Wish Upon A Chef

Let's just call a spade a spade here, people. It's called Christmas Crack because that's what it is - one bite and you can't stop. You're hooked. An addict. Much like what happens when you log onto Pinterest, which is where I found this recipe. It appears to have originated from A Southern Grace.

I'm betting you probably keep everything needed to make these in your pantry as staples, so you can fuel your crack addition anytime you want.  It's quick.  It's easy.  It's addictive (did I mention that?)

And can you believe what it's made with?  Saltine crackers.  Pretty soon the grocery store is going to start keeping saltines behind a locked case and you'll need to show and ID and give personal information for their database in order to buy them.  They're going to know you're an addict....they'll see the crazed look in your eyes.

Go make a batch NOW and join me on the dark side. 
 

Christmas Crack

1 cup unsalted butter (do not use margarine)
1 cup brown sugar, packed tightly
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
40 saltine crackers
Sprinkles, nuts or anything you'd like to use a garnish, if desired

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan or a 12x17-inch cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Lay a flat layer of crackers out on the foil.  Melt the sugar and butter until boiling.  Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved (if you don't dissolve the sugar completely, your toffee will have a grainy texture).  Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly.  After removing the pan from the oven, let it sit for 3-5 minutes.  Sprinkle on the chocolate chips, let them soften and melt, and then spread them into an even layer.  You can add nuts, cracker crumbs, or whatever else you'd like as garnish at this point.  Let cool and, if desired for expediting purposes, refrigerate until hardened. Break into pieces the size of your choice.

I wanted to include this tasty little treat in my "12 Days of Cookies" posts even though it's not a cookie.  I only hope that Santa shares in my love of all things goat cheese. This recipe came from Ali over at the now defunct blog called Something So Clever.  I couldn't find sweetened cocoa powder so I just sifted some powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa together and it worked just fine.

Chocolate Goat Cheese Truffles

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 ounces fresh (mild) goat cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sweetened cocoa powder, sifted

In the top of a double boiler, or in a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water (make sure the water does not touch the bowl), melt the chocolate, stirring until it is smooth. Set the melted chocolate aside to cool for a few minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In a bowl whisk together the goat cheese, sugar, and vanilla until it is light and fluffy. Whisk in the melted chocolate until it is well combined. Chill, covered, until it is firm, at least 1 hour.

To form the truffles, take a heaping teaspoon of the chocolate/cheese mixture and lightly roll it into a ball with your hands. Roll the finished truffles in the sifted cocoa powder, set them onto a baking sheet lined with waxed paper, and chill until they are firm, about 30 minutes. The truffles can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Peppermint Pinwheels, Chocolate Caramel Delights and Toffee Shortbread

This trio of cookies was the hit of the cookie exchange party that I hosted a few years ago (and now that we know my deep dark secret about who baked most of the cookies....)

I will admit to making the Peppermint Pinwheels and the Chocolate Caramel Delights, but I'll give all the credit to my friend Dawn for the Toffe Shortbread.  You can't go wrong with any of these treats and they all hold up well on cookie platters.

You'll also find a recipe for George's Lavender Cookies in this past post and yes, I made those for the party as well.  Now that I have my own crop of lavender growing, I can't wait to make those more often. 

I still have two more recipes to share to make your 12 Days of Cookies platter complete!

soft and chewy molasses cookies

I love gingersnap cookies but the ones that you buy in the store can be so hard and dry that they dang near come close to breaking a tooth when you eat them.  These soft and chewy molasses cookies from the Silver Palette cookbook have a slightly spicy and peppery bite from the addition of cloves and ginger and beat the Christmas socks off of store-bought any old day.   They bake up perfectly and stay chewy for days when stored in an airtight container. 

Leave a batch of these out for Santa and I guarantee you'll get lots of presents under your tree!

Some 30+ years ago, my mother attended a holiday workshop hosted by the Sullivan County Extension Homemakers (which is the grown-up version of 4-H) to learn how to make gingerbread houses. She came home that evening sporting her decorated house, the recipe for gingerbread dough and a cut-out pattern for future constructions of the house. As a kid, I was mesmerized by her cute little bungalow-style house smothered entirely in candy and sugary sweet icing and to this day I'll admit to still being verklempt anytime I see gingerbread construction.

It wasn't something we did together every year, but I can remember my mom and I making the houses together a few times and giving them as gifts to my school teachers, grandmothers, and some very close friends. If you got one of our houses, you were somebody special because this project was very detailed, time-consuming, expensive and alot of hard work.  I see these all-inclusive gingerbread house kits in the stores with everything already baked and candy and icing included, but I cannot and will not succumb to buying them because for me, it's a labor of love and a tradition to make them with my own two hands.



This year I am so excited to share my and my mom's tradition of decorating gingerbread houses with Boy Toy's daughter and some of her friends (I was probably more excited than they were!)  I volunteered to host a building and deocorating party for them this past Saturday afternoon and everyone had a great time - even the grown men who originally thought candy and icing was only for girls! 














I prepared the dough and baked the houses a week ahead of time because I've found that if you construct the houses right after baking, the pieces are soft and are easier to break or crumble.  I leave the pieces out on the counter for a few days to let them harden. 


