Cam's Butterfinger Cookie

Ingredients:
1 3/4 C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1 C butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
3 C flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4-5 regular sized Butterfinger candy bars, crushed ( I use a fork and stab at the candy. )
Yield: 34 cookies with a #40 scoop. I also use a 70 scoop which makes a great size and yields twice the amount.

Preparation:
Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time along with vanilla. Stir soda and salt into flour and gradually beat four mixture into butter mixture. Mix in crushed candy bars. Scoop cookies and place on a parchment lined sheet. ( Place larger cookies 2 inches apart,THESE COOKIES SPREAD.) I stagger the cookies so they have plenty of room, 2 at the top of the baking sheet, then one cookie slightly below, then 2 and so on. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, rotating half way through cooking. Cool on wire racks and store airtight up to 3 days.

Cam came up with the idea to make Butterfinger cookies. He loves the candy bar and we figured if you can add chocolate chips to a cookie, why not a candy bar. His idea was genius! I first tried adding the crushed candy to the original nestle recipe and they were good. Then I realized that I had a great sugar cookie recipe that might be just a little bit better. I WAS RIGHT.
The original recipe for this cookie is a lemon flavored sugar cookie that was one of Martha's Cookie of the Month recipes. ( Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie to be exact, They are wonderful.) Carole (my cooking partner) and I created an unlimited amount of flavors from this basic recipe, it IS the perfect sugar cookie. The cookie is chewy on the inside and Martha's version is coated with sugar prior to baking so it remains crisp and crackly on the outside.
You can find hers on line under the name listed above, but here is a short version along with some the other varieties we have concocted. Follow the recipe above mixing 1 T of grated lemon zest and 1 T lemon juice (omit the vanilla and butterfingers) in with the sugar for 30 seconds, mixing the remaining ingredients as described above. Scoop and flatten cookies, Martha sprinkles them with sanding sugar, brushes them with water then sprinkles with sugar again prior to baking. Carole and I discovered you can scoop, flatten and freeze. Bag cookies once frozen then dip the tops of the cookies in sugar prior to baking.
Key Lime: same measurements, just use key limes
Coconut: add toasted coconut and coconut flavored rum instead of vanilla
Espresso: add espresso and Kahlua
Vanilla Bean: add granulated vanilla bean
Almond, Orange with cranberry and white chocolate chips. You get the idea, use your imagination and create your family favorite.
Martha's picture, of course, is better than mine, so I am using it for now. I will add the butterfinger picture soon.

Meringue Peppermint Kisses

I know, I know, this really isn't a cookie. But, it is a very yummy sweet treat perfectly designed for Christmas or any time of the year if you ask me. The original recipe is from Martha Stewart Living. My friend Carole and I have been making them
for a few years and created a slightly less complicated method from Martha's.
She pipes chocolate on the bottoms and creates a sandwich with two kisses, we either leave them plain or if dipped we use tempered or candy dipping chocolate. I prefer them without chocolate. I have included a picture of Martha's now and will upload a picture of ours when we make them on Monday.
The meringues take some time to bake, so plan accordingly, they also fare better in a dry climate. If you have a problem with humidity, store them in an airtight container with food safe desiccants.
*You will require a couple of special tools: piping bag(s) fitted with #22 star tip and a new small paintbrush. (It's MARTHA, certain complications just can't be avoided)
Two TIPS: The recipe makes a lot, so make them with a friend and split the results.
Make some creme brulee, shortbread sandwich cookies or another egg yolk only recipe at the same time since you are only using egg whites for the meringues.
Yield: Approximately 100 if you keep them single

Ingredients:
3 large egg whites
3/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp. pure peppermint extract
Red gel-paste food coloring
IF YOU WANT CHOCOLATE:
1 cup heavy cream
6 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped or I like Ghiradelli Chocolate Dipping Bar. (Can be found at my Sams Club during Christmas or on line at Ghiradelli dot com.)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, once you have made the meringue, secure the corners of the parchment with a dab of meringue. Have paint brush, food color and piping bag ready to go. ( A tall glass to rest your piping bag in when not in use is a good idea.)

In metal mixing bowl, combine egg whites and sugar. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. 2-3 minutes. Transfer bowl to your mixer and beat with the whisk on medium-high until you reach stiff peaks. Whip in peppermint.
With your paint brush, paint a few stripes of red food color from the tip of your piping bag almost to the top. (Martha says 2-3, we usually do 3-4) Fill your piping bag with meringue approximately 2/3-3/4 full, leaving enough room to twist the top and keep the whipped whites from overflowing when you pipe. Re-paint and refill bag as needed. The stripes will become faint as you pipe. Pipe small, 3/4 inch high star shapes onto prepared sheets.

