A documentation of my preservation and preparation of local foods as I work through the seasons. This will serve as a reference tool for me in the future and as a sharing guide for family and friends...and anyone else interested. Hopefully, I can offer some useful methods, tips and recipes to share with everyone--be they novice or pro--and encourage them to join me in the exciting world of preserving and cooking with local foods.



Thursday, December 15, 2011

Christmas Cookies, Bars and Candy

Norwegian tradition has it that one must make at least seven different kinds of cookies for a proper Christmas.  So, being of Norwegian descent, here are at least seven favorite recipes for Christmas Cookies.  Without the frosting and decor on the cookies and brownie recipe, these are good year-round cookies and bars.  All of my favorite cookie, candy and bar recipes are included.
Spritz, Mom always made several kinds.
I loved putting the decorations on them.
Spritz                                  400   8-10 min
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-1/4 cups flour
--Mix in order.  Put through cookie press.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until set.

Sand Bakkels 375 10-12 min
(These are my favorite--kids love them too!)
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
2-1/2 cups flour
--Mix in order. Pinch off a small ball of dough and place in center of sand bakkel tin. Using thumb, spread dough to coat inside of tin as thin as possible. Place filled tins on cookie sheet and bake until top edges starting to turn golden brown. Cool. Remove from tin by inverting the tin and gently squeezing. Before baking, you can sprinkle a little bit of colored sugar or other decor on the bottom (flat part) of the cookie--not too much or it will spoil the taste. Clean tins with a dry cloth only or they'll rust.

Rolled or Drop Sugar Cookies 350 10-12 min
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
--Mix in order. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters dipped in flour; or roll into balls and flatten with glass dipped in colored sugar. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet, bake until light brown. Frost rolled cookies.
Frosting
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tablespoons milk or Half and Half
--Mix butter, vanilla and salt.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk and beat until good spreading consistency.
  
Ginger Cookies       375     10-12 min
(only for Christmas, I frost these and sprinkle with little colored balls.)
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
--Mix in order.  Shape into balls and press down with glass dipped in sugar.  Frost when cool. 
Frosting
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tablespoons milk or Half and Half
--Mix butter, vanilla and salt.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating until smooth spreading consistency.

Russian Teacakes          400     10-12 min
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-14 cups flour
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
--Mix in order.  Chll dough.  Roll into 1" balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake until set, but not brown.  While cookies are still warm*, roll in sifted powdered sugar.  (*not hot or the powdered sugar will melt)  Cool, roll in powdered sugar again.

M&M Christmas Cookies     350   10-12 min
(My chocolate chip cookie recipe with Red & Green M&Ms substituted)
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups flour (enough so dough not too stickey)
Red and Green M&Ms
--Mix in order.  Drop onto greased cookie sheet and bake.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies                350      10 min
One of daughter Abby's favorites--she make them often
1-1/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
--Mix in order.  Drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10 min, until set.  Cookies will puff during baking, then flatten when cool.  Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheet.

Lemon Bars 350 25 min (don't overbake)
Crust
1 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
Topping
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
--Mix crust ingredients and pressed into greased 8x8 pan. Bake 20 min.
Mix topping ingredients and pour over hot crust. Bake 20-25 min more. Topping will puff during baking, but flatten when cool. Warning: sticky!

Blarney Stones              350
Dad used to buy these at Christmastime from Arbuckles Bakery and we loved them!  They were named differently, but I finally found the recipe.
Cake
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups flour
--Mix cake ingredients well in order.  Pour into greased 13x9 pan (or fill mini-muffin tins 2/3 full)  Bake 30-35 min, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool.  Cut into squares.  Cover and freeze overnight  (no need to freeze if using mini-muffin tins). 
Frosting and Topping
2 pounds powdered sugar (7-1/2 cups)
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 cups finely chopped peanuts (not salted)
--Mix all together except for peanuts and beat until smooth.  Frost top and sides of frozen cakes or muffins.  Frost top and sides of little cakes and roll in finely-chopped peanuts.  Place on wire racks to dry.

Dream Cream Bars                350
Crust
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Filling
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
8 oz cream cheese
1 teaspoon almond extract
Frosting
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter
4 teaspoons H&H or whole milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
--Mix crust ingredients and press into 9x13 greased pan.  Bake 20-25 min until set and light golden brown.  Mix filling ingredients.  Beat for a few minutes until well mixed.  Pour over hot crust.  Bake 15-20 min, until set.
Cool.  Mix frosting ingredients and spread over bars.

