Category Archives: CHRISTMAS RECIPES

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

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Staying on the theme of Christmas and my favorite recipes, I again offer you my recipe for Swedish Meatballs. Which BTW, was one of my kids’ favorite dishes. (Probably still is!) They would gobble the meatballs up every time I made them. And for me, they were easy to build. Especially if I’d made the meatballs ahead and either refrigerated them overnight or hid them in the freezer.

So, even on a work night, I could throw this dish in the oven and dinner would be ready in about an hour. That left me time to start a load of laundry, make a salad or steam a green veggie, and slowly unwind from my workday. And I often needed that little bit of time to transition from managing people at work, to managing kids at home. (Not that different BTW!) It also left me time to talk with the kids about their day, even though we would be sitting down to dinner together and every subject imaginable would be fodder for our conversations. With 4 kids there were always stories to be told. Sometimes even more information was provided than I wanted or felt I needed to know. But the discussions were always lively. And I learned a lot about what the kids were experiencing just by these easy and relaxed exchanges. But I bet you are wondering why Swedish Meatballs would be considered a Christmas dish.

Every Christmas Eve my sister-in-law Evelyn and brother-in-law Dan and their kids feast on homemade lefsa and Swedish Meatballs. They spend the day making the lefsa and the meatballs and it is a tradition cherished by one and all. So, I too think of Swedish Meatballs as a part of what makes Christmas special.

So, if you too are still making Christmas traditions, I offer this recipe for your consideration. But don’t stop at Christmas time to serve this dish to family and friends. Meatballs are good any old time of year.

Well, enough posting for today. There are presents still to be ordered. And Christmas goodies to be baked.

But before I leave you today, just a hint about making cookies. Especially if you are crazy like me and insist that there be several different types of cookies for family and friends to enjoy. Make all the dough one day and bake it off the next. Most cookies profit from time spent in the fridge anyway. And make refrigerator cookies whenever possible. Much easier slicing the dough rather than shaping it. And making all the dough in one day only makes sense.

I place all the ingredients I will be using that day on a kitchen counter or sometimes on my kitchen table. Then any recipe calling for room temperature butter, vanilla, all-purpose flour, etc. etc., is right at hand. No putting ingredients away just to have to get them out again for the next recipe.  Plus, you only make a mess one time. And measuring cups and spoons if used for dry ingredients can be used repeatedly thus saving time for cleanup. And yes, it took me years to figure this out. But there is no looking back now. This system just plain makes cookie baking easier and faster.

OK Patti, enough pontificating. Let these fine folks get back to their real lives. And the real reason they are reading this post in the first place!

As always, may you find peace and love in your life. And Merry Christmas.

⅓ c. dehydrated chopped onion

½ tsp. granulated garlic

2 T. parsley (dried or fresh)

½ tsp. ground savory

¼ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. dried thyme leaves

¼ tsp. dried rosemary

pinch nutmeg

½ tsp. seasoned salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs

2 T. milk

¾ c. uncooked oats

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. pork sausage

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 tsp. beef base

2 c. sour cream

Combine the onion, garlic, parsley, savory, paprika, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, salt, pepper, eggs, and milk in a bowl. Add the oats, ground beef, and pork sausage. Form into balls with a small ice cream scoop. Place on a low sided baking pan and bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Meanwhile whisk the cream of mushroom soup, beef base, and sour cream together. When meatballs are out of the oven, layer them with the sour cream mixture in a covered casserole.

Cover dish and bake at 350-degree for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking an additional 15 minutes.

Great served with thick al dente egg noodles.

MINCEMEAT  

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Since it is December, and along with December comes Christmas. And with Christmas, at least at our house, comes fruit cake and often mincemeat pies, tarts, galettes, or bars. So, of course this year again, homemade mincemeat is happily mellowing in my refrigerator. What recipe I decide to use containing this amazing mixture is still to be determined. But I do know that whatever I make will be topped with a hard sauce. And not just any hard sauce. A bourbon hard sauce. (I’m still working on the recipe.)

And since it happens to be Christmas time and I am in the process of re-posting some of my favorite recipes, I decided to post some of the dishes I most associate with the holiday. And mincemeat has been a part of my Christmas for as long as I can remember. So, for me, it isn’t really Christmas unless mincemeat is featured in one of the holiday desserts.  

Now, some would argue that mincemeat without meat (beef in most cases) or even suet in the mix is not the real thing. Don’t care! And I only mention beef because that was the most common meat used in the making of mincemeat in the 19th century. But before chunks of beef, it might have been tongue, tripe, venison, lamb, or veal in with all the fruit and spices. None of which are ever going to be included as an ingredient in any mincemeat I make. I frankly see no reason to mess up perfectly good, dried fruit, apples, brown sugar, spices, and booze by adding meat of any variety. And suet – no way! I use butter! Because butter simply makes everything better!  