Bake stars, approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes until crisp, but not brown. Cool on wire racks. Dip in chocolate, if desired, once the stars have cooled. Store in an airtight container.

Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbread (Beep's Favorite Cookie)

This recipe has very few ingredients and whenever you are faced with this, may I make one small request/recommendation . . . USE THE BEST PRODUCTS. Spending a little more for quality ingredients will make all the difference. Butter and vanilla are key ingredients here. I received this recipe from my friend Carole (from whom I receive so many amazing recipes and ideas) and it quickly became ONE of Beep's faves. I wish I could give credit to the cookbook, but I only have a faxed copy, so if I find out I will include that information at a later date. This is another cookie that freezes well. I love having an assortment of ready-to-bake cookies bagged and in the freezer. Quick to stir together by hand or in a mixer and easy to slice and bake these cookies are perfect for the novice baker!

Ingredients:
1 C toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature (use the best you can find)
2/3 C light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 C flour (I use King Arthur UN-bleached)
1/4 tsp. salt
Yield: about 4 dozen cookies
Mixing the Dough:

Beat together the butter and brown sugar, no lumps of sugar or streaks of butter should be visible. Stir in the vanilla.
Mix together the flour and salt in a separate bowl and then stir into butter mixture. Once the flour is completely incorporated, stir in the pecans.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, and form it into a 4 1/2 by 6-inch rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. You will want the dough to be well chilled so the cookies cut easily. You can also cut and freeze cookies to bake in smaller batches.
Cut the dough lengthwise in half, you should now have two blocks approximately 2 inches by 6. Now cut 1/4 inch thick cookies from each of those blocks, you will have a rectangular cookie 2x1 inch shape.

Bake:
Place sliced cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Rotate pans half way through cooking if you are baking more than one sheet. The cookies should be golden and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Pecan Toffees: Cookie Palooza part III

This is a recipe I received from a co-worker over 15 years ago. These bite size tarts are like a mini pecan pie. I have of course added my own touch, the original did not have pecans. The crust this recipe uses is great as well, but I have used the filling in pastry dough and it is wonderful.

Ingredients:
Crust:
8 ounces of butter softened
6 ounces of cream cheese softened
2 C flour

Filling:
2 eggs
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2 T melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C finely chopped pecans
you can also add a splash of Kalua along with the vanilla flavoring
powdered sugar for dusting

Preparation:
Beat butter and cream cheese together, add flour and mix until it forms a soft dough. Break off small pieces, (about a tsp.) of dough and form into mini muffin tins, pressing dough up the sides of the tin.
In another bowl, beat eggs with melted butter, sugar, flavoring and pecans. Scoop filling into prepared muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees, approximately 17 minutes. Allow to cool, remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar.
For pecan pastry, cut pastry dough with 3 inch fluted square. Cut half of these squares again with a 2 inch fluted square, you will have a sort of picture frame piece of dough, this will top each solid square and hold the filling on the pastry. Place solid squares on a parchment lined baking sheet and moisten each edge with water. Place the pastry that has the center cut out on top of the solid square and press lightly to seal. Spoon a small amount of pecan filling onto the center of the pastry "frame". At this point the pastries may be frozen and baked at will.
Bake at the same temperature for approximately the same amount of time, (15-20 min.) the pastry will puff and become golden. These are also great dusted with powdered sugar. You can always do a free form tart, rolling the dough in a circle or rectangle, curl the edges to create a lip and fill with some of the pecan filling, bake, cool and then cut into pieces to serve. This is a great rustic/easy option, still equally as delicious!

Egg Nog Sandwich Cookies: Cookie Palooza II

Ingredients:
Cookie:
1 C unsalted butter softened
1/2 C sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp.
2 C four
Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Filling:
3 T unsalted butter softened
1 C plus 2 T powdered sugar
1 T brandy
1tsp. vanilla

Mixing the Dough
Beat butter and sugar on medium speed about 1 minute until combined. Add egg yolk, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt mix until combined, scraping down the sides if necessary. Add the flour and mix just until combined. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a rectangle. Chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Place chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with a 1 1/2 inch fluted square or round cookie cutter. Cut half of the squares with a 1/2 inch round pastry tip or VERY small heart shaped cutter, these will be the tops. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar. ( You can freeze tops and bottoms at this point and bake later if desired. ) Continue to roll out dough, pressing scraps together and re-chill if necessary. Bake the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes until slightly browned on the bottom. Cool on wire racks. While the cookies bake, mix the filling. In a small bowl mix butter, add the sugar, brandy and vanilla, stir until smooth. Once cookies have cooled
spread about 3/4 of a tsp. of filling onto cookie bottoms and lightly press on top so the filling oozes slightly out of the cut shape on the top cookie.

