RECIPES
Linzer Tarts
This recipe is from the Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 edition of Parade:Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted almonds
1 1/2 cups sifted flour, divided
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 egg Raspberry jam (apricot jam is also excellent)
Sifted confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions:
1. In a mini-chopper or blender, chop almonds with 1/4 cup flour until fine (should take less than 30 seconds; for a crunchier, nuttier cookie, chop for just 15 to 20 seconds).
2. In a medium bowl, combine nut mixture, remaining flour, butter, confectioners' sugar, zest, and egg. Mix well.
3. Divide dough in half; wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1/2 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. Roll out dough halves on a floured surface. Using small round cookie cutters, cut out cookie bottoms and tops. With a patterned cutter (we use a snowflake shape), punch a center hole in tops.
6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until light gold. Watch carefully. Cool on a wire rack. Spread a thin layer of jam on each bottom cookie; sandwich with tops, pressing gently. Dust with sifted confectioners' sugar.
Date Pinwheel Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 c. shortening (part butter or margarine)
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Filling:
3/4 lb. moist, pitted dates
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. water
Heat water in saucepan and stir in sugar and chopped up dates. Stir constantly until slightly thick then remove from heat. Cool.
Wax paper
Directions:
1. Mix shortening and butter, sugar and egg.
2. Stir together flour and baking soda. Add to egg mixture slowly until thoroughly mixed.
3. Roll out into a rectangle. Spread the date filling on top and roll into a log about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
4. Wrap in wax paper and chill in the refrigerator until firm. (Usually around 2 hours.)
5. Remove from fridge and cut into rounds. Place on ungreased baking sheets.
6. Bake 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.
Peppermint Bark
Ingredients
16 oz. chopped white chocolate, divided
1 Tbsp melted shortening
Directions:
1. Melt 12 oz white chocolate in microwave, stirring often. Add shortening and remaining 4 oz chopped white chocolate. Stir.
2. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet; top with peppermint candies. When hardened, break into pieces.
Snowball Cookies
This recipe was submitted by reader Tina. It's is her favorite holiday cookie.
Ingredients
5 T. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 T. water
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups chopped nuts
Directions:
1. Cream butter
2. Add sugar, vanilla and water
3. Stir in flour and salt. Add nuts and mix well.
4. Shape into balls.
5. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes.
6. Roll in powdered sugar.
Holiday Loaf
Ingredients
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c.sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 mashed bananas
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/3 c. chopped maraschino cherries
Cream butter and sugar together (or substitute 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce).
Directions:
Add the flour,baking soda and salt. Fold in the bananas. Stir in the chopped nuts, cherries and chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan (or 2 mini loaf pans). Bake at 350 for 70-80 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (40 minutes for mini loaf pans).
Peppermint Parfaits
Submitted by reader Lani Brezina Goins who says these treats are easy, yummy and pretty.
Homemade Italian Cream Sodas
Measure out 3 TBSP Torani syrup. Add the syrup to the soda.
Just before serving add the 1 TBSP of Half & Half to the soda/ syrup mixture.
Serve with whipped cream and a cherry on top, as well as something to stir with prior to drinking.
Encourage everyone to give it a little stir before drinking so that all the flavors meld.
Tabasco Cheese Crackers (vegan)
Submitted by TownSquare blogger Merrill of Ivy Lane Designs who says "My mom bakes Tabasco cheese cookies for me every Christmas. I hide them from everyone so that I don’t have to share. Sometimes I hide them too well and have to decide, months later, if I should still eat them. That is a sad moment."
This version is vegan because her family recently changed their diet.
Ingredients
1 cup grated sharp cheddar (dairy-free use Daiya shredder cheddar cheese)
1 stick butter (dairy free use Earth Balance)
1 cup RiceKrispies
1 cup flour (gluten-free use King Arthur Flour gluten-free multi-purpose flour)
1 pinch (ouch!) salt
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Allow cheese and butter to come to room temperature. Combine and blend well.
Mix in remaining ingredients until dough forms.
Pinch off walnut-size pieces and roll into balls ... or use your handy dandy cookie scoop.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes for walnut-size, or 25 to 30 minutes if you use a cookie scoop.
Jewish Apple Cake
This recipe is from Sports Editor Steve Moore, who says his mom "used to make this for us on Christmas morning. Because all Jewish families get together to exchange gifts on Christmas morning, right? Oh, just me…"½ cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups slightly cooked sliced apples, drained
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
½ cup orange or pineapple juice
2 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
3 tsp. baking powder
3 cups flour
½ cup vegetable oil
Directions:
Mix ¼ cup of the sugar with the cinnamon. Set aside
Have apples ready.
Beat together all other ingredients.
Grease and flour a tube pan (the round pan with ridges and the tube in center).
Put in alternate layers of batter, apples and cinnamon mixture in that order.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour
Let cool 10 minutes before inverting.
Springerle
A traditional German Christmas cookie. Carved molds or rolling pins are used to make these cookies and they are often elaborately decorated with icing, candies and food dye. This recipe is from Betty Crocker.
Ingredients
1 c. sugar
2 1/4 c. flour
anise seed
Will need a rolling pin and rolling board or mat as well as Springerle molds or presses.
Directions:
1. Beat eggs and sugar thoroughly. Stir in flour until a stiff dough is formed.
2. Refrigerate the dough for 3 to 4 hours.
3. Roll out the dough on a floured board (to prevent sticking) to about 1/8-inch thick.
4. Press stamp or Springerle rolling pin onto dough to emboss the designs. Cut out the squares.
5. Let dry on a floured board after sprinkling on anise seeds.
6. Bake on lightly greased cookie tray at 325 for 12-15 min.
Raspberry Shortbread Candy Cane Cookies
This recipe comes from Cooking Creation blogger Celeste who says these are a spin-off of her favorite Christmas cookie Raspberry Ribbons.Ingredients
1 c butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c raspberry preserves
White icing
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
Roll out the dough into 1/4-inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the candy cane shapes.
Gather the scraps and roll the dough out into 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out more candy cane shapes with the cookies cutter.
Repeat until all of the dough has been used.
Place the cookies on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 17 minutes, or until the bottom edges just begin to brown.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.
Transfer the cookies to a work surface for decorating.
Pipe the outline of each cookie with white icing. Carefully spread approximately 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the raspberry preserves in the center of each cookie using a spoon.
This works best when the cookies are still slightly warm.
Pipe zigzag lines on top of the preserves with more white icing.
Gingerbread Cookies
A traditional cut-out cookie. Recipe from Betty CrockerIngredients
1/3 c. shortening
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 c. dark molasses
2/3 c. cold water7 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. all spice
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
Icing for decoration
Rolling pin and board
Directions:
Mix shortening sugar and molasses.
Stir in water.
Blend all dry ingredients together. Stir into sugar mixture. Place in fridge to chill.
Roll dough out 1/4 inch thick on a floured board.
Use your favorite cutter. You can make traditional gingerbread men with this recipe.
Cook on lightly greased cookie sheet, keeping them far enough apart so they don't bake together when they spread. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350.
Decorate with icing.
