If glass begins sticking to cookie, press bottom of glass in cinnamon and sugar mixture and resume pressing.

And now back to the recipe.

Bake for 10 minutes or until edges just start to turn golden. Do not overcook; you want them to be a little soft.

Eat with a cup of hot chocolate.

 

Favorite Soup

I am in love with rad na. It is this wonderfully thick, spicy soup with wide rice noodles, pork or chicken, carrots, and broccoli. Delicious spiciness that will clean out your sinuses pronto and without reservation. Mmmm….deliciousness.

It’s excellent when you find yourself coming down with a cold. I want to learn to make it myself sometime and I have found recipes here, here, and here. 

Though perhaps it would be more prudent of me to go spend the $7 for a pint of it and be exceedingly happy.

 

Roasting Chestnuts

Well, I have successfully roasted chestnuts today. I tried something new! I saw them at Trader Joe’s and thought, “Hmmm…I wonder how you cook these and what do they taste like?” I bought them, without knowing what I was going to have to do get them edible, even though I did read that you can eat them raw. So, folks, it’s pretyt easy. Score the flat part and put them on a flat baking sheet. Bake at 425* F for about 30 minutes. Then, peel the shell off and enjoy.

They taste sort of like a potato and a squash married and had little chestnut babies. Pretty good.

Here you see them in reverse order…broken in half, freshly cooked, and just purchased.