MAPLE PECAN TASSIES

When our kids were little, I made these Tassie's ONLY on special occasions, or during the Christmas holiday. I'm not sure why that was "the rule", but it was.

These days, at our house, Tassie's have evolved into a barbecue "staple" for several reasons: not only are they super easy (and mess-less) to serve a crowd (especially the little ones), but you can make them a day (or even two) ahead of time, which is always handy.

I just set a tray of these beauties out on the buffet table, and guests "re-visit" it again and again; I guess their mini-size isn't as intimidating as a big old piece of pecan pie.

Tassie's Aren't Just For Christmas Anymore!!

PASTRY CRUST
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (see note)
6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour

Cream the butter and cream cheese (with electric mixer) until it is light and fluffy. Add the flour and beat until the dough comes cleanly away from the inside walls of your mixing bowl.

Roll pastry into 1 inch balls and place them into an un-greased mini-muffin pan. Using your fingers, press the balls of dough into the bottom of each cup and up the sides. (I use the floured round end of my rolling pin to press the dough into place). Place the pan of shaped shells into the freezer for a few minutes while you make the filling.

FILLING
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 3/4 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans (see note)

Beat the eggs until very well mixed and lemon colored. Stir in everything else (except nuts) and whisk until smooth; set aside.

Put a few chopped pecans in the bottom of each pastry shell and add enough filling to fill the shell about 2/3 full. (see note)

Bake in pre-heated 375F oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is set, yet still a little soft in the center. Remove from oven and sit the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before you try to lift them out. Lift Tassie's out of pan and cool on a wire rack.

 

 

NOTE: Keep in mind that the filling puffs as it bakes, so don't overfill the unbaked shells. If you overfill them, they will be hard to get out of the pans. If your Tassie's resist coming out easily, use the tip of a knife to help you "lift them" out of the pan.

UPDATE: The recipe that I've used for 35+ years, used butter in the crust. However, recently, I decided to try butter flavored Crisco and I was thrilled with the crust difference. The butter produces a very white and non-flaky crust, but the butter flavored Crisco produces a super-flaky golden crust that picky-picky husband loved. If you click on the following photo, you can see how nice and flaky this ingredient substitution turned out.

NOTE: If you do not have maple extract, just leave it out.

NOTE: Picky-picky husband is not a big nut eater, so I put minimal nuts in these when I make them. Even with the extra filling, they bake in 20 minutes.

 

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CHEWY MOLASSES COOKIES

One of our baby boys turns 36 today, where have the years gone!?!? I made him a batch of these wonderfully soft and warmly spiced molasses cookies to go along with his birthday gift.

3/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the room temperature butter, brown sugar, egg and molasses; mix until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Add the flour, baking soda, salt and spices and mix well.  Cover and chill the dough for about an hour.

Roll the dough into balls about the size of a small walnut and roll them in granulated sugar. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet (about 2" apart) and flatten them just a little. 

Bake at 375° for 8 minutes (the tops will have a wonderful crackle look). Be careful not to over bake them.  The cookie batter (inside of the cracks) will still look a little "wet" after 8 minutes in the oven, but they will be perfectly baked and chewy when they cool off.  If you like a crisp cookie instead of a chewy cookie, leave them in the oven for another minute or so.

To keep these cookies soft and chewy, store them in a Ziploc bag or any Tupperware that has a tight fitting lid. These cookies freeze (and ship) very well and they smell heavenly when you open the cookie jar!!!

We have two awesome sons, Kevin (the birthday boy) is 36 today and Kris will be 41 in a couple of months. Seemingly overnight, they have grown into wonderful men that I thank God for every day; they have also blessed us with four PERFECT grandchildren.

 Happy Birthday Kevin, we love you!!

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EASY THIN MINT COOKIES

Do you like Girl Scout thin mint cookies as much as I do? If so, you are in luck with this super easy, super quick, two ingredient recipe.  It is so easy, I can't even say it is a "recipe" because it uses all pre-prepared ingredients and it DOES taste JUST LIKE a thin mint cookie!!  I'm including these in my Christmas cookie trays this year.

I put a little extra white chocolate decoration on these, just for fun,

but it certainly isn't necessary.

You will need some Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers and some Andes (creme de menthe) chocolates.....that's it!!

The chocolate wafers come in a 9 ounce package and I found the Andes mints (those creamy little chocolate mints with the green center) in a 4.67 ounce package.  There are 28 mints in the package and one package will do a dozen cookies (I found the mint packages for $1.60 here in Alaska, so hopefully you can find them even cheaper.

