[libertarian27]

Food HoliDays for this week:

National Cotton Candy Day -December 7

National Chocolate Brownie Day -December 8

National Pastry Day -December 9

National Lager Day -December 10

National Noodle Ring Day -December 11

National Cocoa Day -December 12

Ice Cream and Violins Day -December 13

[libertarian27]

Ping to the Weekly Recipe Thread:

Last week’s recipes:
Post# 31 ~Pancakes & Waffles~ Stuffing Waffels
Post# 34 ~Pies & Pastry~ Apple Crumble Pie
Post# 35 ~Sandwiches ~ Instant Monte Cristo Sandwich
Post# 19 ~Vegetables~ Airport Bob’s Green Beans
Link
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3096596/posts?page=40#40

[nesnah]

Good stuff here:

http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2008/10/chocolate-toffee-bark.html#axzz2moWTygzC

I usually use semi-sweet chocolate chips rather than the broken chocolate bars. Also, just put the pan in the fridge to harden it up some and then just break into irregular pieces.

Decadent.....

[carlo3b]

Baby it’s cold outside.. So what does an Italian Chef serve on such a day..

Chicken Cacciatore

or as many Americans think of as Hunters Stew..

Ingredients

1/4 cup flour, for dredging
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut into pieces, rinsed and dried
3 tablespoons olive oil
10-ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
4 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves or 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
1/3 cup fresh basil, chiffonade, for serving
Cacciatore Variations, recipes follow
Serving suggestion: Serve the dish with crusty Italian bread, over pasta, or over polenta.

Directions

In a shallow dish, combine the flour with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Working in batches, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, turn to coat and shake off the excess flour.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed saute pan or Dutch-oven over medium heat. Start browning the chicken in the pan a few pieces at a time to avoid overcrowding. Cook the chicken 5 minutes on each side. Remove and transfer the chicken to a plate.

In the same pan, add the mushroom, onion, red bell pepper, and garlic and saute just until tender. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the broth, tomatoes, and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Add the thyme to the sauce and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover. Continue simmering the mixture for 40 minutes, or until tender.

Serve the chicken cacciatore with crusty Italian bread, over pasta, or over polenta and garnish with fresh basil.. :)

[Tanniker Smith]

I made Betty Crocker's impossibly easy cheeseburger pie last night. Came out okay. I've made it in the past, and it definitely needs more to it. It's very bland.

I've added salt, pepper to it, but I also throw in some small veggies so I wouldn't have to make a side dish. That was the problem last night -- I used frozen vegetables, which baked fine, but the extra moisture was a little too much.

Simple easy meal, 25-30 min baking and the prep time was shorter than the oven preheating.

[Aliska]

Beef au jus or French Dip Sandwiches

I never could get enough rich joice out of my roasts to make enough jus to dip in or rich dark gravy for mashed potatoes (used Kitchen Boquet, not necessary with this).

Took about a 3# boneless chuck roast, looked on the web, crammed into my crock pot.

Took one British beef OXO cube and one cheap store brand beef cube and pounded in baggie, sprinkled over beef.

Drenched the beef in a couple cups of water. Then I saw I had too much beef submerged to make more brown so I poured off most of the water and put back in at the end. But it took 12 hours on low in my old crockpot.

Now having done all that, it was delicious. Only next time I will put in a heavy covered pan in the oven, sprinkle on the crushed cubes, use just a little water for bottom but pour it over the crushed cubes so some get incorporated with the water and some stays with the beef. Roast at 275 till it is getting nicely browned (couple hours).

Then pour more liquid over the roast (1-1/2 cups or so) and keep cooking until tender. Would work on better roasts, too, like sirloin tip, rump I find hard to not to be tough. The jus did not taste like boullion, probably because it got cooked in with the meat. If you add it later, I think it might not be as good. Some people use onion soup, I've tried it all (like a can of beef consomme) and this was THE best.

It might be good to cool the beef so you can cut across the grain. I shredded mine this time. Either way it is good. If you reheat cooled meat sliced, do not let it boil or simmer again. I heat in the oven with juice covered with foil loosely at about 300 until hot.

