Christmas Gifts

I am now the proud owner of three new cookbooks! 

One was a gift from Eric and the kids ... OK, I purchased it & it somehow became part of the gift that said "To: Suzie   From: Eric & the Kids" ... I'm sure at least a few of you know how that works!!

The next was included in the Wii Fit bundle that the kids received from Santa.  Technically, my name wasn't on it, but I'm claiming it and will  be happy to test and serve entrees and sides to my kids ...

And, finally, the following from a good friend, Sarah (also Leo's Godmother).  How she knew I didn't already have this cookbook ... I'll never know ... it was on my wishlist, too!

Fun, fun, fun in the NEW YEAR with new recipes to sink our teeth into.

Peppermint Sticks

... or Candy Cane Cookies ... whichever is easier for your kids!

We opted for Peppermint Sticks, except that they are not peppermint flavored, they're just mint!  Doesn't really matter, mint is a preference and I didn't have peppermint extract on hand.

Peppermint Sticks
Yield:  Approx. 4 dozen

1 cup butter, softened (no substitutions)
1 cup confectioners' sugar (also known as powdered sugar)
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. green food coloring (my preference ... but red is great, too)
1/2 tsp. peppermint or mint extract

Mix butter, confectioners' sugar, and egg in a large bowl.  Blend in the flour and salt.  Divide the dough in half, placing half in a smaller mixing bowl.  Blend food coloring and extract into the half in the bowl.  Cover both halves with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour (I completely skipped this step without problem).

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Take 1 tsp. colored dough and shape into a 4 inch long rope (we used 1 1/2 tsp for the sticks).  Repeat with white dough.   Roll on a lightly floured surface for smooth, even ropes.  Place the ropes side by side and press together lightly.  Twist!  Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  To create candy canes, curve the top of each cookie down to form a handle or J.  Bake 11 minutes or until set and lightly browned.  Carefully remove cookies to a cooling rack.

Angelina and Dash roll the ropes while Graham watches their progress

Pre-baked 'sticks'

Our Mint Sticks - YUM!

Suzie's Divinity

Suzie’s Divinity
Yield: about 6 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
½ cup water
2 egg whites
1 tsp. flavor extract (Almond is my favorite, but Vanilla is most common)

Directions:
1. Mix sugar, corn syrup and water in an 8-cup microwavable measure or bowl (I use my Pampered Chef Large Batter Bowl) until sugar is thoroughly moistened.

2. Microwave uncovered on high for 5 minutes, take out and stir, return to microwave and heat for another 5 minutes. The original recipe said 13-15 minutes, but my microwave gets the syrup to hard ball stage (260 degrees on a candy thermometer) at 10 minutes. This part will take a little bit of experimentation, but once you figure out your microwave, write it down on your copy of the recipe. If you need more than 10 minutes, you’ll want to stir the mixture every 5 minutes.

*Before microwaving the sugar mixture, I separate the eggs and put the egg whites in my mixing bowl.  I lay out my waxed paper while the sugar mixture is in the microwave.  When there is 2-3 minutes left on the microwave, I start up my Kitchen-Aid mixer.  This is the perfect amount of time to have the egg whites at stiff peak stage.

3. Beat egg whites in medium bowl (I use a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer for ease) until stiff peaks form. In my mixer, the egg whites are stiff in about 2 minutes at high speed.

4. Continue beating while pouring hot syrup in a thin stream into egg whites, beating constantly on medium speed.

5. Add Almond extract. **It’s so easy to forget this step. Set out your flavoring near the mixer as a reminder!** Beat until the mixture holds its shape and becomes slightly dull. The dullness is key for me.

6. Drop mixture from teaspoons onto waxed paper. Let stand at room temperature until the candies feel firm.

7. Freeze in an air tight container between layers of waxed paper.  Each batch makes about 6 1/2 dozen - 'little larger than a tablespoon' sized drops of Divinity.

Note: Some prefer to add nuts. You can add 2/3 cups of coarsely chopped nuts at the end of step 5, but I think it spoils the Divinity! I expect Divinity to melt in my mouth and nuts obviously thwart that expectation.

Gingerbread House

Last year, Angelina made a gingerbread wreath (from a kit).  The gingerbread, frosting and candies must have been a couple years old because they tasted horrible!  Definitely NOT edible ... although my kids would have tried if I hadn't been afraid of teeth breaking.  However, she had a great time with the kit and it was a fun decoration on our table.

While in town yesterday, I saw a kit for a gingerbread house and, on a whim, I purchased it for Angelina. 