Also, most mincemeat recipes call for brandy, rum, or whiskey. But not mine. I leave those liquors for someone else to use.  Instead of brandy, rum, or whiskey, I use both bourbon and cognac. Why? Because I use bourbon a lot in cooking. Can’t stand to drink the stuff, but to cook with it for either sweet or savory dishes, bourbon is perfect. It’s the sweetness of bourbon, with hints of both caramel and vanilla, that I believe works so well in this recipe. And many other recipes for that matter. And as far as that little bit of Cognac I throw in at the last moment, well, when does Cognac not add an extra little bit of joy to any dish? Especially because of the flavor sensations that are unique to Cognac – sweet, spicy, fruity, and slightly bitter. So, there you have it. A recipe for homemade mincemeat that is easy to make and absolutely delicious.

But as with other Christmas treats like Holiday Fruitcake, Caribbean Black Fruitcake, and Christmas Berliner Stollen (all on this site BTW), it is best to let mincemeat contemplate the meaning of life for a few weeks, or months, in your refrigerator before using it in one of your favorite Christmas treats. Some things just get better with age. Like fine wine, many great cheeses, and men and women who cook. Cooking helps keep older minds remain active and bodies stay limber by making multiple trips into pantries trying to remember why they went there in the first place! Or second place, etc. etc.

So, from one old cook to all of you – Peace and Love. And happy Christmas preparations.  

1½ c. dark raisins

1½ c. golden raisins    

1½ c. dried currants

2/3 c. bourbon

2 tart apples, peeled, cored, and finely diced

8-oz. candied orange peel

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

¾ c. brown sugar

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground mace

¼ tsp. ground allspice

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange

¼ c. cognac

Place the dark raisins, golden raisins, and dried currants in a small saucepan. Add the 2/3 cup bourbon, bring just to a boil, stir to coat all the fruit, remove from heat, and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, combine the apples, candied orange peel, melted butter, brown sugar, spices, and the zest and juice of the lemon and orange in a large ovenproof dish. When the raisins and currents are cool, stir into the apple mixture. If there is any liquid left, throw it in too. Cover the dish and place in your refrigerator overnight.  

The following day, place the ovenproof dish in a cold oven, bring the temperature to 200 degrees, and bake for three hours, stirring every hour or so. Remove from oven, let cool completely, and stir in the cognac. The mincemeat will look quite runny. But don’t be concerned. After it has rested in the refrigerator for a few days it will be perfect.

Store covered in your refrigerator until ready to use. (Best if left to mellow at least 4 weeks, but if you are like me, the mince only gets to age for about a week. It’s still good, so no worries.)

This recipe makes enough mincemeat for 2 10-inch tarts, 2 8-inch pies, or 3 10-inch galettes.

 

HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE (revisited)

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Notice the 1-gallon container for macerating the dried fruit, candied fruit, and pecans. It’s actually a jar I saved about 40 years ago that originally contained dill pickles. Never throw a one-gallon jar away. They store cookies and other assorted items that you want to keep airtight or keep something like spare silverware clean.

The finished product.

Well, in keeping with my decision to post my list of personal favorite edibles (by category) and re-publish some of my favorite recipes, I offer my previously posted recipe for Holiday Fruitcake. I also have a wonderful recipe for Caribbean Black Fruitcake on site, but this year I decided to make this fruitcake for gifts and to set aside for the year to come. (I love to bring out a fruitcake on a trailer trip, for example, because for us and our friends, fruitcake is a favorite treat.)

I hadn’t decided to start with fruitcake with my re-posting project because I am well aware that there are those among us who think fruitcake is a dreary dry brick-like- cake containing icky tasting candied fruit and burnt raisins. (That would be me from my grandmother’s fruitcake.) And, that there are people who still believe that anyone who actually likes fruitcake has a mental deficiency. I get that, because I too felt that way until about three decades ago when someone gave us a fabulous fruitcake they had purchased at great expense. And OMG, it was the best thing I had ever tasted.

Well, you know me! I immediately went to work developing a fruitcake recipe that would result in a fruitcake that was as good or maybe even better than the one we had been gifted. And I came up with this recipe.

But the real reason I am posting this recipe today, is because yesterday I fulfilled the first requirement in preparing this recipe. I filled a one-gallon glass container (as witnessed by picture above) with dried fruit, candied fruit, pecans, and 3 cups of spiced rum. This delightful assembly of ingredients would then spend the next few days being periodically turned upside down so every single tasty morel could become good friends with Captain Morgan. (See picture of Captain Morgan above.)

After I finished this hour and a half of cutting and chopping fruit and nuts, I went back to my computer and decided to see what was happening on Facebook.

