FOR (BUSY) PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOOD FOOD
Merry Christmas from Kerry’s Cooking Chronicles!
I am taking a break for the holiday, and will be back Monday, December 27 to share two new Christmas Eve recipes and hopefully a few other projects. Plus, I have to do a recap of 2010, and an important look ahead at 2011. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
No cookie swap is complete without a cloud of powdered sugar, and these cookies fit the bill. They were like perfect chocolate chip studded snowballs! The recipe is similar to Russian Tea Cookies (another Christmas favorite!) with the important addition of chocolate.
1 1/2 c. butter, softened (3 sticks)
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t salt
3 c. flour
1 (12 oz.) package semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1/2 c. finely chopped nuts
Powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 375F. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in flour; stir in morsels and nuts. Shape level teaspoons of dough into 1 1/4″ balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over hot cookies on baking sheets. Cool completely.
These peanutty brownie bites were definitely a hit, and won 2nd place at this year’s swap. The baker used crushed graham cracker crumbs, and skipped the peanut garnish on some “for fear of peanut overload”. I liked these because they reminded me of the beloved peanut butter cups, but with the texture of a brownie. Yum!
I know there are a lot of recipes out there for black bean spreads, but this is the one I made with my new spices from Penzeys. I had no idea that just a few new spices could make cooking so much fun! Then, my sister used the spread to assemble some gorgeous wraps with cheese, avocado, and fresh Romaine lettuce. It was the perfect light lunch!
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
Juice of 1 lime
2 T plain Greek yogurt
3/4 t medium hot chili powder
3/4 t Spanish paprika
1/2 t cumin
Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Another cookie in the tie for 3rd place at this year’s swap…I love it when a classic recipe gets a new twist, like these Salty Sweet Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. They start out like regular chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and then the dough is rolled in a mixture of sugar and salt. It turns out to be a great combination, and these were my favorite of the day. They not only taste great, but they are sturdy and travel well, so you can take them to parties year round!
This year’s swap featured 3 cookies tied for 3rd place, including these Almond Roca cookies made by a first time swapper. She had heard about the competition, and put a lot of effort into these – I think they look much prettier than Emeril’s version! There is a delicate balance of chocolate, almonds, and toffee which make these great. I brought the last few into my office on Monday, and got an Instant Message from a colleague about 2 minutes later, telling me how awesome these were. Of course, I told him he had to read the blog to get the recipe, so here it is!
I tried something new at this year’s cookie swap by making spiced red wine in the crockpot. Crockpots are especially handy for parties, because they work quietly while you run around getting everything else ready.
I loosely followed this recipe, and I have to admit that I used pretty cheap red wine. I don’t think there’s any point in using good wine if you’re going to cook it for 4-6 hours in a crockpot. I cut back on the amount of sugar in the original recipe, and used an extra cinnamon stick. The end result was great, and one guest commented that it tasted like warm sangria. And on a rainy December day, who doesn’t want a glass of warm sangria?
1 1.5L bottle red wine (or 2 750ml bottles)
2 large apples, peeled and sliced thinly
3-4 whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
1/4 c. white sugar
1 t lemon juice
Cheers!
Another cookie swap in the books! You can never really tell what type of cookie is going to win; some years it’s all about the chocolate, other years it’s a totally different flavor. This year’s winner was Maple Pecan Bites, originally posted on the blog Eat Live Run. I was actually the one who made these cookies (errr…bars), and they contain all good things: flour, butter, more butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and pecans. You really can’t go wrong. I cut them in triangles to try and make them cuter, and I guess it worked! But I must say, all the cookies at the swap were excellent, and I think the bar has been raised.
It’s cookie swap time again, and on Sunday there will be over 600 cookies in my house, along with the talented people who baked them. I am looking forward to it! I’ll announce this year’s cookie swap winner on the blog on Monday, but if you’re really anxious, you can always check Twitter!
Another one of my Penzey’s finds was Tandoori Seasoning. I was excited to add another Indian spice to my cabinet, and figured it would be easy to find recipes. However, I didn’t quite realize that true tandoori requires a clay oven and a hot open fire.
Recipes that Fit 