Virtual Cookie Exchange 2010

I'm participating in a Virtual Cookie Exchange with the lovely lady over at Our Plain and Simple Life.  I'm not sure how often I will post since I'm busy actually baking the recipes I'm sharing, but here goes the first post.
This sugar cookie recipe is the best.  I've already got a batch of dough in the freezer waiting to be rolled out.  Once baked and well wrapped these keep well for a very long time (in a cool place).  They freeze well too.

Sugar Cookies -makes 15 dozen 2 inch cookies

1 lb butter                  2 eggs
pinch of salt              2T vanilla
2 c white sugar       5 c flour

Cream butter and sugar then beat in eggs and vanilla.  Add salt and flour and mix well.  Chill for at least an hour (I usually do overnight).  Roll out 1/4 inch and cut and put on lined cookie sheets.  For easy decoration, mix egg yolks with food colouring and paint the cookies.  Ella's going to have great fun doing that this year.
Bake 350F for 10-12 minutes

This next recipe is for shortbread cookies.  These make the best shortbread I've ever had (if I do say so myself).  It's another of my Great Grandma Heard's recipes.  Follow the instructions, it does make a difference.  These cookies are better made a bit ahead of time.  They also keep well -if I hide them well!

Shortbread Cookies -makes 100 cookies
1 c butter, well-creamed but not oily                       1/2 c cornstarch
1/2 c icing sugar         2 c flour
1/2 t salt

Sift the dry ingredients 4 times.  Mix with the creamed butter.  Knead until it cracks.  Roll 1/3 inch thick.
Bake 325F for 20 min.

Have you heard the George Strait song "Christmas Cookies"?  It always makes me smile because it's Colin's theme song.  Cookies must get packed away shortly after cooling or there would be none for the cookie boxes.

Recipes for the Week

I love Julia Child. I received her Mastering the Art of French Cooking from my sweetie (I think he had ulterior motives). My favourite French Onion Soup is based on Julia’s, but I leave out the booze (of course) and use homemade chicken stock. Last week I made the Casserole-Roasted Pork. It was delicious!!! I’ll share the recipe with you here because it is more a method than an actual recipe. Julia suggests marinating the pork first but I didn’t get it thawed in time.
Casserole-roasted Pork
3lb boneless shoulder roast
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
2 garlic
1 T parsley
1 bay leaf
¼ t thyme
½ c stock
Dry roast and brown on all sides. Put 2T of fat in casserole and cover and cook vegetables and herbs for 10 minutes. Put meat in casserole (fat side up). Season with s&p if not marinated. Cover and bake in 325F oven for about 2 hours, or until meat thermometer reads 170F. Baste meat a couple of times. Makes delicious gravy.
This would be really yummy with roasted potatoes.
Roast Chicken and Dressing
chicken any size -don’t forget to remove inside bits
soft butter
s&p
Rinse bird and dry well. Place on roasting pan, stuff, tie legs closed and rub with soft butter. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast at 325F for about 30 min/pound or until 175F.
Dressing -4-5 lb bird, double as needed
¼ c butter 3 T parsley
½ t sage 2 eggs
½ c milk 1 onion, chopped fine
2 celery, chopped fine
½ loaf bread, cubed
salt & pepper
Colin is always happy when I have enough leftover chicken to make chicken a la king. I’ll give you the from scratch version, but I often use leftover chicken instead.
Chicken A La King
3-4 lbs chicken (I use boneless)
1 onion 2 whole cloves
1 ½ t salt
Cover with boiling water and simmer until tender. Dice chicken (needs 3 cups) and strain broth.
In a large saucepan (I use non-stick), melt butter and cook relish until tender. Add 5 T corn starch and cook a little bit. Add 1 ½ c stock and cook until nice and thick. Add ¾ c milk or cream, 1 egg and the diced chicken.
Cookie making happens on a fairly regular basis in our house. Most of my recipes make at least 5 dozen. Any less and there is no real point, they get eaten too quickly. Here’s Colin’s favourite chocolate chip recipe. This is one of my favourites too, it makes 11 dozen so they last for a while.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
4 c brown sugar 4 eggs
4 T hot water 2 c butter
1 ½ t vanilla 6 ½ c flour
3 t bk soda ½ t salt
3 c chocolate chips (sometimes I add Skor bits too)
Drop onto lined cookie sheets and bake 375F for 10 minutes. Do not over bake.
We didn’t get a chance to make Poor Knights this week. We were pickling beets and didn’t have stove top room. I’ll share the recipe anyway, it’s yummy.
Poor Knights or Arme Ritter
3 eggs, separated 2 c milk
2 T water breadcrumbs
8-10 slices of bread
butter for frying cinnamon and sugar to top
Lightly beat egg whites with water. Beat the yolks and milk together. Dip bread into custard. Then carefully dip into egg whites. Coat with breadcrumbs on both sides. Fry slowly in butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
A nice variation on French Toast.

