Egg Nog Cookies, Christmas baking, Charlie Brown trees...

I love the week before Christmas, even more than the day, I think.  When my kids were little I liked the feeling in the room after everything was opened and it was quiet.  That's an awesome memory.  Now I enjoy the festivities of the time leading up to that day.  I've been baking in the early hours of the morning before I leave for the office.  Cookies, candy, cinnamon almonds, cheesecakes.  Fun things to go in fun bakery boxes with Tiny Prints labels and bakers' twine. 

The Las Vegas Review Journal has a cookie contest every year around Christmas.  I credit them with that fabulous recipe for Snickers Cookies, so when the results were announced this year I decided to give one cookie a try.  One in particular.  I'm glad I did.  I am officially adding this to my Christmas cookie repertoire.

Eggnog Thumbprints

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 t. salt

Filling (I doubled this recipe):

1/4 cup butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 T. rum
1 pinch ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make cookies, cream together butter and white and brown sugars until smooth.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Combine flour and salt and stir into creamed mixture by hand to form a soft dough.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Make an indentation in the center of each cookie using your finger or your thumb.  Bake 12 minutes and cool completely.

For filling, mix butter, sugar and rum.  Spoon rounded teaspoonfuls of filling into cookies and sprinkle with nutmeg.

I put the filling in a ziploc bag and snipped off the corner, then piped the filling into the indentation.  These cookies are good. 

A few other random things: 

• My Christmas tree is a little sad this year.  I think it has cured me of my break from extra large Christmas trees in my living room.  I think.
• There is no reason for dieting this week.
• I loved all the Christmas ideas on Pinterest - collecting all my Christmas cards and punching a  hole in the corner, threading them onto a silver ring and tying a Christmas ribbon on the ring.  I have a fun 2012 stack.  Or the Christmas lights in an extra large vase . . . tying Christmas stockings to the back of the kitchen chairs.  Fun.
• We took some grandchildren to our Ward Christmas party.  I feel the need to share the hilarity.  Ready?

"My mom wants another baby."
"We had donuts this morning and my Dad hid them from my Mom."
"A lot of people in our family are dying."
"Did you KNOW some people think it's almost the end of the world?"
"I've heard of a dog who died of depressment."
And overheard (one sibling to another whispering):  "Remember not to talk about that around them."

We are still laughing and my car smells like maple syrup.

Hope you have a Merry Christmas.  Slainte', Marian. 

Till We Meet Again

We love you.

Strawberry Jam

I finally did it.  I bit the bullet and made jam.  I followed a recipe Bridget sent me, a treasured one from a family who converted her to the goodness that is homemade jam.  It isn't fancy.  There's no pectin, no skimming of foam . . . just a simple recipe that makes just enough for two people, so no canning is necessary.

In a large saucepan, toss 1 pound halved and hulled strawberries with 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Let sit, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved, 1 hour.  Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until berries are soft, 8-10 minutes. Add 1/2 pound each raspberries and blueberries and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes. Transfer to a glass jar and secure lid, cool to room temperature. 

Makes approximately 1 pint.

P.S.  I substituted raspberries and blueberries with more strawberries.

Cinnamon Almonds

We try not to have red light foods in our house.  Donuts - not in control.  So we don't buy them.  We happen to be true candy faces, which means we raised candy faces.  Not proud. 

There is this little aisle in Fresh & Easy . . . I try hard to avoid that aisle because that's where the cinnamon almonds reside.  We lie to ourselves - let's just buy these and put them away for another time.  Uh huh...

Red light food.

I saw a homemade version made in a skillet.  The first batch I made in the cast iron skillet.  The second batch I made in the wok.  You won't believe how good these are.  There's enough room on the lid of that mason jar for a label from Tiny Prints, too.

1 cup sugar
3 cups raw almonds (or any other nut)
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup water

Directions: In a large skillet combine the sugar, cinnamon and water. Add the almonds and stir constantly with a spoon over medium heat, coating the almonds with the syrupy mixture. Keep stirring until the sugar crystallizes. Remove the pan from heat and scoop the almonds onto wax or parchment paper. Let the cinnamon almonds cool before serving. These can be made a few days ahead.

Pinterest find, original recipe found here.

Coconut Cream Cake

Just do us all a favor and make this. It's seriously yummy, reminiscent of the Tres Leches Cake, but 100 times easier.

1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup water
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
15 oz. can of cream of coconut (found in the alcohol aisle - think Coco Lopez)
Container Cool Whip, thawed
8 oz. sweetened coconut

Bake the cake in a 9 x 13 pan according to the timed directions on the box. Remove cake from oven and, while still hot, poke holes all over it with the end of a spoon. Open can of cream of coconut and stir well. Pour evenly over entire cake. Chill cake for 1 hour, then spread with Cool Whip and sprinkle flaked coconut over the top. Refrigerate until serving time for a minimum of 3 hours. It gets even better if you can wait overnight!

Donut Cake

This recipe is everywhere right now. Add a little nutmeg and some buttermilk to a plain little cake and you end up with that donut flavor. Think Donut Muffin. This is supposed to be a version of that recipe that's been around for 100 years - the Busy Day Cake. The popular version has 2 T. of cornmeal added to the cake batter - my spouse didn't like the taste, although he liked the texture. My second attempt omitted the cornmeal and I increased the amound of nutmeg. I like. What I don't like? The new blogger...

1 stick butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan, and set it aside.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition, then add in the vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Set aside.

3. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Make sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next, but don't over-beat it at the end. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top.

4. Bake until the top is puffed and golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on a rack before serving warm or room temperature.

This is for you, Kelley.