I will also adapt this with a little salt, pepper, tomato paste, garlic, basil, oregano, boullion cubes to make Italian beef like they used to have at a restaurant here. Most Italian beef uses only the spices but not the tomato paste (as a rub, couple tablespoons or so).

Then I like it heated in the oven on French or Italian bread with roasted green pepper strips and mozarella or Italian cheese.

You could also do it with large meat balls and stuff them in bread. Yum. I kind of improvise some recipes (not all) when I cook now so it's hard to be precise.

[Albion Wilde]

Tasted this North Carolina classic over Thanksgiving. Scrumptious!

Angus Barn's Chocolate Chess Pie

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie shell
1/2 cup butter
2 (1 ounce) bakers semi-sweet chocolate baking squares
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 dash salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Melt butter and chocolate.
Mix with other ingredients which have been blended together.
Pour into pie crust.
Bake 35 minutes, at 350.
Cool; and serve with whipped cream.

[BenLurkin]

I was going to add a recipe but after seeing the sophistication in other posts, I would be embarrassed to show how simply I cook. 8^)

[randita]

Just made these for a holiday party.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

(I used mini muffin cups-rich enough for just one bite.)

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 25 min. + cooling
MAKES: 24 regular sized, 48 mini

FILLING:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

CUPCAKES:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and salt until smooth. Stir in chips; set aside.
2. For cupcakes, in a large bowl, beat the sugar, water, oil, egg, vinegar and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into egg mixture until blended.
3. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full with chocolate batter. Drop a heaping teaspoonful (heaping half tsp. for minis) of cheese mixture in center of batter of each cupcake. Sprinkle with sugar and chopped almonds if desired.
4. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes (15 minutes for minis). Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 20-24 cupcakes.

[Little Bill]

CLAM CAKES

2 eggs
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. fresh chives or parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 small can minced clams
1/2 c. clam broth or liquid
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Drain clams well, reserving 1/2 cup of clam broth liquid. Combine all ingredients. Drop by tablespoonfuls into medium hot oil in a deep fryer or heavy skillet.
Oil that is too hot or cakes which are too large will cause burning or uncooked centers. Adjust temperature up or down slightly to compensate. A good starting temperature is 360 degrees.

The clam cakes will float; turn them over gently as they rise to fully cook both sides. Do not overload the cooker, as this will reduce heat too much. Fry only a few at a time.

Drain on paper towels. Serve with tartar sauce. Best while still warm, but can be served at room temperature as well.

These are an old New England favorite.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Instead of a recipe, here is a trick to make other recipes better.

Quick roux.

Roux, a mixture of fats/greases/oils and flour, is the basis of a multitude of other recipes, but it can be tricky, even dangerous to make. But there is simpler, and safer way to make roux, so it is ready to make what is good, great.

Light roux, sometimes called “blonde” or “white” roux, is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking: béchamel sauce, velouté sauce, and espagnole sauce. Clarified butter, vegetable oils, bacon drippings or lard are commonly used fats. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews. When used in Italian food, roux is traditionally equal parts of butter and flour.

Medium roux, sometimes called “caramel” roux, thickens less but imparts a delicious and rich flavor to dishes that have a thinner taste. In southwestern Germany, they make a “brown broth” from caramel roux that is just lard, flour, and water, with a bay leaf and salt for seasoning.

Dark roux, sometimes called “chocolate” or “brick” roux are beloved in Cajun and Creole cuisine for gumbos and stews, and while they just slightly thicken, they are all about the flavor.

In any event:

While some people use equal parts fats and flour in their roux, for this recipe, I use:

3/4 cup fats to 1 cup flour

(1/4 cup fats and 1/3rd cup flour + broth for gravy)

For the fats you can use vegetable or olive oil, lard, butter or bacon grease. 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter plus 1/4 cup bacon grease works well.

Liquify fat, if necessary, in the microwave, in a 1 quart Pyrex container with handle. Whisk in the flour, then use a metal spoon for the rest of the cooking. At first it should be a thick mix, but it thins over time.

Be very temperature conscious, because roux gets extremely hot and can easily cause burns.

Cook on high for 3 minutes, watching constantly to insure it does not boil over, stirring if it tries to.

After this time, it should be blond in color, and with each additional minute it should darken to caramel then chocolate color. It will continue to darken when stirring so take it out of the oven a few shades too light.