The windows are made with crushed Jolly Rancher candies and I make some of them solid colors but I love the stained glass window effect of mixing two colors together in the same window.  When making the windows, make sure you use plenty of candy - it's okay if it's heaped up just a bit because it will melt and fill the space nicely (just make sure you don't get any bits of candy on the walls.)  I purchased 12" x 36" pieces of white styrofoam and cut them into thirds to act as the base for the house and I used Wilton Meringue powder to make the royal icing but you can make your own per the recipe below. 



Waiting for the decorators to arrive

The party guests ranged in age from 9 to 11 so I went ahead and constructed the houses about an hour before they arrived so the icing would have time to dry a bit before adding the candies.  I feared the kids' attention span wouldn't allow for the construction AND decorating and I was right - they were all about the candy and icing.  A great time was had by all and I'm hoping it is something that will become a holiday tradition in the Boy Toy household.

The gingerbread 'hood

Visit this post for my tried and true gingerbread dough recipe and to see some of my past housing creations.  I've included below another copy of the pattern that I've used every year as I noticed the link on my original post is no longer valid (and I'm too lazy to try and fix it). 



If you'd like even more ideas, check out my Flickr slideshow from last year's gingerbread house competition at the Ballentyne Resort here in Charlotte. 

Chocolate Chip Espresso cookies

Holiday cookie platters are usually all about having pretty decorated cookies and "fancy" cookies, but I think you should include some all-time favorites that people enjoy as well.  Today I'm resurrecting yet another one of my most favorite cookies recipes:  Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies.  No other chocolate chip cookie compares to this one, in my opinion, as the marriage of espresso and chocolate is divine.  No worries if you can't find espresso powder - you can substitute 4 teaspoons of instant coffee granules and get the same result.

The trick to getting these cookies to turn out perfectly is refrigerating them for at least an hour.  I usually scoop them onto parchment paper and then pop them right into the oven to bake.  You can also roll them into a log, refrigerate, and then slice into rounds for baking.  Bake them with or without nuts - it's your choice.

I hope Santa brings a whole platter of these just for me! 

As I mentioned in a previous "12 Days of Cookies" post, it has been my tradition for many years to make loads of cookies and candy this time of year to have around the house for visitors and to give away to friends. But I recently saw some photographs depicting a not-so-skinny-anymore person who looked alot like me and who was trying to squeeze into wearing my clothes. It was obvious from the photographs that this person has added some poundage lately and should not be tempted by cookies lying around her house, so the decision was made to not participate in the marathon cookie baking tradition this year. I didn't think it was fair, though, to leave you high and dry for cookie recipes this holiday season so I thought I'd resurrect some oldies but goodies from Wish Upon A Chef's kitchen.

This sugar cookie recipe is a snap to mix up, easy to work with and the cookies hold their shape really well during baking. I love to make different traditional holiday shapes but I always crack myself up making these ABC (Already Been Chewed) sugar cookie guys.  I strategically hide them on the cookie platters that I give to my friends and how I wish I could see their faces when they find these lurking in with the rest of the beautiful cookies. Only those who know my warped sense of food humor understand...

Click on over to the original post for the recipe and the link for buying these kooky cookie cutters. Have a Macabre Christmas!

ABC sugar cookies

It's hard to believe that it's been three years now since I hosted a holiday cookie exchange with my friends...my how time flies!  I have to make a confession about that party -  a dark secret I've been holding on to for all this time.  The day before the party, several of my friends called to say they weren't able to come because they didn't have time to bake their cookies and didn't want to show up empty-handed.  This was pretty much going to wipe out most of my guest list because it was a small affair and I was faced with having to cancel the party.  It really wasn't so much about them bringing cookies or not, I really just wanted to spend time with my friends during the holidays so I decided to bake all the cookies if they would still promise to come. 

Yes, that's right.  I bribed all of my friends to come to my cookie exchange party by agreeing to bake all of the cookies myself.  I'll probably have to tie a pork chop around my neck next just to get the dog to play with me.  

The party went off without a hitch, everyone took home delicious treats and I got to enjoy the holiday baking season and share with my friends.  That's what it's all about for me. 

These Rosemary Caramel cookies are still, to this day, one of my favorite cookie recipes.  It's a delicious combination of shortbread cookies sandwiched together with rosemary infused caramel.  Unfortunately the only photos I have of them are this pre-I-want-to-learn-how-to-take-decent-food-photos blurry photo and the quick glimpse of them on the top right of the table at my cookie exchange, but don't let that discourage you from trying them.  Click the photo to be directed to the recipe and I promise you won't be disappointed!

Rosemary Caramel Cookies, compliments of Bon Appetit

Don't forget about man's best friend this holiday season - after all, our four-legged friends give so much unconditional love to us and work really hard (like dogs, practically) protecting and guarding the homestead.  My little guy can make a full day of work out of guarding the comforter on my his king-size bed and protecting it from being used by anyone else. 


Sometimes the work is very grueling and tiresome, but nevertheless he's always there keeping my side of the bed warm and making sure no one else sneaks in and steals it.