OK, I’m not a woo-woo kind of gal. But right there on “Your Memories on Facebook” was my post from December 1, 2009, containing only the following words on my post: “One gallon of fruit and nuts soaking in 3 cups of spiced rum on my counter. I wonder what it will be when it grows up? Fruitcake perhaps?”

Now if that’s not a less than subtle hint from the beyond to post this recipe today, I don’t know what else it could be. Coincidence? I think not!

But in all reality, this is the perfect time to remind people that a) fruitcake can be amazingly delicious, b) fruitcake makes a perfect Christmas gift (but only to those we truly love), and c) if you are going to make fruitcake, now is the time. Because fruitcake only gets better the longer it is allowed to “ripen”. In fact, I should have started this process about 2 months ago. But I have yet to even think about making fruitcake before the first of December. I do, after all, have a life outside the kitchen!

But starting this year, I’m adding one more step to my original recipe. After the baked fruitcakes have cooled, and before I package them, I am going to poke holes in the top with a toothpick, and slowly slather (using a pastry brush) on more of the Captain’s finest. Not too much rum to make a soggy mess. But I believe this will give the fruitcake even more flavor (ya think?) and help its taste and texture to better resemble a fruitcake that has been allowed to age longer. That’s the plan at least.

Well, that’s it for today. I hope you too have plans for the holidays that include some homemade gifts. Our dear friend Vicki has the whole Christmas giving thing down pat. She always includes homemade jams, curds, stollen, and various and sundry other edibles that make her packages a real treat to receive.

And for me, giving is the real secret to enjoying Christmas. It’s not about receiving. It’s about the joy you can bring someone else by thoughtful and from-the-heart gifts. So, please don’t feel you must provide expensive gifts to your loved ones. Or that homemade gifts would be less appreciated than something purchased. In my humble opinion, homemade gifts best exemplify the spirit of Christmas.

So, happy yummy fruitcake to everyone and to all – peace and love.

1 lb. chopped dried fruit combination (peaches, pears, apricots, apples, golden raisins, currents, etc.)

½ lb. dried Bing cherries

1 lb. chopped dates

1 lb. candied/glazed pineapple, coarsely chopped

1 lb. or more red and/or green candied/glazed cherries, coarsely chopped

3 c. spiced rum, plus more for soaking

1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 c. brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1½ tsp. ground allspice

1½ tsp. ground nutmeg

5 lg. eggs

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 lb. coarsely chopped pecans (about 4 cups)

Combine dried fruit, dried Bing cherries, chopped dates, candied pineapple, candied cherries, and rum in a covered glass container for 3 to 7 days. 7 days is best.

Cream butter, sugar, and spices until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time.

In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir into butter mixture just until combined.    Stir in the macerated fruit and nuts, including any remaining liquid. 

Place a large shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of your oven to prevent the cakes from baking too dry. Pre-heat the oven to 275-degrees.

Line 3 (9×5-inch) loaf pans or 1 (9×5-inch) and 5 (7×4-inch) loaf pans with parchment paper and lightly grease paper. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake on the middle rack of the pre-heated oven for 2-2½ hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on racks for one hour. Remove cakes from pans, and carefully peel off the parchment paper.

When completely cool, place on a rimmed baking sheet, poke lots of tiny holes in the top of each, and slowly slather with more spiced rum. Allow to sit for several hours while the cake absorbs the booze before tightly wrapping in plastic wrap and foil. Store for at least 1 month before serving. (Good luck with that!) (Haven’t had it happen yet!)

 

BRIOCHE DINNER ROLLS

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In my opinion, there is just nothing better than homemade bread. And I don’t care whether the bread comes in the form of loaves or rolls. I’m easy in that regard. So, when I was planning the menu for our last JazzVox home concert meal, I decided to make 2 kinds of bread. Why? Because bread is easy and inexpensive to make, and people love it. So, in combination with Light Rye Bread (recipe on site already), our guests gobbled up all but 1 of these rolls and a few slices of rye bread. Thank goodness there was at least a bit of bread left for us. Because dang, there is no such thing as left over bread at this household.

What wasn’t left was any of the double batch of Kräuterbutter (German Herb Butter) I had made to slather on the rye bread. Well, that didn’t go as planned. People frosted both kinds of bread with this amazing, flavored butter. (Find the recipe for Kräuterbutter below.) And frankly, given the opportunity I would have done the same thing.

Anyway, the main thing you should know about these rolls is that they are really quick and easy to build, and absolutely delicious. And you don’t even need bread flour for this recipe. Just plain old all-purpose flour. And as you can see from the picture, they are beautiful to boot.