Cookies

It's cookie baking time here.  I've made a couple different kinds so I have 2 new recipes to share.

Angel Crisp Cookies -7 dozen

1c, each,brown and white sugar                    1c, each, lard and margarine
2 eggs                                                           2 t vanilla
2 t bk soda                                                   1 t salt
2 t cream of tartar                                         4 c flour

Dip balls in white sugar and place on lined cookie sheet.  Flatten with a fork and bake 425F for 8-10 min.


Chocolate Chip - Peanut Butter Crisps  -5 dozen

1/2 c, each, white and brown sugar              1/2 c peanut butter
1/4 c, each, margarine and shortening           1 egg
1/2 t, each, bk soda and powder                  4 c rice crispies
6 oz. chocolate chips

Drop onto lined cookie sheet and bake 325F for 10-12 minutes

Christmas Fun

Here's what we spent the afternoon making.  Aren't they cute?  They were actually pretty easy.  A good, cool looking recipe for an older child to make on their own.  I used walnuts instead of the pecan.  I also would suggest keeping the melted chocolate over a bowl of hot water -I had to keep re-melting.

Hedgehog Cookies
makes 16 -I would suggest at least doubling the recipe

1/3c butter                       1/4 c icing sugar
1/2 t vanilla                       2/3 c flour
2/3 c ground pecans or walnuts
1/8 t salt                          1/2 c chocolate chips
1/4 c chocolate sprinkles

Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla.  Mix in flour, nuts and salt.  Roll 1T of dough into a ball and make indentations for face.  Place on lined cookie sheet.

Bake 325F  for 12-15 minutes.  Let cool a couple minutes then remove to rack and cool completely.

Once cool, carefully melt chocolate chips.  Keep bowl over pot of hot water.  Dip or spread chocolate on backs of cookies, keeping face free.  Then dip quickly in chocolate sprinkles.  Make eyes and nose with a tooth pick in the chocolate.  Let dry.

Ella and I had a great time making these today.  I would suggest you don't try doing the faces with a three-year old sitting there going "is it my turn yet, is it my turn yet" -not really condusive to doing 'perfect' faces  :)  I'll be taking these to Knit Night, we're having a small party with some munchies.

More Christmas Baking

Today I made Chocolate Penguins and Moravian Cookies. I got both recipes only a few years ago, but it wouldn't be Christmas without my Moravian Cookies. People love the Penguins too, they taste like brownies. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture before putting the cookies away. They have to get wrapped up quickly at Christmas time or Daddy would have them gone :)

Moravian Cookies

makes 9 doz. 2 1/2 inch cookies

1 1/3 c flour 1 1/4 t bk. soda
1 t cinnamon 1 t ginger
1/2 t cloves 1/4 c shortening
1/3 c brown sugar 1/2 c molasses

Mix dough as per usual. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and rest overnight at room temperature. When ready, roll out dough -I use two pieces of wax paper or heavy plastic wrap Use as little flour as possible. Dough must be rolled out VERY thin, thin enough to see light/hand through it. Don't cheat, they won't turn out as nicely if the dough is too thick. Place on lined cookie sheets as usual.

Bake 325F for 8-10 minutes. Cool for a minute or so on the sheets before removing to a cooling rack. These will store for many months if well wrapped.