These canine cookies from Tasty Treats for Demanding Dogs are really simple to make and if your kids are getting bored and a bit unruly during their holiday break, turn them loose in the kitchen to make these.  Most likely you already have everything in your pantry to make them with the exception of the baby food (unless of course you have a two-legged baby too).  If your dog is sensitive to store-bought brands of treats, this is a great book to have because the recipes are really simple and alot of them use regular people food.  It is available on Amazon.com for really cheap.   And wouldn't this make a great Christmas gift for pup!


The cookies do puff a bit during baking so make sure to only roll them about 1/4" thick.  I used a medium-sized bone shaped cookie cutter and got approximately 50 cookies.


You will be tempted to give Fido a cookie straight away as soon as they cool (especially if he's a moocher like my boy), but he'll be happier than a kid at Christmas if you let them dry overnight because they become hard and crispy just like the store-brand cookies that Santa usually brings.
 


Canine Cookies
yield: approximately 50-90 cookies, depending on size of cutter

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk or whey powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 large egg
1 TBLS molasses (optional)
4.5 oz jar chicken-soup baby food
3/4 cup broth or drippings, or sufficient for forming dough

Postition rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease or use parchment paper to line two cookie sheets or baking trays.

In a large bowl, using a fork or wire whisk, blend the flours, dry milk and garlic powder.

In a medium bowl, using a wire whisk or electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg until foamy before beating in the molasses, baby food and broth.

Using a large spoon, spatula or your hand, combine the two mixes, blending until the mixture pulls away from sides of the bowl and forms a soft dough.  If the mixture seems a little dry, add a little broth, a tablespoon at a time.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured flat surface, and using a rolling pin, roll out to 1/4" thick.  Use a 1-1/2" round cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as you can, reworking the scraps as you go.  The doug will become still as it is reworked.

Place the cookies side by side on the prepared cookie sheets or baking trays.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cookies appear very dry and the edges are light golden brown.  Remove the trays from the oven and cool to room temperature.  Turn off the oven.

When the cookies have cooled completely, put all of them on a single baking tray and return them to the cooling oven.  Leave them undisturbed, without opening the oven door, for 8 to 16 hours. 

Please note:  Some dogs may be allergic to garlic or sensitive to dairy products. 

My holiday cookie recipes consist mostly of tried and true favorites, alot of which date all the way back to my childhood years when my Mom and I would make goodies together for several days to fill dozens of metal tins with treats for all those who passed through our doors to enjoy.  Through the years I've amassed my own collection of vintage cookie tins and always look forward to filling them each year for friends and family.

Several years ago, I decided that I was tired of my recipes and wanted to make different cookies so I purchased several magazines touting things like "award-winning" cookies and "100 best" cookie recipes.  I spent numerous days and an insane amount of money trying out the recipes only to be disappointed in most of them.  I came to the conclusion that just because a recipe is complicated, it doesn't mean it is good.  And with the hustle and bustle of the already busy holiday season, who needs to add more complication?  I'd rather spend my time and money elsewhere, so I reverted back to alot of my old-time tried and true favorites.  I've added a few new favorites along the way but now I'm more particular about what I look for in a cookie recipe. 

This recipe for Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies involves a box of cake mix which definitely reminds me of my childhood because this is the type of cookies that I started baking with and that piqued my interest in the kitchen.  They are quick and easy which makes them perfect for kids to do mostly all by themselves.

I tracked this recipe from Pinterest to a website called Six Sisters' Stuff.  They are best right out of the oven warm, but even the next day I think you won't be able to turn them away.  The flavor of mint is perfect for the holiday season, so get your kids involved and bring some holiday cheer to your kitchen!


Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies
makes approximately 20 cookies

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet (I used the medium sized Pampered Chef cookie scoop.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes. Don't bake any longer than that as you don't want them to be overdone (mine were perfect at 8 minutes.)
 
Take sheet out of oven and while the cookies are still very hot, place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie. In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted.  Using a spoon, smooth out each mint like frosting.

I'm always thrilled to see fresh cranberries hit the produce shelves just before Thanksgiving.  I load up on way too many bags of the tart red berries and squirrel them away in the freezer to enjoy year round.

Several years ago I fell in love with Trader Joe's Cranberry Walnut Tart but I never gave much thought to trying to replicate it in my own kitchen until last year, quite by accident.   I was tired and in a hurry to throw together a cranberry pecan pie for Thanksgiving last year when I realized that I didn't have any pecans on hand.  I threw in some walnuts and also in my hurried stupor, I forgot to add the sugar.  As the pie baked I convinced myself that it was ruined but as luck would have it, it turned out quite good.  I realized that with a few more tweaks, it could be a close copy cat of my beloved Trader Joe's tart.  

I'm all about things being easy with no fuss in the kitchen so most occasions I make this in a 9x13 baking dish and cut it into squares for serving.  I wanted it to have a little fancier presentation for my first Thanksgiving with Boy Toy and his family this year so I prepared it in a 9" spring form pan.  I lined the bottom of the pan with parchment paper before pressing the crust in and I also lined the sides of the pan prior to pouring in the cranberry filling.   It turned out beautifully and I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I ate way more than my fair share!