Cookies for the Holidays

This is part of a continuing series of posts chronicling favorite internet recipes we've encountered over the years. Some recipes are in their original form, while most have been adapted to fit our personal tastes and cooking styles.

It's entirely possible I went overboard baking this year for Christmas. I decided that I wanted to bake some, as I often do. I picked up a couple holiday baking magazines to check out new ideas, bookmarking several recipes as I went. I also found a couple interesting recipes online this year and added them to my bookmarks tab. So, since I added sticky notes and bookmarks, I effectively added several recipes to my "I need to try this" list.

The short list:

• 9 types of cookies
• 1 candy
• 2 types of quick breads (mini-loaves)
• 8 previously untested recipes

I went through:

• 4 pounds of butter
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup oil
• 19 eggs
• 14 cups of sugar
• 18 3/4 cups of flour
• 6 bags of chocolate chips (white, semi-sweet, & dark chocolate/mint)
• 14 teaspoons vanilla (2 1/3 ounces)
• 2 cups coconut
• 3 1/2 cups of nuts
• 7 1/2 cups of oats
• 1 1/2 cups of raisins

You'll note that I did not even attempt to make any of these "healthy" cookies. I used shortening AND oil, for the love of arteries. And 4 pounds of REAL butter (although I can't see that margarine is much better for you in the long run with all the extra saturated fat you get in order to cut down on general fat content. I'll stick with the real thing, thanks). Oy.

I put together containers for my knit group of 9 people, a container to mail off to a friend in Chicago, and will be putting one together to take to knit night at my LYS on Wednesday and I will STILL have a ton of cookies left.

I tend to go big or go home. I don't know how to do things small scale. Lucky thing my friend Shannon drew my name in our knit group gift exchange and got me a book teaching me how to bake small batches. There are recipes in there that make all of 2 cookies. I need to know things like that since I don't need 8 billion cookies sitting around tempting me to eat them.


The cookies - starting just before 12 o'clock & moving clockwise (first time recipes for me in green):

• Chocolate Chip (classic Nestle Tollhouse recipe)
• Cowboy Cookies (recipe) - I did not toast the pecans & I used regular semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of chunks. Yummy.
• Jess's Lipstick Granola Cruncher Cookies (also known as World's Best Cookies) - these definitely benefit from the oil, even though it seems like a lot. These cookies are divine. A little crunch, dry and crumbly but moist at the same time. Fabulous.
• Vanilla Salted Peanut Cookies (see recipe below)
• Cinnamon Spiced Hot Chocolate Cookies (recipe) - These were really good, especially if you know someone who loves spicy foods. They got crispy and had a bit of a kick thanks to the cayenne pepper.
• Spicy Molasses Cookies (see recipe below)
• Mint Chocolate Delights (recipe)
• Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies (recipe) - I had made these a couple years ago & they were drier than I wanted. So this time I added a box of chocolate instant pudding mix and an extra egg. I would definitely do that again, but mix the cake mix & pudding mix together first. I tried to mix in the pudding mix first and it gummed up the dough and my mixer. Ooops.
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (center) (recipe) - My standard recipe for these.

I also made two quick breads: an Eggnog bread & a Coconut Banana Bread. Plus a batch of peppermint bark to give to Mindy as part of her knit group gift. All three things I hadn't tried before, all three turned out good.

There is not one recipe I tried this year that I wouldn't make again. They all worked fabulously.

Vanilla Salted Peanut Cookies:

Recipe from Ultimate Cookies magazine

These turned out well, but I made the mistake of using low-sodium dry roasted peanuts, so there's not enough salty to the sweet. In the future, I will make sure to use full sodium peanuts and maybe cut down a little on the sugar. I also inadvertently chose three recipes with coconut in them, so in this one I decided to omit the coconut.

3/4 cup shortening

2 cups packed brown sugar (I always use dark unless the recipe specifies otherwise)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (I used sea salt in all my baking this year and it turned out just fine)

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups oats

1 cup dry-roasted peanuts

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup coconut (as I discovered, optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375F. In large bowl, beat shortening on high for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, baking soda, and salt, beating until combined. Beat in eggs & vanilla until mixed, then beat in flour. Stir in oats, raisins, and coconut.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoon (I used a small cookie scoop - best purchase EVER) about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 7-9 minutes until edges are light brown. Let stand for 2 minutes, remove to wire rack to cool.

Spicy Molasses Cookies

from Ultimate Cookies magazine.

Note: all spices are ground unless specified otherwise.

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup shortening

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup dark molasses (I used black strap molasses)

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup coarse, raw, or pearl sugar (I used raw sugar).

1. Mix together the flours, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt, & pepper.
2. In separate bowl, beat butter and shortening together on medium/high for 30 seconds. Add sugars, beating until combined. Beat in egg yolk, molasses, & vanilla until mixed together. Beat in flour mixture slowly. Cover & chill dough for at least an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375F. Shape dough into 1 inch balls (I used the cookie scoop here, too), then roll in coarse sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Let stand 1 minute, the remove to wire racks to cool.

Brown Rice with Edamame and Almonds

This very simple, yet very healthy dish comes from Wendy.  Wendy cooks, quilts, nurses, and creates in the beautiful mountains of Northern Arizona.

~Annie

My quilt quild has a huge potluck holiday party every year. This year I was signed up to bring a salad. I hadn’t been to the grocery store in almost 2 weeks (I’ve been busy!) and so my challenge was to make something out of what I had on hand.  I didn't have a lot to work with, but I did have some frozen edamame.  I found an edamame salad recipe that I thought I’d try, but when I made the dressing I just didn’t like the smell or the taste.   It was time to create something myself.

I love the combo of ginger, soy, garlic, and honey, so decided to wing it and here’s what came out... it was a hit with just a tiny bit left after the food line died down.  I had the leftovers for lunch today and it was even better.

Brown Rice and Edamame with Almonds

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup brown rice

2 1/2  cups shelled, steamed edamame beans

1 cup roasted almonds

2 generous Tbs honey
2 tbsp fresh shredded/minced ginger
1 clove crushed garlic

1/3 cup soy sauce

Bring 2 ½ c water to a boil; add 1 cup brown rice.  Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

Steam edamame according to package directions, or about 5-7 minutes. Cool and remove the pods. You’ll need about 2-3 cups of the edamame “beans”

While the rice and edamame are cooking, prepare the dressing.

Whisk together honey, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce in a small bowl or glass measuring cup.  In a serving dish, combine the rice, edamame, and almonds and toss with the dressing.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hrs or overnight.

So easy, so good, so healthy..... I’ll make it again!

Homemade Vegetable Stock

STOP right there!

You were going to throw out all of those leftover vegetable trimmings from Thanksgiving, weren't you?

You're done cooking, the meal is over, and you've got piles of trimmings from all those dishes you cooked, right?  Onions, carrot peels, potatoes, garlic.  Maybe you've got a few things that didn't make the cut and have started to get a little wilty and not-so-appealing looking?

Rich, golden vegetable stock is a staple in the refrigerator: this home made version is 

both tastier and more healthful than store bought varieties.

Don't throw them in the compost heap or garbage.  There is a perfect, beautiful, and rewarding use for them.  And it is easy as the pie you are ever so sick of eating!

Home made vegetable stock is like gold in the refrigerator.  So many of the basic recipes and foods we make call for large amounts of water, especially soups, stews, rice and grains, etc.  Vegetable (or chicken or fish or beef...) stock is a flavorful way to really enliven everyday food preparation.

Home made stock is also richer and tastier, but with less sodium.  So it's a good deal all around: you keep food scraps out of the landfill, you get a delicious, easy to make, wholesome stock, and you have no additional out of pocket cost.

Dried herbs, like these dried thyme leaves, enhance the flavor of a slow simmered stock

You may also be able to score some past-their prime vegetables from your farmer's market.  Many vendors will sharply discount the remaining produce at the end of the day, if not give it to you for nothing.  They likely do not want to take it back to the farm or packing house with them, since it may spoil or be otherwise damaged before they are ready to sell again.

These rich, buttery 'pacific gold' potatoes were the only item I didn't have left-over from other meals.  

Their smooth, buttery, earthy flavor makes them a worthwhile addition, even if you have to buy them fresh.

Here's a delicious basic recipe that will yield about 11-12 cups of stock.  Store the stock in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or freeze in small portions for use later.  Frozen, it will keep for about three months.


Vegetable Stock

12 cups water
2 large carrots, peels intact, coarsely chopped
one large onion, with skin, coarsely chopped
5-6 green onions
2 medium potatoes, with skins, quartered
4 large cloves garlic, peels removed
1 large zucchini (courgette), coarsely chopped
4 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, about 2 in. each
2 sprigs basil with leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme leaves
1 Tbs. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
pinch of cayenne

cheesecloth, for straining

other possible additions:
You can substitute or add any of the following as well.

trimmings from dark greens such as kale, chard, purslane, etc.
leaves and stem from cauliflower
celery & celery leaves
leeks
turnips
parsnips
squash
mushroom stems

First, begin by washing your vegetables.  It may be tempting to think that since you're cooking them, you needn't bother.  But your finished product is the hearty, golden liquid left from a long, slow simmer.  You want clean vegetables for this.  Be sure to remove any dirt as well as bad spots.  Vegetables slightly past their prime are perfect for this recipe, but rotting and decaying are not.

Combine vegetables, herbs, salt, and spices in a large stock pot filled with 12 cups of water.  Bring the liquid to a rolling boil and stir.  Reduce heat and simmer for three hours.

After three hours, remove the stock from the heat.  Prepare a very large bowl and a metal mesh sieve.  Using a measuring cup or ladle, pour the stock through the sieve into the bowl, separating the solids as you go.

Once you've removed the solids, line the strainer or sieve with clean cheesecloth, overlapping the edge by at least an inch.  Repeat the straining process using the cheesecloth to remove the fine sludge left at the bottom.

Transfer the stock to containers (I use 3 cup mason jars), cover loosely with a clean cloth, and let cool partially.  When the stock is cooled cover with an airtight lid and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

To freeze in glass, be sure to leave about two inches of airspace at the top of the jar to allow for the expanding liquid as it freezes.

Use your stock in place of water for soup bases, stews, rice, beans, and anything for which you'd otherwise use water, stock, or broth.