Pour the roux in the cups of a non-stick mini-muffin tin, and when mostly cooled, freeze. Bag your blonde, caramel and chocolate roux separately, and they will store in your freezer a good long time, while being ready at a moments’ notice to make a good recipe taste wonderful.

[Species8472]

I'm so tired of turkey, it's time for Boef de Beaune.....

Cut a 12oz pak of sliced bacon in 1/2 inch strips and fry in a Dutch oven, set the bacon aside and heat the grease to smoking.

Sear 6 boneless beef or moose ribs (3&1/2lbs) in the bacon grease till well browned, place in a flat sheet pan.

Dust the ribs with flour, salt, and pepper and place in a 450 oven for 5 minutes, flip them over and repeat until a thick crust forms.

Sauté 2 sliced onions and 6 carrots in the remaining bacon fat, pour off the grease, add the bacon and ribs back to the Dutch oven.

Add enough (cheap) red wine to cover the meat and vegetables. Add a 1/4 can of tomato paste, a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, a couple of sage leaves, a bay leaf, some coriander and bring it to a boil, cover and put it in the oven.

Turn the oven down to 300, and resist the urge to mess with it for three hours.

Serve with fresh pasta and a good Cabernet!

[ken5050]

anyone have any favorite Christmas cookie recupies?

[greeneyes]

I am kinda like BenLurkin. I have a tendency to just throw stuff together using whatever I have on hand. Today for example, I just really got a hankering for a chef salad with Russian Dressing.

I only get this craving once in a blue moon, and no one else really likes Russian Dressing, so I don't stock it. Several months back, I pitched about half a bottle, because it was soooooooo old and kinda scuzzy looking.

I also resolved not to buy anymore since it is obviously a waste of money, and I don't really like any of the store brands that much anyhow.

So here's my recipe for a single serving of Russian Dressing

Squirt some ketchup into container about the size of a Silver Dollar.

3 or 4 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
2 shakes of powdered green onion
2 shakes of powdered garlic
6 shakes of powdered paprika
3 or 4 shakes of ground black pepper
1 tsp raw sugar
3 or 4 squirts of lemon juice.
1 or 2 dashes of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 pinch of salt
Olive Oil - 1 Tbls more or less till the right consistency is reached for your taste.

Whisk it all together, and let sit a bit to make sure the flavors blend and the sugar is dissolved. Make sure to have plenty of tomatoes on your salad too. This would be better with fresh grated onion and fresh minced garlic.

Now you understand my predicament? This is the way my Granny cooked, and the way I learned. I never know how to answer the question “How much” unless it's a recipe from a cookbook or something. My own creations just don't readily translate to the written word.

Have a great weekend everyone. God Bless.

[Daffynition]

So far, everyone LOVES these!

Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

3 sticks butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups sweetened flake coconut

2 cups chopped pecans (8 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.

In 8-quart bowl, beat butter on medium speed till smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugars and continue beating to combine, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each.

Beat in vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.

For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake 17 to 20 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove to rack to cool.

Makes 3 dozen large cookies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I make them next, I'll not chop the pecans so well[fine], and leave the nutz more chunky.

Also, I'm going to add raisins in the next batch.

I happen to have an antique ice cream scoop that is exactly 1/4 c. in size.....makes putting out the cookie batter on the pan very breezy.

If you use a scoop of some kind, set aside one of the wraps from the stick of butter; use the wrap to press down on the scoop to flatten it a bit B4 baking.

[Stand Watch Listen]

My 12 Days of Christmas….

cookies…

cookies…

cookies…

RAINBOW COOKIES (ITALIAN)

Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 10 Hours 30 Minutes
Servings: 63
INGREDIENTS:
• 8 ounces almond paste/ rec filling (12 oz)
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 eggs,
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Almond extract ½ - ¾ TBs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 drops red food coloring / gel
• 6 drops green food coloring / gel
• 1/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam
1/4 cup apricot jam
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, Melted
2 TBS butter
1/2 tsp corn syrup OR butter shortening???
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Line three 9x13 inch baking pans with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, break apart almond paste/filling with a fork, and cream together with butter, sugar, and eggs. When mixture is fluffy and smooth, mix in almond extract, stir in flour to form a dough. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Mix one portion with red food coloring, and one with green food coloring. Spread each portion into one of the prepared baking pans.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Carefully remove from pan and parchment paper, and cool completely on wire racks.
4. Place green layer onto a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all three layers. Spread green layer with raspberry jam, and top with uncolored layer. Spread with apricot jam, and top with pink layer. Transfer layers to a baking sheet, and enclose with plastic wrap. Place a heavy pan or cutting board on top of wrapped layers to compress. Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.
5. Remove plastic wrap. Top with melted chocolate chips/butter/corn syrup OR shortening, and refrigerate 1 hour, or until chocolate is firm (better, if overnight). Slice into small squares to serve.
NOTE: CAN FREESE JUST BARS..THEN WHEN NEEDED CUT INTO RECTANGLES
----OPTIONS / TIPS: Adding some almond extract to it really enhanced the almond flavor. Another thing that helps is to melt the chocolate (without cracking) with 2 tablespoons butter and a 1/4 cup of heavy cream.
• suggest using ALMOND FILLING instead of paste. This will make them moist and is easier to mix. Use almond extract, it makes the difference. Use gel food coloring instead of liquid. Use enough to get true rich colors. omit the apricot jam
• I take the parchment paper and make it large enough to put under the pan on each side which makes it MUCH easier to spread.
• make it easier by just spraying the pans with non-stick cooking spray instead of parchment paper and the cookies easily come out.. spray the pans with a little spray oil or use some butter then put the parchment paper in the pan (this keeps the paper from moving around when you are spreading the dough
• those having trouble with the spreading: use 3 aluminum pans (usually 3 for 99 cents at the 99 cent store)and spray with ALOT of pam.
MAKING ALMOND PASTE..
Ingredients
1 pound blanched almonds 1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar 3 egg whites 1 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
1. Grind almonds in a blender. Thoroughly mix in confectioners sugar. Beat egg whites slightly, then stir into the almond mixture. Add almond extract, using your hands to blend the heavy mixture.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES

Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 35 Minutes
Servings: 40
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
2. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan
…..Options/hints:
a. **Freeze PB Cups, unwrap, then pop back into freezer--until cookies are out of oven.**Allow middles to "sink" a bit before adding the pb cup(should happen when removed from the oven after 8 minutes) the "sink" will prevent the sides of the cookie from cracking.**ABSOLUTELY refrigerate the pan before removing cookies for cooling rack... BUT**Decorate with sprinkles BEFORE refrigerating pan--place decor quickly, as the chocolate will start to melt. Shifting placement of the decorations will be tricky!
b. they dont look like they're done cooking after 8 minutes, but they are. Dont make the mistake of overbaking them

CHRISTMAS WREATHS

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 30 Minutes
Servings: 18
INGREDIENTS:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/2 teaspoons green food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp of almond extract OR peppermint extract
• 3 cups cornflakes OR frosted flakes cereal
• AND can fill in with 1 cup Rice Krispies
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon red hot candies
Options: --also used springles and coconut to decorate
--melted white chocolate and drizzled it on top for a "snow" effect
--white decorating crystals
--added a red licorice bow
DIRECTIONS:
1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows, and cook until melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in the food coloring, vanilla, and cornflakes.
2. Quickly drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto waxed paper, and form into a wreath shape with lightly greased fingers (spoon a glob onto the waxed paper and use your fingers form a wreath by pulling from the middle out). Immediately decorate with red hot candies. Allow to cool to room temperature before removing from waxed paper, and storing in an airtight container
…..Hints:
a. shortcut for molding the wreaths is to drop a ball of the mixture onto wax paper and take the end of a plastic spoon, stick it in the middle to make a hole, then spin it around to make the wreath.
b. put a plastic sandwich bag over your hand and it won't stick to you (or the bag)
c. you can also keep the mixture warm in a slow cooker while you're shaping the wreaths.