Chocolate Penguins

makes 5 dozen

3 c flour 1 1/2 c butter
1 1/4 c cocoa 2 1/2 c icing sugar
1/4 t salt 2 eggs
1/2 t cinnamon 1 t vanilla

Mix as usual and chill for at least 1 hour. Roll out about 1/8 inch thick, using a bit of icing sugar instead of flour. Place on lined cookie sheets.

Bake 350F for 8-10 minutes

Since we're in a Christmas mood, here's my Plum Pudding recipe

1 c flour 1/2 c butter
1/2 c sugar 1/2 c raisins
1/2 c breadcrumbs 1/2 c currants
1/2 t baking powder 1/4 c chopped walnuts
1/2 t salt 1/2 c milk
1/2 t cinnamon 1/4 c molasses
1/2 t nutmeg 1 egg

Grease mold and sprinkle with extra sugar -I usually use a small ironstone mixing bowl.

Chop fruit and sprinkle with a little flour. Cut butter into dry ingredients. Add fruit and nuts. Add wet ingredients and stir till combined. Spoon into mold and cover with 2 layers of greased foil. Tie securely. Steam over medium heat 3 hours.

Gingerbread Cookies

makes 10 dozen cookies

6 c flour 1/2 t salt
2 t baking soda 4 t ginger
2 t cinnamon 1 t nutmeg
1/2 t cloves 1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c butter 1 c molasses, fancy table not blackstrap
2 eggs

Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs and molasses. Combine with dry ingredients. Chill at least 2 hours, overnight is better. Roll out 1/4 inch thick and cut in desired shapes. Bake on lined cookie sheet.

Bake 350F for 10-12 minutes, depending on size of cookie cutters. This is another recipe that keeps really well if well wrapped.

Christmas is coming!

Here's my Christmas cookie supply so far. In front are spritz cookies, made with ground almonds. The tiny ones in the bag are shortbread and the other two bags are sugar cookies. I'm a bit pressed for time, so I made the sugar cookies all into snowflakes. That way they only needed a sprinkle of sanding sugar to make them glitter.

Colin wanted something to take to work with him today. So I made my Grandma Rees' famous butter tarts. It's been a while since I made them. I had forgotten how yummy they are -especially if you have one that is still slightly warm :)

Butter Tarts
makes 22
3 c flour 1 t salt
1/2 lb shortening 1/2c water

Cut shortening into flour and salt. Add water and make pastry. Line 22 muffin cups.

filling:
1/2 lb butter, melted 4 eggs, beaten
2 c raisins 1 c brown sugar

I usually divide the raisins among the muffin cups. It's easier than keeping the filling stirred, so that everyone gets the right amount of raisins. Mix the other 3 ingredients together (I use a whisk). Pour into the pastry lined muffin cups, don't over fill.

Bake 350F for 30 minutes. Let cool in pan and they will pop right out. If you have any over spill, run a knife around the rim before the filling hardens.


Shortbread
makes 100

1/2 c cornstarch 1/2 c icing sugar
2 c flour 1/2 t salt

Sift these ingredients 4 times. I know, I know, we don't need to sift flour anymore (unlike when this recipe was made) but do it anyway! It really will make a difference to the finished product.

Cream 1 cup butter. Add in dry ingredients and combine. Turn out onto the table and knead a few times until the dough cracks. Roll out 1/3 inch thick and cut out with tiny cutters. Use a lined cookie sheet.

Bake 325F for 20 minutes

I use ones that are about an inch. I find if you make them too big, the cookies don't have the delicate, sandy quality they should. These cookies keep well and actually get better if they have time to sit before being eaten. That's not to say they aren't yummy still warm from the oven :)

Sugar Cookies

makes 10 dozen

2 c butter 2 eggs
1 T vanilla 2 c white sugar
5 c flour 1 t baking soda dissolved in 3 T milk

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Then add dissolved baking soda. Add flour. Chill dough for at least an hour. Roll out 1/4 inch think and cut with your favourite cutters. Put onto a lined cookie sheet.

Bake 350F for 10-12 minutes.

These are another great make ahead cookie. Well wrapped and kept in a cool place and they will keep a month or more.