I unwrapped and then melted the chocolates in my microwave for about 30 seconds...stirred and then microwaved them for another 10 seconds (stir until the chocolate is smooth and shiny). Dip the chocolate wafers in the melted chocolate (both sides) and place on some parchment paper (or Silpat). Stick them in the fridge (I used the freezer) for about 5 minutes to "set" the chocolate......that's it!!  

It is truly amazing how much they taste like a thin mint!! 



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EASY PECAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES

I think my love for shortbread butter cookies started with my English mother who adored Peek Frean  cookies "biscuits".  On every return trip from England, she would bring back packages of Peek Frean's, Bisto (a gravy mix) and Player cigarettes, all of which she guarded as if they were jewels because they were unavailable in Alaska. 

The recipe I'm posting today tastes a lot like mom's favorite Peek Frean cookies. We lost her 20 years ago this week, so today's post is in honor of her...this one's for you mom!!

These cookies are buttery, sweet, crunchy and  they melt in your mouth (not to mention they take minimal ingredients). The cookie dough is formed into logs... chilled, then sliced and baked at your convenience.  You can also bake part of the cookies and save the rest of the chilled dough for later in the week!!

1 cup butter (no substitutions) room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract (see note)
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat  (on high) the room temperature butter, sugar, salt and extracts until the mixture is light an fluffy (takes a couple minutes and looks sort of like whipped cream when you are done).

Add the flour and nuts and beat until well mixed and the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Divide the dough in half and shape into two logs, about  2" in diameter. Roll the logs in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about an hour (or up to several days).

When it's time to bake, slice the cookie dough logs into 1/4" slices and roll (tops and bottoms) in granulated sugar.  Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for  18-20 minutes (my oven took exactly 20 minutes) or until the edges are JUST STARTING to turn golden.

Recipe makes 3 dozen cookies

NOTE: You will not taste the coconut extract in the final cookie, but it lends a wonderful "background" flavor that is reminiscent of those great Royal Dansk Danish butter cookies that come in round tins at Christmas time.

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ALMOND TOFFEE GRAHAMS

If you like Almond Roca candy, you will love this recipe !!

The first time I ate Almond Toffee Grahams was at a cookie exchange about 20+ years ago. With tons of cookies to choose from, I noticed people kept going back to the Almond Toffee Graham plate; one taste and I was "hooked".  When I found out how simple and fast they were to make, I was shocked (they taste complicated). I made them for some friends this Christmas and they were a huge hit !!

What do they taste like? Well, the cooked caramel sauce bakes into the graham crackers and produces a thin layer of candy that tastes like almond roca, then, with the melted chocolate and nuts added, what can I say; they are delicious !!

FOR SOME REASON, THIS PHOTO IS MISSING, I AM TRYING TO

LOCATE IT, SORRY ABOUT THE PROBLEM

graham crackers
1 cup unsalted butter (no substitutes)
1 cup brown sugar packed (I like dark, but light is good too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups sliced almonds (toasted)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Now, a word about the pan:  This recipe uses a jelly roll pan (mine is 10½" x 15½" x 1").  The recipe says to grease the pan, but I don't like to do that (it makes for a greasy bottomed cookie). Instead, I use the new non-stick aluminum foil by Reynolds Wrap and I don't grease it at all (if you haven't tried it yet, it is well worth the price).  If you use regular foil, make sure you grease it.

Arrange graham crackers in a single layer on the jelly roll pan (should take about 15 graham crackers?). Try to leave as little space between the crackers as possible, but don't overlap them, you may have to break some of the crackers to make it all fit.

In a small saucepan, mix the butter and brown sugar. Bring to a gentle boil, and then set your timer for three minutes (stir constantly).

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  Pour the caramel evenly over the graham crackers and bake in preheated 350 oven for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips.  Wait a few minutes for the heat of the candied crackers to melt the chocolate chips, then spread the chocolate with a knife.
Sprinkle the toasted sliced almonds over the melted chocolate.

Let the whole pan cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes (to set the chocolate).  When the grahams are completely cool, and the chocolate is set, lift out of the pan and peel off the non-stick aluminum foil. Break into pieces and enjoy.

 

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SPICED OATMEAL-CRAISIN COOKIES

We have all tried a LOT of oatmeal cookie recipes, some thick and heavy, some thin and crunchy, some bland and doughy. This cookie, however, is everything those "other" cookies weren't; it is tender, chewy, buttery, mildly spiced and they make your kitchen smell heavenly while baking; it is the perfect holiday cookie!!   



