2010 - Too Cranky for Crinkles?

I thought I'd get a lot done today; that's what I get for thinking!

Once I got Charlie off to school, I got the Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons in the oven. While they baked, I made the filling (which is so good, you'll be tempted to eat it on its own!). I must have been very generous, though, because I nearly ran out of filling. I wound up with 4 dozen (doesn't seem like much for a double batch!). There was one left over too  — YUM! I packed these up in the freezer (leaving absolutely no more room now).

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I made the dough for Snickerdoodles and Chewy Molasses Spice Crinkles, thinking I'd get both of those done today. However, life snuck up on me — laundry, shopping, dinner and looking after Charlie and his many demands — and I managed to bake only the Snickerdoodles. I'm using Lisa's recipe but I don't think I will use it again because of my perennial complaint: not enough cinnamon! With this recipe, you roll the dough into balls, which are then coated in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. So, I beefed it up with more cinnamon and I hope that will help. These take quite a long time to finish (especially if you make a double batch!) so I'll have to save the Molasses Crinkles for tomorrow. I got 8 1/2 dozen Snicks.

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I baked the Molasses Spice Crinkles while watching the snow fall. These are really good to eat but they are such a pain to deal with sometimes. Maybe it was just me because it was the last batch of cookies for the year and I was ready to be finished, but I found them too fiddly and messy. The dough was so sticky and, again, it has to be rolled into balls, which are then coated in sugar. Best to just get them all rolled and plopped into a spare bowl, then roll them all at once in the sugar. Otherwise, it's just too messy and your hands will look like prunes when you finish because you'll have to wash the sticky dough off after loading each tray-full. Yield: only 5 1/2 dozen because I got fed up!

2010 - Wake & Bake

Right after I woke up and had a cup of tea, I made my second double batch of Hedgehog Cookies for the season because Charlie has eaten them all! Admittedly, the last batch was nearer to Thanksgiving, but we have most certainly run out. Charlie and his friend Christopher easily ate a 1/2 dozen after dinner, leaving 5 dozen for the snowman cookie jar.

And because I prefer traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies, I made a double double batch of Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies. I also use these to give as presents more than any other variety of cookie. I came away with 11 dozen, so that should definitely do me. My little freezer in the garage is getting full!

I also made the dough for the Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons. After getting those in the fridge until I can bake them tomorrow, I finally frosted the Sugar Cookies and got those all packed away in the freezer too. Whew! I'm exhausted again! 

2010 - Put Your Back Into It

After cutting out all the Sugar Cookies, I had to skip a day of baking yesterday (Dec. 9). I'm knackered (to coin a British expression) and my back still aches! Sugar Cookies can be simple or difficult, depending on how much you want to do and how detailed you want them to be. So you can have perfectly satisfactory results even if you don't want to invest too much time or trouble.

Lots of Sugar Cookies to decorate.

I tend to go overboard with the shapes, colors and decorations. I have a big box of cutters of every shape, make and size. I always keep a palette of gel paste on hand. Same with powdered egg whites, to make the Royal Icing. And I collect decorations as avidly as I do the cutters! I'm always so happy with the results that I keep making them despite the trouble — at least once a year.

Just a sprinkle and still delicious!

Still, I have been known to cut out all the cookies in a single shape and simply sprinkle them with colored sugar before baking. And they are delicious that way! But for the holidays, I like to invest more thought and effort into the frosting and decorating for those extra-special results. And it's nice to do a few this way so you can enjoy them straight away!

Dunkable Brownies - so delicious and so easy.

But rather than try to do any more work bent over today, I decided to mix up a batch of Dunkable Brownies (and the Sugar Cookies can wait till tomorrow to be frosted).

I also plan to make Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons — the dough, at least, which can sit overnight in the fridge. These are so great and they remind me of snowballs. We always need more Hedgehog Cookies, and I want to make Nestle's Chocolate Chip Cookies (especially to give away). I'm not excited that Charlie has requested "black-and-white" cookies (Checkerboard Cookies). Ack! They're adorable little shortbread cookies but they take a LOT of work, with an egg-wash and a ruler! So, we'll see about those.

Checkerboard Cookies are pretty and work-intensive.

But for today, I concentrated on Dunkable Brownies and wound up with 6 dozen, which are now nestled in Ziplock bags in the freezer. I made the perfunctory no-nuts dozen for Charlie because he really likes my brownie cookies too.

