December Cookie Extravaganza Part 5 - Jam Thumbprints

Jam Thumbprints are probably my favourite non-chocolate Christmas cookies. I always manage to eat a truck load of them every year under the premise of "hey at least there's fruit in these ones". It's a slippery slope my friends.


These lovelies are made with a pretty basic dough rolled into balls, dipped in egg whites, covered in walnuts, indented and baked.

Once cooled you fill the indent with jam (hence jam thumbprints). This year strawberry jam was used in place of the usual blueberry. They were almost as good^_^...but surely much better then the raspberry jam my Mum wanted to use.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

• 2/3 cup butter; softened
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 slightly beaten egg whites
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/3-1/2 cup jam

In a large mixing bowl beat butter until creamy. Add half of the flour. Mix in egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until fully incorporated. Add remaining flour and mix well. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Dip dough into the egg whites then roll in walnuts to coat. Place on a lined cookie sheet approximately 1-inch apart. Using your thumb, or the back of a wooden spoon, make an indent in each cookie.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly browned (if indents lose definition push them back down when they come out of the oven). Cool on a wire rack. Once cooled fill with jam.

December Cookie Extravaganza Part 4 - S'more Bars

Chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers...one of the best combinations of food ever. I realize that for most people s'mores are reserved for marshmallow roasts around campfires. But really how often do we get campfires? And I am a naturally impatient person with the tendency to crave that which is out of season. So I was VERY excited when I found this recipe (though I can't for the life of me remember where) for S'more Bars last year. Some of the excitement may have been heightened by the fact that I am still currently banned from using my s'more maker (yes I do own such a wonderous gadget - think fondue like apparatus), since I almost burned down my parents house the last time I attempted to use it.

The sad part about these is that I had a very hard time photographing them. They are so plan to look at and kind of blob-y that I feel my pictures don't properly portray how wonderful they are. So please make a batch so that you can get the full effect. Because, trust me, they are a fan favourite and don't last very long. In fact I believe it was these very bars that someone proposed marriage to me over last year (of course it was just a joke proposal) but that's got to say something for these little guys.

S'more Cookie Bars

• 1/2 cup butter; softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 king-sized chocolate bars
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
  

In a small bowl mix flour, salt, baking powder and graham crumbs, set aside. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and egg. Pour in flour mixture and blend until combined.

Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Press half of dough mixture into bottom of pan. Place chocolate bars in a single layer on top of dough. Spread marshmallow fluff over chocolate. Spread remaining dough on by flattening small sections and placing them one by one on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting.

I store mine in an airtight container in the fridge then either let them come to room temperature or pop them in the toaster oven to get them all gooey when I want to eat them.

December Cookie Extravaganza Part 3 - Chocolate Chunk Snowballs

Next up to the plate for your baking and eating pleasure we have Chocolate Chunk Snowballs...

These are quick and easy to make. No rolling, molding weird shapes, cutting or any other such things. Just mix the ingredients, form into balls, bake, cool and toss into icing sugar. Now that's my kinda cookie!

Chocolate Chunk Snowballs

• 2 Cups Butter; softened
• 1 Cup Icing Sugar
• 3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
• 6 Squares Bittersweet Chocolate; coarsely chopped
• 1 Cup Walnuts; coarsely chopped
• Icing sugar for dusting

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in flour & cornstarch until combined. Add in chocolate & walnuts.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until lightly brown.

Cool completely on wire wrack. Toss in icing sugar to lightly coat.

Enjoy!

December Cookie Extravaganza Part 2 - Chocolate Thumbrints

Things got a little busy on the weekend so I wasn't able to post any new cookies. But it's a whole new week and I've got a gem to share with you...Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies.

When it comes to Christmas cookie baking, I have a list of my Mums tried and true recipes that I always use. But I also like to mix things up a little bit and try new things. Which is why when I saw these cookies on the Martha Stewart website I knew I had to give them a try. These delectable little morsels of chocolately goodness may be new to my repertoire, but I have a feeling they will have a recurring role in years to come.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
(adapted from Martha Stewart recipe)

• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter; Softened
• 1 1/3 Cup Sugar (plus a little extra for rolling dough in)
  
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 2 TBSP Heavy Cream
• 2 TBSP Vanilla Extract
• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup & 1 TBSP Cocoa Powder
• 2 tsp salt
  
• Chocolate Vanilla-Bean Ganache *

In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in cream, vanilla and egg yolks until well combined. Mix in dry ingredients.