BANANA CRUMB MUFFINS

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 35 Minutes Servings: 10 ….MANY MORE IF MADE AS MINI--MUFFINS
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted OR 1/3 cup canola oil
• Streusel Topping
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 TBSP chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon butter
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, vanilla, cinnamon and melted butter OR oil. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
……OPTIONS/TIPS: • be sure to not overmix.
• the advice of other bakers and added 1 tsp of cinnamon to the banana bread mix and then used 1/3 cup oil instead of butter.
• added 2 TBSP chopped walnuts to the crumb topping

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY COOKIES

Recipe Yield 36 cookies
INGREDIENTS (DOUBLED):
• 1 cups white sugar ; I cup brown sugar
• 2 egg (maybe dry) OR 3 for more chewy/soft cookie
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract OR cherry extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 (10 ounce) jars maraschino cherries
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
This recipe's Ingredients were scaled (doubled) to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 18 cookies.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and stir until smooth. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls about the size of a walnut (larger if desired). Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press center of each ball with thumb.
3. Drain cherries and reserve juice. Place a cherry in indentation of each cookie ball.
4. ** In a saucepan, heat condensed milk and chocolate chips until chips are melted. Stir in 4 teaspoons of cherry juice. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of mixture over each cherry and spread to cover cherry. (More cherry juice may be added to keep frosting of spreading consistency.) Or pipe frosting (zig-zag) over cherry/cookie
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
OPTIONS/TIPS:
• 1) doubled the batter but not the chocolate sauce, 2) used a half cup of white sugar and a half cup of brown sugar, 3) placed the cherry in the center of the cookie immediately after I took them out of the oven, 4) drizzled the chocolate on after the cookie cooled. I also cut the cherries in half before inserting them into the center just to stretch the jar of cherries.
• I use cherry extract instead of vanilla, so you will have more of the cherry taste. It really does make a difference. In the icing I use the whole can of condensed milk, add more cherry extract and extra cherry juice from the can. I mean about 1/4 cup or more. The more you use the more cherry and chocolate taste you will get.. I think they taste better the second day!
• I did use 2 T (6 tsp) cherry juice in the frosting, and ** it still needed more. Next time I will also add some cherry juice to the cookie. I think those changes will make it amazing
• ** halved the icing recipe and still had a bit leftover.
• The glaze is excellent and should be drizzled on before being baked. Do not add on any additional baking time or they will dry out. The moisture of the cherries makes them perfectly soft by the next day.

FROSTED NUTMEG LOGS

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 35 Minutes
Yields: 27 servings
INGREDIENTS:
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
FROSTING:
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
• 1 tablespoon half-and-half cream
• Sprinkle nutmeg
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and extracts; mix well. Combine the flour, nutmeg and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.
2. On a lightly floured surface, shape dough into 1/2-in.-wide logs. Cut into 2-in. pieces. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 11-14 minutes or until center is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
3. For frosting, in a mixing bowl, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, extracts and enough cream to achieve a spreading consistency. Frost cooled cookies. Rake the frosting with fork tines..for bark ‘look’
(hint) Sprinkle some nutmeg on the frosting while it's still wet for a really festive look

SPICY OATMEAL CRAISIN COOKIE

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 12 Minutes
Ready In: 50 Minutes
Servings: 36
INGREDIENTS:
• 1/4 cup butter flavored shortening
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ** ½ tsp baking powder (OPT)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• cup raisins (OR Craisins (soaked in warm water))
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (white)
• 1/2 cup walnuts
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins, chocolate chips, walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 9 to 11 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely. Store in airtight container.
OPTIONS / TIPS:
• Used all butter
• soaked the raisins/CRAISINS in just-boiled water for 5 minutes (this plumps them and prevents them from getting hard/dried out in the oven).
• only used about ¼ tsp of the cloves but also added some powdered ginger, freshly grated nutmeg & allspice
• noticed one pust the nuts in them they don't spread out as much. So press them down gently and they will made a perfect cookie
• to use cool cookie sheets and to keep the batter cold. The cookies will be fluffier instead of flattening out during baking
• added nutmeg, dried orange peel, ginger, allspice and extra cinnamon. Baking time was best around 8-10 minutes for especially moist cookies.
• **added 1/4 tsp. baking powder to avoid any flattening or spreading
• will admit, just used pumpkin pie spice in place of the other spices, them much better.

