Christmas Cookies 2012

Tis the season! Have you started your baking yet? I scaled back a little this year, but that's not to say that these aren't fabulous recipes! What's even better about the cookies this year is that I used gluten free flour. Too bad these won't travel well...only my local friends will get to savor these tasty bites this year since 2 of the 3 recipes need to be refrigerated. Hopefully the besties aren't too upset that they won't be getting the usual tin full of cookies this year.  Here's the short and simple list of 2012 Christmas Cookies.

Lemon, Cranberry, and Pistachio Wreaths
(adapted from Martha Stewart - she's kinda my idol)
Original Recipe

1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. flour, plus more for rolling out dough
3/4 C. cornstarch
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 C. sugar
2 egg yolks
5 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp. lemon extract
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 C. powdered sugar
3/4 C. shelled unsalted pistachios, toasted and chopped
3/4 C. dried cranberries, chopped

Whisk the first 4 dry ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, zest, and lemon extract. Slowly add the dry mixture until the dough pulls together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough until it's about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out wreaths using a Linzer cookie cutter (or similar cutter) and lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread that much while cooking but should be at least 1 inch apart from each other.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-9 minutes. Allow to cool.

In a bowl whisk together the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Add more lemon juice to get to the right "icing" consistency. Fill a ketchup style bottle with the icing or a plastic baggie with a corner snipped off. Swirl the icing around each cookie and quickly sprinkle the chopped pistachios and cranberries on top so they stick. Let cool and store in a airtight container.



Chocolate Balls (aka Kathy's Cookies)

2-8 oz. Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almond bars
handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 C. whole almonds
1 tsp. vanilla
1-8 oz. container Cool Whip
Nilla Wafers or Graham Crackers, crushed

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate bars and chocolate chips. Remove from heat and stir in the almonds. Allow to cool to room temperature then add the vanilla. Carefully fold in the Cool Whip until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

To assemble the cookies, use a melon baller to evenly scoop each cookie. Roll the chocolate ball in the crushed cookies. Once all cookies are rolled, enjoy or refrigerate until ready to serve.


Seven Layer Cookies
These are deliciously almond!
Recipe from Epicurious

Amuse Bouche!

This week I was traveling for work in LA, and I was fortunate enough to enjoy dinner at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant at the Hotel Bel Air. Dinner was amazing: a fixed price menu equipped with amuse bouches, homemade bread, and a three course meal. I'm sorry to say I didn't take any pictures of the food (my heart hasn't been in the blogging mood for a while), but this one snapshot may have inspired me to come back! If you can't tell, the chef himself greeted us during our meal, and I was speechless! I was grinning ear to ear in awe of him coming to chat with us. Everything inside me was dying to say "I love you!" "I have your cookware at home!". Thankfully, I kept my mouth shut. :)

I'm hidden here, but he's looking at me! :)

Needless to say, the one of the amuse bouches from the evening inspired me to create my own. Here I've put together a fig, olive oil, pepper, prosciutto, and a candied walnut. There's a lot of flavors all wrapped up in one. Try it for yourself!

-M

Breakfast Burritos

I'm not much of a breakfast person, but every once in I get on a kick where it's all I crave. Lately, I'd say it's any sort of breakfast scramble or mexican inspired dish. And the more vegetables you can sneak in there, the better I feel about skipping my usual cereal and coffee routine.

This recipe was inspired by my recent trip to French Meadow Cafe, a local restaurant that specializes in local and organic food here in Minneapolis.

If you like crisp hashbrowns and Mexican spices, I think you'll really enjoy this one. It got 2 thumbs up from my college roommates this weekend!

Canola or Safflower oil
1 (20 oz.) pkg. Simply Potatoes O'Brien has browns
8 eggs, beaten and set aside
1 can spicy black beans
1 1/2 - 2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
4-6 large flour tortillas
2-3 thinly sliced green onions
1/2 C. sour cream
2 canned chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, finely minced
Salsa
Salt and pepper

Combine the sour cream and chipotle peppers in a small bowl Set aside until ready to serve.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat a good 2-3 tablespoons of the oil and add the hashbrowns. Cook over medium-high heat adding more oil to increase crispiness (if desired) until fully cooked. Set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and add the eggs. Stir/scramble the eggs until almost cooked through. Add back the potatoes, and then the beans, cheese, and salt and pepper. Stir until the eggs are fully cooked and cheese is melted.

To assemble the burrito, scoop a healthy portion of the egg and potato mixture onto a tortilla. Then either add the green onions, chipotle sour cream, and salsa to the inside before folding or add to the top of the burriton once rolled up.

Italian Pasta Salad

1 (16 oz.) box spiral pasta, cooked
1 (2.25 oz.) can chopped black olives
1/3 C. finely minced red onion
1 diced green or red bell pepper
1 jar quartered artichoke hearts
1 (4 oz.) bag Hormel Bite Size Mini Pepperonis
1 tsp. Suddenly Salad seasoning
Wishbone Italian Dressing (16 oz. or smaller)

Cook the pasta per the directions or until al dente. Drain, rinse, and pour into a large bowl. Add in the black olives, red onion, bell pepper, artichokes, and pepperoni. Stir to combine. Add seasoning and dressing to taste. I usually stir in half of the dressing, allow to sit, and then add more if needed. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Keep chilled until ready to eat.