Day...whatever...of Christmas Cookies

Well I'm not really going day by day on the Christmas cookies. It's my blog I can do what I want. So here is today's cookie!!!

Eggnog Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients:
Cookies:
1 C butter softened
1 1/4 C sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 C sour cream
2 1/2 C AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Filling:
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 C shortening
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
2 tbs bourbon

Process:
Preheat oven to 350. (I had to boost my oven temp to 375 to make them brown on the bottom)
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and beat until blended. Combine flour and salt in a small bowl; gradually add to butter mix until well blended.

Combine sugar, nutmeg, and ginger in a small bowl. Form dough into small balls, dip top into sugar mixture, place on parchment lined baking sheet and flatten slightly.

Bake 12 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Beat butter and shortening until well blended. Add powdered sugar and bourbon; beat until blended. Spread on flat side of a cookie and top with another cookie.

Blog Fail/Christmas Cookies

Ok, so I failed miserably at the Pumpkin a day recipe challenge...oops! But you know what... I'm in law school!! That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Anyways, finals ended on the ninth and believe me I have been baking since (and before) then, after all I hate studying.

So I'll just start catching up for December Christmas Cookies. Now I must remind you! I'm leaving on a cruise on the 24th...so that's when the cookies end!!

Alrighty, we're going to start with...

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies!
These were a request from Robert and I couldn't find a recipe I liked, so this is my own creation!! How fun!!

Ingredients
1 C Butter
1 3/4 C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 TBS Peppermint Extract
2 C AP flour
1 C Cocoa (Dutch Process)
1 TSP Baking soda
1/2 TSP Salt
1 C Chocolate Chips

Process:
Set oven to 375 F
In a bowl mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and peppermint extract and mix until thoroughly combined. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, you might want to do this in installments. When then is all combined and looks like cookie dough stir in the chocolate chips. Now, I added crushed peppermints! You can add these to the batter, or roll the cookies in the crushed peppermints, or sprinkle on top after baking...really whatever you want.
Now scoop them onto a parchment or silicone mat lined cookie pan and into your pre heated oven.

Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the cookies look done on the bottom. I check this by lifting one edge with a spatula. Since these are chocolate it's harder to tell, but feel the center, you don't want your finger to sink it, but you don't want it to be hard either (that's burned).

Oct. 18th pumpkin surprise

Hmmm, I don't even remember the last pumpkin I posted on here. I've been cheating and just saying what I've made on FB instead of posting pictures and the recipes on here. Don't worry, I'll catch up when I'm dead less busy. So today I'm going recipeless. I know what I'm making and have a recipe to base mine off of, but the original recipe is full of icky healthy things, like stevia, non dairy milk, and spelt...yuck! So I'm going to try it with lots of better things!! It's going to be an inside out chocolate pumpkin pie...and no I'm not explaining that. You'll just have to wait until I get the pictures and the recipe up! MWHAHAHAH!!!

12 days of Pumpkin!

So today is October 12...not really...but pretend ok!!

Today's recipe is...Crock pot pumpkin soup!!

1 small pumpkin; seeds removed and flesh diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
olive oil
fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
sour cream
chopped fresh chives

Place the pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic in crockpot with 1/4 cup water. Cover; cook on high for 3-4 hours or until soft.

Place vegetables and oil in food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Return to crockpot with parsley, salt & pepper, cream, butter, and soy sauce.

Cover; cook on high for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives.

Day 2!

And now I'm pretending it's Sunday, Oct. 2nd!!! And the recipe of the day is....

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls!!

Now, this is the recipe I used...I think the rolls came out a little doughy so I will be modifying the recipe once I get a chance. I will update this then.


For the dough:
* 1/4 cup warm water
* 1 package active dry yeast
* 1/3 cup warm milk
* 1 egg beaten
* 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
* 1 Tablespoon melted butter
* 2 cups flour
* 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

For the filling:
* 1 stick softened butter
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon cloves
* 1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped (I left these out)

For the frosting:
4 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
2/3 cup powdered sugar

In a large bowl, stir the water(warm) and yeast together. Let it stand for about 5 minutes or until it is foamy. Add the milk, egg, butter, pumpkin, brown sugar, whole pastry wheat flour, salt, and spices. Mix well for 2 minutes. Add the flour (a little at a time, about 1 1/2 cups to start) until the dough comes together.
Knead until the dough pulls away from the side. The dough will become smooth and elastic.
Put the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and let sit in a warm place. Let the dough double, about an hour.

In the meantime you can make the filling. Mix together the sugars and spices.

When the dough has doubled, turn it out on a flour surface. Cut the dough in half.
Roll the dough out into a rectangle, approximately 12×16 inches. Spread the butter all over.


Sprinkle with the sugar mixture and hazelnuts. Roll into a 20 inch log. Slice the roll into 15 slices. Place the slices in a greased 9×13 pan or two 9 inch cake pans. Repeat with the other half of dough.
Cover the pans with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.


Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes.


Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla and lemon juice. Beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Frost the rolls with the frosting and serve immediately. Alternatively, you can put the rolls in the fridge after you place them in the pan. You can take them out of the fridge and let rise and bake.

Day 11 of Pumpkin Madness!

Yes, I know I've missed a few days on here...I made the pumpkin things but haven't posted the recipes or pictures :(


But anyways!! This is Tuesday, Oct. 11 on this blog. And the recipe is....


Pumpkin Scones!!


Ingredients for the scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg


Plain glaze:
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk


Spiced glaze:
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (freshly ground)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly ground if you please)
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silimat; set aside.


In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with fit the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, half-and-half and egg.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients,

and form the dough into a ball. (I had to turn the mixer back on for this, it just didn't come together with the folding)

Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a 1-inch thick rectangle about 4 inches by 12 inches.

Use a large knife to slice the dough making three equal portions.

Cut each of the portions in an X pattern (four pieces) so you end up with 12 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until light brown.

Place on wire rack to cool.

While the scones are cooling, make the powdered sugar glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth. When scones are cool, use a pastry brush to spread plain glaze over the top of each scone. Allow to firm.

While the powdered sugar glaze is firming, combine all of the ingredients for the spiced glaze. Drizzle over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (I did this with a fork, it was quite fun...and messy :)

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A Pumpkin A Day Keeps The...

Wow, it's been nearly a year since I last posted!! I've been busy to say the least.

Anyways, I've decided October is going to be the beginning of a pumpkin recipe a day challenge. It's a challenge between me and my kitchen, but if you want to join feel free! I have added some fun to my challenge though...I will not be using canned pumpkin, I will only be using fresh pumpkin that I make into a puree myself.


So to catch you up I'll pretend it's Oct. 1st and go from there!

Day 1 of 31 days of Pumpkin!!
The Recipe is...

Pumpkin Muffins!!!

Makes 30 muffins
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin(or homemade puree)
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Optional: 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, or 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Fill muffin cups with liners or spray with a cooking spray (I did both).

Mix sugar and oil using an electric mixer. Add eggs and blend. Add pumpkin and blend. Add water and blend. Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and add slowly, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. (If you want to add chocolate chips, add them now).



Fill muffin cups equally and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of muffins comes out clean. (I just press the middle to see if it springs back instead of the toothpick test)