leta joy

Day 12

24 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment

by letajoy in cookin' it up, holiday celebrate

I got this somewhere online, but failed to note where, so I have no idea whose grandma the title refers to.

Grandma’s Spritz Cookie Recipe

• 1 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 1/4 cup sifted flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp almond extract
• food coloring

1. Cream shortening. Add sugar gradually.

2. Add egg, sifted dry ingredients, flavoring and a few drops of food coloring (I use green). Mix well.

3. Fill cookie press. Form cookies on ungreased cookie sheet using the template. Decorate with tiny candies.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes (10 minutes on my stone, 8 minutes on cookie sheet). Transfer cookies from sheet to wire rack at once to cool.

All 12 Days of Cookies photos can be seen here.

Day 11

24 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment

by letajoy in cookin' it up, holiday celebrate

I think I may have written about this recipe before. I found it last year and it is now my go-to sugar cookie recipe.The original is a vegan recipe but I use regular eggs, milk and cream cheese with no problems.

Perfect Sugar Cookies (via johnandkristie.com)

• 1 cup margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup cream cheese

for the icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 6-8 tsp milk
• 4 tsp light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• food coloring

1. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour, baking powder and cream cheese. Form the dough into a long loaf and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the cookie sheets or use non-stick foil (I use my stone).

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place about 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

4. Bake for 12-14 minutes in preheated oven, until bottoms and edges just start to get light brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Store in airtight container.

Icing

1. In medium bowl, stir together powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

2. Add food coloring to desired intensity. Dip cookies and allow to dry overnight.

Day 10

22 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment

by letajoy in cookin' it up, holiday celebrate

I know, I know. Another non-cookie. I guess I’m just not a by-the-rules kind of gal. It’s my blog and I’ll fake it if I want to. I’m pretty sure I got this recipe from a friend when I was in grade school. You’ll need a candy thermometer. I have an old one that looks really grungy, but still works, so I haven’t replaced it.

Hard Rock Candy

• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• red food coloring
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• .25 oz cinnamon oil

Mix syrup, water and sugar in saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Boil covered for 3 minutes. Uncover and continue to boil slowly to 310 degrees. Color as desired. Add vanilla and cinnamon oil. Pour quickly into an oiled 8-inch square pan. Cool 10 minutes. Mark with knife into small pieces. When cold, break into pieces with rolling pin and roll in powdered sugar.

I usually double the recipe except for the cinnamon oil, because I don’t like it so hot that I have to have a glass of water nearby to eat it. But I’m a huge wimp when it comes to spicy food, so you might like it extra hot. Whatever floats yer boat.

I used a metal 9×13 baking pan to cool mine in (wiped with vegetable oil first) and took it outside to break it up with a butter knife. The little shards of candy tend to fly when you are whacking away at it. I find that the “marking it with a knife” bit doesn’t really do much. It helps to lift a corner up when it is starting to get hard (but is still pliable) so you can get it out of the pan later on.

Day 9

20 Dec 2009 1 Comment

by letajoy in cookin' it up, holiday celebrate

These are very pretty and really tasty, but involve several steps so these are a make-only-once-a-year for me.

Peppermint Spiral Cookies (recipe via sfgate.com)

• 2 cups unsifted cake flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup unsifted powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter ( 1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/4 tsp red liquid gel food coloring or 9 drops red liquid food coloring
• 1 T unsifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups multi-colored nonpareil decors

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugars in a food processor and process briefly to mix. Add the butter in pieces; process with on/off bursts until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Add the vanilla and process until the mixture just forms a ball.

Divide the dough into two equal portions then return one of the portions to the food processor. Add the peppermint extract, food coloring and the extra tablespoon of flour to the processor and process until just incorporated.

Roll out each portion of dough between sheets of waxed paper. You want a rectangle about 11×8 1/2 inches by 1/8 inch thick. Leave the dough between the sheets of waxed paper and slide onto a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

Remove dough pieces from refrigerator. Pour the nonpareil decors into a shallow rectangular dish, such as a 9×13 inch pan.

Peel off the top sheet of waxed paper from both doughs. Brush the vanilla dough very lightly with water. Using the waxed paper, lift the peppermint dough and flip it onto the vanilla dough so they are stacked. Press with your fingertips to seal the two doughs together. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and trim the edges even.

When the dough is just pliable but still cold, roll up the dough rectangles. Begin with the long side and roll up like a jellyroll. As you begin to roll, gently curl the edge with your fingertips so you don’t get any air pockets as you roll dough into a log. As you roll, life the waxed paper to help you roll the dough neatly and tightly.