Chocolate Meltaway Bars --these really do melt in your mouth!
Bottom Layer
1 cup butter
2  1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 beaten eggs
4 cups graham cracker crumbs
Filling
1/2 cup butter
2 Tablespoons Cream (or Half and Half or whole milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
Topping
3 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

Chocolate Brownies with Creme de Menthe Frosting
4 1-oz bars unsweetened chocolate (I like Hersheys)
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup flour
--Put chocolate and butter into bowl and microwave on high 1-2 min.  Stir until chocolate melted.  Mix in rest of ingredients in order and spread into 13x9 greased pan.  Bake approx. 30 min, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool and frost with recipe below.
Creme de Menthe Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup soft butter
2 Tablespoon creme de menthe

Microwave Carmels
1 cup butter
2-1/2 cups brown sugar
dash of salt
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
--Melt butter in the microwave in a 4-quart casserole dish.  Add rest of ingredients except vanilla.  Cook on high 18-20 min, stirring and turning every 2 minutes with a wooden spoon.  Take out of microwave and add vanilla.  Pour into 9x13 buttered pan.  Cool, cut and wrap in plastic wrap.

Mom's Butterscotch Caramel Wafers
As kids, we could hardly wait for these to set and would start sneaking them as soon as Mom put them in the garage to cool. By the time she went to retrieve them, the wax paper had many empty circles where the wafers had been.

1/2 cup butter
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup white sugar
--Put all ingredients in deep cooking pot on stove.  Cook over med-high heat to hard crack stage; or as follows in large casserole dish in microwave: med. setting for 5 min, stir; then med-high for 3-5 min.  Check for hard crack stage by dropping a little from a spoon into a cup of cold water.  It should come together in a firm glob.  Working fast, pour 3" wafer size circles onto a long sheet of wax paper.  Put in cool place to set.  Peel and eat.

Family Fudge Recipe
Note:  For a delicious ice cream topping, cook only to the soft ball stage.
2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate (We like Hersheys brand)
2 cups white sugar
1 cup milk
Any chopped nuts as desired (Dad loved black walnuts.)
Put all ingredients, except nuts, in deep cooking pot on stove.  Cook over med-high heat to hard ball stage.  Hard ball stage is reached when a half spoonful of fudge dropped in a cup of cold water comes together in a firm glob.  Remove from heat and set pan in sink or pan of ice-cold water which comes up to at least one-third the height of the cooking pot.  Beat until fudge looses its gloss and starts to come together in one large glob.  Working quickly, mix in nuts, then pour and press with spoon onto large, buttered plate or pie tin.  Let set and cut into squares.  Our plates of fudge were eaten as soon as it set; but to store them, wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

Apple Cider Caramels
These received such rave reviews on the net, I had to include it.

2 c. high-quality apple cider
1 c. heavy cream or whipping cream, divided
1 tsp. ground cinnamon*
Pinch nutmeg*
1/4 tsp. allspice*
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. light corn syrup
1 stick (1/2 c.) real butter, cubed

*If you’d rather, you can use 1 tsp. apple pie or pumpkin pie spice + 1/2 tsp. cinnamon instead of the full teaspoon of cinnamon plus the nutmeg and allspice.
--Pour cider into a medium saucepan and boil on high for about 20 minutes or until the cider is reduced to 1/3 c. (keep a glass or silicone measuring cup handy so you can pour it out and back in again if you need to). Set aside to cool.  Line an 8″ square pan with parchment paper, making sure to leave about 1″ hanging over the edges for easy removal. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a small bowl, combine 2/3 c. cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and reduced apple cider. Set aside.
In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, 1/3 c. whipping cream + enough water to reach the 1/2 c. line on the measuring cup, and corn syrup. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Insert the candy thermometer and simmer until the syrup reaches 234 degrees.
Remove from heat and slowly whisk in the cream mixture. Add the cubed butter and stir until the cream and butter are fully incorporated. Return the pan to heat and re-insert the candy thermometer. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 248 degrees.  Remove from heat and pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Let the mixture cool completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Cut the caramels into 1/2″ squares and wrap each caramel in wax paper. Store in an airtight container or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.










No comments:

Post a Comment