Shape dough in balls using roughly 2 tsp of dough for each. Roll in sugar. Place onto lined cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Using your finger or back of a wooden spoon push gently on the dough to form an indent.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until cookie is just set. Let cool slightly on sheet before transferring to wire rack.

Once completely cooled spoon warm ganache filling into centers. Let set 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.


*Chocolate Vanilla-Bean Ganache

• 1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1/3 Cup Honey
• 1/2 Cup Bittersweet Chocolate; finely chopped
• 2 TBSP Unsalted Butter; softened & cut into pieces
• 1/2 A Vanilla Bean; Split & Scraped (reserve pod)

In a medium saucepan combine cream, honey, vanilla seeds & pod. Over medium heat bring mixture to a simmer, stirring until honey is melted. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 20 minutes.

Place chopped chocolate into a blender. Place cream mixture back onto stove and return to a simmer. Remove vanilla pods. Pour cream mixture over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Blend until mixture is smooth. Add butter and continue to blend until combined. Let cool slightly, then use immediately.

December Cookie Extravaganza Part 1 - The Shortbread Cookie.

I am decidedly not much of a Christmas person. I don't jump up and down with glee at the thought of snow, I view most decorations as tacky eyesores, I am in no way, shape or form associated with any type of religion and the sound of Christmas carols are like nails on a chalkboard to me. Furthermore, even though I am a good little consumer who goes out with the masses to buy gifts, I don't actually like the concept. I have, however, learned that people don't react well when you attempt to skip Christmas, so I go along for the ride.

I'd like to also state here that I am not one of those "Grinch-y" people who walk around in a cloud of hum-buggery ruining the experience for those who enjoy it. I do get excited about some aspects of the Holiday's and choose to focus on those instead. For example, I do adorn my apartment with a few tasteful decorations. My motto here is simple but classy - black and silver with a couple pops of ruby red for good measure. I have a black tree and a matching black garland that I hang a couple small things on for colour. I also have a small silver snowflake wreath that I hang on my door. And that's it. No singing doormats, no dancing Santa's or glowing reindeer. A girl's gotta draw the line somewhere.

More of my likes include, hanging out with my family and friends, cracking open a few bottles of wine and sharing conversation over a crowded dinner table covered with food. Yes, I can easily get into anything that involves the cooking and consuming of food. Which of course brings me to my favourite part of the Holiday Season...Christmas cookies. If there is anything during this time of year to jump up and down about it is tins and tins of delicious cookies. I love making them, I love eating them and I love gifting them to others. And in honour of this, over the next couple weeks I am going to be posting this years fare. So sit back with your disgusting Eggnog drink and a hunk of hard fruitcake and enjoy!

I figure the best place to start when talking Christmas cookies is the traditional shortbread. Easy to make, easy to eat and just about everyone loves them. Ironically the last thing I made will be the first I post.

My Mum and I decided to bake our cookies together to quicken the process and allow me to bake in a real kitchen with a proper sized well working stove. We managed to blast through just about all the things we needed to bake in one day. Unfortunately we saved the shortbread until the end, and even though we had the heat turned down really low, the oven was still too hot and just about liquified our cookies in the oven. Because of this my Mother has boycotted shortbread this year. Sad, but true. So I've taken up the mantle and made them on my own, it's not really Christmas without them.

Shortbread Cookies

• 1 Cup Butter; softened
• 2 Cups Pastry Flour
• 3 TBSP Fruit Sugar
• 3 TBSP Rice Flour

Beat butter with a spoon until creamy. Stir in flour until well mixed. Blend in rice flour and sugar.

Roll out flat and cut into shapes or form into balls and press down with a fork.

Sprinkle with red & green coloured sugar.

Bake at 275 degrees until faintly brown (approx. 10-15 mins depending on your oven)


One cookie down...nine more to go!

Tourtière...A Little Piece of Comfort.

