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Equal Opportunity Holiday Cookies

2009-12-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

My cousin Lacey was having a holiday get together, so I decided to take it as an opportunity to try out a recipe I found for "world peace cookies". They are called world peace cookies because it's been said that a daily dose of the cookies is all that's needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness. So yea, to put it mildly, people think they are pretty good. Let me just start off by saying that I did not have an easy time making these cookies. I'm not sure whether I did something wrong or what, but this was the crumbliest cookie situation I've ever been in. That's right, the crumbliest. I was eventually able to form them into the logs the recipe called for, BUT I didn't read the recipe correctly and made logs 1/2 inch instead of 1 1/2 inch in diameter. I knew it didn't seem right, but I was trying to be good and follow the recipe. Anyway! it didn't really end up mattering, they may have come out a bit crispier than usual but they were good nonetheless. The logs look pretty...interesting? I could go on but I'll let you use your imagination.
After creating the logs, I put them in the refrigerator for a little over 3 hours. I was then able to cut the logs into small discs and bake them in a 325 degree oven for about 12 minutes. The combination of sea salt, bittersweet chocolate, and sweet cookie was a definite winner.

Along with these chocolately cookies, I whipped up some traditional Christmas "snowballs". Buttery pecan cookies with a layer of powdered sugar, yum! And I'll admit, I liked the way they would look together too...equal opportunity cookies! Recipes follow...

cookie aftermath...

World Peace Cookies (recipe taken from Dorie Greenspan, Tuesdays with Dorie)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Makes about 36 cookies.

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature

Snowball Cookies (the trashier and awesome counterpart to your fancy chocolate cookie)

Prep: 45 min - Bake: 18 min

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 325°F. Combine all ingredients except powdered sugar in large mixer bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well mixed (2 to 3 minutes).

Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes; roll in powdered sugar while still warm and again when cool.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Cauliflower soup

2009-11-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

You're going to think all I do is sit around and make soup...but I swear there will be more. This is a really yummy cauliflower soup that I love and my boyfriend was kind enough to pretend to like. I got the idea from a blog I love to read, theZOEblog. She has my name and has a food blog, but hers is way more profesh and she seems to cook way more often than me. Anyway! She made a cauliflower soup that inspired me to try one out on my own. I should have made the cheddar crisps but after my second immersion blender blunder, I was pretty much ready to be done cooking.

You will need:
1 head of cauliflower
few cloves of garlic
1 onion
box of chicken stock
half and half
Parmesan
cheddar
parsley
crusty bread

I started off the soup by sauteing the onion and garlic together until translucent. I then added the cauliflower and let it cook with the onions and garlic until I could put a fork into it pretty easily. I then added a box of chicken stock. You can add a little less or a little more depending on how thick or thin you'd like your soup. I let the cauliflower cook with the stock until the cauliflower was nice and soft. I then added in a good handful of Parmesan and a good couple handfuls of cheddar. I know I'm being completely vague and annoying, but this is how I cook! If a recipe tells me to put in a cup of something, I use it as a suggestion rather than a rule. I then took out my trusty immersion blender...splashed myself a couple hundred times with hot soup until it was a nice smooth (yet still a little chunky) consistency. Then you can pour in a quarter cup or so of half and half at the end. I finished it off with some shredded cheddar and chopped up parsley for a fresh bite and color, yum!

sausage, kale, and white bean soup

2009-11-22T20:23:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite things in the world is soup. I can put all of my favorite things in one bowl and then dip bread into it? Yes, please. This happens to be one of my favorites. I can't remember whether I made this up myself or whether I copied off of someone else (probably a little bit of both) but it is really delicious, easy, and actually quite nutritious. It is my sausage, kale, and white bean soup, and it's really pretty good. I'm not really one for following recipes, so I can't give you exact amounts, but I can give you a basic framework to go off of.

You will need:
2 mild italian sausages
2 hot italian sausages
1 small onion
few cloves of garlic
large box of chicken stock
parmesan (shredded and rind)
1 large bunch of kale
1 can of white beans
1 can of garbanzo beans
hot pepper flakes, salt, pepper
and some bread to soak up the broth!

I start off the soup by crumbling and browning the sausage in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. I then add the garlic, hot pepper flakes, and the onion and cook until the onion is translucent. Then you'll add in the box of stock. You can add more or less of the broth depending on how thick or thin you'd like your soup. (I told you I wasn't one for recipes!) Once you have your stock in, you can add your chopped up kale and let that cook down. Add in your parmesan rind and let it simmer for a bit. When you're getting really hungry, you can add in your beans. I personally don't like to let the beans cook for too long because I like them to have a little texture. If you like mushy beans, go wild and pop them in with your kale. It should not take too long to come together after that. Finish off your soup with some grated parmesan cheese and a good hunk of french bread.

We are back like old Becky.

2009-11-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

So for those of you who followed our last blog...you can think of this like on Roseanne when old Becky disappears and new Becky is introduced, and then OLD Becky comes back again! In layman's terms, it was great, then we were gone and it was terrible, and now we're back again! Great, right? (If you don't know what we're talking about, we may not get along so well...)

We love food, making food, talking about food, looking at food, and reading about food.