Apple Chips

Alrighty. Here's my final Christmas goodies post. I love love LOVE apples. And someone on tastespotting had made homemade apple chips. The idea of slowly baking apples in the oven, letting the crisp, cinnamony sweet aroma waft through my apartment, was irresistable.


Making these apple chips is really easy. Slice an apple or two really really thinly (more proof that everyone needs a mandolin slicer). Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Sprinkle some powdered sugar and cinnamon on the parchment paper, then lay the apple slices in a single layer on top of it. Sprinkle again with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 200F for 1 1/2 hours. Delicious.

Tart Fun

At some point this summer, I bought some mini tart pans. I figured I'd need some sooner or later. I've been flirting with the idea of making tarts, especially when I have blackberries around. Well, finally, I had blackberries. And left-over pie crust. So, I decided it was time to play.

A week or so before, hubby had asked for an apple pie, which I never got around to baking, so I decided to make him a little apple tart. He enjoyed it.


Then, I got around to playing with the blackberries. I decided (for both tarts) to mix of a sort of cream based off the custard in my apple pie. It's a mix of sugar, eggs, and butter with a bit of flour. It worked well (even all by itself in my last little tart - no picture).


The blackberry tart has peach preserves brushed/dolloped on top. I figured it would add a nice sweetness with the peach complimenting the blackberry. It was supersweet, but in a delicious way.


One day, I'll be cool enough to make my own pastry. And I'll have a better, actual custard. But, this endeavor was an enjoyable way to spend a bit of the Christmas holiday.

Spanish Tortilla

Time for something savory, my friends. This past semester, I had a professor from Barcelona. One of the last days of class, she made a few traditional dishes for us. One was the tortilla, a delicious combination of eggs, potatoes, and onions. It's like a really potato-intense omelet. Oh so delicious.


Spanish Tortilla

• 5 baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 9-10 eggs, well beaten
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

In a very large, very non-stick skillet, heat a few teaspoons of olive oil. Saute the potatoes and onions until they are thoroughly cooked and beginning to brown/golden. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep in mind that you'll be adding alot of eggs, so if your potatoes seem perfectly salted, the eggs will dilute that.

Pour the eggs into the pan and make sure it's all mixed together, with everything evenly distributed. You'll want to cook on a medium low heat so that the eggs are cooked mostly through without burning the bottom. Once the eggs seem set, you'll need to get a large plate and use this to flip the tortilla over. Cook a bit longer until the eggs are to your liking.

The Barcelonans frequently eat this as a tapas, and as such, cut it into a bunch of small squares. Hubby and I cut it up like a pizza, because we're uncultured Americans. Haha. This made a great Christmas Eve day meal.

Cardamom Cookies

I recently had a conversation with a friend about my love for the word "cardamom". It's a great word, enormously fun to say. Perhaps that's not the best reason to try out a recipe. It wasn't the only one though. Cardamom features into a few of my favorite things (namely, chai) and I'd like to work more with it. These cookies were a great start. The recipe comes from Dinner with Kirsten.


Cardamom Butter Cookies

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 oz fine-quality bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, melted (for drizzling)

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon and allspice in a bowl.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 to 4 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then mix in flour mixture until just combined.

Form dough into 2 (12-inch) logs (1 1/2 inches in diameter), each on its own sheet of plastic wrap. Use plastic wrap and your hands to roll, press, and square off sides of logs. The dough will be very soft at this point, so let the logs chill on a baking sheet until they’re somewhat firm, about one hour. Then smooth out the edges of the logs through the plastic wrap and try to flatten the sides. Once shaped, continue to chill the logs on the baking sheet until firm, about 1 more hour.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut enough scant 1/4-inch-thick slices from a log with a knife to fill 2 large ungreased baking sheets, arranging slices about 1 inch apart (chill remaining dough, wrapped in plastic wrap).

Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes total. Cool on sheets 3 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough on cooled baking sheets.

Once cookies are cooled, melt chocolate over a pan of simmering water in the stove or in the microwave (carefully!!). Spoon the chocolate into a plastic bag and snip off one of the tips. Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies and let set up for a few hours before stacking them.

