Showing posts with label alphabetization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alphabetization. Show all posts

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Recipe Box 2010

Mike Perry Original

Limited Edition Mike Perry Sugar Cookie. Should we sell this on Ebay?


Season's Eatings!

I'm pleased to be able to share our 2010 Cookie Party Menu with some recipe links.  The party took place last Sunday evening and seemed pretty successful to me, especially considering my baking time was cut short this year by the several days taken up with traveling to attend my grandfather's funeral. 

In a strange twist of coincidence, my grandfather's childhood nickname was "Cookie," so I dedicated this year's party to his memory and asked a few guests to bring a couple dozen cookies to round out my weakened ranks.  Still, I managed to make over 1,000 cookies in under three weeks, and there were plenty to go around.

This year, for our 14th Annual Cookie Party, I stuck mostly to tried-and-true recipes that I have made a number of times.  I baked just two new kinds of cookies, as you'll see below.  Please feel free to compare and contrast this list with what I made in 2008 and 2009.

Next year, I may just have an 8-month-old "Cookie" of my own in tow, and I'm really interested to see what that could do to my cookie party timing and productivity.  I've got some time to plot and plan how to incorporate my child (and my friends' children) into the event, and plenty of fudge in the freezer to eat while I think it over.

Now, on to this year's lineup:

Cookies and Other Homemade Items 

Artichoke and Spinach Dip with crackers (not pictured) -- Like last year, we made this a day ahead and heated it up about 30 minutes before the party.

Mix together two 8 oz. cream cheese packages, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 small bottles of chopped artichoke hearts (drained), and one 16-oz bag of frozen spinach.  Heat until warm, then mix in garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and grated parmesan cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Just before baking, top with a mixture of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese (and spices, if you like).  Bake until heated through (my oven is usually set at about 350, for other reasons, and that temp. works just fine for this dip).  Then serve with bread or crackers and thank my friend Angela for the simple recipe!


Boy Scout Bars  Boy Scout Bar
Boy Scout Bars (contain peanut butter chips and coconut) -- Rich and decadent, these are an old standby by now.  They keep well in the refrigerator or freezer if made ahead.

(recipe here)

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies -- My Aunt Debbie gave my mom this recipe years ago, and my mother always made them for her Open House (on which my Cookie Party is based).  I haven't made them in a number of years, but they are delicious and have a soft texture. They're like little, round brownies.

Citrus Sizzlers
Citrus Sizzlers -- from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. I started making these cookies two or three years ago.  The way the cayenne flavor pops up as one chews is tops!

Cornflake Cookie
Cornflake Pecan Honeys -- Once again, I used the recipe Tia found for me several years ago, but substituted honey for half the sugar.  They look kind of dull, but pack a great, nutty crunch.

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. honey
1 c. butter
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cup flour
1tsp. vanilla
2 c. cornflakes (do not crush!)
optional-1/2 c. chopped pecans

Cream butter, honey, and sugar until fluffy, add cream of tartar, baking soda, and vanilla. Add flour, mix well. Add cornflakes, folding in by hand, be careful to not crush them too much. Roll into walnut sized balls, press with fork. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.


Crispix Mix (not pictured) -- Dan makes this as his contribution to the cookie party every year (in addition to plenty of dish-washing and bathroom cleaning).  It's always good.

Deluxe Sugar Cookies

Deluxe Sugar Cookies to decorate -- My mom found this recipe in an old Betty Crocker cookbook, but I think it's pretty similar to this one.  Not many people decorated cookies this year, but they're also delicious plain.

Double Decker Peanut Butter Marbled Meltaway Fudge
Double Decker Peanut Butter Marbled Meltaway Fudge -- It looks a bit messy this year, but that happens sometimes.  It's always delicious.

English Toffee
English Toffee (contains almonds) -- Last year I tried making the toffee with peanuts, but I'm glad I went back to almonds.  This combination is superior.


Gingerbread Sandwiches  Gingerbread Sandwiches Close
Gingerbread Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies - New! -- One of the two new recipes for 2010, Dan found this one and sent me an email suggesting I try it.  He also pitched in and helped me make and assemble them when I was feeling overwhelmed by cookie-baking responsibility one evening.  Way to go, Dan!  These turned out beautifully.

(recipe here)

Hot Buttered Rum (not pictured) -- recipe from Allrecipes. Feel free to play around with spices and the amount of sugar you'd like to include. This lasts for years in the freezer.  Just stir it every 6 months or so.