This kit is newer and says that the gingerbread house is edible ... if eaten within two weeks.  The kids plan to eat it after we return from Grandma and Grandpa Golden Acres' farm.  We'll see how good it tastes after that long!

Chock full of sugar ... a kid's dream concoction!

Birthday cake...

... it's a little silly, but I'm making myself a birthday cake.  I saw a tantalizing picture of this cake

 in the catalog for this company and couldn't resist trying to make the blend of chocolate cake and mint ice cream.  I was going to make homemade fudge, but I purchased a jar ... just in case I got LAZY!  I'm going to use the jar of fudge. 

Ingredients:
Chocolate cake mix (plus eggs, oil & water)
Fudge - one jar
Peppermint Stick ice cream (from Schwans) or substitue Chocolate Chip Mint or your favorite minty flavor

Putting 'it' together:
The cake was baked last night, I let it cool on the counter overnight (you wouldn't need to wait that long!).

This morning, I leveled the cake by cutting off the rounded top with a serrated knife... I didn't want a leaning torte! .  I also cut the cake into thirds (lenthwise), so each section is a little over 4 inches wide and 9 inches long.  While preparing the cake and fudge, set the ice cream on the counter to thaw a bit.

Warm the fudge in the microwave until it is spreadable.  Spread 1/3 on the top of each cake section.  ** I didn't refrigerate at this point, but it would be a good step to add.  Then, your ice cream will not melt slightly like mine!

Spread ice cream over two sections - about 1/2 inch thick.  Stack the layers; the cake with only fudge goes on top.  Wrap the torte in plastic wrap and freeze for at least one hour.  If you want to make it 'pretty', sprinkle crushed peppermint cany over the top.  Slice as thick as needed and ENJOY!!

This is before freezing ... but doesn't it look yummy anyway??  I may or may not add crushed peppemints.  Maybe I'll just add another scoop of ice cream to the top of each slice.

** UPDATE:  Make sure to cool the layers of fudge topped cake in the frig before topping with ice cream.  My ice cream melted - pretty much all of it - even though I thought my fudge was cooled and the completed cake was taken to the freezer immediately.  It still tasted wonderful because the peppermint ice cream soaked into the cake layers, but it didn't look as pretty.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Last week, Angelina and I mixed up a quick batch of Peanut Butter Blossoms.  I use my smallest cookie scoop (it's about 1 Tbls. in size) to scoop the batter onto a plate. 

Angelina rolled the scoops into balls and then rolled them in sugar and placed them on cookie sheets.  Using my large Doughmakers cookie sheets, it only takes two trips to the oven to get about 3.5 dozen cookies (if I'd have used convection, it would have been one step baking for a single batch!).  I prefer Hershey's kisses for the chocolate top; the kisses are placed right after taking the cookies out of the oven.

After cooling completely, the Peanut Butter Blossom cookies are stored between layers of waxed paper in the freezer.  I have a small collection of Christmas tins, but they are still in storage ... so, these cookies will be frozen in Tupperware containers.  They can be stored at room temp. for 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.

Holiday Goodies still on the list:

• Divinity
• Cashew Brittle
• Pizzelles
• Turtle Cookies
• Suzie's Favorite Sugar Cookies
• Creme de Menthe Brownies
• Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
• Jam Thumbprints
• New This Year (my experimental recipe): Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints

 Note:  I keep a master list of what I've frozen.  However, I try NOT to remember all the goodies going into the freezer until it's really time for them to be used!

O Holy Night

O Holy Night

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Behold your King.

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

This is my favorite Christmas song. My husband and I were married on December 31, 1994 and this is one of the songs that was sung at our wedding. The funny thing is that my hubbie & I didn't have all the verses memorized and forgot to put a songsheet by our seats! So, we did as best we could without the lyrics. At one point, I remember looking at my husband and stifling a smile because our attendants didn't have copies either. It was still memorable to hear all the verses sung. This song's words are so well chosen and the music is beautifully reverent. Honestly, hearing the first chorus line makes me want/need to fall on my knees . . .

Shortbread Creations

Shortbread is another of my favorite cookies (I don't think I remembered it for my list, though). I like to purchase the shortbread cookies in bulk. The tins are beautiful and can be used for candy and gifts afterwards. With just a few extra ingredients, these cookies can be dressed up into tasty Christmas cookies that everyone will enjoy. They are even easy for kids to decorate!



Dipped Shortbread
Yield: You decide!

Ingredients can include, but are not limited to the following:
Shortbread cookies
1/4 pkg. Ghirardelli chocolate - either milk chocolate or white chocolate - purchased in approx. 2.5 pound packages
Nuts - pecans, cashews, peanuts
Candy - a variety of sprinkles, crushed candy canes, etc.