Dough logs can be chilled 5 days or frozen, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap, 1 month (thaw in refrigerator just until they can be sliced). · Cookies (with or without icing) keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

Cranberry-Orange Pinwheels

This is another cookie I've made two years in a row. I love the combination of the cranberry, orange, and pecan that goes into this gorgeous swirls. They also stay firm, yet soft, which is great because I hate cookies that harden.


Cranberry-Orange Pinwheels
(Better Homes and Gardens, pg 256)
1 cup cranberries
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tsp finely shredded orange peel
3 1/4 cup flour

For filling, in a food processor combine cranberries, pecans, and brown sugar. Cover and process until cranberries and pecans are finely chopped. Set filling aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with a mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Add eggs and orange peel; beat until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in the remaining flour. Divide dough in half; cover and chill about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Between waxed paper, roll half of the dough into a 10 inch square. Spread half of the filling over dough to within ½ inch of edges; roll up dough. Moisten edges; pinch to seal. Wrap in plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Chill for 4 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 375F. Cut rolls into ¼ inch slices. Place slices 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are light brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack and let cook.

Fudge Drops

Oh. My. Goodness. These cookies are uh-maze-zing! AMAZING! And of course, this recipe made the fewest batches. Sadness for me. But oh so good in my tummy. They were tasty tasty like brownie heaven.

This recipe comes from the King Arthur flour site, so sshhh don't tell them I didn't use their flour. It just wasn't what I had around the house. I made the recipe plain - no chocolate chips or chunks or ganache - and they were amazing, but any of those additions would work well.


Fudge Drops
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp espresso powder (I omitted this)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (6 oz) chocolate chips, optional (I opted out)

In a double boiler, or in the microwave, gently melt together the chocolate and butter. To avoid heating the chocolate too much and possibly burning it, the best method is to heat till the butter is melted and the chocolate has partially melted, then remove from the heat. Stir till all the chocolate melts.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs till they're thoroughly combined. Add the hot melted chocolate, then stir in the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, if you're using them. Refrigerate the batter-like dough for 1 hour, to make it easier to handle.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, three if you have them.

Drop the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls (about the size of a small ping pong ball) onto the prepared baking sheets. A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this task extremely simple. Leave about 2" between the dough balls, as they'll spread as they bake.

Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked. They won't crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they're cracked all the way across the top surface, they're just about done. The point is, you want these baked all the way through, but just barely; additional baking will make them crisp rather than chewy. Remove the cookies from the oven, and top each with a kiss-shaped chocolate, a nonpareil, or a bittersweet chocolate wafer, if desired. Wait 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool.

Molasses Spice Cookies

So, there was a slight lull in the Christmas insanity updates, but that's partially because I got a new laptop!! I got an adorable little EeePC. It's a 10 incher, which makes it uberportable (what I want).

Ok, to continue to the cookies. This is the second year I've made these cookies; last year, they were my favorite. They're spicy and molassesy all at once, with a glorious sugarcrust. Yum yum.


Molasses-Spice Cookies
(Cooks' Illustrated Best Recipe Cookbook)

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, package
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup sugar for rolling cookies
• 1 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and molasses until well combined. Mix in dry ingredients until combined.

Roll dough into balls, 2 tbsp each. Next, roll the dough balls in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and place on prepped baking sheet about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.

Bake 11-13 minutes or until the outer edges begin to set and the centers are soft and puffy. Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to cooking rack.

Raspberry Split-Seconds

Last year, I made raspberry thumbprints, which hubby really enjoyed. I'll admit, the recipe I used called for a pack of sugar cookie mix. And while you added more than the required ingredients to it, I felt like a cheater. A big, fat cookie cheater. So this year I decided to find a good replacement. these caught my eye because they are a similar concept, but a much more fun shape.

After I wrapped up all the gift cookies, hubby snuck the bag of these leftovers. I found the bag with 1 sad cookie left for me. :(


Raspberry Split-Second Cookies
(The Taste of Home Cookbook, pg 560)

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 3gg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually mix in flour mixture until well combined.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Shape each into a 12 inch long log. Place 2 each on a baking sheet, leaving 4 inches between them.