(recipe here)

Hot Cranberry Tea
Hot Cranberry Tea
(optional: spiked) -- I make this "tea," or hot punch every year and invite people to drink it as-is (which is how I prefer it) or to spike it with whiskey, rum, vodka, or...whatever they like!

Basically, I simmer a package of cranberries with enough water to cover them until the berries get soft and pop.  Then I strain out the berry pulp (set it aside for another purpose) and add a container of frozen orange juice to the berry juice and water.  I then add enough water to fill my pasta pot (I can check the exact capacity for you, if you like), and season it with whatever I feel like until it tastes awesome.  This year, I used honey, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.

(adapted from a recipe in 365 Foods Kids Love to Eat)

Magnolia Peanut Butterscotch
Magnolia Peanut Butterscotch Cookies -- I took the Magnolia Bakery peanut butter cookie recipe and added butterscotch chips (at my sister's suggestion). They're perfect.  If you make them ahead of time, throw a slice of bread into the container to keep them soft.

(recipe here, but add butterscotch chips)

Midnight Booze Balls
Midnight Booze Balls -- These are made with an entire package of Oreos, and ready in a blink of the food processor.  Last year I used rum as my liquor (and they were Midnight Rum Balls), but this year I ran out of rum and used Kahlua and Bailey's instead.

(recipe here)

Mrs. Fields Dough
Mrs. Fields Cookies (contain walnuts and pecans) -- You may notice the photo above this entry is of a large wad of dough.  This is because I baked these cookies "live" at the Cookie Party and they were all eaten before I could get a photo.  However, I have the aforementioned wad of leftover dough in my fridge and I'll be making more soon.  Just out of the oven, these are excellent.

(recipe from Mom)

Nutella Mexican Wedding Cookies
Nutella Mexican Wedding Cookies (contain pecans) -- Okay, so these didn't freeze well.  Or maybe they didn't defrost well.  I hadn't made them in several years, so I don't remember what I did differently last time.  They don't look too attractive in the photo because the powdered sugar coating became gummy as they thawed, but they still tasted just right.  By the way, it's worth your time to toast the pecans.

(recipe here)

Salty Oatmeal
Salty Oatmeal Cookies -- Here's another recipe from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.  These are a favorite of mine.  They are the perfect combination of salty/crunchy and sweet/chewy.

Love. Them.

Savory Turkey Meatballs


Savory Turkey Meatballs -- Leftover meatballs are a rare item.  They also don't photograph as handsomely as they taste.  But it wouldn't be a cookie party without them.  I used cayenne instead of chili powder again and it was the spiciest year yet.

(recipe from Mom)

Shortbread Jammies 

Shortbread Jammies -- This recipe is also from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.  Shortbread is so easy. Use a good jam or preserve on these.  You won't be sorry.

Cheese Puffs
Spicy Cheese Puffs
-- These were not as spicy as they've been in past years, but they were still good (and best right out of the oven).

(recipe source unknown)

Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles -- I make these first every year.  They're a zip to make. They freeze like a dream.  They taste exquisite.  My dad loves 'em, too.

(recipe from Mom)

Spritz Cookie
Spritz cookies -- I believe I raved about these a few posts back.  Dan calls them "butter trees" and my dear friend Matthew loves them, too.  I make them every year and have no plan to stop.

(recipe from Mom)

Toffee Apple Oatmeal Cookies 
Toffee Apple Oatmeal - New! -- I found this recipe in Cooking Light, but actually worked with this blogger's version (but used toffee bits, and made drop cookies by adding some extra flour and oatmeal).  They made a very nice cookie, but did not freeze well.  I wouldn't make them ahead of time again.  I think it was because they contained cooked apple that they got a little soggy after being frozen for a few days.

Triple Ginger Spice
Triple Ginger Spice Cookies --No vegans came to our party this year, so I didn't adapt this recipe to make the cookies vegan, as I've done in the past.  I have to say, though -- they're better this way than with the vegan substitutions.  You want me to be honest, right?

Sorry, vegans.

(recipe here)


Special Guest Cookies (not made by me)
Cavnar Cookies
Cavnar Cookies -- My friend Matt made these thumbprint cookies with melted chocolate.

