Moravian Spice Cookies

My husband's favorite holiday cookie!

He actually made them this year because I think they are more trouble than they are worth. But they are so delicious when someone else makes them.

MORAVIAN SPICE COOKIES

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon finely ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper and mustard together in a medium bowl.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until just combined and lightly fluffy. Beat in the molasses and egg yolk. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix together on low speed until dough is just combined and still crumbly, about 3 minutes. Give dough a few turns with a spatula to bring together.

Lay out wax paper on a clean work surface and put about 1/3 of the batter on top. Lightly press down and top with another sheet of wax paper. Using your hands or a rolling pin, gently pat into a rectangle. Roll out with a rolling pin until dough is as thin as possible without breaking, no thicker than 1/16 inch thick. This is the key to these cookies: they really can't be too thin. Gently peel back the layer of waxed paper and then replace it loosely.

Transfer rolled batter to a flat baking sheet and freeze until firm and can easily be peeled away from the waxed paper, about 30 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cut dough using a small (2- to 3-inch) fluted round cookie cutter and return to the freezer for 15 minutes to set.

Transfer frozen cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until crisp and lightly, evenly colored (but not brown), about 8 minutes (watch them very closely).

Red Velvet Truffles

This is a really simple recipe. Easy, but a little time consuming. Delicious!

RED VELVET TRUFFLES

1 box red velvet cake mix (Duncan Hines)

ingredients needed according to cake mix

1 "regular size" container whipped cream cheese frosting

white/vanilla candy coating (I use the kind that comes in a big 16 ounce rectangle, need about 1 1/2 packages)

Bake the cake according to directions on package. Let the cake cool completely. Crumble the entire cake.

Mix in the cream cheese frosting (I used a mixer, but it could be done by hand). Refrigerate for a couple hours. Scoop out into balls (I made mine about 3/4 inch round with a very small cookie scoop). Freeze balls for a couple of hours or overnight (I like to divide up the work over a couple of days, so I freeze them overnight).

Melt candy coating according to package directions. Dip balls and place on wax paper to harden.

Keep refrigerated.

Yield: a whole lot, about 100!!

Holiday Goodies

It doesn't look like I'm going to find very much time for making goodies this year. (I'll make a few) These are my favorites that I usually make over and over.

Follow the link to the original post.


Chocolate Covered Cherries


Espresso Crunch Cups

Eggnog Truffles

White Chocolate Macadamia Fudge

I'll let you know if I come up with some new ones for this year.

Our Christmas Dinner

Ham, Gingersnap Sweet Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Mustard/Collard Greens, Marshmallow Ambrosia Salad, Pear/Blue Cheese Salad, Mango Chutney Cheese Spread Appetizer...

Delicious!

White Chocolate Macadamia Fudge

Delicious, fast and easy to make.

And there's a secret ingredient....

There's just a little something in this fudge that people can't seem to figure out.

WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA FUDGE

3 cups (18 ounces) white chocolate morsels
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons grated orange rind (secret ingredient!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Line a 9” square pan with aluminum foil; lightly grease foil. Cook first 3 ingredients in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, 10 to 11 minutes or until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in orange rind, vanilla and salt until blended. Stir in nuts. Pour fudge into prepared pan. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or until firm. Cut into squares and store in refrigerator.

Makes about 36 if cut into one inch squares.

Carrot Souffle

Have you seen the movie "Four Christmases" with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn? It's hilarious, I highly recommend it. The story is that their holiday getaway is cancelled/delayed so they have to visit with all the family they were trying to avoid. Both sets of parents are divorced, so they have four Christmas gatherings to attend. I wouldn't want four, but it's nice to have two Christmases.

My parents came over for a holiday meal with us this past Friday.

We had:
Roasted Red Pepper Dip with Pita Chips
Third Coast Salad
Chicken Amaretto
Green Beans
and this delicious Carrot Souffle.

Don't turn your nose up just because it's carrots. Think of it as an alternative to sweet potato casserole. It's sweet and yummy like that.





CARROT SOUFFLÉ

2 pounds baby cut carrots, cooked, drained and mashed (boil about 45 minutes)
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 pinch cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients; mix really well (I use an immersion hand blender). Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 45 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar if desired.

Yield: barely makes 5 servings, better double it next time!

Eggnog Quick Bread

This is the last of the eggnog recipes unless I came across something new to try in the next week.

This bread is not too sweet, so it works well as a breakfast treat or with a cup of coffee.

EGGNOG QUICK BREAD

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (a little more if you like)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup eggnog
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons rum flavored extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease bottom only of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in sugar, eggnog, butter, rum extract and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients into wet mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle some extra nutmeg on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes and then remove bread from pan. Cool completely. Wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator. Serve slices toasted. (3/4 inch slices hold up well in a regular toaster.)

Let's recap my other eggnog recipes - the link will take you there...

Eggnog Coffee Cake

Eggnog Cookies

Eggnog Truffles

Eggnog Truffles

Third in a series of eggnog recipes...

I first tried this recipe from one of my Christmas with Southern Living books last year. It's another delicious way to enjoy eggnog, my favorite holiday indulgence.

