Posted on 11/28/2017 3:26:23 PM PST by Jamestown1630
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, the bustle of preparing for Christmas begins. This weekend my husband put up our lights (every year he adds a little something, and by now I suspect our balcony and windows can be seen from space) and we've got most of the gift shopping done. Now I'm thinking about food.
I have never made Christmas cookies as much as I’d like because I felt they had to be done close to the holiday, when I'm usually very busy; and many recipes lose a lot if you freeze the baked product.
For some reason I didn’t think to make at least the dough ahead and freeze that, though I’ve done it with savory pastries. Here from All Recipes is a guide to freezing and then baking your cookie dough, and even your cookies:
http://dish.allrecipes.com/freezing-cookies-and-cookie-dough/
I recently obtained a copy of the first Food52 cookbook, " the first-ever online community cookbook", which has a lot of very interesting recipes, including a good recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana, and a roasted beet/citrus salad that I want to try.
It's a very nice book, the Kindle version of which is currently available on Amazon for $.99; and it includes ‘Secret Cookies’ - which apparently got their name because they were passed down in confidence by an elderly woman who said, “After I’m gone, you may give out the recipe.”:
https://food52.com/recipes/165-secret-cookies
-JT
Talking about pigging out, I usually was skinny and when I'd go to hoity toity gatherings, I would watch the cookie plate and try to discreetly take as many as I could ;-). Who can daintily eat one or two?
That sounds like where it would be at our Aldi also. They recently remodeled and the bread is now in that first I’ll. So I will take a look next time I go! I can’t believe I missed it. I adore sourdough
It’s OK to complain. You have been through hell. And eating is something that we have to do every day. It sounds very frustrating. How come they burn the roof of your mouth? That sounds odd. Is it a chemical thing?
They sound like they are so much trouble that I might actually lose weight if I get dentures. It almost doesn’t sound worth it, like you said about the chocolate. Although when I had my wisdom teeth removed as a child, I remember it was around Thanksgiving and I managed to eat a whole bunch of mixed nuts. I love those. Not much stops me from eating :-(
Ha, not me! I truly am a cookie addict. I have heard them called Russian teacakes & Mexican wedding teacakes. Never German.....interesting. I never fail to learn a lot of new things in every thread.
I was very impressed with it. I hope you can find it.
Yes, but there’s something unique. Where I grew up, there were several mom and pop bakeries. And they all had the same unique aroma. I don’t mean like yeast bread baking smells. I can “taste” the aroma in the brownies or the cookies. Maybe it was pure vanilla, or meringue powder. I use real butter, real vanilla, etc., but I don’t end up with the same aroma when I bake. And a place like Paneras doesn’t have it, either. Oh well. Just another one of life’s little mysteries.
Thanks for the heads up! I just bought the book for my Kindle. I've recently started collecting cookbooks on my Kindle, and I'm always looking out for bargains like this one. I'm a cookbook junkie, and buying them for the Kindle helps me to indulge my habit without adding to the clutter in my house. At 99 cents, how could I refuse?
I’ll go to town on Monday and look. I have a Republican women’s lunch that day. I probably won’t get there before :-(
I understand. It’s hell, but I’m trying to winnow-out about 200 hard-copy cookbooks right now.
(I need that space for OTHER books :-)
she said, Mom, why would you want to rush thru cooking?...
its a wonderful activity....
Mexican Wedding Cookies. Very easy recipe. Finely chopped pecans, flour, lots of butter, only a small amount of sugar, due to thick powdered sugar coating. Roll into balls, bake, cool, roll in a lot of powdered sugar. The high butter content causes a thick layer of powdered sugar to stick to them. Delicious but really high calorie. If you make them with almond flour and sugar free powdered sugar substitute (one product called Swerve, has zero carbs, zero calories), they’d make great ketogenic fat bombs. (One cup of chopped pecans has only 4.5 grams carb) Wow. A practically carb free cookie! (I’ve never tried making these with almond flour, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work about the same as regular flour.)
That’s true! I rarely use my pressure cooker. But I thought I might use it for rice or yogurt or especially to replace the stupid new crockpot that gets way too hot. Instead of keeping Mashed potatoes warm over Thanksgiving, like my old crockpot does, it burnt the edges!
I hear you. It’s like the mystery ingredient in the Belgian waffle mix I bought from a restaurant supply store. I don’t know what it is, but it adds that aroma that I can’t duplicate in my own recipe.
“It’s hell, but I’m trying to winnow-out about 200 hard-copy cookbooks right now.”
200! I thought I had too many but I guess I can keep buying, LOL!
Gluten-free dessert. Scrumptious and easy do-ahead. Chill 4 hours or more before serving.
NO-COOK POTTED CREME CARMEL
METHOD Layer in ramekin tsp br/sugar, combined softly whipped cup h/cream, 3 c Greek yogurt, dribble of vanilla.
Top w/ 1/3 c br/sugar. Saran/chill; will thicken, br/sugar forms caramel.
SERVE w/ almond biscotti, fresh strawberries, poached fruit.
Rocco de Spirito has a new cookbook out-—gluten-free recipes. Interestingly, he used puffed rice cereal as a binder in his meatloaf. Japanese cuisine uses rice flour.......maybe that’s why they’re so thin? Haven’t tried it....but maybe blendering uncooked rice into a powder can do the job. .....thickening sauces comes to mind.
A chef offered this recipe for a flour substitute:
METHOD Sift into large bowl
•2 cups brown rice flour
•2 cups white rice flour
•1/2 cup corn starch
•3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons potato starch (not flour)
•3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
•teaspoon xanthan gum.
Whisk/blend thoroughly. Store airtight/labeled in fridge.
Exactly the way I make mine. I also will skip the chopped nuts & wrap some dough around a toasted pistachio. My friend made hers w/ almond flour & they were amazing!!!!
When shaping and rolling the dough into little balls, your fingers get sticky and the dough eventually builds up if you aren't constantly wiping your fingers on a paper towel or something. How to fix this problem: Pour a little rum or bourbon (you only need a tablespoon or two) into a small dish or glass and dip your fingers into it after every 2nd or 3rd rum ball. Your fingers will stay clean and every 2nd or 3rd rum ball has just a little "something extra". ;-) Works great!
GREAT TIP.... thanks
I think Jacques Pepin sometimes uses instant, powdered mashed potatoes as a thickener in soups.
(The puffed rice as a binder for meatloaf sounds like a good idea. My husband uses oatmeal.)
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