1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco (important)
1 cup brown sugar (I like to use dark, but light works well also)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1½ cups craisins (or raisins)

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, eggs and butter flavored Crisco (the combo is MUCH better in texture and taste than if you use all butter).

Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt, then mix into the creamed mixture. Stir in the oats and craisins (I do all of this in my big stand mixer).

Roll into balls about the size of a small walnut and bake on ungreased cookie sheet (do not flatten) for 10 to 12 minutes (my oven takes 11 minutes) don't over cook. Let them cool for about 30 seconds before removing them from the cookie sheet.

Store in airtight container. Makes about 5 dozen.

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DOG REWARD TREATS

I've been making this reward treat for our dog Chloe for 8 years and she loves them. As a matter of fact, when they are baking, she positions herself in front of the oven and waits "patiently".....well, there's only a LITTLE bit of drooling!!

If you want to make your dog very happy, bake up a batch of these "puppy treats". They are super easy to make and bake up hard and crunchy(they will "keep" forever, much like a commercial milk bone, but tastier).

Since Chloe isn't a BIG dog, I bake little treats, just the right size for her; if you have a big dog, you can cut them bigger.

Another reason WE love giving our dog these treats is that they don't cause the "gas" that many commercial treats cause.

2½ cups whole wheat flour (white flour will work too)

1/3 cup bacon grease (see note below)
1 egg
½ to ¾ cup milk (see update note)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (not salt)
1 teaspoon onion powder (not salt)
3 heaping teaspoons beef bullion granules

Mix everything ( using the ½ cup of milk) into a STIFF dough (stand mixer works best). Beat until it comes together in a smooth ball. All flour is different, so if the dough seems dry and won‘t hold together in a  smooth ball, just start adding the other ¼ cup of milk (one tablespoon at a time) until it holds together in a nice moist (but not sticky) ball (the dough texture should feel like freshly kneaded Play Doh).

Roll the dough into ropes about ½” in diameter. Cut the ropes into small pieces and put on an UNgreased cookie sheet (try to spread the pieces out; it's ok if they get sort of close to each other, but just make sure they are in a single layer. 

Bake at 350° for 40 minutes; remove the pan from oven  and shake the pan a little (the pieces should slide around easily).  Cool the treats right on the pan. When the treats cool, they will be as dense and hard as a commercial milk bone treat; your dog will thank you!!!

 

NOTE: This recipe calls for 1/3 cup of bacon fat, sounds like a lot, but the recipe makes a LOT of treats. If you don't have bacon fat, peanut butter works well too.

NOTE: We keep Chloe's treats in a large peanut butter jar. We often find her staring at the jar, lol!!

 

UPDATE:  Our dog had developed problems when eating anything dairy, so I've been making these, lately, with water instead of the milk, and she doesn't seem to notice any difference.

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CHRISTMAS SPRITZ COOKIES

Butter Spritz cookies are a classic, sweet, crisp (and light as a feather) cookie. They go together in a snap and when they are decorated with a little piece of candied cherry in the center (or any other holiday decoration you can think of), they are pretty enough for any Christmas cookie tray.

1 ½ cups butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract (see note)
3 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

PREHEAT OVEN TO 375°. Thoroughly cream butter and sugar; add egg, milk and extracts and beat till smooth. Add flour and baking powder and mix until you have a nice thick, smooth dough. DO NOT CHILL IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE A COOKIE PRESS.

Place dough into cookie press and press cookies onto Ungreased cookie pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges. Cool cookies on a rack. Makes 7 to 8 dozen cookies (they are small).

NOTE: I sprinkle the cookies with sugar before baking, but you don't have to.

NOTE:  I make a variation of these that is Picky-picky Hubbies favorite. I omit the almond flavoring and instead, I add a full teaspoon of coconut extract. The final cookie doesn't taste like coconut, but it DOES have a wonderful sweet holiday taste, a lot like those Danish shortbread cookies that come in the round tin at Christmas (?)....very good.

NOTE: If you don’t have a cookie press, you can roll this dough into a log then roll the log in finely chopped nuts or sprinkles (pressing the nuts (or sprinkles) into the surface a little). Wrap the log in plastic wrap. Chill in fridge then slice and bake cookies until slightly golden.

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RASBERRY SHORTBREAD BARS

Everyone loves these raspberry bars, they have an ultra-buttery shortbread crust topped with cooked raspberries and a streusel topping.They are very sweet, buttery, tender AND they cut nicely...perfect for gift giving (these will definitely be in my cookie gift boxes this Christmas). Yes, you heard me correctly...it is never too early to start planning your holiday baking!!.