They don't come out as pretty as I would like, but the taste makes up for it!




EGGNOG TRUFFLES

8 (1 ounce) squares premium white chocolate (Baker’s)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup refrigerated eggnog
2 tablespoons dark rum (like Myer's)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups finely chopped pecans, toasted
16 ounces vanilla flavored candy coating

Melt white chocolate according to package directions. Add powdered sugar, butter and eggnog; stir gently until mixture is smooth. Add rum and nutmeg, stirring just until blended. Cover and freeze at least 2 hours. Shape mixture into 1 inch balls (a small cookie scoop helps). Roll in pecans and roll in hands to press pecans into eggnog mixture. Place on a wax paper lined pan; cover and freeze until firm.

Melt candy coating according to package directions. Remove truffles from freezer; reshape into balls, if necessary. Quickly dip each truffle into melted candy coating. Place on wax paper to harden. Store truffles in freezer.

Yield: 3 dozen


Notes: I used Capt. Morgan's Spiced Rum this time instead of regular dark rum, turned out great. I ran out of pecans half way through and finished up using some salted mixed nuts that I chopped. That worked well, too. Especially if you like a sweet salty combo.

Eggnog Cookies

Yummy eggnog flavored cookies are soft and chewy. Ingredients can be mixed and prepared ahead of time, frozen and then baked at a later date.



EGGNOG COOKIES

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup low-fat commercial eggnog
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks

Mix the first 4 ingredients and set aside. Cream the sugar and butter until smooth. Add eggnog, vanilla and egg yolks. Beat until smooth. Add flour at low speed until mixed.

Chill the dough for about half an hour. Scoop tablespoon size portions and roll into balls. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with extra nutmeg if desired.

Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Center will still be somewhat soft.

Yield: about 4 dozen

Note: Be sure to use low-fat eggnog for this recipe, otherwise the cookies will flatten out too much when baking. Trust me, I've done it.

If you want to freeze for later baking: Roll the dough into balls and place on waxed paper lined tray or baking sheet. Freeze for a couple of hours and then just wrap the dough balls up in the wax paper and put into a ziploc bag. Freeze.

When you are ready to bake: Place frozen dough balls on a baking sheet. Allow to sit at room temperature for half an hour and then bake as directed. Don't forget to sprinkle extra nutmeg!

Past Christmas Trees

I have been using this small (4 foot) Christmas tree for about 10 years. It started as an extra tree in my family room (a big tree was in the living room). Once I moved to a smaller place, it was a great fit.

I'm back in a big house, but I still prefer my small tree. It's so much easier to decorate than a big one. And less expensive to change themes or colors.

I use a lot of the same ornaments every year (gold, silver and white) and change out beading, ribbon or balls each year.

The tree in 2004... Sheer white ribbon, jeweled ornaments, pearl accents...


The tree in 2005... Simplified a bit... Irredescent beads and balls, silver ornaments.


The tree in 2007... Burgundy, gold and white.

The tree in 2008... Irredescent beads and balls again, gold and silver with the addition of deep purple.

So, what will I do this year?

I'm thinking it will be something similar to last year. I love the deep purple. Except... the den decor as changed since last year. I don't know if the purple really goes anymore.

I'll show you once it's up. I'll also show you some of my homemade ornaments from years past.

Espresso Crunch Cups

I just love making holiday treats. This is a new recipe that I tried this year and it's really good, it will go into the regular holiday rotation...

The recipe calls for chocolate covered espresso beans. What I found and used were called chocolate covered espresso bits. I found them at Publix near the produce section... there's a small section of nuts and dried fruits and stuff like that.



I tried to give you a view of the inside here.

ESPRESSO CRUNCH CUPS

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
3/4 cup crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans (4 ounces)
3 tablespoons Kahlúa
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups (24 ounces) milk chocolate morsels
4 tablespoons shortening
48 (1 1/2") paper candy cups (1 1/4" cups will work fine, too)

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Stir in espresso beans, Kahlúa, and salt. (This can be done by hand just as well - go ahead and mix butter, powdered sugar, Kahlua and salt at the same time, then add espresso beans)

Cover and chill 1 hour or until firm. Shape mixture by teaspoonfuls into 48 balls, and flatten slightly.

Melt chocolate morsels and shortening in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. (I melted the chocolate in the microwave) Spoon 1/2 teaspoon melted chocolate into 48 paper-lined miniature (1 3/4") muffin pans, turning or gently shaking pans to coat bottoms evenly. Place 1 flattened Kahlúa ball in each cup; spoon remaining melted chocolate over Kahlúa balls, covering them completely.

Cover and chill chocolate cups until firm. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

Note: Once I made the 48 Kahlúa balls, I worked with batches of 12 crunch cups at a time. I melted the milk chocolate morsels in the microwave one cup at a time with one tablespoon of shortening at a time. This was enough chocolate to make 12 crunch cups at a time.

Variation: For Butterscotch Crunch Cups, substitute butterscotch schnapps for Kahlúa and Heath toffee bits for espresso beans. (I came up with this one myself! They were really good.)

