Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts

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Turtle Back Cookies


Our friends, the McCulloughs, started a tradition several years ago of bringing our family pizza dinner, from Pizza Perfect (a yummy local Pizza shop) on the night of my first day of class each year.  What a gift to have someone else take care of dinner after day 1 of class.  How thoughtful is that?  I love this tradition for many reasons, including that they stay and eat with us and that Lindsey usually brings homemade cookies!  A couple of years ago, she brought these incredible Turtle Back Cookies.  I love good cookies, and I am tempted to eat more than I should.  However, these were on an entirely other level.  They were like cookies meets spice cake with caramel frosting! Trouble!  I loved them…maybe too much!

I asked Lindsey for the recipe.  She said she was still trying to find the right recipe.  She is attempting to recreate a favorite cookie from a bakery (Traeger's Bakery) in Demopolis, Alabama.  Visiting the bakery was a tradition in her family.  When visiting their grandparents, they would always go get these Turtleback cookies, as would many people in that community.  (She also shared that her grandmother would always get Easter Egg Cake there at Easter time. Fun!)

The bakery has since closed and the Turtle Back Cookie fans are left scrambling to recreate these special treats at home.  Unfortunately the owners haven't shared their secret recipe. If you google "Traeger's Bakery Turtle Back Cookies" you will find many attempts at the recipe. This is Lindsey's favorite recipe thus far.  I told her she can stop the search!  I have never had the originals, so I can't compare them, but I can say that they are one of my favorite cookies/desserts!  The texture of the cookie is lovely. It is chewy, with a good cinnamon/brown sugar/nutty flavor and a nice crunchy edge.  The thick caramel frosting on top makes them more of a dessert than just a cookie.



From Lindsey McCullough

Spice Cookies
2 cup shortening (I used 1 cup butter & 1 cup Crisco- since that’s what Lindsey did)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

5 1/2 cup sifted flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup pecans (plus additional ¼ cup to press on bottom)

Sift together flour, cinnamon, soda and salt; set aside.
Cream together shortening/butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla.  Stir in other dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, soda and salt).  Add pecans.  Chill dough several hours or overnight.
Drop with 1 5/8 inch cookie scoop onto foil or parchment paper, which has a layer of chopped pecans.  Press bottom of cookies onto pecans.  Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes or until fully cooked when touched.  Cool before icing.

Icing:
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 box (4 cups) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 to 5 Tbsp. evaporated milk (or cow’s milk if you don’t have evaporated)
Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil and simmer 2 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.  Alternately add sifted sugar and milk.  Add cinnamon to some of the sugar as it is sifted.  Beat with wire whisk or mixer.  Adjust sugar and milk to spreading consistency. (It might not take all the sugar or all of the milk.) You want it spreadable but thick.  You can put it back on the burner if it starts to solidify   


I have made them twice and one time the dough felt dry and crumbly.  They turned out thick and puffy, which looked good, but they were drier and crumblier.  If this happens to your dough for some reason, add a little milk or water to your batter to soften it up a bit.  


toasted coarsely chopped pecans
pecans are pressed into the bottom of the cookie
as well as stirred into the dough
the carmel frosting that is quite addictive


This is a with and without frosting photo.  If you don't love the richness of the thick caramel frosting,
the cookie itself is an an excellent spice cookie!  
Make someone's day by baking them some of these lovelies.  It makes a nice big batch, so there are plenty to keep and share.  And while you're at it, maybe offer to bring a pizza over too and sit down and enjoy it with them.  And make their entire week brighter!




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Chocolate Shortbread Valentine Cookies


I love Valentine's Day! So fun! So much prettiness and love and sugar!  I have written about my adoration of this holiday in years past and have shared some of my favorite traditions, recipes and treats 
HERE and HERE and HERE 
So, I will refrain from repeating myself and will make this a short post.  

In my home (and my home growing up) Valentine's was a fun holiday not a romantic, "Hallmark", pressure-filled holiday.  It's a day to say "I LOVE YOU" to people you adore- friends, family, co-workers, neighbors.  

Heart garland- fun to make and have love draping from your ceiling! My
friend Connie made this one for me several birthdays ago and I
bring it out each year!


Valentine BINGO played with conversation hearts

Meringue Cookies- heart shaped! 
I usually make heart cut out cookies because they are so pretty and delicious and lovely.  Hearts are my favorite cookie cutter shape and the easiest to frost, in my opinion. 

 I sometimes make sugar cookies or these linzer shortbread cookies.


If you are more in the chocolate mood, these chocolate shortbread cookies are a treat!  

They are soft and like a thin brownie!  

The dough is just a few ingredients that you mix together.

They are easy and fun to ice.


After a bit of refrigeration, the dough is easy to cut out.


Here's the recipe:


from Everyday Food- Martha Stewart
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  With an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy.  Add flour, sugar and cocoa; mix just until combined.  (Chill dough in refrigerator for 10 minutes or more…if you chill it for longer, set out to soften a bit before rolling as it becomes hard in the refrigerator with all of that butter!)

Pat dough onto a flat surface and roll out (using a dusting of powdered sugar or flour to keep from sticking). Cut with cookie cutter into hearts (or desired shape). Place on cookie sheet (I line mine with parchment for easy clean up and no sticking). Bake 10-12 minutes until firm but not crispy.  
Cool completely and then frost as you wish. (See below for ideas)



1. Ice with a simple glaze-
I scooped 1/2 cup powdered sugar, a heaping Tbsp cocoa powder, a few drops of vanilla extract in a small bowl, stirred and added drops of water until it was smooth and thin, but not too thin. Spread on cookies with a spoon.  Add sprinkles while they are still wet.
Or
2.  Melt melting chocolate wafers (I use the Ghirardelli brand) and dip the cookies (half or entire cookie) adding sprinkles while still wet.  
Or
3.  I had some buttercream frosting left over from making a Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake and decided to make sandwich cookies (inspired by the double-doozie cookies at the cookie store)

I think the key is frosting them in a way that makes them easy to stack and package for giving away! The sprinkles provide a nice barrier to cookies which keep them from sticking to each other. 









Bake some lovely goodies, write a kind note, make something pretty, bring warmth to this wintry month, share your adoration with someone! 




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The Sure Thing Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think Chocolate Chip Cookies are always a good idea. I'm a fan.
They are a crowd pleaser- no matter the eater's age, no matter what the occasion, no matter what the menu.  They are classic and delicious.

The chocolate chip cookie recipe I typically use is the one printed on the Nestle’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip bag.  How can you go wrong with that?

(And my other go-to variety, when I want a little twist, is my sister’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie.)

My only struggle with chocolate chip cookies (other than limiting the number of them that I consume) is that it’s hard to use real butter and have consistent results:  in cookies with good body that don’t go flat. And yet I want to use real butter (instead of  Crisco or margarine). 

Recently, my friend Melissa B. shared a chocolate chip cookie with me that she believes is “the one”.  She (like me) loves salty/sweet and so she sprinkles some coarse salt on the scooped dough before baking.  Y-U-M. The texture and body were ideal, and they were just delicious.    She had the recipe written on a card with no source noted.  (She doesn’t remember where she got the recipe so we don't know who to assign credit for it.) I jotted down the recipe and promptly made them the next day.  And about 6 times since! The recipe calls for 1 tsp. baking soda dissolved into 2 tsp. hot water.  We think that must be the trick, along with refrigerating the dough.

I have been trying to name this cookie for the past few weeks (while I make them over and over, and eat them and share them) and I’m so tempted to call them the perfect chocolate chip cookie. But I can't.
If you are on Pinterest and type in “the perfect chocolate chip cookie”, gobs of photos and accompanying recipes pop up.  The truth that I have realized is, what one person calls the perfect chocolate chip cookie is very different from what another person calls perfect.  I have long been searching for the “perfect chocolate chip cookie”.  I have made many recipes that claim to be the best, and what I have discovered is that what constitutes a person’s ideal cookie is very personal.
Perfect cookies can be salty, or chewy or cakey, or crunchy.  Some like them really chocolately, some less chocolately,  some dark,  & some milk chocolate.  Some like cookies dense and some like them airy.  So, to claim these cookies as “the perfect chocolate chip cookies” is really a misnomer!
I think they might need to be called the Consistent Chocolate Chip Cookies or The Sure Thing Cookies or the Steady Chocolate Chip Cookies, or maybe THE Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I've been affectionately calling them the Lovely Chocolate Chip Cookies. They have consistently worked and that is what I want in a cookie recipe!   

The Sure Thing Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. hot water
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour (I use ½ all-purpose and ½ whole wheat pastry flour)
½ tsp. coarse salt
2 cup chocolate chips
coarse salt to sprinkle on top
 
Preheat oven to 350˚
Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs (one at a time).
Stir in vanilla.
Dissolve baking soda with 2 tsp. hot water, then add to batter.
Add flour and salt and chocolate chips.
Mix until fully incorporated.
Refrigerate dough until good and firm (at least an hour).
Roll or scoop into balls.  Space a little apart on cookie sheet.
Sprinkle tops with a little coarse salt.
Bake 10 minutes- or a little longer depending on size – til golden around edges.



Maybe you should try to make them and let me know what you would name them! In the meantime, I'll just keep making them and eating them. 



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Sick Days: Soup, Vicks, Emergen-C and TLC

We have had a week of sickness around the Hunt house. Strangely, it has spanned the gamut from a migraine headache mom; to a stomach-nastiness-turned dry-coughing-at-night and runny-nose-in-the day girl; to a coughing-hacking-sniffling boy... and in my mind is swirling, "the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever..." NyQuil's classic ad.

So, the comfort measures in our home have been:
drinking lots of liquids – water, water, water (the healing flush)
and hot tea with honey,
and icy orange juice.
Eating popsicles, and taking Emergen-C (I swear by it, to help preempt the sickness when you first start to detect it, and to lessen the symptoms and quicken the course for after the sickness has already set in). It's like Airborne.  It's a packet of tangerine fizzy yumminess that is packed with vitamins and protective factors.

And Soup. I made Tortellini soup, which I had made just the other day for Valentine's dinner when Lane came to hang out.  Though that day, it was actually Tortellini Ravioli Soup.  Dave had done the grocery shopping and there was a slight mix up in that he got cheese ravioli from the freezer section instead of cheese tortellini.  Thankfully it was mini ravioli and so it could legitimately be eaten as soup because it fit in the spoon.  So, we had ravioli in our "tortellini" soup.  I told Dave it was apropos for our Valentine meal, as "love bears all things" came to mind from I Corinthians 13.
Tortellini Ravioli Soup

I made it this week again, and this time with the tortellini and it was super yummy and I would have to say, less awkward to eat.

You really can't go wrong with this recipe.  You can add to and take away from and make it the way you like it.  You can use meat-filled tortellini, you can add beans to the soup, or use cheese-filled and then add hunks of Italian sausage or turkey/chicken sausage if you'd like.  You can add other veggies chopped and sauteed; or add more diced tomatoes or less spinach.  Tweak it and make it your own.

Asher described it as tasting like "pasta soup".
He's right.
Tortellini Soup and Salad


Tortellini Soup
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup onion, chopped (depending on your preference)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juices
4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 bag of tortellini, any variety (fresh or frozen)
3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed and cut into slices
Salt and Pepper to taste
Crushed Red Pepper flakes (optional)
Grated parmesan, for serving

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions to the pan and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, just until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Mix in the oregano, basil and diced tomatoes.  Add the broth to the pot.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the tortellini to the pot and cook according to the package directions.  One minute before the tortellini is fully cooked, stir in the spinach.  Remove from the heat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste (and a few crushed red pepper flakes if you want a kick).  Serve warm with grated parmesan as desired.

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I also made a new twist on Snickerdoodles, as per this BLOG that I love, In Praise of Leftovers.  They are Brown Butter Snickerdoodles and are rich and lovely.  Dave, my resident Snickerdoodle-freak, however, still stands by my recipe as his favorite.

And then my mom, knowing that I had children coughing up lungs around here, texted me the amazing trick she just heard of.  You put a liberal coat of Vicks Vapor Rub on the bottoms of the child's feet and cover with socks, before bedtime and it keeps their coughing at bay during the night.  She emailed me this LINK to the article.  Fascinating, huh? Therefore, we have been slathering Mentholatum and/or Vicks on my kids feet this week and it has been really effective.  And, of course,  the humidifier is being rotated room to room each night depending on who's in the greatest need.

So, that's what's happening in our house.

I hope you and your household are doing well.  We are hanging in there, making the most of the time for snuggles, and comfort food, and lots of Tender Loving Care. 

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A Legacy of Heritage Gifts, Ham Balls and So Much More




Ruth Williams was my paternal grandmother. She was a classy lady.  She did things with style.  My mom credits her (her mother-in-law) for teaching her to celebrate the holidays with intentionality and creativity. My grandmother had some great traditions. One of them was what she called "heritage gifts".  As they were down-sizing in their later years, my grandparents started handing things down to us.  The lovely approach they took was to select things of theirs that they no longer wanted, needed,  or they no longer had room for, in their smaller condo. They would then decide who was the best recipient of these items and then she would type (on her typewriter) a fun note to go along with the gift, explaining the origin of the gift, the story behind it, and why it was being given to that particular person. I loved that it was a creative, intentional way to clean out the attic, and endow people with their "treasures". (Granted, some were more treasured than others).



















Another gift she passed along was Ham Balls. Never in my life have I ever been served a ham ball outside of my grandmother's or my mother's home. Yet they are a favorite special savory treat.  When my parents got married, my dad brought a few recipes into the marriage hoping my mom would adopt into their new home and this was one of them.  They are meatballs, but made of a pork/ham combination baked in a sweet and tart glaze.  My grandmother made them many times when we would travel to see them.  We would arrive at dinner time and en route we would "guess" whether or not we would have ham balls for dinner. And most all of the time we did!


Ham Balls
1 1/4 lb. ground ham
1 1/4 lb. ground pork
2 cups plain bread crumbs
2 eggs, well-beaten
1/2 cup milk, or more if needed

Glaze:
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water

Mix meat together with spoon. Add bread crumbs eggs and milk. Mix thoroughly. Roll into balls. In a bowl mix together sauce ingredients until sugar is dissolved.  Place ham balls in shallow pan, pour sauce over. Bake at 325˚ for 30 minutes, or until fully baked and have a nice firm edge.

Raw ham balls may be frozen and used a few at a time.
Yields about 50 balls.


*I only had 1 cup of plain bread crumbs when I made the recipe, so I made the second cup by toasting some whole wheat bread and crumbing it in the food processor.


I made them this week, so that I could make sure I had the recipe clear before posting them, and to get some photos. My family was so excited.  I told Dave I felt like I was channeling my grandmother, and should be wearing pumps, a silk dress and my apron as I made this dinner instead of the yoga pants and hoodie I had on. It was a very "Ruth" meal. If only I had made a congealed salad to go with it (served on a lettuce leaf on a salad plate)!

My family LOVES ham balls. They have really great flavor and it's fun to have something different! It makes 50 or more, so you can freeze some of them to bake at a later time.
Woohoo! The Publix butcher took care of me.

My mom had warned me that the trick of this recipe is that you have to have a butcher at the grocery grind the ham, as ground ham is not usually readily available. Some butchers won't do this because of the risk of contamination with their grinders.  I went to Publix, as my first stop, and they were super helpful and had the meat ground, packaged, and ready for me in just a few minutes. He said they have a separate grinder for speciality meats and since ham is fully cooked and bought in the store, it is not a contamination risk. The ground pork is already ground and prepackaged in our grocery.

I think Ham Balls are best served with mashed potatoes. My grandmother's baked mashed potatoes with cream cheese are my favorite mashed potatoes. (Of course, how could they not be: potatoes with butter and cream cheese).


Baked Mashed Potatoes (or Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes)
10 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled
1 stick butter
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. grated onion (or I used 1 tsp. dried, minced onion)
1 cup milk, heated
8 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature)

Whip potatoes in butter.  Add remaining ingredients and best until fluffy. (Add more milk if needed). Place in buttered casserole.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir once while baking. (May be prepared a day in advance and baked before serving.)
This photo does not do these potatoes justice.
 Trust me on this , they are incredible.
















Another gift my grandmother passed along was the idea of tins of goodies filled with baked goods- candies and cookies for the holidays: divinity, peanut brittle, popcorn crunch, fudge. My mom joined this tradition and added chocolate dipped coconut squares, buckeyes, pralines, and one of my very favorites: sand tarts.  My mom got this recipe from the Helen Corbitt cookbook of Neiman Marcus. Some people call them Mexican Wedding Cookies, some Pecan Sandies. They are basically butter, pecans, and powdered sugar -  shortbread-like. They keep really well for more days than many cookies, which is a bonus during the holidays.  They are simple to make and yummy! If you like butter, pecans and powdered sugar, that is.

Sand Tarts
2 sticks butter (softened)
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla
Cream butter, add sugar, stir well and add flour, nuts, and vanilla.  Shape into balls or crescents and bake on ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper at 325˚ for 20 minutes or until a light brown.  Roll in powdered sugar while warm.

(They keep in a closed container for a couple of weeks.)

This week approaching Christmas, I savor my heritage, all of my dear grandparents, the things I learned from them, including: great recipes, thoughtful traditions and loving me so generously.

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Gingerbread Cookies and Gratitude



Thanksgiving is only a few days away!  
I love a holiday where we enjoy special food & express Gratitude. 

A favorite November treat of mine is Gingerbread cookies.  My mom often makes these in the shape of little pilgrims for Thanksgiving weekend. The cookie cutters she has are the plastic ones with the detailed indentions. They make really cute pilgrims. Since I don't have those cute pilgrim cutters, I like to make fall leaves.

I think these fall leaf cookies are so pretty and simple. When I was planning to make them this week,  my kids chimed in and begged to make “ginger people”.  I think they thought it wrong to make gingerbread cookies and not make people. So, we did both. I made leaves and acorns and they made people.  My children always add a new twist to experiences.  They pulled out all of the containers of sprinkles and colored sugars.   I tried to explain that these cut-out cookies aren't like sugar cookies, and the icing is just for piping, not for spreading.  I tried to explain that there would not be much for the sprinkles to adhere to.  But where there is a will (or a love for sprinkles), there is clearly a way.


I don’t know if you have ever made or used Royal Icing.  It is not like a yummy buttercream frosting.  It is smooth, thin and white.  It drys hard.  It’s pretty, useful and sweet,  but not delicious.  (Though Dave thinks the frosting adds to the yumminess of the cookies. He insists that they enhance not only the look, but the taste).

These are a nice cookie to have around during the holiday, for the kids to enjoy or the adults to nibble on, when not wanting to get out plates and forks for another slice of pie.  They also travel well, if you happen to be traveling.  

They can also provide an activity for young people to do, when they are bored, or want to help, but there are already too many cooks in the kitchen.  You can make the dough ahead, keep it cold, and then at set it up in another room (away from the kitchen choas) to create some cookie art. I did this a couple of different years with Dave's family during the holidays.  It felt like a better place for me to be than being in the way in the kitchen.  Kids from 2 to 32 seemed to enjoy the project.


Gingerbread Cookies 
(via my mom via Mabel Smith – many moons ago)

3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. ginger
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

Mix together dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in egg.  Stir in molasses.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Chill overnight.  Roll dough 1/8" thick – Cut out with cookie cutters.  Place on parchment lined baking sheets, with a little space between cookies.  Bake at 375 ˚ for 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from pan.  Cool.

Pipe designs with Royal Icing.


Royal Icing

3 tablespoons Meringue Powder (Wilton Brand is sold at Craft stores in bakery supply section)
4 cups (about 1 lb.) powdered sugar
6 tablespoons warm water   (or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water)
Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).
NOTE: Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.






I wonder what is happening in YOUR kitchen this week.  Are you baking to take food somewhere?  Are people coming to your home? Are you in charge of the turkey, a side, a dessert?  My mom has begun to keep the Thanksgiving Meal document archived on her computer so that we can simply pull it up, tweak it, and sign up for who does what! YUM! 

If you are still looking for recipes for Thanksgiving meals, here a few I recommend. 
These are all previously posted, time-tested, yummy recipes!

SALADS:
Cranberry Salad, to CELEBRATE that cranberries are available now.


Special Pear Salad (if you have a smaller crowd)
 














SIDES:










































BREADS:
Sweet Potato Biscuits
































DESSERTS:
Apple Cake




























and you can't go wrong with some

Hot Mulled Cider
















I hope you get to enjoy a good food with loved ones and maybe try a new recipe.

I wanted to share this powerful quote with you from Henri Nouwen (a favorite truth-teller in my life) about Gratitude that I am letting soak into my heart and mind this week:

To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives-the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections-that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment.
 As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. 
Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God. 
From the Daily Meditation by Henri Nouwen (Bread for the Journey)



Wishing you a grateful holiday.  I am thankful for YOU, friends!

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