And remember, Thanksgiving will be fast upon us. And these rolls would be perfect on your table. And because I am the kind of person I am, I’ve included directions so that you can make the dough and form the rolls one day and bake them off the next day. So, no excuses about dinner rolls being too hard to make, too time-consuming, or being too last minute. Nonsense! There is nothing easier than this recipe to build delicious dinner rolls to serve your family and friends. And boy will you be the hero of the day!

Well, it’s sunny outside. A bit of scattered cloud cover here and there. But although the sun is shining, it’s cold. So, I’ve built some soup that is happily burbling away on the stove. Along with a couple slices of leftover rye bread, we will be dining in style at the dinner table tonight.

May you too find happiness at your dinner table sharing the wonderful world of fine cuisine with your family and friends. For me, there just isn’t anything more rewarding than seeing someone smile when they bite into something I have served them. As you may gather from this comment, I live for those smiles.

As always, peace and love to all.

¾ c. whole milk, slightly warm   

2 tsp. instant dry yeast

¼ c. granulated sugar    

1 tsp. kosher salt

4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

4 lg eggs, divided

½ c. unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into chunks

veggie oil

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the warm milk, yeast, and sugar together. Let sit for about 10 minutes or until it becomes frothy. Add salt, flour, and 3 eggs to the bowl. Using your dough hook, mix the dough until all the flour is absorbed. Then add the butter cubes. Knead the dough until it is smooth, elastic, and only a smidge sticks to the bottom of the bowl. If needed, add a bit more flour.  

Pour a small amount of oil into the bowl, and using your hands and a stiff spatula, shape the dough into a round, lightly greased ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 75-90 minutes or until doubled in size. Meanwhile, make an egg wash by whisking the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water.

Shape the dough into 15 rolls and place in a lightly greased 9×13-inch pan. Let rise again for about an hour, then brush with egg wash. (For building the rolls on day 1 and baking them off on day 2, see directions below.)

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 23-25 minutes. The internal temperature should reach at least 190-degrees.

Remove from oven and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

For making the dough ahead and baking it the next day, once the rolls are formed, cover and refrigerate them overnight. They will rise while in the fridge and be ready to bake in the morning. Make sure to let them sit out for about 20 minutes to come to room temperature before brushing with the egg wash and baking them in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 23-25 minutes. The internal temperature should reach at least 190-degrees when they are done.

Remove from oven and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

KRÄUTERBUTTER (GERMAN HERB BUTTER)

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 T. finely chopped fresh chives

2 tsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp. finely chopped fresh basil

¼ tsp. dried dill weed

¼ tsp. dried marjoram

¼ tsp. granulated garlic

¼ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. finely chopped fresh or scant 1/8 tsp. dried rosemary

freshly ground black pepper

Mush all the ingredients together with a table fork and refrigerate covered until ready to serve at room temperature. (Best made the day ahead so the flavors have time to get to know each other.) This butter is a great spread for rye bread. (Or any other kind of bread for that matter!)

     

LIGHT AND FLUFFY CINNAMON ROLLS WITH RUM RAISIN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING  

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This recipe produced the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. And when the title says light and fluffy, it means light and fluffy. A lot like the fabulous cinnamon rolls you can buy at Cinnabon at super exorbitant prices. And Cinnabon cinnamon rolls don’t come with rum raisin frosting either. They certainly should, but alas they do not!

The recipe for the bread dough I found on thewoksoflife.com site. (Great site BTW.) I changed the preparation instructions quite a bit, but then I’ve baked a lot of bread products in my time, so I do know a thing or two about dough containing yeast. However, the filling and the yummy frosting are all on me. You’re welcome.

Anyway, for us, Christmas morning would not be the same without cinnamon rolls. But this Christmas we were both ill, so I made these rolls for a New Year’s day breakfast treat. But I can tell you right now, I am not going to wait until next Christmas to serve these little darlings again. I’ve decided life is just too short to not eat cinnamon rolls more often. (And the older I get the shorter life becomes.) (Funny how that works.)

Well, that’s it for today. I have been having nothing but trouble with my site. And not because the site is the problem. It is the user who is so technically challenged that I’m sure it took every ounce of strength from the nice person who was assisting me with my system problems to keep from asking me if I still used a rotary phone? Or did my TV still have those little antenna things attached? Because seriously, that’s about when I stopped understanding anything mechanical. I am so ill equipped for today’s technical world, that I’m reasonably certain the engine in our Prius is smarter than I am. But my innate lack of mechanical aptitude doesn’t seem to stop me from plunging ahead. It just means that I will always need assistance from an expert for simple fixes that a normal person could handle instinctively. Oh well, I have other qualities. (I keep telling myself this so I won’t stop daring myself to take on new challenges and adventures.) You know, we are all different. And that’s what makes life so much fun.