Just about everyone has certain favourite comfort foods that they love. Something that reminds them of the simplicity of being a child, when your mom would spend the evening in the kitchen cooking and you would sit around anxiously waiting for her to yell "dinner's ready!". Filled with excitement you would run full tilt down the stairs in hopes of being the first one at the table and thus eligible to choose the most delicious morsels.

As someone who has a healthy obsession with food, I probably have a much longer list of favourites then the average person. But I maintain that each and every one of them gives me a different level of comfort wrapped up in warm memories. Take for example, my Mums tortière...

This is definitely on my top 5 list of "Things My Mother Makes That I Love". I think part of what makes this dish so special, aside from the fact that it is delicious, is that she only makes it once a year right around Christmas time. Whenever I dig into a piece of tortière it brings with it the memories of past time spent with friends, family and good food wrapped up in a tasty package of meat and potatoes.

A couple weeks ago, busy and lacking proper sleep, I was plagued with a craving for a piece. After some wheedling my Mom eventually agreed to give me the recipe (even though we're only supposed to have it once a year). A couple days later Cory and I sat down to enjoy my first go at making my Mum's tortière and it was exactly what I had needed. A little taste of comfort.

Mum's Tourtière
Serves 6

• 1 pound minced pork
• 1/4 cup chopped onion (we like to add more than this since we love onions so much)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp sage
• dash pepper
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1 cup mashed potatoes (we also like to up the amount of potatoes)
  
• Pastry for 2 crust 9-inch pie

Combine pork, onion, seasonings and water. Simmer uncovered, stirring ocasionally, until meat is cooked (about 25 minutes). Let cool and skim the fat off. Stir in the potatoes.

Line a pie plate with half of the pastry. Pour the pork mixture into it. Cover with the second pastry and seal the edges. Cut steam vents into the pastry.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for approx. 30 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

Enjoy.

Graveyard Cupcakes

I know that most people have already put Halloween behind them and are already well on their way to Christmas. But I like to remember the spookier side of the year for a little while longer and I didn't get a chance to post this until now.

Halloween is my all time FAVOURITE time of year. I jumped at the chance to throw a party this year complete with spooky food. I had another huge camera fail and didn't take pics of everything. But, I did manage to get some shots of these graveyard cupcakes that are just *ahem* to die for.

The grave stones are lady fingers that I , along with Cory's help, wrote on with melted semi-sweet chocolate. The bones, sadly, are not edible. I bought some decorative skeletons from the dollar store, cleaned them then cut them up into little bits.

For the cupcakes I made a rich, extra moist chocolate batter and baked them in square muffin tins. I was running a little short on time, so I did something I don't normally do and used *gasp* a boxed cake mix. I know, I know it is something I almost steadfastly stay away from. But when faced with little time and a lot of food to make, with a little bit of adjustments, boxed works just fine.

Graveyard Cupcakes

• 1 chocolate cake recipe (be it homemade or boxed)
• 12 ladyfingers cut in half (to equal 24 gravestones)
• handful of semi sweet chocolate chips
• green icing sugar
• tooth picks
• Small plastic skeletons (or if you can make edible bones go for it!)
  

Prepare cake recipe. (For the boxed recipe I left out some of the liquid it asked for and replaced it with a splash of vanilla extract and some brewed espresso. The coffee really helps bring out the chocolaty flavour without you actually being able to taste it.)

Pour batter into square cupcake pan and bake 15-20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the grave stones. Cut the lady fingers in half (1 lady finger = 2 gravestones). Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Using a toothpick scoop up a small amount of chocolate and write RIP on the lady finger gravestones. Put aside and let chocolate set.

Once the cupcakes are cooled spread the green icing on top. Take a gravestone and spread a bit of melted chocolate on the bottom (you can skip this part if you want I just found that it helped it to adhere to the cupcake). Slide a tooth pick into the grave stone about halfway in. If desired use a toothpick to create some wisps of grass on the bottom front of the gravestone. Place gravestone on top of cupcake making sure to leave enough space in front to place skeleton bones. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.

Take your skeletons and wash thoroughly to make sure they are clean. Using scissors cut the skeleton into bits so you have various amounts of legs, arms, skulls, ribcages etc. Place on top of cupcakes pressing down slightly or inserting parts into the cupcake to make sure they don't fall off.

Place on a spooky platter and enjoy!!