2008 - From Berry to Spice, These Cookies Are Nice

Strawberry Shortbread boasts a glossy pink icing that's bursting with flavor.
 Snickerdoodle Croissants are swollen with cinnamon and toasted pecans.

Today I made Better Homes and Garden's Strawberry Shortbread, which I'm hoping Charlie will enjoy. The dough can be a bit difficult, mainly because it's very dry and crumbly (like all shortbread I've ever made). It just needs to be pulled together, wrapped in cling film and stored in the fridge for at least an hour.

They came out tasty enough — light and buttery — but I don't think the strawberry flavor says much. Mom made them too and said the same thing about hers! So I added an extra tablespoon of strawberry jam to the icing recipe. I was surprised at how good they were once they were iced (not being a huge strawberry fan) and had two when we got back from Boy Scouts. Charlie had one and said he liked it but I'm doubtful — or he would have had more! We wound up with about four dozen berry beatific cookies.

I also made the dough for yet another variety of Snickerdoodles — the Snickerdoodle Croissant Cookies, also from BHG. They were cute, fun and deliciously cinnamon-y! I'm always on the lookout for a good Snick — one where you can really taste the cinnamon — and these do the trick. I also like them because they have a unique appearance and look great on the cookie tray. What made them even more enjoyable was the addition of toasted pecans! I made nine no-nuts for Charlie but he didn't like them! I'll eat those too! Next year, I'll know better, though. Yield: 4 dozen.

I wanted to try Martha's Lemon Poppyseed Crisps but I'm sure I've run out of time (it's Dec. 18!). I still want to make another batch of Pumpkin Bread mini loaves and our last batch of Chex Party Mix for the season. 

The 2008 Christmas Cookie Tray features Sugar Cookie Cutouts,
Coconut Cream-Filled  Macaroons, Pumpkin Muffins, Chewy Molasses Spice Crinkles,
 Dunkable Brownies, Strawberry Shortbread and Snickerdoodle Croissant Cookies.

2008 - I'll Trade My Cookies for Your Saffron Buns

I cranked out the Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons today (after Charlie and I walked to town for powdered sugar). I think I got only three dozen from a double batch! I had to get them finished today because I wanted to give some to my friend, Lucy (who loves coconut), and she's going to her Mum's for Christmas. I gave her about nine of them and we each savored one with our tea.

Earlier, I made the Chewy Molasses Spice Crinkles while I filled the macaroons with the coconut cream. These are truly, truly divine! I definitely will be making these again! So soft and chewy and gingerbread-y. I didn't count these either but I think there were about nine dozen. They're stashed in the freezer for now. YUM!

I took a dozen of these giant spicy cookies and a dozen Pumpkin Muffins to my friend Harriet, and she gave me some of her gingerbread (Pepparkakor) and some of her Swedish Saffron Buns (Saffransbullar). To honor her Swedish heritage (in England), she makes these every year for St. Lucia Day. The sweet yeast rolls are studded with raisins or currants and usually S-shaped, to resemble a cat. They're not overly sweet, like cinnamon rolls, but they're flavorful and very nice with a hot drink. She sweetly gave me the recipe — complete with illustrations!

When I got home and while Charlie was playing, I finally made a batch of Vanilla-Bean Butter Cookies. The recipe calls for 3 vanilla bean pods, which can be expensive, so I hope they are worth it! The two dough disks are in the fridge till tomorrow. We have a party to go to tomorrow too, so I will need to get these finished early.

Here's Harriet's recipe for Saffron Buns. Johanna Kindvall has a wonderful illustration of the various bun shapes (with their English names) at Kokblog. 

Harriet's Swedish Saffron Buns

200 g butter

1 1/2 pints milk (UK pint equals 10 oz)

50 g yeast (or dry equivalent)

1/2 tsp salt

100 ml sugar (scant 1/2 cup)

1 g saffron, ground

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1 egg

1 1/2 pints bread flour (about 3 cups)

A few raisins that have been soaked in warm tea or water

1 egg, beaten, for brushing

Melt butter and add the milk to warm to 37 degrees Celsius, if using fresh yeast. If using dried, follow package instructions. Crumble the fresh yeast and stir in the butter and milk mixture until combined. Add the saffron and let it infuse for a minute or two.

Add some flour, mix in the egg, sugar, salt and cardamom. Then start adding more flour to form a soft dough that can be handled without getting sticky fingers.

Dust with flour, cover with tea towel and place in a warm but not hot place to rise to double (approximately 40 minutes). 

