by Kathy Douglas | Feb 3, 2020 | Desserts, Holiday
It’s the perfect combination for Valentine’s Day – all in one cookie. These heart-shaped shortbread cookies are flavored with delicious floral rose water, then filled with crushed rose petals, and topped with a sprinkle more of dried rose petals. It’s a delicious combination for your special Valentine.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups flour
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons rose water
1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
¼ cup crushed rose petals
INSTRUCTIONS
Whisk together the flour and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Using a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs, rose water, and lemon zest until blended. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mixture in to create a stiff dough. Add 3 tablespoons crushed rose petals and gently combine. Remove dough from bowl and wrap tight in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat your oven to 300˚ F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the wrap and roll on a floured board to ¼” thick. Using cookie cutters, cut heart shapes, rerolling the dough until completely cut. Sprinkle the remaining rose petals over your rolled dough, pressing into the dough so the petals stick. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 20 – 25 minutes or until bottoms are just golden. Cool completely.
by Kathy Douglas | Dec 16, 2019 | Desserts, Holiday
Who needs fruit cake when you can have this updated version of fruit jammy cookies? Our Holiday Fruit Cookies are filled with delicious apricot, cherry, and orange jammy bits along with candied ginger, pecans, and rum-soaked raisins. Rolled in sparkling sugar before baking, they have a super crispy, crunchy exterior and a soft jammy fruit filled interior.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup golden raisins
¼ cup dark rum
¾ cup cherry jammies*
½ cup apricot jammies*
⅓ cup diced orange jammies*
¾ cup pecan, broken into pieces
⅓ cup diced crystallized ginger
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, we prefer White Lily
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sparkling sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the raisins and rum in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, tossing often, until liquid is almost absorbed about 6 -7 minutes. Cool completely gently pressing down into any remaining liquid. Add the cherry, apricot, and orange jammies to a bowl along with the pecans, ginger, and cooled raisins.Toss to combine.
Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then the extract. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add into creamed mixture. When completely combined, Stir in the fruit mixture.
Place the remaining sugar in a shallow bowl. Shape 2 tablespoons of dough into balls; Roll in the sparkling sugar to coat. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough balls from the refrigerator as needed, keeping the others cold, and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until just golden brown and set, about 15-17 minutes. Cool on the pan for five minutes then move to wire racks and cool completely.
* Fruit Jammies can be found on-line at KingArthurFlour.com
by Kathy Douglas | Dec 9, 2019 | Desserts
It’s our new favorite for the Holidays -Fiori di Sicilia butter cookies. Butter dough with vanilla, citrus, and flower essences creates an addicting butter cookie we filled with a buttercream icing also flavored with Fiori di Sicilia.
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons butter-flavored Vegetable Shortening
1¼ cups confectioners sugar sifted
10 tablespoons butter
1 large Egg
1 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia extract
½ teaspoon salt
2½ cups All-Purpose Flour
Preheated the oven to 350°F. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer, combine the softened butter and shortening in a mixing bowl and cream until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix well to fluffy on high speed about 1 minute. Add the egg and the extract and mix well.
In another large bowl, combine the sifted flour and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix to combine well. Transfer the dough to a piping bag and pipe the dough into 36 round shapes onto the parchment-lined cooking sheet. Refrigerate the dough the sheet trays for 30 minutes.
Bake for approximately 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely and fill with the Fiori di Sicilia Butter Cream.
Fiori di Sicilia Butter Cream
1 stick of butter, softened
4 cups sifted powder sugar
2 teaspoons Fiori di Sicilia extract
3 tablespoons milk
Beat the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the Fiori di Sicilia extract and milk until incorporated and smooth. Place in a piping page and pipe on a cookie bottom and then top with another cookie half. Makes 18 cookie sandwiches.
by Kathy Douglas | Dec 2, 2019 | Desserts
These pretty cookies will not only be the star on your cookie plate, but they are also deliciously lemony. The dough is filled with fresh lemon zest and the glaze is made with fresh lemon juice. Topped with mini stars, they will be a favorite at your cookie swap or holiday get-together.
1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
18 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon lemon extract
Zest of one lemon, reserve the juice for the glaze recipe
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, we prefer White Lily Flour
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar, butter, egg yolk, salt, lemon extract, and lemon zest beating until smooth. Add the flour and mixing until smooth. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a flattened disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and let it soften for about 20 to 30 minutes or until it’s soft enough to roll but still cold.
On a lightly floured surface, working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it ¼“ thick. Use a two-inch star cookie cutter to cut the star shapes out of the dough. Refrigerate the stars as you cut them. Re-roll and cut the dough scraps into stars shapes, refrigerating them as you go.