Pistachio Thumbprint by Christa
Christa's Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies -- These were a favorite, for sure.  The raspberry jam used in their centers was made by Christa's mother-in-law.

Ginger Cookies by Jenni A.
Jenni's Ginger Cookies -- Jenni made these and a Mexican-spiced version of World Peace Cookies.  Both were excellent.  The chocolate World Peace Cookies didn't even make it to the end of the party to get photographed.

Peppermint Bark by Melanie
Melanie's Peppermint Bark -- My friend Melanie brought two versions of homemade peppermint bark.  She told me it might be better for me not to eat the coffee ones, but I'm not one of those pregnant ladies who avoids all caffeine, so I may not take her advice.

Brownie Cookies by Michelle
Michelle's Brownie Cookies -- The plate in this photo is small, but the cookies were big.  Soft and sweet!

Caramel Shortbread by Rachel T.
Rachel T's Caramel Shortbread -- We had to cut these in quarters, due to their impressive size and enormous flavor.  Otherwise my guests would have been rolling, groaning on the floor.  I loved them.

Thanks, friends!  You really helped make this year's party work!




P.S. Miscellaneous Menu Items (not homemade and not pictured)
Beverages: Fair Trade Hot Cocoa and Spicy Cocoa mixes, Milk, Water, Assorted Teas, Wine
Dried Wasabi Peas
Grapes
Hummus with Baby Carrots
Veggie Booty

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Thursday, December 25, 2008

Recipe Box

Dry Sink

I believe I offered to share links and sources for Cookie Party recipes. Here you go!

Artichoke dip - recipe from Angela. I added extra red pepper flakes this year. Guests seemed to appreciate the heat.

Boy Scout Bars - I found this recipe online (not on the Food Network site) years ago. I change what kind of chips I use in it each year. A couple of people mentioned to me that these are their favorites.

Butternut Chocolate Chip Cookies - from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion (I used their Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie for this recipe). I made these at the party so they'd be warm from the oven. They spread out quite a bit - more than I personally like - but were popular.

Cheese Puffs - source unknown (hand-copied into a spiral notebook). These are winners. I adore them. I used black sesame seeds.


Butter Cookies

Chocolate Butter Cookies with Mint Glaze - recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated Magazine. I put mint extract in the glaze instead of in the cookie. I like the espresso powder in these. It is such a nice flavor.


On the fourth day of Christmas,

Chocolate Wakeups - from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. Cayenne pepper is a surprising, terrific addition.

First, cream 1/2 cup butter with 1 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, a pinch of black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 3/4 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Add 1 egg and stir to combine. Stir in 3/4 cup cocoa, then 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour. Stir again. I did all this in my stand mixer, but I'm sure you could do it by hand.

Roll into balls and flatten with the bottom of a juice glass dipped in sugar. Bake for 10-11 minutes at 375 F (on an ungreased cookie sheet), remove from oven, and cool cookies on a rack.



On the sixth day of Christmas,

Citrus Sizzlers - from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. Another cookie with cayenne, these build in heat the more you eat!


On the fifth day of Christmas,

Cocoa Snowflakes - from chef Gina DePalma of Babbo, via SeriousEats. This was my favorite cookie of the year. I'll make them again soon. Chocolate, orange, and pistachio are such a treat together.


Coconut Joe Froggers

Coconut Joe Froggers - from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion (no crystallized ginger or dates in mine). I liked these with the addition of the coconut. The rum makes them unlike other molasses cookies.


On the 9th day of Christmas,

Cornflake Cookies - Tia sent me a link to this MySpace cookie exchange, which included Sue's Cornflake Cookie recipe (below). I enjoyed them, and they were one of Rory's surprise favorites, but I think they could use something.

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1tsp cream of tartar
1tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup flour
1tsp vanilla
2 cups cornflakes (do not crush!)
optional-1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, add cream of tartar, baking soda, and vanilla. Add flour, mix well. Add cornflakes, folding in by hand, be careful to not crush them too much. Roll into walnut sized balls, press with fork. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.


Cranberry Walnut Bars - recipe from Mom. Usually I make these with pecans. They're moist and great either way.

Crispix Mix - Dan adapted a Chex Mix recipe found online through a Google search (actual site unknown). It's his specialty! I like Crispix better than Chex in a snack mix - cheaper ingredients and bigger pieces to crunch.