Place dough on clean surface and knead until all air has escaped. You may add some more flour if dough is still sticky.

Divid dough into quarters. Roll each into a long sausage and divide equally into smaller pieces. (Roughly eight pieces per sausage.)

Shape the dough pieces into S-shapes, in which the top and bottom curls into itself. 

Place shapes on greaseproof paper on a baking tray. Leave plenty of room between each bun. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise to approximately double in size.

Carefully insert a plumped raisin in each "curl" and brush with beaten egg.

Place baking tray in the middle of the oven at 225 degrees Celcius for 5-10 minutes, depending on size. Keep checking so that they don't color too much. 

Cool on wire rack, covered with a tea towel.

God Jul!

2008 - My Kingdom for a Can of Pumpkin

Charlie and I mixed up another batch of Pumpkin Bread today (Dec. 13) but this time I made muffins and mini-muffins; 2 dozen and 3 dozen, respectively. This year, Waitrose didn't have any canned pumpkin Thanksgiving week! I had seen it with the fruit fillings earlier in the year, so I didn't worry about stocking up, thinking it would be there regularly. Skyco doesn't sell it either; they have pumpkin pie filling, which isn't the same thing at all.

Luckily, I had four cans saved from last year that still hadn't expired. I had used one for pumpkin bread. I used one for a pie at Thanksgiving. I used another can today and the last one will make another batch of Pumpkin Bread mini-loaves. All I need now is cream cheese to spread on it.

I also made the "dough" for Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons and a new effort from Martha Stewart: Chewy Molasses Spice Crinkles (they're supposed to be soft). The doughs went in the fridge and I'll bake them tomorrow.

Now I'm going to look through my books and magazines to see what else I want to make, besides another double batch of Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies. Finally, I hope to make Vanilla-Bean Butter Cookies — I have wanted to try them for years. And Charlie has requested Overnights. They're easy and he really likes them because they're simple.

2007 - Coconut Cream Is a Dream!

I was all set to make Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons today but I didn't have any cream of coconut so Charlie and I had to walk to town. Before we left, I called my friend, Lucy, to see if she would look for molasses while she was Christmas shopping in Oxford. I told her she can probably find it at a health food store.

When we got home, I made 4 1/2 dozen macaroons. I gave Lucy a dozen for bringing the molasses for tomorrow's Gingerbread party. I LOVE these cookies at every stage. The cookies that you sandwich together are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. And the filing is just scrumptious - thick and creamy and coconutty. Next year, just make the filling and eat it up with a big spoon! Yum!

Mom telephoned while I was putting the macaroons in the fridge to set. She called because she was sad about Lisa. Poor thing! She was thinking about her because she was making Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons too! They made her think about Lisa because she was making them last year when Mike called with the awful news of her death. We talked, cried, laughed. Eventually, she was OK and ready to finish her cookies.

Afterward, I cut out and baked all the Gingerbread Kids. Charlie helped me count them - we got 47 boys and 41 girls. I made the icing too and divided it among 10 piping bags and stashed it all in the fridge. We're all set for tomorrow's party now. YAY! We can't wait! 

2007 - If You Give a Friend a Cookie

I decided to make Mom's Citrus Slice & Bake Cookies today, so I mixed up the dough and socked it away in the fridge, along with a batch of Kolacky dough.

Citrus Slice & Bake Cookies from Land O' Lakes butter.

With the logs chilling, I had enough time before picking up Charlie from school to make Grandma Baker's Criss-Cross Cookies. It's my favorite peanut butter cookie because the texture is chewy. I finished with nearly 6 dozen. Before I went for Charlie, I packed up all the Sugar Cookies (except a small tray-full for munching). 

I bought four cookie trays on eBay. They're plastic Santa trays that read: Cookies for Santa. I used four to make gifts for Charlie's teachers and I get to keep one for myself! 

This year's cookie trays ready to be wrapped.

The Citrus Cookies yielded 5 dozen. I had to brush the semi-logs with butter to make sure the sugar sticks. By the way, I used 1 tsp lemon extract, 1 tsp orange extract and only made orange-colored sugar. Next time, I'll do a lemon zest-lemon sugar version too. 

I didn't get to the Kolacky today. I was out of time and needed to assemble the cookie tray gifts. They were lovely, as ever! I also made four treat boxes for "the girls" that I meet for tea on Friday mornings. They're the mums I've met at Charlie's school. They were very pleased and surprised. I also sent in treat bags filled with Sugar Cookies and other sweets to the children in Charlie's class. 