SUGARED BLACK RASPBERRY TEA COOKIE

Petite, crunchy, black raspberry filled thumbprints, dipped in granulated sugar, and studded with miniature chocolate chips. These cookies freeze well
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 45 Minutes
Servings: 36
INGREDIENTS:
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• (10 ounce) jar black raspberry jam
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter with brown sugar and 1/3 cup white sugar. Blend in the vanilla and milk. Mix in the flour and corn starch. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
3. Form the dough into 1 inch balls, and roll in the remaining white sugar. Place on the prepared cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Use your finger or thumb to press straight down into the center of each ball, making a well for the jam. Neatly fill each cookie with a small amount of jam.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until cookies are just beginning to turn golden around the edges. Let cookies cool before eating.
……OPTIONS / TIPS:
• used raspberry and apricot jams and drizzled the finished cookies with some melted chocolate chips and oil, which made for a very attractive presentation
• Thirteen minutes was almost too long. Watch these carefully. Overbaking dries eggless cookies quickly

MOLASSES SUGAR COOKIE

Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 3 Hours 40 Minutes
Yields: 36 servings
INGREDIENTS:
o 2 cups white sugar OR green & red
o 1/2 cup molasses
o 2 eggs
o 4 cups all-purpose flour
o 4 teaspoons baking soda
o 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
o teaspoon ground cloves
o teaspoon ground ginger
o teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS:
1. Melt the shortening in a large pan on the stove, and cool.
2. Add sugar, eggs, and molasses, beat well.
3. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and add to the pan. Mix well and chill 3 hours or overnight.
4. Form into walnut-size balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes.
6. Store in an airtight container to keep from getting overly crisp. If they do lose their softness, an easy way to restore it is to place one slice of fresh bread in the container with the cookies for a couple of hours or overnight and they will be soft again!
…..(VARIOUS hint 1) 1) Instead of 2c. granulated sugar as written in the recipe, I used 1c. granulated sugar and 1c. brown sugar; 2) I used butter-flavored shortening; 3) I baked the cookies right away without refrigerating the dough; 4) I only used 1/2t. salt; 5) I used a baking stone, baked the cookies for 10 minutes, took them out of the oven, let them sit for one minute on the baking stone, then removed the cookies and placed them on a cooling rack.
(hint 2 Definitely watch cooking time...if you like a chewy cookie, stick to the approx. 10min bake time-they may look too undercooked but that is fine. If you like a crispy cookie, let them go 2 mins longer. They definitely go from being chewy to being crispy QUICK so watch the time!!
(hint 3))…drizzle with a buttercream frosting

SPRING LIME TEA COOKIE

are light, buttery tea cookies bursting with citrus flavor
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 50 Minutes
Servings: 24
INGREDIENTS:
o 1/3 cup milk
o 1/2 cup butter, softened
o 3/4 cup white sugar
o 1 egg
o 2 teaspoons lime zest
o 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
o teaspoon baking powder
o 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
o 1,2- drops green food coloring
o 2 tablespoons lime juice (bit of zest)
o 1/4 cup white sugar (OR powdered sugar)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine the 2 teaspoons of lime juice with the milk, let stand for 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the lime zest and milk mixture. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda, food coloring, blend into the creamed mixture. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (or longer) in the preheated oven, until the edges are light brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make the glaze, stir together the remaining lime juice (bit of zest) and sugar (OR powered sugar) TOUCH OF GREEN food coloring.... . Brush onto cooled cookies.
…..OPTIONS / TIPS:
• Not quite "limey"enough. add more lime zest and juice!
• substitutes (orange zest, and powdered sugar in the glaze
• add more lime juice/zest, and will use powdered sugar for the glaze.
• made a thicker glaze with 1/2 a cup of sugar powder and about 3 tbsp of lime juice.