After forming the dough into a log, throw away the waxed paper and roll the dough back and forth on the work surface to evenly distribute the dough and form a nice little log. Gently lift the log on top of the nonpareil decors in the dish and roll until the log is completely coated with decors. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to slice, from 4 hours to a week, or freeze for up to 2 months; defrost in the refrigerator overnight before slicing.

Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees. To bake, slice the log into 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick cookies and bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 15-17 minutes, until the cookies are no longer shiny on top and the bottoms of the vanilla portion are golden.

I don’t have a food processor, so I just make these in my Kitchen Aid mixer. I’m curious if the dough comes together better or easier in a food processor, though. It can be a tad difficult. I ended up adding a bit more butter and, when that didn’t seem to work, a bit of cream to make the dough come together into a ball. I stuck my log rolls in the freezer for a bit to firm up instead of waiting 4 hours in the fridge to bake them. The longer and skinnier you make the log rolls, the more dainty and cute-as-a-button the cookies will be. This is the second time I’ve made them and they got lots of raves at today’s family Christmas dinner.

Day 8

19 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment

by letajoy in cookin' it up, holiday celebrate

OK, I have to admit it. I haven’t even made all of mine yet, and I’m already getting tired of cookies. Christmas chili, anyone?

I make these for our friend, Bob. He is a former co-worker of Bubby’s. I sent these in to work with Bubby one year and Bob loved them so much that I now make them solely for him and we deliver them to his beautiful house sometime before Christmas. This year we let the kids wander around his impressive artsy home with lots and lots of doors to slam until I was afraid they were going to start breaking things and declared, “Time to go!” You gotta know when to fold ‘em.

Chez Panisse Gingersnaps (recipe found via The Recipe Box)

• 8 ounces unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup + 2 T sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 small eggs or 1 1/2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Cream butter until soft. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat until fluffy. Add molasses and beat until well-incorporated. Sift the dry ingredients and add to the mixture. On low speed, mix until it all just comes together. Line a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with plastic wrap, so that some hangs over the outsides. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan. Pack it tightly and try to make the top as level as possible. Cover the dough with the plastic overhangs. Freeze until very firm, preferable overnight. Unwrap and remove dough from the pan. Slice brick into thin slices, no more than 1/8″ thick. Place on a parchment-lined sheetpan and bake at 350 degrees until the edges turn dark brown, about 12 minutes. Makes around 4 dozen.

This year I made the dough several days in advance and left it in the freezer until I was ready to bake. I find it easiest to use a serrated knife to slice these. I used a baking stone and could only fit about 6 on the pan at one time without them running into each other. If you would like them to be a little bit softer, make your slices a tiny bit thicker.

All 12 days of cookies pics can be seen here.

Day 7

18 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment

by letajoy in cookin' it up, holiday celebrate

Ah, finally an actual cookie! These are basically a simple shortbread (one of my favorite types of cookie) with a few extra embellishments. I think this recipe may have been from my junior high Home Ec class. Picture me about 14 years old, painstakingly copying recipes onto an index card from an overhead projector. Fun times. It’s a fair possibility these are Mexican Wedding Cakes with a fancy festive name.

Snowball Cookies

• 1 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• additional powdered sugar for coating

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Blend. Add flour and salt. Blend. Mix in pecans. Chill dough in fridge for 10 minutes. Roll into 1 inch balls. Bake 10-12 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar. Cool. Roll in powdered sugar again. Makes 4 dozen.

They really do look like little snowballs.

Day 6

17 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment

by letajoy in cookin' it up, holiday celebrate

When I was a little girl, my grandma made divinity every year at Christmas time. I can remember sampling the fluffy white confection, fresh from the utility room where row after row of candy clouds waited. Even though I do not have a great track record with this type of thing, I decided to give it the old college try. Alas I will not be passing this one on to the next generation. I won’t even be passing this out for anyone to sample because it is currently in a gooey heap in my garbage can. I cannot vouch for this recipe, as mine did not turn out. At all. I leave you with the recipe in hopes of someone telling me where I went wrong. I think maybe I beat the egg whites too long.

Divinity

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, syrup and water in saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Boil covered 3 minutes. Uncover and boil rapidly to 268 degrees. Set off heat while beating egg whites. Add salt to egg whites. Beat until stiff and glossy. Pour syrup slowly into eggs, beating constantly. When mix is dull and stiff enough to hold its shape, quickly add vanilla. Press into buttered pan or drop by spoonfuls on wax paper.

snow man poop?

I followed the directions precisely and everything was going great until it was time to beat the egg whites. They never really looked like the recipe described. After leaving my mixer on high for about 20 minutes, I finally gave up and continued on. But as you can see no fluffy white clouds were in my future. More like gooey marshmallow globs.