It's Dec 6 and I still have baking to do but I'm taking a break this weekend. I'd like to make the Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons, Dunkable Brownies, more Hedgehog Cookies and finish the Kolacky. And I'm thinking that should just about do it.

Cookie gifts for friends and teachers.

2005 - Where Did December Go?

Ah, here it is Jan. 1, so I had better add a postscript to 2005's Christmas baking. Christmas always comes faster than you expect and I was too busy baking and wrapping and shopping to make any more diary entries.

My brother, Michael, went out to Mom's house and made Whoopie Pies, Buckeyes and Nestle's Chocolate Chip Cookies. He's becoming quite the baker!

Lisa made Poor Man's Cake, Snickerdoodles, Magic Cookie Bars and Pillsbury Sugar Cookies (ready-to-bake rolls). Poor Man's Cake has been in our family's recipe box for years.  It's a chocolate quick-bread, studded with raisins, that is traditionally made in a tube (or Bundt) pan. My great-grandmother used to make it, back in the 1940s, when sugar, butter and eggs were rationed. It was a "poor man's" fruit cake that was served at Christmas time. She once accidentally made it with cayenne pepper and the family teased her for years! The recipe itself dates back to the late 1800s.

I've written the recipe down, even though I don't usually make it because Lisa and Aunt Catherine do. The recipe is strange because it's the one Great-Grandma Berghaus used (so I copied it just as she had it). So it doesn't read like a contemporary recipe at all. Still, the results are satisfying.

Mom made loads of cookies and Pumpkin Bread. She and I both love the new Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons we found in Martha Stewart's Cookies magazine. 

I don't think I'm going to make the Snickerdoodle Pinwheels again. I love making them and they look great — but they're just not cinnamon-y enough for me. I say that about all the Snicks I make. One day, I'll find one that's perfect.

I can't believe I didn't make Sugar Cookies this year. I'll have to get going just as early next year so I can be sure to make them. They need to be made first thing, though, because they take so much time and effort. But they are certainly worth it; and kids love them!

Poor Man's Cake

4 c water

1/2 c oil

1 box raisins (12 oz)

Cook until the raisins are soft.

Sift together:

4 c flour

2 c sugar

3 1/2 tsp spices (ginger, cinnamon, all-spice and cloves)

4 tsp baking powder

1/3 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 c cocoa

Mix the raisins and the water/oil mixture into the dry ingredients.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. 

Obviously, some steps aren't described as well as they could be. For instance, boil the raisins, oil and water for about 3 minutes and let cool completely before adding to the dry ingredients. The measurements for the spices aren't  precise. I should think 1 tsp each of the first three; and 1/2 tsp of the cloves. You should grease and flour (or spray) the cake pan generously. Watch the cake when it's in the oven; it could be done in as little as 30 to 50 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

2005 - Cookies Make Great Gifts!

I figured out how to package the Christmas cookies for Charlie's teachers. There's a small drug store down Newbury Street that stocks stationery and some kitchen supplies. They sell white cake boxes, so I bought a few of those and a roll of clear plastic cellophane. I cut windows in the tops of the boxes, then cut the cellophane to fit. I put the various cookies in cupcake liners within the boxes and tied them up with ribbons. We gave a box of cookies to each of his teachers, the headmistress and the school secretary. It's a small, sweet school (there are only five students in Charlie's class!).

They included: Snickerdoodle Pinwheels, Kolacky, Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lime Meltaways, Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons and Dunkable Brownies.

After a week of maladies, I'm back in action! First, Charlie had the flu for two days. Then I got it for two days, during which time Neil and Charlie went for the Christmas tree. Even though I wasn't feeling 100 percent better, I decorated the tree with Charlie — and that's when I pulled a muscle in my back! Then Charlie got a bad cough and needed antibiotics. It's been an awful week! In fact, we're not fully recuperated but I whipped up a batch of gingerbread dough at Charlie's insistence, so he can make some Gingerbread Men tonight or tomorrow.

Then, because I gave so many away, I cranked out another batch of Nestle's Chocolate Chip Cookies, which produced a plentiful 5 dozen. Now the snowman cookie jar is filled up and there's a gallon-sized freezer bag full too. Some of those will go to Mark, the Parcel Force guy who brings my care packages — if he ever gets here with our box from Lisa. 

2005 - A Molasses by Any Other Name Would Taste As Sweet

Lyle's, Britain's oldest brand,
was purchased by Domino
(American Sugar Refining) in 1921.