Lay out waxed paper to cool the dipped cookies. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute; remove and stir. If the chocolate is not completely smooth, melt for an additional 30 seconds. Dip half the cookie in the chocolate - I try to only dip the front side of the cookies. Place the dipped cookie on the waxed paper. (If you are quick, you may be able to dip all the cookies before sprinkling the toppings. However, I usually dip two cookies and then sprinkle, to make sure the topping will stick.) Next, sprinkle the chocolate dipped portion of the cookie with nuts or candy. Let the chocolate harden.* Move the cookies to tins or plastic containers for freezing or storage.


*Sometimes, I speed the process along by placing the waxed paper on cookie sheets. When the cookie sheet is full, I place it in the frig or freezer to harden the chocolate faster.

This is the package of shortbread cookies I used. The cookies are wrapped in two stacks of about 10 cookies each within the tins. Sometimes there is a little breakage, but not much (besides, we all need a sample!). There are enough cookies in the package to let you try a variety of toppings.

Another decorating option that I've used is to drizzle either chocolate over the cookies. Just melt the chocolate in a quart-size freezer ziploc baggie for about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Squish around in the bag until completely melted. Snip the corner of the bag and squeeze out the chocolate; drizzling over the cookies (the cookies have been placed on waxed paper). Let the chocolate harden and then store.

Pecan Rolls

I've been searching for a Pecan Shortbread cookie recipe for some time and have found quite a few (though I haven't had the time to bake any of them!). However, a friend made these Pecan Rolls for a Christmas Cookie exchange, and they do fill my yearning. They are very similar to Pecan Shortbread, but a little sweeter as they are rolled in powdered sugar after baking.

Pecan Rolls
Recipe From : K.G.
Yield: Approximately 3 dozen

1/2 pound butter
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans*

Mix together like pie dough. Roll between hands to make small logs. Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 325 degrees. Roll in powdered sugar while still warm.

Mine are a bit too big, but they still tastest great! I'll work on my technique . . .

Notes: K. G. notes that these are nice because you can put them quite close together while baking because they won't spread (just make sure you don't completely melt the butter, like me, or they will spread more than you want. Her Pecan Rolls were much more log shaped then my fat little logs!!). You can pretty much bake one batch on a cookie sheet at the same time!

* K.G. also suggested purchasing the pecans at Fleet Farm. She said their chopped pecans are more finely chopped than at other stores. I'll admit the pecans on and in her cookies looked beautiful and provided a very nice texture. I plan to add it to my Fleet Farm shopping list. For this recipe, I finely chopped the pecans with my Magic Bullet.

Cashew Brittle

My second favorite holiday treat is Cashew Brittle. I found this recipe eleven years ago and have made one or two batches every year. It makes a great gift! I’ve been asked for this recipe many times and have been happy to share. After tasting this, peanut brittle just doesn’t cut it!!

Warning to Moms with young children: this is a recipe that requires your attention, so make sure the kids are entertained before you start.

Favorites Forever: Buttery Cashew Brittle
By David Feder in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, December 1997
(I told you some of these magazines had been around awhile! This is from the year my oldest son was born.)

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
½ cup water
1 cup butter
3 cups cashews (the recipe calls for raw, but I always end up using salted cashews purchased in bulk – that way my husband has a treat ‘before the treat’)
1 tsp. baking soda

In a 3-quart saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves. Bring syrup to boiling; add butter and stir until butter is melted. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Reduce heat to medium low; continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, stirring occasionally, until thermometer registers 280 degrees (about 35 minutes). This is the soft-crack stage.

Stir in the cashews; continue cooking over medium-low heat stirring frequently until thermometer registers 300 degrees (10 to 15 minutes more). This is the hard-crack stage.

Remove mixture from heat; remove thermometer. Quickly stir in the baking soda, mixing thoroughly. Pour mixture into two buttered (okay, I did use spray!) baking sheets or 15x10x1 inch pans.

As the cashew brittle cools, stretch it out by lifting and pulling with two forks from the edges. Loosen from pans as soon as possible; pick up sections and break them into bite-size pieces. Store tightly covered. Makes about 2 ½ pounds (72 servings).

Up Close and Yummy!

Cookies!!

I've been perusing my cookie magazines, too! The favorite recipes are marked with sticky notes and, of course, drips and dribbles of extract or batter. Some of my magazines are saved from the years before I was married, so they've been around for a while.