STAINED GLASS COOKIE
Melted candies surrounded by dough to resemble stained glass windows

serving: 60
INGREDIENTS:
o 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
o 3/4 cup HONEY
o 1/3 cup water
o 3 cups all-purpose flour
o teaspoon baking soda
o 1/2 teaspoon salt
o 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
o 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
o 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
o 5 3/4 ounces ‘Jolly Rancher” or similar hard candies
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter or margarine, brown sugar and honey until smooth. Blend in water. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture; blend well.
2. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
3. Cut out paper stars, bells, or other christmas motifs. Trace onto a sheet of aluminum foil.
4. Roll pieces of dough into ropes about 1/4-inch wide. Outline the designs with ropes of dough. Press ends lightly together.
5. Separate candies by color. In a blender or food processor, coarsely crush candies. Fill in dough outlines with the candies.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 4 to 5 minutes or until cookie is set and candy melts. Cool on baking sheet
……Options/hints:
line pan…used tin foil covered with nonstick spray

CRANBERRY PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

used other nuts instead of pistachios with success. If your pistachios are salted, omit the 1/4 teaspoon salt from the recipe
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 20 Minutes Servings: 36
INGREDIENTS:
o 3/4 cup white sugar
o 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
o 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
o 2 eggs
o 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
o 1/4 teaspoon salt
o teaspoon baking powder
o 1 tsp orange zest OR UP TO 1 TBP (depending on your taste)
o 1/2 cup dried cranberries
o 1/2 cups pistachio nuts
o DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F
2. In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; orange zest, gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
3. Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily
4. Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
5. Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool…
.drizzle some frosting over add the combination of almond extract and orange juice into the frosting drizzle
….Options/hints:
WET YOUR HANDS while working with the very sticky dough
1 tsp. of orange zest and added it right into the batter
slivered almonds instead of the pistachio nuts
melted white chocolate in the microwave and dipped on end in, then sprinkled with red and green colored sugars
substituted dried cherries and whole almonds, pulsed together in a food processor, for the cranberries and pistachios

[varina davis]

Very retro (remember the Woolworth lunch counters?) But sooo delicious:

Woolworth’s Ice Box Cheese Torte
Yield: 12-16 servings

1 (3-oz.) pkg. lemon-flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tall can (13-oz.) Carnation evaporated milk, whipped
3 cups Graham cracker crumbs (or less if desired)
1/2 cup butter or margerine, melted

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Chill until slightly thickened (I chill
this until it is the consistency of an uncooked egg white).

Cream together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Add the gelatin
and blend well. Fold in stiffly whipped Milnot(this can be done with and
electric mixer).

Mix Graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together; pack 2/3 of
the mixture on bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch pan (or larger). Add
filling and sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Chill several hours or
overnight.

Cut into squares and serve plain (my favorite way) or garnished with
fruit.

[TEXOKIE]

Some of us on the Gardening thread [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3101538/posts ]were talking about the use of hot peppers for the treatment of colds. One suggested using it in an oriental type of soup. After some discussion, I tried the following and was VERY pleased with the outcome!

Sautéed onion
Sautéed green pepper
Sautéed celery
Sautéed Snow Peas
Bamboo shoots (canned)
Used a can of one of the varieties of Lite Progresso chicken soup

Added
Garlic powder
Cumin
Onion powder
Thyme
Bay leaf
Dried parsley

Ground Cayenne pepper. We decided that since we are not currently fighting a cold to use a mild amount. We have one of those sets of measuring spoons on which “dash” is an amount. It is probably around a 1/16 of a tsp. It was just right for us.

We also put in a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (this was the ingredient that I had not ever tried before in a soup!)

Splash of lite (lo sodium) soy sauce

Let it simmer for a while, added more chicken.

We plan to do it again soon! Our thanks to all who were involved in bringing this idea to us!

[afraidfortherepublic]

Once again this year, I’ve had requests for my Tequila Christmas Cake recipe so here goes: Please keep in your files as I am beginning to get tired of typing this up every year!

1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar
Lemon juice
4 large eggs
Nuts
1 bottle tequila
2 cups dried fruit

Sample the tequila to check quality. Take a large bowl; check the tequila again to be sure it is of the highest quality. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point, it is best to make sure the tequila is still OK. Try another cup just in case. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 eegs and add to the bowl and chuck iin the cup of dried fruit. Pick the fruit up off the floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit getas stuck in the beaterers, just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the tequila to meytest for tonsisticity. Next, sift 2 cups of salt, or something. Check the tequila. Now shift the lemon ice strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 s and try not to fall over. Don’t forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish the tequila and wipe the counter with the cat.

Cherry Mristmas