So, keep on trying new things. And like I used to tell my kids, so what if you fail or find that whatever you tried didn’t really appeal. You had a new experience. And bottom line, we only live once. So, keep going for it.

And of course, peace and love to all.

And sorry for no picture. I planned to take one after the rolls were frosted, but somehow, that just never happened. But next time I make these lovely rolls, I’ll edit this post and add a picture. (If I remember to do so, that is!)

For the rolls:

2/3 c. heavy cream

1 c. whole milk

1 lg. egg

⅓ c. granulated sugar

½ c. cake flour, fluffed 

3½ c. bread flour, fluffed, plus more as needed 

1 T. active dry yeast

1½ tsp. kosher salt

veggie oil

¼ c. (½ stick) soft butter

¾ c. brown sugar, packed 

4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix the heavy cream, milk, and egg in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add the granulated sugar, cake flour, bread flour, active dry yeast, and salt. (There is no need to activate the yeast beforehand.)

Turn on the mixer to the lowest setting, and let it go for 10-15 minutes. If you’re in a humid climate and the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. (I needed 4 additional tablespoons of flour.) The dough should be sticking to the bottom of the bowl, but not the sides.  

Pour a bit of oil in the bowl, and using a stiff rubber spatula and your hands, roll the dough into a well-greased ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for 1-2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size. (Mine took 2 hours.)

In the meantime, butter a 10×16-inch baking dish or 2 9-inch square or round pans on all sides.  

After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down several times to get rid of any air bubbles.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a 12×24 inch rectangle. Using a small offset spatula or butter knife, spread the butter all over the dough. Next sprinkle on the brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up tightly, beginning at one of the wide ends and cut it into 12 equal rounds.  

Arrange the rolls in the buttered baking pan(s). Cover and allow them to rise again for about 30-40 minutes.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the buns on the sides are a very light golden brown. Do not overbake. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting. Serve warm!

Hint: I usually prepare these cinnamon rolls for the next morning, so I don’t frost them until after they have been gently heated in my microwave. Then I let everyone slather on as much frosting as they want.

RUM RAISIN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 T. dark rum

½ c. golden raisins

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
4 oz. (½ pkg.) cream cheese, room temp.
2-3 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla paste or extract
2½ c. powdered sugar, or more as needed

Bring the rum and raisins to a low simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese, milk, and vanilla. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. Add the raisins and any remaining liquid. Add additional powdered sugar or milk as needed.   

GLAZED EGGNOG FLAVORED BISCOTTI    

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Since eggnog is a favorite of my husbands, and for him Christmas just isn’t the same without a bottle of the stuff in our refrigerator starting around Thanksgiving, I thought an eggnog flavored biscotti might just be a perfect treat for him. So, I went online to find a recipe. What I found were recipes that contained eggnog as an ingredient. And I thought to myself, what a waste of good eggnog when all the flavors of eggnog can so easily be duplicated by ingredients I always have on hand. Plus, then if he wanted eggnog biscotti in July for example, I wouldn’t have to build some homemade eggnog just for this recipe. I could basically make these delightful biscotti any old time I chose. (Or Mr. C. ever so nicely requested.)

So, the recipe below is what I came up with. And if I do say so myself, the biscotti were (they’re all gone now) delicious. And quite different from all the other biscotti I make. And yes, we love biscotti, so you will find several recipes on this site. They are all fabulous, and very easy to make.

Well, that’s all for today. Mr. C. has a rehearsal this evening, so dinner needs to be on the table by 5:30, which is much earlier than when he doesn’t have a rehearsal or gig. Usually, we get around to eating dinner around 7:00 pm. Then it’s reading time for me and reading and/or practicing the piano for Andy. In other words, very sedentary after dinner pursuits, which are not only consistent with our ages but also our inclinations. And doesn’t that make us lucky people.

May you also be able to follow your inclinations and enjoy some quality down time each and every day.

And as always, peace and love to all.  

For the biscotti:

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

1 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

½ c. whole milk

1 tsp. dark rum

1 tsp. cognac

1 tsp. vanilla paste or extract

3½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground nutmeg

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. kosher salt

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine butter, sugar, and eggs until well blended. Mix in milk, rum, cognac, and vanilla bean paste.   

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt together. Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended.

Roughly divide dough in half. Using buttered hands, shape each dough half into a long roll, approximately 14″ long. Carefully place rolls on prepared baking sheet, about 3-inches apart. With your fingers, lightly flatten each roll so that they are approximately ¾-inch thick.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and place pan on wire rack for about 15 minutes. Carefully move the logs to a cutting board and cut diagonal slices (approximately ¾-inch thick).

Place slices, cut side down, back on original baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn slices over and return to oven to bake for another 10 minutes or until firm to the touch and lightly browned. Remove from oven and transfer to wire racks to cool completely before glazing.