When the oven is ready, place the cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets about an inch or two apart.
Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, until they’re set and lightly browned around the edges. Place on a rack and cool completely, then glaze with the lemon glaze. Makes 4 dozen cookies.
Lemon glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ tablespoons egg white powder
4 tablespoons lemon juice
Whisk together the powdered sugar and egg white powder. Add the lemon juice and mix until smooth. The glaze should be thick and pourable. Add a little more lemon juice if too thick. Drizzle over the star cookies and top with mini stars.
by Kathy Douglas | Nov 25, 2019 | Desserts, Holiday
Our new favorite Thanksgiving Dessert is Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese bottom, that’s topped with sweetened sour cream and nutmeg. We like to serve it with a little caramel sauce and toasted pecans on the side.
INGREDIENTS
12 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
2 ½ cups ginger snap crumbs
4 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese at room temperature
2 ¾ cups of sugar plus 3 tablespoons, divided
1 ¼ cups sour cream, divided
6 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg, plus more for topping
For serving (optional):
Toasted Pecans
Caramel Sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325˚F.
To make the gingersnap crumbs, grind ginger snap cookies in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form. Measure out 2 ½ cups and add to a large bowl. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with a small amount of butter. Line the springform bottom with a 9” parchment circle. Lightly brush the parchment with a little more butter.
Stir the remaining butter in the bowl with the crumbs. Add ¼ cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt and combine well. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan. Use a flat bottom measuring cup to packing it tightly and evenly in the bottom and sides. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, remove and cool completely on a rack. Wrap the outside of the springform pan with three layers of foil up the sides to form a water tight seal around the pan and place in a large roasting pan. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add 2 ½ cups of sugar and beat until just light, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in ¼ cup sour cream, the eggs, and salt until well combined. Remove three cups of the mixture to another bowl. Add the vanilla bean paste and whisk until well combined. Carefully pour the vanilla mixture over the cooled crust.
To the remaining cream cheese mixture left in the mixer bowl, add the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and beat until just combined. Carefully spoon over the vanilla layer. Smooth the top.
Gently place in the oven and very carefully add the boiling water into just the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Be careful to not splash any water into the cheesecake batter. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake is set but the center is still loose, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven heat and crack open the door for 2-3 minutes to vent out some heat. Close the door and leave the cheesecake in the oven, with the heat off, for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from the oven. Remove the foil from the outside of the springform pan and cool on a rack for about 30 minutes.
Set the oven rack on the lowest point in the bottom of the oven and heat the oven on the broiler setting to high. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of sour cream, 3 tablespoons sugar, and a pinch of nutmeg. Carefully spread in a thin layer over the top center of the cheesecake leaving a 1-1 ½” ring of the pumpkin cheese cake on the outside. Place on the lowest rack and cook until the topping is just set. About 6 -10 minutes. Watch carefully so the cheesecake doesn’t get too brown or start to burn. Remove and sprinkle with more nutmeg. Cool completely.
Run a very thin knife around the edges inside the springform pan, cover, and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
Set the cheesecake out about 30 minutes before serving. Unlock and remove the springform ring. Slice with a warm knife and serve with toasted pecans and caramel sauce on the side.
by Kathy Douglas | Nov 4, 2019 | Desserts, Holiday
These oat-filled fall cookies taste like banana bread with a touch of maple. Iced with a delicious frosting made from nutty-flavored brown butter and more maple, the cookies are then topped with a whole toasted pecan. Perfect on a chilly afternoon with a warm cup of cider or tea.
INGREDENTS
24-28 whole pecan halves
12 tablespoons butter, softened
⅔ cup maple sugar
⅓ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large banana, very ripe, about ¾ cup
¾ cup oats
1 ¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Brown butter maple icing (below)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the whole pecans on a parchment lined sheet tray. Place in the oven and toast for 8-9 minutes until browned. Set aside to cool.
Using a stand mixer, Beat the butter, maple sugar and brown sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and banana and stir it into the sugar mixture. In a separate bowl combine together the oats, flour, salt, and baking powder. Slowly add to the wet ingredients, just mixing until combined. Cover tightly and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
Using a small 1 ½” scoop, place the dough scoops about 1½” apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Press gently to flatten. You should get about 24-28 cookies. Place in the oven and bake until light brown, about 15-18 minutes. Remove and cool completely.
Brown Butter Maple Icing
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
¼ cup maple syrup
Pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, and salt until smooth. The icing should be thick. If it’s too thin, add a bit more confectioners’ sugar. If it’s too thick, add a few drops of water. Spread on cookies and top with a toasted whole pecan half.
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