Make a 1/2 inch deep indentation down the center of the logs. (Mine weren't deep enough.) Fill the indentation with jam. The best way to do this is the put the jam into a bowl and stir it really well so it's a smooth consistency, then spoon it into a ziplock baggie. Cut the tip off the baggie and pipe the jam into the indentation. Easy and clean! Great task for children and husbands.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Let cool. The recipe calls for 2 minutes, but I let it sit longer, giving more time for the jam to cool so it didn't stick on everything. Cut diagonally into 3/4 inch slices.

Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I've been searching for a great oatmeal raisin cookie recipe... lazy, waiting-for-them-to-come-to-me searching. What I want seems to not be the typical oatmeal cookie. I want a fluffy cookie. While I find great recipes, they are never fluffy. I guess I'll have just have to bite the bullet and start experimenting.

Anyhoo. Some of the guys at work said oatmeal cookies were their favorite, so I decided to include them in the Christmas cookie collective. I have a few recipes I've pulled off TasteSpotting, and decided to try this recipe since I've already tried, and ruled out, the Quaker Oats lid recipe. I found them enjoyable, as did hubby.



Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups raisin
• powdered sugar for rolling
  

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients, oats, and raisins.

Chill dough. To save my sanity, I made a few of my doughs the day before; this was one of them. So you can chill it for a few hours or a couple days. Whatever works best for you and your schedule.

Once your dough has chilled and you're ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls. Now, I'm not all that familiar with walnuts, so mine were probably 1 1/2 inches. They were a bit too large as the cookies will flatten and expand quite a bit. I ended up with square cookies because they all ended up smooshing into each other!

Now, roll each dough ball in the powdered sugar. To remove excess sugar, I sort of tossed the ball back and forth between my hands a few times. Worked like a charm. Place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheet.

Butter the bottom of a drinking glass. Press it into the powdered sugar, then press down on each cookie until it's about 1/4 inch thick.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

Peanut Brittle

Along with my fond fudge memories, I've got fond peanut brittle ones. My grandma made it frequently when I was a kid, and I seem to always associate it with Christmas. Peanut brittle is another one of those treats that intimidated me (like fudge) because of it's candy nature. Soft-ball, hard-ball.. aah!! Plus, my mom always talked about how too much humidity could prevent it from hardening.. Needless to say, it was a great act of courage for me to attempt this recipe. And you know what? Acts of courage are great, except this particular one has resulted in my eating waaaay too much peanut brittle. Seriously, I can't stop. I have a problem.

There's a good chance this is my great-grandma's recipe. I'll have to find out. It's definitely the one my mom has always used.


Note: this (or other hard candies) should not be made on really humid or rainy days (so sayeth Mama Sarah's mama.)

Peanut Brittle

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light Karo syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups raw peanuts
• 1 tsp baking soda

Line a baking sheet with foil.

Combine sugar, Karo, water, salt, and peanuts in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. (I finally have a wooden spoon!! Christmas present from hubby)

Cook about 10 to 15 minutes. Mom says to cook until it smells slightly scorched. I'm not quite comfortable with my familiarity with that smell, so I instead decided to do the hard-ball test. To do this, simply have a cup of really cold water nearby. Every-so-often drip a bit of the mixture into the water. You're finished when the mixture hardens into strands within the water. It's supercool.

Once you've reached this stage, remove from heat. Quickly stir in the baking soda; the mixture will bubble and thicken. It'll also look a funny, lighter color. Don't worry.

Quickly spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish. To the best of your ability, spread the the mixture across the pan, creating an even, thin consistency.

Let cool and set. Once it's hard, break it into pieces. Be careful; hubby got stabbed by a sharp corner of candy goodness.

Consume. Apologize to your teeth. Eat another piece. Makes excellent breakfast.

Tomato Chevre Tarts

Thinking of these tarts, I just made a Homer Simpson drooling sound in my head. These went over very well (though hubby removed the tomatoes and left them on the plate!) which makes me happy because I just sort of threw them together. I've never really worked with goat cheese and thought they'd go well with tomatoes, which I wanted to use. I wanted to make a tart, single-serving size. So, voila! Tomato chevre tarts.


Tomato Chevre Tarts

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 15-20 cherry tomatoes
• 5 oz chevre, crumbled

(rough approximations)

Preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Let the pastry sheet warm to room temp. Roll out to approximately 9 by 9 inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut the sheet into 16 squares (about 2 x 2 inches).