So far, I've made one batch of Divinity (yes, I'll be making more), but am trying to decide which other 'staples' I should bake or make for our upcoming celebrations. For sure, I will make another favorite - Cashew Brittle. Sorry, Peanut Brittle just isn't good enough anymore!


At our church's Christmas celebration this past weekend, I purchased some Chocolate Almond Bark prepared with chopped pecans mixed into it. It was VERY good, so I'd like to try to replicate that, too.



My favorite Christmas Cookies or Candies or Goodies are:

1. Divinity
2. Cashew Brittle
3. Frosted Sugar Cookies
4. Creme de Menthe Brownies
5. Turtles
6. Cheesecake (almost any variety!)
7. Pecan Shortbread Cookies (this is a relatively new favorite, so it may move up the list if I find a good recipe)

P.S. This is not a finite list!

Lefse!

For the past four years, the Familia group at my church has prepared lefse as a fundraiser to provide childcare for our children during our morning meetings. It has been a true learning experience. I am Norwegian (about 1/4!) and I do enjoy eating lefse, but I had only made it twice before starting this fundraiser project in 2005.

The experience has been fun, and it's a day of bonding for all the women involved. I look forward to it, but I'm dog-tired at the end of the two-day process.

The Lefse is rolled and grilled on Saturday, but the process starts on Friday and oftentimes on Thursday. On Thursday, I usually try to get my 20 pounds of potatoes boiled and riced (less to do on Friday, and it helps the whole process move faster if we have potatoes ready to go at different steps). Friday morning or afternoon, a group of us continue to peel and boil potatoes. Different 'stations' are set up: ricing, mixing, and balling. The potatoes need to be riced after boiling. Then, they are mixed with butter and powdered sugar. This mixture is refrigerated until cool. When cool, the mixture is riced a second or third time. After ricing, flour is mixed in and 1/3 cup dough balls are formed. The dough balls are placed on a sheet or tray, covered with a flour sack towel and refrigerated until the next morning. This process continues until all potatoes are boiled, riced, mixed, balled, and refrigerated! It can be a long day, but it does provide plenty of opportunity to visit with good friends.

Saturday morning, I and my mom usually arrive at the church kitchen early to set up (8a). Inside the kitchen, we set up 6 to 7 rolling stations, and this year we had 8 griddles. Women take turns rolling or watching the griddles. The women who watch the griddles are responsible for flipping the lefse and taking it out to the cooling area when it's grilled on both sides.

Just outside the kitchen, in the social hall, we have a row of tables set up for cooling the lefse. Lefse are stacked approx. 10 deep on tops of a layer of absorbant towels and covered with flour sack towels or lefse cozies. When coole, they are folded in half and then in thirds. Three lefse rounds are stacked and stored in a quart-sized ziploc freezer bag. Again, this day can be long! I mopped the floor at 3:15p this year!

Over 400 rounds of lefse were grilled . . . the fundraiser was a success! Next year, one of the moms suggested we have lefse tacos. Since I forgot to eat dinner this year, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Hopefully by documenting it here, I will remember!

Here's the recipe we've used for the past four years.

Lefse – Recipe used by Familia

10 lbs red skinned potatoes (yields about 4-5 qts.)
¼ tsp. salt
½ pt. whipping cream
½ c. butter
3 Tbls. Powdered Sugar
¾ c. flour (plus extra for rolling)

Peel & boil potatoes in water with ¼ tsp. salt added. Mash with potato masher (we rice the potatoes with a Kitchen Aid mixer and the grinder attachment – it’s much easier than a potato masher or ricer!) & add whipping cream, butter, & powdered sugar. Mix together by hand. Rice this mixture at least twice. Cover with a towel and refrigerate (a cool garage is better) overnight.

After cooling, rice the potatoes a third time. Measure 3 cups riced potatoes into a bowl and add ¾ c. flour. Mix by hand until thoroughly blended (if you’ve done this for many years, you may be able to tell that more flour is needed at this stage to make the dough firmer). Form into 1/3 cup balls. Roll immediately into 12” rounds on a heavily floured pastry board, or cover with waxed paper and refrigerate until ready to roll. It is better to refrigerate the balls and take out as needed. **We have started to prepare the dough balls the day before, with mixed results. We learned a lesson the first year . . . dough balls can only be in one layer – not stacked in the pans or bowls. We also use flour sack towels to help absorb moisture while in the refrigerator.

Grill the rounds on a lefse grill. Brown the first side, then turn and brown the second side. Remove from grill and stack 10 deep between absorbent towels (flour sack or lefse cozies). When cool, brush away excess flour. Fold each round in half and then in thirds. Three round will fit nicely in a plastic Ziploc freezer bags.