For the glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. rum

tiny pinch cinnamon

tiny pinch nutmeg  

2–3 T. whole milk

In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons milk together. If needed, add more milk to achieve desired consistency.  

Place completely cooled biscotti pieces, top side up, about a half inch apart on your large baking sheet. Drizzle the glaze over the biscotti. (You may not use it all. That’s OK.) Allow glaze to harden before storing biscotti in an airtight container.  

     

RUSSIAN TEA CAKES

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The tea cakes on the left have yet to receive their sprinkle of powdered sugar.

My daughter Paula called me before Christmas because a fellow worker wanted my recipe for Russian Tea Cakes. Paula was at work so didn’t have her recipe at hand, so she went to her momma’s site but couldn’t find the recipe. And no wonder! My favorite cookie recipe and the one that always appears at the top of my list for “goodies that simply must be made at Christmas” had never been published. What! Wait! How could this be right? But sure enough, this fabulous recipe had never left my fingertips and as if by magic, landed on this site. The only reason I can think of to justify this omission, is that I practically have this recipe memorized. (Or I used to have it memorized when I still had my full set of faculties. Now I have to read, re-read, and then check off ingredients as I place them in the mixer. (Getting older can be a bit trying at times. Hopefully none of you can relate. But if you can, I sympathize.)

Anyway, here is my recipe for Russian Tea Cakes. (And I know. Most of you already have a great recipe for these fabulous and easy to make cookies. But for those who don’t, I felt compelled to share the recipe with you.)

Well, that’s it for today. I’m totally burned out from making reservations for our upcoming trailer trips, so I think I’ll keep this short and treat myself to an afternoon helping the protagonist in the book I’m reading figure out who done it. (I’m very good at being an armchair detective.)

Have a great new year. Stay healthy. Stay positive, and don’t forget to laugh. Laughter is so good for us, and although laughter can be contagious, it’s not infectious. And isn’t that refreshing!    

Peace and love to all.

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ c. powdered sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1 tsp. vanilla

2¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

¼ tsp. salt

¾ c. finely chopped walnuts

Cream the butter, ½ cup of powdered sugar, and vanilla together. Add the flour, salt, and finely chopped walnuts.

Use a small ice cream scoop or roll the dough by hand into 1-inch balls. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for about 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be a very light golden brown when they are done. DO NOT OVERBAKE.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

When cool, sprinkle* with powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.

*The best (and least messy) way to coat the top of the cookies with powdered sugar is to place the cooled cookies back on your baking pan, then scoop a bit of powdered sugar into a small, fine sieve (strainer) and shake over the cookies. (You don’t have to coat the bottom of the cookies.) Let sit for about 30 minutes before storing.

MOCHA HOT COCOA MIX

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These are the star ingredients I used for this mocha coffee mix. Unfortunately, I failed to take a picture of the mix itself. (Christmas is a crazy time at our house. That’s my only defense!)

Well, Christmas is past, the New Year is here and the only thing that remains unpleasant from 2022 for us personally are the lingering coughs from whatever possessed us the last couple of weeks of December. Flu, RSV, who knows! But whatever it was, I truly encourage you not to get it! It wasn’t the worse flu or cold we’ve ever experienced, but it just went on and on and on. And just when we thought we were getting rid of the darn thing, it sprang to life again. That is simply not fair! So, no Christmas eve with our dear friends Jim and Margo and no Christmas day with our extended family. What saved the whole Christmas holiday was getting to spend the 26th with daughter Paula. She braved our germy house and came to visit regardless of our lingering ailments. So far, she is still well. Thank goodness!

And, New Year’s Eve we were able to enjoy being wined and dined at Margo and Jim’s home. New Year’s Day, we spent a glorious few hours at Tim and Suzie’s home. While the guys (Whistle Lake Jazz Quartet) were practicing for an upcoming gig, we wives (plus our dear friend Diane) spent some quality time reflecting on our careers and how the role of women in business has changed through the decades. In many ways for the better. But in some cases, there is still a prejudice against “grey-haired middle-aged women”. Well, learning that this attitude was still alive and well, and in one case perpetuated by a younger woman executive, it was a good thing we were firmly ensconced in Suzie’s living room and this young lady who had made the comment wasn’t living and working in the vicinity. It could have gotten quite ugly for her. To say we were steamed, would be putting it mildly. But for me, it was almost cathartic to share our stories. To be reminded that I was not alone. Things in my years at the bank that had caused me pain, were also being experienced by other women in far different professions. And yet, we had or were still surviving, and mostly stronger for having been exposed to and confronted these difficult situations. And as we talked, I felt so blessed to not only know these amazing women, but to be able to call them friends. I have always had close woman friends. And I realized once again, how lucky that makes me feel. But enough about me and on to this mocha mix.