I walked to town in search of molasses on Wednesday (Dec. 7). Neither of the two grocery stores carried them. They sold treacle and golden syrup (and sometimes even maple syrup, as a specialty item) but no molasses. I finally found it at the health food store, of all places! So many of my cookie quandaries have led me to research a food that I previously took for granted — like molasses.

So let me share what I know now: I could have bought the treacle! It's basically the same thing: uncrystalized syrup made during the refining of sugar.

See, sugar cane is boiled three times during the refinement process. The first boiling produces golden syrup, which is the sweetest of them all. Golden syrup is not used in the States, where corn syrup is the predominate choice.

Treacle or molasses result from the second boiling of sugar cane. The third boiling produces blackstrap molasses, which has the lowest amount of sugar and the most pungent taste. 

Brown sugar — including turbinado, muscovado and demerara — is also a by-product of the first boiling. It is the molasses in these sugar crystals that make it brown sugar (3.5 percent for light and 6.5 percent for dark).

Molasses, treacle, golden syrup, honey and corn syrup are all prized by bakers because they are non-grainy (invert) sugars, which are sweeter than sugar in baked goods, keep them moist longer, and prevent crystallization.

Molasses contain iron, calcium, magnesium
and potassium, and a low glycemic index.

I didn't know any of this until after I bought the molasses though. So, molasses in hand, I mixed up the dough for Moravian Spice Cookies and popped it into the fridge overnight. It is a very stiff dough and the cookies are a lot of work but I enjoyed making them again. I wound up with 16 dozen (182 disks). Martha says you get more than 300! No way. Again, my pet peeve — yield predictions that never come close to my actual yield. There is a lot of waste with these cookies too because you bake the dough as a sheet and then cut out the cookies. I don't mind though because Mom loves the scraps to put on vanilla ice cream!

Meanwhile, I made a double batch of Snickerdoodle Pinwheels. They're so cute! And Charlie loves them. The recipe made four logs, which produced 8 1/2 dozen cookies. I love making these  — rolling them up so they get a nice spiral. They need to chill in the fridge before they can be baked;  I used paper-towel tubes to chill the dough so they kept a nice, round shape. I was able to get them into the oven right after I picked up Charlie from school. I had to be careful not to over bake, so that they come out nice and chewy.

Mom called a few times today; she's been having problems with her cookie results; they have been too wet. So we kept going over everything and decided it was due to the fact that she had melted (instead of softened) the butter. I also suggested she not use diet (or low-fat) butter. As for her Pumpkin Bread, which didn't rise well, she probably just needs a new can of baking powder.

While the Snicks were baking, I whipped up a batch of Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons, from Martha Stewart's 2005 Holiday Cookies magazine. Mom turned me on to them. The recipe calls for unsweetened coconut but I use the same amount of sweetened coconut and reduced the sugar from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup. They go in the fridge for at least an hour. I was doubtful the "dough" would produce much but I wound up with 28 sandwiches. I would have had 29 but ...

The cookies themselves looked like little potato pancakes! And they were so delicious. I have never had any other cookie like this. I'll be making more of these, for sure. And this year too! The filling is so yummy I could eat it all without the cookies! I usually make these at Christmas but I think they'd be fantastic at Easter too.

Mom sent me the coconut extract that I needed for these (also not to be found at the supermarkets here — although the coconut cream is widely available).

Charlie was watching the Christmas episode of The Simpsons and asked for a Tree Cookie! That means I'll be baking Sugar Cookies this weekend! And Gingerbread Men. And more!

Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons

Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons

For the cookies:
3 c unsweetened finely shredded coconut
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg whites
1 tsp coconut extract
1/8 tsp coarse salt

For the filling:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp cream of coconut (or unsalted butter, softened)
1/4 c vegetable shortening
3/4 c confectioner's sugar
1 tsp coconut extract

Stir together coconut, sugar, egg whites, coconut extract, and salt in a large bowl. Refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Form heaping teaspoons of dough into balls; space 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Gently flatten to about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges begin to turn golden, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

Put butter, cream of coconut and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add confectioner's sugar and coconut extract; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Eat filling with a big spoon. Naw, just kidding. You'll be tempted though — it's dreamy good stuff.
Place a heaping teaspoon of filling on the bottom of 1 cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat. Transfer to a platter; cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until filling is firm, about 30 minutes. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving. Makes about 2 dozen. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.

This recipe was shared with Weekend Kitchen Creations, hosted by The Jenny Evolution.