Chocolate Covered Cherries

I consider this little treat one of my specialties. If you want to make friends at the office... Make nice with the boss... Make a man fall in love...

Even the people that don't like chocolate covered cherries in a box will like these.

You'll mix the first 4 ingredients to get a ball like this.

I like to flatten and mark it so that it can be divided evenly into about 36 pieces.

Then roll each piece into a little ball.

I put the little balls in the fridge for about half an hour before the next step.


You'll flatten each sugar ball and wrap it around a cherry.

I like to refrigerate the sugar covered cherries overnight to firm up. That way, when you dip in chocolate, you are less likely to have the sugar coating slip off.

So, it's the next day, and I'm dipping them in melted chocolate.

Twirl and dip until the entire thing is coated.

Put them back in the fridge when done.

Leave them in the fridge for 2 or 3 weeks. Really! They will be so much better. It will be hard to resist tasting them, okay you can taste one, but leave the rest in the fridge for later.

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 (8 ounce) jars maraschino cherries with stems, well drained
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, milk and almond extract; mix well with a fork. Knead into a large ball. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten each into a 2 inch circle. Wrap around cherries and lightly roll in hands. Place with stems up on a waxed paper lined baking sheet. Cover loosely and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave. Holding onto stem, dip cherries into chocolate; set on waxed paper to harden. Store in a covered container. Refrigerate 2 to 3 weeks before serving.

Yield: about 3 dozen

Note: I put the cherries in a colander over a bowl in the fridge overnight to drain them really well. Then dry them carefully with papertowels before wrapping in sugar coating.

Make them soon, so they will be ready for Christmas!

Eggnog Coffee Cake

I'm testing some new holiday recipes. This one came from Christmas with Southern Living 2001. I have no idea why I haven't tried this before since I love eggnog so much. I will definitely be making this again and again.






The original recipe said to serve warm or at room temperature. It's even better if you make it a day ahead of when you'd like to serve it. After it's cooled, cover it and let it sit overnight, the flavors improve noticeably.

EGGNOG COFFEE CAKE

2 tablespoons fine, dry breadcrumbs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, divided
1 cup refrigerated eggnog
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Grease a 9" cakepan; sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and tap out excess. Set pan aside.

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Remove 1 cup crumb mixture; set aside. Stir baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg into remaining crumb mixture.

Stir together eggnog, egg, bourbon, and vanilla. Add eggnog mixture to crumb mixture; beat at medium-high speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg to reserved 1 cup crumb mixture; sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Apple Cranberry Stuffing

At Eddie's office, they are having a Thanksgiving meal today. Oh, how I miss those great potluck meals at a big office...

He saw this Paula Deen recipe last Saturday on one of her shows and decided he would try it out. It was really good, and we will make it again one day, but I really do prefer a traditional Southern cornbread dressing with my turkey at Thanksgiving. This would be great with ham at Christmas, though.

By the way, I think it's weird that Paula calls this 'stuffing'. She's a Southern woman and we usually call this 'dressing'. It's not stuffed into anything, after all.

APPLE CRANBERRY STUFFING

2 cups chicken broth
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (10 ounce) can cream of celery soup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 cups Hawaiian sweet bread, cubed and toasted (that's a 16 ounce round loaf)

Lightly grease or spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine chicken broth and cranberries; let soak for 30 minutes.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, pepper and celery; cook for 6 to 10 minutes stirring frequently or until tender. Add apples and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.

Beat 3 eggs in a separate bowl. Add salt and pepper. Set aside.

In the large bowl with vegetables, stir in chicken broth/cranberry mixture, celery soup and cinnamon. Add toasted bread, stirring gently to combine. Add eggs. Spoon mixture into prepared dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until center is set.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Note: Paula didn't tell me how to toast the bread cubes. We baked them at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. You want them to really dry out, because this bread is super soft when it's fresh. In fact, it would be a good idea to buy the bread a few days ahead and let it get a bit stale, then toast.

Cherry and White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Look what Eddie gave me!

It's my birthday/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's gift...




So, I had to make something for him...




CHERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups uncooked regular oats
2 (6 ounce) packages white chocolate baking bars, coarsely chopped (Baker’s)
1 cup sweetened dried cherries (Welch’s)

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats, white chocolate and cherries.

Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, drop dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on pans; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: 5 dozen

This is a good recipe for variations... Next time, Craisins instead of dried cherries, maybe macadamia nuts, how 'bout butterscotch chips and pecans?

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

About a week ago, I was looking through all of my Christmas with Southern Living books (I have been getting them for over 20 years). I was just starting to think about new recipes I might want to try for the holidays this year. Eddie picked up one of the books to take a look. Right away, he found this recipe and said "Can we make this tomorrow? I don't want to wait until December!" Apparently, this is one of his all-time favorites.

He actually made these, I get no credit (just photo credit). They are still warm in this picture, they need to cool until sheen becomes dull.

NO-BAKE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
3 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium; bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat; quickly stir in peanut butter until smooth. Stir in oats. Quickly drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool completely. Carefully remove from wax paper. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 4 dozen