This Christmas was the year of the biscotti. For the Whistle Lake gang, I gave each couple a trio of my favorite Italian cookies, a couple of red mugs, and some of this mocha cocoa mix. It was so much fun to make different kinds of biscotti. (New recipes to be posted in the near future.) And even more fun to prepare this cocoa mix.

Now, if you have never made biscotti, you can’t possibly know how easy these delicious twice baked cookies are to build. And if you have never eaten a biscotti, well, you have no idea what you have been missing. Biscotti is just one of the yummiest things you will ever put in your mouth. In my estimation, biscotti should actually be its own food group!

Anyway, along with the biscotti, I wanted something that our friends could dunk their biscotti into, and I found this recipe on theyummylife.com site. I changed things up a bit, but then, that’s just what I do!

So, I hope you enjoy this recipe. But remember, this hot drink is always best served with a biscotti. And life is simply too short to continue depriving yourself of this wonderful combination. And it’s going to be winter for several more months. Need I say more? Except, Happy New Year.

And as always, peace and love to all.  

1 c. instant coffee (I use Mount Hagen Organic Fairtrade Coffee (instant decaffeinated) (Amazon prime)

1 c. cocoa powder (I use Valrhona Cocoa Powder (Amazon prime)  

3½ c. instant dry milk powder

2/3 c. powdered sugar

1 c. vanilla powder (see recipe below)

2 tsp. corn starch

¼ tsp. fine sea salt

Pulse all ingredients in food processor until well combined. Store in airtight container. Makes approximately 5 cups of mix.

To prepare mix: Add 3-4 tablespoons of mix to 8-oz. boiling water. Stir and top with whipped cream if desired. (Chocolate sprinkles are nice too.)  

Homemade vanilla powder:

1 c. granulated sugar

2 T. vanilla paste or extract (I use Rodelle all natural Vanilla Paste*) (Amazon)

Combine the sugar and vanilla paste in a small bowl. Stir to form a thick, uniform, coarse paste. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer sugar/vanilla mixture to baking sheet and spread into thin, even layer. Allow to set out until completely dry, 6-8 hours. Stir once during drying time to promote faster drying. It’s normal for there to be small, dried clumps.
Transfer dried mixture to food processor and pulse until all clumps are gone and texture is a fine powder. Store in an airtight container.
*Vanilla paste has a thicker consistency than vanilla extract because it includes specks of vanilla bean seeds. Whereas vanilla extract contains no specks from vanilla beans. With the inclusion of ground vanilla bean powder, vanilla paste has a slightly more intense flavor than vanilla extract.

 

WHITE CHOCOLATE DRIZZLED GINGERBREAD BISCOTTI    

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I thought covid and all its social restrictions was a bummer. And it was a bummer for a myriad of reasons. But at least we could still get together with dear friends and relatives at Christmas. Even if it was only for a short time in someone’s garage, responsibly spaced around a portable propane camping fire. (And yes, we actually did enjoy a bit of Christmas together exactly as described!)

But this Christmas was the pits. Both Andy and I were ill. We think we had RSV. But it could have been the flu. (And yes, we had this year’s flu vaccination!)  But hey, we could have had both of these darling infirmities at the same time! Now wouldn’t that be special! Because we had symptoms from both at various times during our illnesses. And we still aren’t 100%! Almost 3 weeks for Andy and about 10 days for me. Humbug! (That’s what we’ve chosen to call what we had/have. The 2022 HUMBUG!)

So, we missed Christmas Eve with our dear friends Jim and Margo and Christmas day with relatives and close friends because of what’s “going around”.

But you know, while I was sitting in my favorite reading chair on Christmas day feeling ever so sorry for myself, I realized how exceedingly lucky I was to have Andy to spend the day with. And how blessed we both were to have close friends and family that were able to be together. Even if this Christmas we couldn’t be there with them. I realized all of us were the lucky ones. We had a home. We weren’t being bombed by some power-hungry Russian maniac. We weren’t out in the cold with no way to get warm, stay warm, or feed either our loved ones or ourselves. We were lucky. Just plain lucky!

So what if Mr. C. and I couldn’t spend Christmas as planned. We had fresh running water. A nice cozy bed to climb into when we felt chilled. Food to eat when we got hungry. We had everything we needed to get healthy. We were safe. Whereas so many of the world’s population could not say those three little words. I am safe. And I realized how horrible that must feel to not be safe. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would mean.

So, did I have a great Christmas? Yes, I did. I was given the opportunity to realize how truly blessed I am. Sometimes it takes something like a brief illness to remind us of our blessings and to put our wonderful lives in perspective. Thankfully I was able to learn a valuable lesson as I was recovering. And thankfully, I had been able to finish most of my baking before my body was invaded by germs. (I’ll take my luck wherever I can find it!)