These shortbread sandwich cookies are terrific and extremely versatile. This recipe is from one of my favorite books, The Good Cookie. A friend and I have been making them for quite some time, but had never made them with the flavors listed above until now. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome! Egg nog is a festive flavor for the holidays, but try our variation of a simple vanilla flavored cookie with strawberry butter cream, or any flavor butter cream for that matter. We started baking them for girl baby shower so we chose strawberry for the cute pink color and the taste wasn't so bad either. I will include a butter cream recipe at a later date. I would do it now, but I would never get this post up. ENJOY!

Gingerbread Stars: Let the Cookie Palooza Begin!

COOKIE
DISCLAIMER: In order to provide recipes prior to the Christmas season, I will publish photos at a later time. I can not be held responsible for the appearance of your cookies. I reserve the right to reject any comments that may be calumniatory or disparaging. I began mixing and freezing cookie doughs early to accommodate a busy holiday schedule, pictures will follow. I PROMISE.

This is a wonderful dough from Bo Friberg. Perfect for Christmas! Light and crispy this wafer thin cookie will melt on your tongue. The original recipe does not include icing, however a wonderful friend and fellow self made cook created an amazing way to top off the cookie. She created a lemon glaze to drizzle on top and if you really want to guild the lily . . . you can sprinkle them with edible glitter flakes. I have cut this recipe in half, it makes a gazillion cookies, feel free to double and the proportions will be correct, but there is really no need. This cookie comes together so easily you will love love love it, the dough does need to chill overnight, so plan ahead, but it can be kept refrigerated, covered for 2 months. The options for this cookie are endless, use it for a gingerbread house, men or as described here. Remember, the dough MUST be rolled paper thin for cookies so they do not turn out hard and inedible.
Recipe
7 1/2 ounces unsalted butter
7 1/2 ounces granulated sugar
10 ounces light corn syrup
3 ounces whole milk
1 pound 5 ounces bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 T cinnamon
1 T cloves
1 T ginger
Yeilds: approximately 120 cookies

Dough Preparation
In a sauce pot large enough to accommodate all of your ingredients, stir together, butter, sugar, corn syrup & milk over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and sift together dry ingredients and stir into the pot. Line a rimmed baking dish with parchment paper and pour dough onto sheet, spreading it into an even thickness. Refrigerate, covered overnight. Roll out the dough in small batches on a floured surface, I roll about 1 sixth of the dough at a time to 1/16 inch thick. You will almost be able to see through the dough, but don't worry it rolls beautifully. Cut out cookies using a 3-inch star cutter and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. I like to chill the cookies again or freeze at this point to bake at a later time. Re-chilling will help your cookies keep their shape, this applies to any dough. Set dough scraps to the side and re-roll when you have finished with the first batch. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes, the cookies will be crisp and a rich brown color.

Lemon Icing
Juice of 1 lemon
1 C approximately powdered sugar
Stir lemon juice into sugar a little at a time to reach desired consistency. The icing should flow easily, place icing in a small tipped squeeze bottle and drizzle over cooled cookies, sprinkle while wet with edible glitter flakes optional.

WoW wine of the week

I realize the wine I am about to list is a summer wine, but oh well, label me a procrastinator. Beep grabbed this one at Central Market this summer and we quickly fell in love with it's effervescent citrusy flavor!
I am not sure what I like more, the taste or the bottle. With the simple vertical printed name on the front you peer through the clear liquid to a beautiful painted woman, (plus I have a tough time with names, so the appearance of the bottle is extremely important to me) it is unmistakable.
Drum roll please. . . the wine of the week is . . . New Age. New Age comes from one of Argentina's oldest wineries, founded in 1928 by Italian immigrant, Valentin Bianchi. You can get additional info on this wine from their rep, Quintessential Wine, http://www.quintessentialwines.com. They price it at $9.99, I believe Central Market had it priced at $10, but it could be more, it is Central Market after all. ENJOY! (Summer or not.)

Cabo Review

Sooo . . . as promised here is a quick review and photo story of our trip to La Palmilla. Simply said, it was the trip of a life time. The hotel and grounds were exquisite. It was like being transported to a tropical paradise, 1950's style. From Here to Eternity couldn't hold a candle to the romantic atmosphere of this place.
We were greeted at the airport with cool scented cloths and water by our driver and quickly whisked away to the resort, entertained by a video preview of all La Palmilla's amenities and offerings.
Stepping out of our car we promptly received guava and passion fruit popsicles to enjoy as we were escorted to our accommodations and given a brief tour of the grounds. Our butler was waiting and introduced to us upon entering our room, he courteously described each indulgence our quarters had to offer, from the complimentary tequila with spiced almonds to the daily fruit and appetizer selections. Be it in our room, by the pool or at the hotel's restaurants, I have never been so pampered at any resort.
Cabo was great too, filled our days and nights with food, fun and entertainment and we didn't even hit the water. Places like The Office, Slim's Elbo Room Bar, Cabo Wabo, Squid Roe, and La Golondrina (The Trailer Park) Restaurant are must sees and offer unforgettable experiences. I can't wait for our next visit so we can actually do something besides eat and drink.