Using a knife, score about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch in from the edge, creating a square within a square. Make sure to not cut all the way through the pastry. Next, use a fork to poke a bunch of holes in the interior square. This will prevent the interior from puffing up as much as the edges.

Place squares on prepared baking sheet and bake 10ish minutes, until it has slightly puffed and is lightly golden.

Once the pastry is a bit puffed and golden, place a piece or two of chevre in the center of each square.

Next, cut a cross into the bottom of each tomato, then place a tomato on top of the chevre on each tart. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper.

Bake another 15-20ish minutes until pastry is puffed and richly golden.

Peanut Butter Pixies

After my successful fudge experience, I wanted to try peanut butter fudge. It was my favorite fudge variety as a kid. I happily came across this recipe for Two Toned Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge. My friends, after sampling it, excitedly chattered about my making peanut butter pixies, which they had all had in school. I think Peanut Butter Pixie is a fun name, so I'm sticking with it.

These were a bit too creamy and soft to really be fudgy, but they are quite tasty; a great blend of peanut butter and chocolate. Definitely something I will make again.. and again.. and again.. until the end of my sugar-soaked life. (Have I mentioned yet how much sugar I've had in the past week???)


Peanut Butter Pixies

• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 small jar (7 0z) marshmallow cream
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

First - as with all fudge - line an 8x8 pan with foil. Now, my 8x8 was occupied at the time with some tasty gingerbread, so I used a slightly differently sized pan (10x7 maybe) which resulted in thinner fudge.

Place peanut butter chips in a heat-safe medium-large bowl. In a separate yet similar bowl, place the chocolate chips.

In a heavy sauce pan, combine sugar, marshmallow cream, evaporated milk, and butter. Cook over medium heat, STIRRING CONSTANTLY, until it boils. Boil for 5 minutes (continue that stirring!). Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the vanilla.

This is where I deviated from the recipe. It says to "Working safely, but quickly, stir one-half of the hot mixture into peanut butter chips and the other half into the chocolate chips. Stir the peanut butter mixture until fully melted and quickly pour into prepared pan" then to do the same with the chocolate chips. I was worried about having equal amounts in both chocolate and peanut butter, as well as the mixture cooling before I could get it all done. So instead, I called in hubby and had him assist. I alternately ladled a ladleful of hot mixture into the separate chip-filled bowls. Then hubby and I each stirred one bowl until our chips had melted. He poured his peanut butter mixture, then I poured mine on top. This worked well.

Let cool to room temp. Cut into squares.

Mini Baklava Cups

I got this recipe from a magazine at work; shame on me for not writing down which. I'll have to get it Monday. Gotta have proper citations, right?

Anyhoo, I love baklava. From the moment I tried this glorious dessert in middle school (thank you, Ms. Gutsmeidl) I have loved it, but I absolutely hate dealing with phyllo. It's a pain. We don't get along. So when I saw this recipe using preformed phyllo cups, I had to give it a try. It's single size and portability made it great for a get-together as well.

Everyone seemed to enjoy these adorable treats, but also agreed that it somewhat misses the true baklava taste. One guest likened them to health-food bars, though positively mind you.


Mini Baklava Cups

• 2 packages mini phyllo dough shells
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 cup shelled pistachios
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tbsp butter, melted

Heat oven to 350F. Place shells on a baking sheet, preferably one that has a rim.

In a small cup or bowl, stir together the honey and lemon juice until they are well blended; set aside.

In a food processor (or stupid Magic Bullet) pulse pistachips, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves until just chopped. Add butter and pulse to distribute evenly.

Spoon a rounded teaspoonful into each shell. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are lightly brownded.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of the honey mixture over the hot filling. (I ran out and had to mix a little bit more together) Cool on a wire rack. Make sure something is placed underneath in case of drips.

The holidays are ALMOST over and I'm giving the kitchen a rest

Weeeellllll. Naughty me, I haven't updated any of the things I've baked. I apologize. But the amount I've baked has grown larger and larger that updating has become a bigger and bigger time commitment. So, now for the sploooge of recipes. Here's a preview.

