Christmas Memories, Cookies, Candies, and Desserts.

CookingWithCarlo.com ^ | Nov. 26 2005 | Carlo3b, Dad, Chef, Author

[Full Court]

Mr. Carlo, do you have a ping list?
If you do, please add me.

[nutmeg]

bttt

[carlo3b]

What wonderful memories.. You made me recall that we had a special Christmas oilcloth tablecloth, with little reindeer's all around the edges.. I wonder what became of that thing.. I have saved most everything else.. Thanks so much for stopping by.. MERRY CHRISTMAS.. :)

 
CHEWY PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE BARS

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup chopped peanuts


Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease or spray with cooking spray a 9-inch pan.
1) Using an electric mixer, mix butter, peanut butter, sugars, and egg until smooth.
2) Stir together flour and baking powder and mix into peanut butter mixture.
3) Spread in prepared pan.
Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
4) Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips and chopped peanuts.
Let stand a few minutes, then spread chocolate over the baked cookie. (All chips do not have to melt.)
When cool, cut into 20 bars.

[Gabz]

What would the Christmas season be without this wonderful Italian coffee dunking biscuit

LOL!!!

My biscotti recipe is nearly identical, but I use pistachios and dried cranberries for the Red and Green of Christmas........and I'm not even Italian :)

[carlo3b]

You are on my list, better buckle up.. this becomes a bumpy ride when we get going.. :)  

PEPPER AND SPICE COOKIES

 Pepper and spice and everything nice cookie.. It seems as though every nationality make their own kind of spice cookies, but our family added ground pepper to these fabulous cookies and now wonder why we don't put pepper in all our baked goods. Now I find that we were not that unique, because the German's have a similar cookie and call them, pfeffernusse.. The Swedish too have something close.. sheesh..  and call them pepparkakor.

• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• grated rind of 1/2 orange
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon orange juice
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350°F.
1) Chop walnuts finely.
2) Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and cloves. Stir in chopped walnuts
3) Cream together butter, sugar, and orange rind. Stir in egg and orange juice. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
4) Roll 1 heaping teaspoon of dough at a time into a ball.
5) Place on lightly greased baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
Bake in center of preheated 350° F oven until firm to touch, but not browned.
Put immediately on wire rack to cool.
6) Make glaze by combining confectioners sugar and water.
Dip one side of each cookie into glaze.
Yield: 3 - 4 dozen cookies

[carlo3b]

WOW.. I use pistachios and dried cranberries for the Red and Green of Christmas..and I'm not even Italian :)

Well, you are an temporary Italian for that great tip.. Enjoy this bad boy..

 

THE CLASSIC CANNOLI

 Cannoli are the classic Sicilian confection, filled with ricotta. If you wish to make the shell as well, and you really should, you need to purchase cannoli tubes for this recipe. Don't worry, once you taste these bad boys, you will make them much more often..

Shells

• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup Marsala
• oil for frying

Filling

• 2 3/4 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup candied peel

Equipment: 12 cannoli tubes
For the shells:
1) Sift together flour and cocoa powder. Mix in butter, egg, sugar and Marsala.
When the dough is smooth, set aside to rest for about one hour.
2) Roll into a thin sheet and cut into 4 inch squares.
3) Place cannoli tube across squares diagonally and roll. Press the center together gently. The tubes will be open at each end.
Do not close dough at ends - they will be stuffed later.
4) Heat oil for deep frying. When oil boils, immerse the dough-covered tubes a few at a time.
Cook until golden brown. Remove, being careful that ho hot oil spills from the centers of the tubes. Set aside to cool.
When cooled, remove shells from tubes.
Filling:
5) Mix together ricotta, sugar, and cinnamon. If you need, you may add a little milk to make workable.
This should be a thick enough to cram into shells.
6) Stir in chocolate chips and candied peel. Combine well.
7) Fill each shell with ricotta mixture when shells are totally cooled.
Makes 1 dozen cannoli

[carlo3b]

 
THE DREADED FRUITCAKE

This is the real thingy.. I cannot understand how the traditional holiday fruitcake got such a bad name, other than by those who refused to even try it.. Hahahaha  The hardest thing about preparing this recipe is, accumulating the ingredients, and the follow-through. This may be why folks tend to make several at a time.. Our family made about 2 dozen at Christmas and give them as gifts.. I want to believe that those were eaten by the recipient and not pawned off on others, perhaps even you.
If it was, you are in for a real treat indeed..  LOLOL
I have included the metric measurements because I have so many requests for this recipe once it is tasted and enjoyed, that they tell their friends about it, many from outside of the US.. Enjoy