Marscapone Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Here's a yummy fall treat. Honestly, I had some left over ingredients that I needed to use, so I combined two recipes to create this creamy Autumn dessert. You can substitute vanilla wafers or ginger snaps for the crust, but a like the simple graham cracker. The picture is stock from Kraft, I am not a photographer, so when I can steal from someone who is, I do. My motto, "If someone has already done it better, let them."
Crust
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 T sugar
4 oz. melted butter

Filling
16 oz. cream cheese
12 oz. mascarpone cheese
3/4 C sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 t. ground vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1 C canned pumpkin
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. freshly ground nutmeg
pinch ground ginger
pinch ground clove

Prepare Crust
Mix crumbs and sugar together, add melted butter and pat into a buttered 9 inch spring form pan or a buttered 9x13 square baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool. Meanwhile mix filling.
Prepare Filling
Beat cream cheese and mascarpone cheese, add sugar and beat at medium high speed until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, mix on low until combined. In a separate bowl combine pumpkin and remaining ingredients. Set aside 1 1/2 C of the vanilla cheesecake and stir the remaining vanilla mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Spoon half of the pumpkin mixture on to the crust, top with spoonfuls of the vanilla mixture. Repeat both layers and swirl with a knife.
Bake at 325 degrees: 25-30 minutes for the 9 inch version and 18-20 minutes for the 9x13 version. The center will still tremble slightly, cool at room temperature then cover and refrigerate 2-4 hours.

Easy Apple Turnovers

Apples could quite possibly be the perfect fruit of the Fall! No wonder Eve was tempted. I should have posted these recipes in October, but in Dallas it just started feeling like Fall. I suppose I am a product of my environment. Smelling the buttery pastry baking is like heaven. A fire in the fireplace, your favorite sweater and warm apples in your belly! YUM YUM
Puff Pastry 1 recipe below, or for the terminally lazy, 2 boxes of
Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets. You can brush finished turnovers with an egg wash and top with large crystal sugar or I like to top them with an almond glaze.
2 Granny Smith apples diced
2 McIntosh apples diced
2 T butter
1 T apple cider vinegar
3 T sugar
1 t cinnamon (Chinese Cassia)
1 tube almond paste


Quick Puff Pastry
1 pound flour
1 pound cold unsalted butter
1/4 ounce salt (dissolve in the water)
8 ounces ice-cold water
Place flour in mixing bowl. Cut the butter, which should be firm, but not hard, into 1 inch pieces. Mix butter & flour on low/med. speed until you have walnut/pea sized lumps. Add water mixture to four mixture and mix only until dough can be handled. There should be lumps of butter. Shape into a square and rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll the dough to 1/2 inch thick into a rectangle. Give the dough three 4 fold turns, turning the dough 90 degrees after each fold before rolling back to 1/2 thickness. ( A 4 fold turn means you will fold the outer edges in to meet in the middle, also known as a book fold.)

To assemble the turnovers . . . Saute apples in butter in a skillet over medium heat, 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften. Add vinegar to pan, cook until evaporated, then add the sugar and cook until it dissolves. Remove pan from heat and stir in cinnamon. Set the apples aside to cool, roll out pastry to desired size. I like to cut mine in approximately 3X3 inch squares for a 3 bite turnovers. Pinch off about 1/2 tsp. amount of almond paste to place in the center of each turnover. Prepare a small bowl with water to seal your turnovers. You are ready for assembly. Add cooled apple filling to the center on top of almond paste, dipping your finger in the water bowl, line each edge of turnover with water then fold top left corner to meet the bottom right corner to form a triangle. Press to seal the edges and twist dough to seal or use the end of a fork, pressing edges to seal tightly. You can re-chill finished turnovers and bake, but I like to flash freeze them on the baking sheet and once frozen place them in a freezer zip-top bag to bake on a whim. (I love being able to take a few out of the freezer and bake when ever we want a sweet treat.) Prior to freezing you can brush with water or egg wash and top with sugar if desired.
Bake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place turnovers straight from the freezer on to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown. Approximately 12-15 minutes. If you are baking more than one pan, rotate half way through cooking.

Almond Glaze
1 C powdered sugar
1 T. melted butter
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Warm Water 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency. I always just "eyeball" this part. Add melted butter and extract to sugar, then stir in warm water. Drizzle over warm turnovers.