Hubby and I had a Christmas shindig, for which I got to try a bunch of new things. Menu included:
mini baklava cups
peanut butter pixies
tomato chevre tarts
peanut brittle

I also baked cookies this year for my friends and co-workers. I made a total of 24 dozen, with 6 varieties:
fudge drops
oatmeal raisin
cranberry-orange pinwheels
raspberry split-seconds
molasses spice
cardamom

AND on top of all of that, I also experimented a bit with my mini tart pans. AND I made apple chips, which are amazing.

I think that's it. I'm just about sure. I hope you enjoy the onslaught of posts. Happy holidays!

Fudge Success

Hello all,
I come bringing wonderful news!! I've made tasty fudge!! My wonderful aunt, reading about my fudge failures, told me her mom's recipe. I tried it and voila!


Preeettty smooth chocolately fudge! And it's from the recipe on the back label of the marshmallow creme jar. Delicious. It's very similar to the other fudge recipes I've tried, except at the end, marshmallow fluff is added. Boy, does it make a difference! A happy, delicious, wonderful, ego-restoring difference.

Fantasy Fudge

• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 5 oz (2/3 cup) evaporated milk
• 12 squares (12 oz) baker's semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 7-oz jar marshmallow creme
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with foil; set aside.

In a large, heavy saucepan, bring sugar, butter, and evaporated milk to a boil over medium heat. STIR CONSTANTLY. Boil for 4 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 234F (I went by the temperature, which was much longer than 4 minutes). STIR CONSTANTLY. Once 234F has been reached, remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallow creme; stir until thoroughly melted and incorporated. Add vanilla and nuts (if you chose to use them). Stir well.

Immediately pour the fudge into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Let stand at room temp for 4 hours, until completely cooled. Cut into delicious squares of fudgy goodness. Store in an air-tight container.

ENJOY FUDGY DELICIOUS.

Eggnog Thumbprints and other musings

Hello my lovelies! I return from a hellish semester filled with reading and a 24 page paper on the racial divide in the misogyny of author Richard Wright's fiction. Wooooo! Time for some Christmas cooking!!! I know I promised Thanksgiving recipes, and I'll get around to updating those too.

Today, hubby and I decorated our (too large) Christmas tree, which is always a somewhat special time as he proposed to me as we finished decorating my family's tree. And the decorating of the tree really made me want to bake some Christmasy goodies.


First came the fudge. Two batches. And I failed at both. I first tried an Alton Brown recipe, paying strict attention to the temperature on the candy thermometer. It was a disaster. Then I decided to go with Nigella's recipe, adding chocolate. Again, disaster, but on a smaller scale. Since I've tried multiple recipes, it must be me. What am I doing wrong?? I had an aunt who made the BEST fudge ever, but I was too young to learn her ways (also, she lived multiple hours away). Now, she's no longer with the family so my one fudge link is gone! I do have another aunt who has suggested another recipe, which I will try tomorrow. I will persevere until I have some creamy, chocolatey fudge awesomeness. It's my mission.

So the fudge failed. Being a trooper, I moved on. I'd come across this recipe for rum-eggnog thumbprints. I thought I'd audition them for a spot in my Christmas cookie line-up as them seem like such a festive embodiment of Christmas cheer.

Eggnog Thumbprints

Cookie

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together buter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Add to butter/sugar mixture.

Drop 1 inch balls of cookie dough onto baking sheet. Make deep depression in the middle of each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Cool completely. While the cookies are cooling, prepare frosting.

Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp rum
• nutmeg, to garnish

In a small bowl, mix together the butter, powdered sugar, and rum. Make sure to eliminate any lumps the powdered sugar might form.

Spoon mixture into a ziplock baggie and cut the edge off one tip. Squeeze the icing into the depressions in each cookies.

Sprinkle with nutmeg.


Alright. So, I was a bit disappointed with these, though the idea is awesome. I felt something of the eggnog taste was missing; I'm thinking of trying to make a more involved icing, involving cream and eggyolk. Hubby enjoyed the cookies. I suppose I'm just looking for things to knock my socks off.

*ed. note .. A day later, these cookies seem to have a bit more eggnogy flavor, and unlike many sugar cookies, have not hardened. Points for this!