Raspberries grow well in Alaska, so if you are lucky enough to have some in the freezer, this is a wonderful recipe for them; I'm not so lucky, so I used a 12 ounce bag of frozen raspberries.

Put the berries (no need to thaw) in a heavy saucepan with ¼ cup of water and one cup of white sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium high and simmer the berries until they thick (I turned mine down to a medium low heat and simmered them for about 15 minutes). Set aside to cool (they will thicken even more as they cool).

SHORTBREAD CRUST

21 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled to room temp.

This seems like a lot of butter, but it makes an upper and lower crust

¾ cup of white sugar

2 large egg yolks

3 cups + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

No need to use an electric mixer, I did it all with a wooden spoon. Mix the sugar into the melted butter and whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the flour to make a very stiff dough. Remove two cups of this dough and pat evenly into a foil lined 9 x 13 pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or put in freezer for 7 minutes). Set the rest of the dough aside.

Bake the 9 x 13 chilled pan of dough, on the middle rack of your oven, for 20 minutes at 325.

After 20 minutes, the dough will still be very pale in color and will not have any golden color on the edges. Remove it from the oven and spread the cooled raspberry filling evenly over it.

To the reserved shortbread dough that you set aside, add ¼ cup of granulated sugar and use a fork to break up the dough into crumbs (I use my pastry cutter).

Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the raspberry layer. Bake on the TOP rack of a 350 oven for 25 minutes (mine took 32 minutes). Watch the crumbles towards the end of the baking time so they don't get dark. 

Cool baked bars on a wire rack for at least an hour or until completely firm. You can speed set them in the fridge. When the bottom of the pan is completely cool, lift the bars out of the pan by pulling on the flap ends of the foil. Cut into 2" bars. These will keep at room temperature for a week.

 NOTE: The butter measurement of 21 tablespoons is not a typing error

NOTE: Line  your 9" x 13" baking pan with foil and leave the ends of the foil a little long, so you can use them as handles to lift the cooled bars out of the pan. You don't have to grease the bottom of the pan because there's so much butter in the shortbread, but DO spray the sides of the pan/foil with cooking spray so the jam doesn't stick to the sides.

NOTE: Pay attention to baking temperatures. The first crust pre-bake is on the middle rack at 325. The final bake is on the TOP rack at 350. The recipe says it is baked on the top rack so that the bottom of the crust doesn't get too dark.

NOTE: If you want to take a shortcut, I am fairly certain you can just use raspberry jam instead of cooking the berries. I have not tried it this way, but I don't know why it wouldn't work (although I'm fairly certain that the cooked berries taste "brighter".

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OATMEAL CRANBERRY WALNUT COOKIES

If you are looking for one more easy cookie to round out your holiday baking, try these delicious cookies. They are light, crispy and buttery tasting (not the standard heavy oatmeal cookie).

1 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups Craisens (sweetened dried cranberries)
1 cup chopped walnuts
Beat butter, sugars, eggs and extracts for FIVE MINUTES (important to the light crispy nature of this cookie).
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In another bowl, mix the flour, oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add this dry mixture to the butter mixture (1 cup at a time) beating well after each addition.
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Stir in the dried cranberries and walnuts. Let this finished cookie dough sit for about 5 minutes.
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Roll the dough into 1" balls (dough will be a little sticky). Place the dough balls on lightly greased cookie sheet, about 2" apart. Bake in 350 preheated oven for 12-14 minutes (my oven took 13 minutes).

NOTE: Before you put the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet, look for the side that shows the most cranberries and put that side up (the prettiest side).

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NOTE: These freeze very well. I drizzled a vanilla glaze on my cookies (for the holidays) but that is not necessary. Makes about 4 dozen?

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(TWIX COPYCAT) CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL-SHORTBREAD COOKIES

A few days ago, I spotted an intriguing recipe on someones web page, however, in my haste I didn't take note of who's page it was (thank you to everyone who helped with page suggestions). Instead I found a similar recipe and gave it a try (with a couple minor changes). My first "taste testers" were a group of old grizzled snowmachine groupies in Hubby's shop and the treats disappeared instantly.


Next, I made some to take to our granddaughters 14th birthday party; they were a hit there as well. It is unfortunate that these cookies are called Twix cookies, because they are vastly better than ANY Twix candy bar I've ever eaten. There is a sweet crispy shortbread cookie base, topped with a nice thick layer of caramel made from sweetened condensed milk, and then they are topped with your favorite flavor of melted chocolate. These cookies are totally addicting and the recipe is going straight into my FIVE STAR recipe folder.