And one of the best cookies I made this year was this recipe for gingerbread biscotti. I found the recipe on theoliveblogger.com site. Delicious. I made a small change, of course I did, but the main recipe is all Melissa. So, if you too love gingerbread and biscotti, then this is the recipe for you.

As we all approach the new year, I hope we can keep the spirit of Christmas alive throughout 2023. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to find ourselves wishing each other a merry “whatever” every time we met. I’ll start. Merry 2023.

And as always, peace and love to all.

⅓ c. unsalted butter, room temp.   

1¼ c. brown sugar, lightly packed

2 lg. eggs 

2 T. molasses

1 tsp. vanilla   

2¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed 

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon  

½ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda   

scant ½ tsp. fine sea salt

½ c. finely chopped candied ginger

white chocolate, for drizzle

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the butter and brown sugar together until creamy. Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla and mix until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Stir in the candied ginger making sure each tiny piece is coated with flour.  

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, just until well combined. (The dough will be very thick).

Using your hands liberally greased with butter, divide the dough in half. On the parchment paper lined baking sheet, pat each half into a 10×2-inch rectangle.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a light golden brown and slightly firm to the touch but NOT hard. Remove from oven.

Cool for 10 minutes. Leave the oven on. After 10 minutes, cut each log diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices.

Turn cut side down on the baking sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. (They should be slightly golden on both sides.)

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before drizzling with melted white chocolate. Allow white chocolate to harden before storing the biscotti in an airtight container.  

    

CHEWY CARAMEL PECAN SQUARES

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Before I write anything about this recipe, I need to apologize for not posting a recipe since December 5th. But I have some very good reasons. My grown children’s goodie packages take precedence over any other use of my time once the calendar reflects that December has once again rolled around. And the older I get, the more Christmas seems to take me by surprise. And really, I have been cognizant of Christmas since I was about 3 years old. By 78 years old, you would think that there should be no shocker value associated with the fact that Christmas is about to descend on us, with what seems to me, at an ever-increasing rate of speed. But every darn year, I am unprepared for the fact of Christmas, even though there have been Christmas decorations in stores since before Halloween! And BTW, what’s with that? Can’t stores just finish one holiday before they start touting products for two holidays hence?

Anyway, the bottom line is that I have been madly wearing my Mrs. Santa hat, and basically loving every minute of it. Nothing makes me happier than making cookies and candy for my kidlets, other family members, and close friends. And of course, figuring out what gift would be most appreciated by my kids and other family members and friends. (Thank God for Amazon prime is all I have to say!) But back to the real reason for this post.

Every year, our dear neighbor Joanna leaves a Christmas tin full of cookies and peanut brittle on our front porch. And every year she includes these incredible bar cookies in the mix. I always know that it’s time for me to get going with my baking when our Christmas tin from Joanna arrives. So, this year I decided my kids needed some of these delicious bar cookies in their goodie package too. And since you all have been so good this year (Santa told me so), I am going to pass along this wonderful recipe via epicurious.com and Joanna.

I plan to serve these bars in lieu of pecan pie this year because after eating all the other offerings on the Christmas dinner table, most people only need a small bite or two of dessert. So, I am also making apple pie bars instead of apple pie, for just that very reason.

May you too have a full to the brim Christmas and a great 2023. We have all had a rough time the past 3 years, but to my eyes, things appear to be looking up a bit. I continue to have hope that the earth’s citizens can all pull through the various messes we have gotten ourselves into. And can learn from our mistakes.

In the meantime, let your holidays and years to come be full of laughter, love, family, friendship, and joy.

And as always, peace and love to all.

Crust:

1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

⅓ c. powdered sugar

¼ c. cornstarch

½ tsp. kosher salt

¾ c. (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

Line a 13×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving 1 inch overhang on all sides. Lightly butter the parchment paper. (Glass pan is best for this recipe.)  

Blend flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor. Add butter and process until mixture begins to clump together. Press dough evenly onto bottom of prepared pan.

Bake crust in a pre-heated 350-degree oven until set and light golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand while preparing topping. Reduce oven temperature to 325-degrees.

Topping:

1¼ c. brown sugar (packed)

½ c. light corn syrup

¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter

4 c. coarsely chopped pecans  

½ c. heavy cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Stir brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter together in a heavy medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils; boil 1 minute. Add pecans and cream; boil until mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Pour hot topping over warm crust.

Bake nut-topped crust until caramel is slightly darker and bubbles thickly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Cool completely in pan (topping will harden).

Lift parchment paper out of pan onto cutting board. Using a heavy sharp knife, cut cookies into 1-inch squares. (These cookies are very rich.) Store between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature.