'Tis the Season for Cookies: Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

Ok.  So I've been away for a while.  A real long while.  Life just completely got in the way of my little blog.  But one of the favorite things I have ever done on here was always the Christmas cookie challenges that we as groups would take on at Christmas!  A bunch of us decided to get together and do it again this year and I AM SO EXCITED!!!

This week's theme was fruit and/or nuts and I new that biscotti would be the perfect cookie for me to tackle!

This recipe came from one of our group member's book The Everything Cookies & Brownies Cookbook by Marye Audet-White at Restless Chipotle.  Thanks so much Marye for a simple and perfect recipe!

Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup cranberries
1 cup unsalted pistachios

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Mix oil and sugar until blended.  Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.  Stir dry ingredients together, whisk in.  Add cranberries and pistachios.
3. Divide dough in half; for each half into 12" X 2" rectangle on parchment.  Bake 35 minutes.
4. Remove from oven; cool 15 minutes.
5. Reduce oven to 275 F.  Cut rectangles on an angle into 1/2" thick slices.  Lay cookies on parchment; return to oven.
6. Bake about 10 more minute.  Cool completely.

Be sure and check out the Pinterest board for the group for more great cookie recipes from the other participants. We'll be posting recipes each Monday for the next few weeks.

Also check out the other participants of 'Tis the Season for Cookies to see their fabulous cookie recipes as well!:

Diana Cannone at To Di for Bakery.
Judy Chiappini at No Fear Entertaining.
Mandee Racer Pogue at The Kitchen Wife.
Marye Audet-White at Restless Chipotle.
Renee Joslyn at Flamingo Musings.
Sandy Smith at Eat Real.
And Sherri Jo at The Adventures of Kitchen Girl Jo.

Pecan Pie Muffins

And trust me on this.  They taste just like pecan pie.  Maybe not as ooey and gooey as pecan pie but the flavor is still there…And these are good.  Very, very, very good!

I had been looking for a simple recipe to make.  Something with minimal time invested, few ingredients and no mixer required.  I stumbled across these somehow and baked them up that day.  With only 5 ingredients how could I resist right?  Sadly they were gone that night…might have to double the next time!

Pecan Pie Muffins (Tastykitchen.com)
Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• ⅔ cups melted and cooled butter
• 2 whole eggs, beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven 350 F.
Grease your muffin pan (whatever size) really, really well, or use the silicone cups. I grease my muffin cups with Crisco or lard. and it still wasn’t enough.  I had some stickage trouble.  Next time I will grease them with lard but also spray them with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour and pecans. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together until smooth. Stir into the dry ingredients just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
Cups should be about 2/3 full. I was able to fill 8 muffin cups.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks when done.
Option: when you take them out of the oven, place a slice of butter on top and eat warm. You may also use walnuts instead of pecans.

Toasted Pecan Pancakes

Anyone who follows me on Facebook or Twitter know that we travel quite a bit due to Kyra’s BMX races.  Those who don’t follow me now know. 
A couple of weeks ago we left the house Wednesday evening after Tony finished work and drove north towards Morristown, TN.  Not much happening in Morristown, TN other than a BMX race but we still managed to have a great time.  Other than the races the fun for us is the drive there…the drive home sucks.  Trust me on that!
So what does all of this have to do with pancakes? 
On our drive north the GPS took us through our old vacation destination of SC and NC mountains.  Just as the sun was coming up we passed a sign that said Cherokee, NC. 

This is where Tony and I started trout fishing about 20 years ago…

Funny thing is we had been talking about NC and our great vacations there just a week or so ago and were asking the kids if they even remembered being there.  Sadly hardly any memories at all.  One thing they do remember is the crazy Bear Park where you buy food and feed the bears (horrible for the bears but fun for the kids).  This is where we decided to go.  Unfortunately the bears seemed to be sleeping so we looked for a spot to have breakfast.  Luckily we found a place that was open (off season!).  Thanks Peter’s Pancakes and Waffles!!!  This where we had the toasted pecan pancakes.  Absolutely delicious.  I decided to try and recreate them. 
They were a hit…Kyra had 5 before she waved the white flag!!!

Toasted Pecan Pancakes
Ingredients
2 cup all pupose flour
1 Tbs sugar
6 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg
2 cup milk
4 Tbs vegetable or canola oil
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped (toasted in a skillet until fragrant and the oils have begun to be released)
Directions

• Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl (except pecans)
• Whisk all wet ingredients together
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. You may have to add additional milk to make the mixture thinner.
• Lightly oil a pre-heated griddle or pan.
• Pour using a 1/4 cup measuring cup.
• Sprinkle with pecans.
• Cook on first side until you see bubbles on the surface. Flip and cook until the other side is browned.

Badly needed Energy Bars

I guess most of you, or at least anyone who follows me on Facebook and Twitter, know that I have taken up running.  It’s only been a couple of months but I am really loving it.  Now I am only running between 2-4 miles 3 or 4 days a week, but add that to the walking and weights I have been doing and I need some energy help during some workouts. 

You also know that we eat very few processed foods with granola bars and energy bars being the exception.  At least now you can buy them with no artificial sugars or dyes…anyway, I need something that I can grab at 5:00AM when I head out the door for my run and these are just about perfect.

Energy Bars Adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
• 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup dried apples
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup pitted dried dates (I used ones with sugar but would like them without next time)
• 1/2 cup powdered nonfat dry milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Place all ingredients except the syrup and eggs in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the syrup and eggs and pulse until the mixture is well combined. It will resemble a coarse paste.

Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly pressing in with your fingers. Bake until lightly browned and just done, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes and then cut into 24 squares.

These can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for about 3 days or wrap individually and freeze for up to  3 months.

***I really loved these and so did the family.  I think that this is a really versatile recipe and am looking forward to playing with the dried fruits and nuts used in it.  The recipe calls for almonds and apricots so I may try that with some cranberries thrown in…endless possibilities!

***WW points has it as a 3 point recipe but I think with all of the good fats and whole grains in it it is worth the splurge!

Day 10 of the 12 Days of Cookies – Brownie Thins!

This wonderful event, in it’s second year, is the brain child of Andrea of Andrea's Recipes, but this year is being organized and ran by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench.

How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity and after last year I sure earned my way in the hard way! There are 10 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies – A bon appétit cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the first 12 days of December.
These cookies are coming from bon appetit's Holiday Cookie-a-Day Slideshow.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Michelle of Big Black Dogs
RJ of Flamingo Musings
Sandy of At the Baker's Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project

For the 10th cookies I decided to make Brownie Thins.  I needed something that was quick and easy and wanted something chocolate.  These should have fit the bill.  Several of my partners in crime had made these so I did know what I was up against.  Some issues with the part of the plastic wrap being used to spread these out so I skipped that part and just used the back of a spoon to spread them out.  I also had no pistachios so I used cashews…

Brownie Thins

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• Pinch of coarse kosher salt
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Directions:

Position rack in lowest third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Butter 2 baking sheets. Place butter and chocolate in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium-high power until almost completely melted, about 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. Add sugar and egg; whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Add flour, both extracts, and salt; stir just to blend. Let batter stand 10 minutes.

Scoop rounded teaspoonfuls batter onto prepared baking sheets, spacing apart (12 per sheet). Spray sheet of plastic wrap lightly with nonstick spray. Place, sprayed side down, over cookies. Using fingers, press each mound into 2 1/2- to 2 3/4-inch round. Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle pistachios over rounds. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until slightly darker at edges and firm in center, about 7 minutes. Cool on sheet 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack; cool completely.

Would I make these again?  Nope.  These were soooo not forgiving.  I found them to be very bland tasting and not at all what I had hoped.  I even added salt to the tops of the last couple of batches hoping that would make them sing to me.  Too bad too because these were really a fast and easy cookie to make!

Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread

So I am running a little bit behind on the BBA challenge but I still feel pretty good with my progress.  This week I made the Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread.  Funny thing is I almost skipped this one.  But the girls went back to school this week and I found myself with a couple of free minutes and an empty house.  When I saw that it wasn’t a 2 bread I jumped right in.  I am so glad I did…

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An  intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

I really, like this bread.  I followed the recipe to a tee.  Right down to the huge amount of cranberries and walnuts that went into it. It did take a while to get them all incorporated but with some patient kneading they all fit in. Someone on twitter (so sorry that I forget who!!!) suggested that these would be an incredible addition to the Thanksgiving table made into muffins!!!

Will I be making this again?  I think so.  I liked it and the family liked it and I really think that it would make the best turkey sandwich with leftover roasted turkey from Thanksgiving!

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice Celebration Bread!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…English Muffins!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com