• 1 cup butter (gm 250)
• 1 cup sugar (ml 250)
• 5 eggs
• 2 cups seedless Raisins (gm 360)
• 2 cups sultanas (gm 360)
• 1 cup currants (gm 250)
• 1 cup dates, chopped (gm 250)
• 4 tablespoons mixed Peel (gm 50)
• 4 ounces pecans (gm 125)
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (ml 2.5)
• 2 teaspoons powdered ginger (ml 10)
• 4 teaspoons mixed spice (ml 20)
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves (ml 2.5)
• 2 cups flour (ml 500)
• 1 tablespoon cream of tartar (gm 5)
• 2 tablespoons baking soda (Bicarbonate of Soda) (gm 10)
• 1 tablespoon milk (ml 15)
• 1 tablespoon golden Syrup (ml 15)
• 1 tablespoon vinegar (ml 15)
• 1 cup brandy (ml 250)
• 4 ounces cherries (gm 125)

Preheat oven to 250°F. Yes only 250..
1) Melt butter. Set aside to cool. When cool, mix with sugar and eggs in bowl large enough to accommodate all ingredients.
2) Stir in all raisins, sultanas, currants, dates, mixed peel, pecans, nutmeg, ginger, mixed spice, cloves, and flour. Mix well.
3) In small bowl, mix together cream of tarter, milk, syrup, vinegar and half the brandy. Add to dried fruit mixture. Stir to combine. Stir in cherries.
4) Spoon mixture into buttered 10 inch cake tin. Cover tightly and bake in preheated 250° F oven for 3 - 4 hours.
(Optional - place shallow pan of hot water under mold. If you do this, from time to time, check to see if water needs refilling.)
Remove from oven and pour remaining brandy over.
Pour more brandy over cake at least twice (every 3 - 4 weeks) after baking.
These cakes must be kept in an airtight container to ripen.
THIS RECIPE CAN BE DOUBLED OR QUADRUPLED.
This recipe makes 1 Fabulous fruitcake..

[codercpc]

Please add me to your list, I look for your posts around every Holiday.

[BunnySlippers]

EAST 62nd LEMON CAKE
Makes one 9'' cake

Supposedly a favorite of Nancy Reagan.

FOR THE CAKE:
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
Finely grated rind of 2 large lemons

FOR THE GLAZE:
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar

• To make the cake, adjust an oven rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350°. You need a 9'' x 4 1/2'' tube pan or Bundt pan. It should have a 12-cup capacity. Butter the pan and then dust it all lightly with fine, dry bread crumbs. Set aside.

• Sift together the flour, baking powder, and  salt, and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and beat until incorporated. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula. (The mixture might look curdled—it’s okay.) On lowest speed, add the dry ingredients alternately in three additions, with the milk in two additions, beating only until incorporated after each addition.

• Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the lemon rind. Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Level the top of the batter by rotating the pan briskly.

• Bake for 1 hour and 5 to 10 minutes, until a cake tester (a toothpick will work) comes out clean. Let the cake stand in the pan for 5 minutes and then cover with a rack and invert. Lift pan from cake, leaving the cake upside down. Place rack over a large piece of foil or wax paper and prepare the glaze.

• To make the glaze, mix the lemon juice with the sugar and brush all over the hot cake. The cake will absorb it. Let cool completely and then transfer to a cake plate. It is best to wait a few hours before cutting the cake.

• This cake can be made with 1/2 cup Key lime juice instead of 1/3 cup lemon juice (in the glaze) and it is wonderful. I think any kind of lime juice would be equally wonderful. But even if you use lime juice instead of lemon juice, don’t change the grated rind in the cake itself (lemon is better there).

[Guenevere]

Carlos, I love!!! fruitcake....
..and mincemeat pies.

Do you have a good mincemeat pie recipe...or a mince tart...(Grandmother's is long gone, can't find it)

I would never, ever throw away a fruitcake.

A Jamaican friend of mine brings me a Rum FruitCake every Christms that's absolutely soaked in the stuff!!

[Miss Marple]

Oh, carlo, bless you for the candy cane cookie recipe. My neighbor in another city used to make those. I have lost contact with her and never got the recipe! Now I can make them!! Thanks!!

[carlo3b]

I haven't tried these in years, but they are in the stack of old recipes that were prepared in the early '50's.. Hope it's the right one.. :)

ITALIAN WINE COOKIES

• 4-1/2 c flour
• 1 c wine, red or white
• 3/4 c sugar
• 3/4 c oil
• 1 tsp. anise seed
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350
1) Mix all ingredients together into a dough ball.
2) Knead on a floured board. Roll into preferred shapes. 
3) Sprinkle with additional granulated sugar.
Let dough sit 20 min to rise a bit.
Bake 15-20 min at 350

[carlo3b]