COOKIE BASE
1 cup cold butter
2 generous cups all purpose flour
heaping ½ cup brown sugar (I used dark)


Put all the of cookie ingredients into the food processor and pulse until it just starts to bind together. It won't go completely together, but if you watch it while you pulse, you will see the consistency change and small "clumps" appear.


Press this mixture into a parchment paper lined 9x13 baking dish (I left the ends of the parchment paper long, so I could grab them and lift the final product out of the pan for easier cutting). Bake in preheated 350F oven for 20-25 minutes or until edges are light golden. (see note below)

While the crust is baking, make the caramel filling:

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¾ cup butter

generous ½ cup brown sugar (I used dark)

3 tablespoons Karo corn syrup

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

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In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix all of the caramel ingredients. Heat (and stir constantly) on medium high heat until it comes to a boil. At first, the melted butter will sort of float on top, but as it cooks (and you stir) it will incorporate. See note below for burner temperature suggestions. Reduce heat and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over pre-baked cookie base. Refrigerate until caramel layer is cold and firm to the touch.

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Melt 12 ounces of your favorite flavor chocolate (I used milk chocolate) + a teaspoon of butter. Stir until smooth and pourable (I just melted mine in the microwave for 60 seconds). Spread over cooled caramel and return to the fridge to let the chocolate set (I actually speed set mine in the freezer).

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Cut into small squares and serve. These are really rich, so I cut them into squares just a little bigger than 1" x 1".

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NOTE: The recipe calls for "2 generous cups of flour"...whats up with that? I measured my flour and sugar in the standard way then added a tablespoon extra per cup. I'm not sure if that is what the original recipe meant, but it worked well for me.

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NOTE: The ingredient amounts for the cookie crust are way off track in the original recipe. I only used about 2/3 of the crumbs for the cookie base and it was perfect. If you like a thick cookie base, use all of the crumbs.

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NOTE: My burner settings go from 1 to 10. I brought the caramel ingredients up to a boil at setting 8 (medium high), then quickly turned it down to setting 5 (medium) for a couple of minutes, and finally ended up on setting 3 (low); cooking for a total of 6 minutes. The caramel will be pretty thick, so keep reducing the heat until the caramel. The caramel traps and holds the heat for a long time, so start turning down your burner before it gets to that wild-boil stage.

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NOTE: I found this recipe (dated 2008) on a web page called The Domestic Side of Life.

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CLASSIC PECAN TASSIE

Almost everyone has their own favorite version of a pecan tassie, the classic Christmas treat. However, for those who don't, this is a great one. Pecan tassies are a bite size pecan pie in a cream cheese pastry crust. I used to make them only at Christmas, but they have become one of Hubby's favorites, so I make them throughout the year. This recipe makes 4 dozen and freezes well.

PASTRY CRUST
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour

Cream the butter and cream cheese (with electric mixer) until it is light and fluffy. Add the flour and beat until the dough comes cleanly away from the inside walls of your mixing bowl. Flatten dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for one hour (I NEVER chill this dough, it is a dream to work with).

FILLING
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1¾ cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Beat the eggs until very well mixed and lemon colored. Stir in everything else.

ASSEMBLY
Roll pastry into 1 inch balls and place them into an ungreased mini-muffin pan. Using your fingers, press the balls of dough into the bottom of each cup and up the sides. (I use the floured end of my rolling pin to press the dough into place). Put a few chopped pecans in the bottom of each pastry shell and top with about a tablespoon of filling. (see note)

Bake in pre-heated 375F oven for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is set, yet still a little soft in the center. Remove from oven and sit the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before you try to lift them out. Lift tassies out of pan and cool on a wire rack.

NOTE: Keep in mind that the filling puffs as it bakes, so don't overfill the unbaked shells. If you overfill them, they will be hard to get out of the pans. For those stubborn tassies, use the tip of a knife to help you lift them out of the pan.

WEATHER UPDATE: For those of you who have sent me "stay warm" e -mails, I thought I should let you know that our cold snap has moderated a little. Today it actually got up to 20 degrees, so I scurried out to the grocery store to stock up just in case we get house bound with sub-zero temperatures any time soon. Hopefully this "heat wave" will continue.

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CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER FILLED COOKIES

It's TWENTY BELOW ZERO tonight...what do they call that, a three dog night? It is supposed to be this cold for the next several days...what do you do when it's too cold to even start the car? BAKE!!!