On the third day of Christmas,

Deluxe Sugar Cookies - old Betty Crocker recipe, copied down by Mom. This is a classic, buttery cookie that can be soft and thick or thin and delicate.

Double Decker Peanut Butter Chocolate Marbled Meltaway Fudge - recipe from Mom. I want to go to there.


English Toffee

English Toffee - source unknown (hand-copied into a spiral notebook). So easy! So tasty! Makes a ton!

Hot Buttered Rum - from Allrecipes. I always play around with which spices to add (and how much sugar I put in). This is a decadent hit.

Hot Cranberry Tea - adapted from a recipe in 365 Foods Kids Love to Eat. This is like a tangy cranberry-orange cider or punch. I've played around with spices here, too. It's good plain (as I prefer it) or spiked with rum or Maker's Mark. Kevin T. liked it best cold.

Karen's Pecan Shortbread - recipe from Mom. It's flaky, mild, and lovely.


Currant and Lingonberry Jam Daisies

Lingonberry and Currant Jam Daisies - from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. I hadn't made these before. They stored surprisingly well between layers of waxed paper. I'm glad I used good jam, for the cookies are very simple.


On the 11th day of Christmas

Magnolia Peanut Butterscotch - adapted from this peanut butter recipe on Smitten Kitchen (I added butterscotch chips, which was my sister Cali's idea). It's a comforting, soft cookie.


Margarita Cookies

Margarita Cookies - another recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I wish these had a "jucier," bright citrus flavor, but the flaky texture and the salt and sugar around the edges are perfect.

Midnight Rum Balls - recipe found in a discussion thread on Chowhound (scroll down to the comment byAnneInMpls on Dec. 02, 2005). They're like falling into a tasty black hole of Oreo and rum. Very few people could identify the ingredients (beyond rum). Bonus: vegan! Double bonus: no bake!


On the 8th day of Christmas,

Monster Cookies - adapted from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion (I used their soft oatmeal cookie recipe and added peanut butter, M&Ms, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to it). This isn't the perfect recipe, but it's getting there.


On the 12th day of Christmas,

Nutella Kisses - source unknown (hand-copied into a spiral notebook). I wish these were softer, but they have a great finish, so if you like a crispier cookie I recommend them.

Combine 1 3/4 cups flour + 1 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp salt.

In mixer, cream 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 c. butter, softened.
Add: 1/2 c. Nutella Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread and mix.
Add: 1 egg + 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix.

Stir dry ingredients into wet, just to combine. Roll cookie dough into walnut-sized balls. Soll in sprinkles or sanding sugar (I used sugar).

Bake 8 minutes on silpat or greased cookie sheet. Place a chocolate kiss (I used miniature ones because I made my cookies slightly smaller) in the center of each cookie. Bake an additional 3 minutes. Cool on a wire rack!


On the 10th day of Christmas,

Pignoli - from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. This is an expensive cookie to make (marzipan and pine nuts are not cheap). If you can't find lemon oil, like I couldn't, either don't substitute limoncello - which is what I tried - or do use it as a substitute but be prepared to add a lot more almond flour (I made my own almond flour) to make up for the added wetness). They came out well despite my missteps.


Salty Oatmeal Cookies

Salty Oatmeal Cookies - from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. These look boring, but taste great.

Savory Meatballs - recipe from Mom. I use ground turkey instead of ground beef. I can't overstate how much people love these.


On the first day of Christmas,

Snickerdoodles - recipe from Mom. This is one of my all-time favorite cookies. Store them with a piece of bread (at room temp) in an air-tight container and they'll stay soft.


Spritz 2

Spritz Cookies - recipe from Mom. These cookies are mostly butter, and they're also one of Nauser's favorites. I make them every year in a couple of shapes and one or two colors with an antique aluminum cookie press.


Triple Ginger Spice

Triple Ginger Spice Cookies - adapted from an Epicurious.com recipe. Last year, I used applesauce instead of egg and a mixture of vegetable shortening and vegan "butter." This year, I used all vegan "butter," but slipped up and used an egg instead of making them vegan again. Last year they were softer, but the flavor has been tops both years. I always add freshly grated ginger to this recipe.

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So, is anyone wondering about the final cookie count? My number will be inexact because I baked cookies during the party without counting them, but I got several hundred cookies past 1700! And that's just adding up the 21 kinds of cookies (including bar cookies) I made this year, not counting the other sweet and savory treats I prepared. Whew!

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