    Old Time Mincemeat Pie

    * 1 1/4 pounds round steak, cut into small pieces
    * 1 cup apple cider
    * 4 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and finely diced
    * 1 1/3 cups white sugar
    * 2 1/2 cups dried currants
    * 2 1/2 cups raisins
    * 1/2 pound chopped candied mixed fruit peel
    * 1/2 cup butter
    * 1 (16 ounce) jar sour cherry preserves
    * 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1 (16 ounce) can pitted sour cherries, drained with liquid reserved
    *  I buy a 9" Pie double shell

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
1)  In a Dutch oven, combine beef and apple cider. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, or until meat is tender. Remove meat and coarsely chop, then return it to the pot.
2)  Stir in chopped apples, sugar, currants, raisins, citrus peel, butter and cherry preserves. Add ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Let simmer, uncovered, over low heat until mixture is very thick, about 90 minutes. Stir in cherries and remove from heat.
3)  Refrigerate tightly covered for at least a week before using.
4)  Put filling in unbaked pie shell and place pastry on top. Crimp edges and poke several holes in top pastry. Brush top with cream and sprinkle with sugar.
 5)  Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Spunky]

Yummy! Yummy!

Can you use Splenda in place of the sugar?

[Full Court]

Thank you for putting me on your list. I am not a good cook at all!!!

My 14 year old son loves basketball and The Food Network. So I am trying to get better at this.

[carlo3b]

Oh, carlo, bless you for the candy cane cookie recipe.

It is my pleasure dear girl.. :)

 
Neapolitan Christmas Cookies

Straight from the the Aunt Rose, Naples files, in Italian they are called Paste Reali..
They may take a bit of work to find all of the ingredients, but they are truly worth it.. great cookies!

  For the frosting:
    * 2 1/3 cups sugar
    * 4/5 cup water
    * A pinch sodium bicarbonate

  For the pastries:
    * 3/4 pound shelled almonds
    * 1 pinch powdered cinnamon
    * 1 2/3 cups sugar
    * 2 fingers (of a glass) water
    * Edible rice paper or wafers, about 3 inches in diameter.
    * Silvered or colored candied almonds (you should be able to find these in a wedding supply store).

Bring some water to a boil, remove it from the fire, and soak the almonds for 5 minutes. Pat them dry and rub the skins away, then grind them by running them through a meat grinder three times, then a food mill once, sprinkling them with a little water to keep them from giving off their oil (you can also use a blender, using short bursts.

Combine the 2 fingers of water and the sugar in a pot (if it's round-bottomed, so much the better) and heat, stirring gently, until a drop of syrup poured from the spoon onto a plate does not spread out, and when crushed between thumb and forefinger forms fine threads when you separate your fingers. Add the almonds and cinnamon, and cook over a very low flame, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Remove the mixture from the fire and let it cool, stirring frequently. When it is almost cold, spread the it in a half-inch thick layer over the wafers, smoothing the top and sides with the blade of a knife. Depending upon the shape of your wafers you will end up with either diamond or round shaped cookies; they should be about 2 inches across at the most.

Let the cookies set for 24 hours, then trim away the excess wafer.

Prepare the icing by boiling the syrup to the stage described above. Test frequently because if you cook too long the syrup will be too hard. Once it reaches the proper degree of doneness pour the syrup into a bowl and whip it until it is white and fluffy (this takes patience). Spread the frosting over the cookies, dot each with a candied almond, and let dry.

These will keep for several days, though you can expect them to vanish first.

[carlo3b]

Can you use Splenda in place of the sugar?

I would try Splenda in almost any recipe that didn't contain liquior.. For no other reason except I believe it may cause the Splenda to become too sweet in booze.. :)

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Splenda Granular
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 6 squares (3/4 package) Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 9x5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
1) Combine flour, Splenda Granular, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Coarsely chop baking chocolate bars.
2) Mix eggs, bananas, oil, and milk in a large bowl until well blended. Add dry ingredients; stir until just moistened.
Stir in chopped chocolate and walnuts.
3) Pour into greased loaf pan.
4) Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

[spectre]

Sounds good, chef Carlo. I don't recall the anise seed, but it's a nice touch. Bless you, dear Carlo and many thanks :)

sw

[carlo3b]

Trust me, you will get much better as you try different items.. It's a growing lesson that becomes so much easier when you just take a chance on new recipes.. As a bonus you can always come back to any of us, before you take a plunge!.. :)

The Absolute Best Oatmeal Cookies

    * 1 cup shortening
    * 2 cups brown sugar
    * 3 eggs
    * 1 cup sour milk
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    * 3 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1 teaspoon baking powder
    * 1 teaspoon baking soda
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 2 cups rolled oats
    * 1 cup chopped walnuts
    * 1 cup raisins
    * 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
1) In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
2) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla and sour milk.
3) Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, gradually stir into the creamed mixture.
4) Finally, stir in the rolled oats, and your choice of additions.
5) Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.