There should be a warning attached to this recipe...do not eat these while they are still warm, because you won't be able to stop!! These chocolate spritz dough cookies with a mini-Reese's center, are heavenly right out of the oven. I "accidentally" knocked a few of them over, while they were still hot, and the melted chocolate sort of got drippy like in this photo (so I was FORCED to eat those imperfect ones...snicker).



The chocolate shell is a spritz cookie recipe

1¼ cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup bakers cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Frozen miniature Reese's cups

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars at medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add vanilla extract. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add this gradually and beat well. Let dough sit for about 15 minutes.

Roll dough into 1½ inch balls and place in an ungreased mini-muffin pan. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes, leave the cookies in the pan.
Immediately press a frozen miniatuare Reeses cup candy into the center of each baked cookie, pressing down as far as you can. Let cookies sit in pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully lift them out and place them on a cooling rack. The chocolate will be very liquid, so be careful not to spill it.

Cookies will cool and set in an hour so so. After the chocolate "sets" the cookies are no longer messy. Makes about 4 dozen.

NOTE: Christmas sprinkles or candy would make these a wonderful addition to your Christmas cookie trays.

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SWEET POTATO PECAN PIE TARTS

I'm posting this at midnight and it is FIFTEEN BELOW ZERO HERE!!
This last weekend was our 39th wedding anniversary; we were high school sweethearts. To celebrate, I made a big roast beef dinner and these heavenly little tarts that I found on Shelby's The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honybunch. They are absolutely delicious tiny bites (about the size of a tassie) of cinnamon spiced sweet potato and pecans all baked in a pre-prepared mini-phyllo cup. They are impressive looking, great tasting, ultra-easy and (believe it or not) the recipe says they are only about 45 calories each!! It doesn't get much better than that!!!

1 cup cooked & mashed sweet potato
3 tablespoons white sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon dark corn syrup (I used light)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg white
2 (2.1 ounce) packages mini-phyllo shells

Poke sweet potatoes a few times with a knife and place them in a pie plate with 2 tablespoons of water; cover loosely with waxed paper and microwave on high for five minutes (mine took 7 minutes) or until tender.

Mash and measure out 1 cup of sweet potato. Add sugar, cinnamon and salt and stir well (I used my electric mixer to really mash the potatoes). Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine toasted pecans, brown sugar, syrup, vanilla and egg white. Stir well and set aside.

Set mini phyllo shells on a baking sheet and put about 1 teaspoon of the sweet potato mixture into the bottom of each shell (gently push down-in a little). Spoon ½ teaspoon of pecan mixture over the sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

NOTE: Our super-store sells these little pre-made phyllo shells in the ATHENS brand.

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MINI-LINZER TORTE CUPS FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS COOKIE TRAY

We woke up to three inches of snow this morning and it is snowing again this evening (snow is a full 2-3 weeks late this year). The first snow of the season always flips a switch on in my head that says it is time to start planning my Christmas baking list. I know a lot of people say that we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet, but oh well...

These little linzer torte cups have a rich, tender, shortbread crust that is packed with finely ground toasted pecans, sweet cream butter, vanilla and a raspberry jam center. They look very festive with a light sprinkle of powdered sugar just before serving. This recipe makes 4 dozen cookies, so there will be plenty for your cookie exchange!!


1½ cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1½ cups toasted pecans (ground finely in food processor)
red raspberry jam with seeds

Finely grind/chop the toasted pecans in your food processor. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and ground pecans on medium speed until very soft and light, about 3 minutes. Beat in the confectioners sugar and vanilla extract until well combined. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and add the dry ingredients. Beat for about 30 seconds, or until well combined (dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl).

Roll the dough into 1" balls and place in an UNgreased miniature cupcake pan. Find something in your kitchen that is the same diameter as the cupcake hole, and press gently down on each ball to make an indentation like this:

Place a rounded half teaspoon of raspberry jam in each depression and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. The jam will melt and spread out evently.

Keep the baked cookies IN the pan, but on a cooling rack for TEN MINUTES. After 10 minutes, you will be able to VERY GENTLY lift the cookie cups out of the pan. You can use the tip of a knife to help, but it shouldn't be necessary...just lift with a steady, gentle pressure and they will pop out. I've also had luck turning the pan upside down on a soft towel and tapping it gently...they should pop out.

Isn't Christmas Baking Fun?? November is my baked goods rehearsal month, where I try out new recipes and plan my holiday baking list.

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