photo op: CHRISTMAS cookies

RER 12.23.13

Christmas cookies are an important tradition in my house. No matter how busy everyone is or what else is going on, a massive amount of Christmas cookies are made (hopefully before Christmas Day). It is a veritable Bake-A-Thon as we make bars, drop cookies and cookies that must be rolled out.

 

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In years past, baking Christmas cookies has been an event that my mother, sister and I did together, from creating a list of cookies that hardly ever changes, to grabbing ingredients, down to prepping the mixtures, and mass producing sugar cookies. This year was a little different. We were not all here at the same time with conflicting schedules and such, but somehow it got done (and even before Christmas). We still feel connected through the baking and munching of this year’s delicious cookies.

 

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 Do you have Christmas cookie traditions? What kind of cookies do you make? Is the list the same every year, is there a rotation, or do you give in to trends? I want to hear all about it! 

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 Don't forget to follow on facebook, instagram, twitter, tumblr and now pintrest if you don’t already!

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12.27.13

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MangiaMore: set the BAR

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Not only do we like to roll out (Christmas cookies, that is), we also make bar cookies, layered, filled, and topped with delicious goodies that only mean the holidays. Each of the bar cookies we make, Lemon Squares, Cranberry Bars, and Seven Layer Bars, remind me of memories or someone special. I love these kinds of cookies because they are super easy, super quick, with a pretty high yield to effort ratio. They mostly involve slapping some kind of crust at the bottom of the pan, filling up or layering on the delicious ingredients and throwing it in the oven. What's not to love?

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Lemon Squares
These little lemony treats were a favorite of my grandmother. She would request them every year, and my sister and I would answer the call. Sometimes it even required us to make a double batch to accommodate the demand. Now, it is my boyfriend who favors Lemon Squares (he likes most anything lemon), so it continues to be a must. They are tangy, rich, buttery and sweet, and the floating coconut adds a hearty texture. Delicious and addictive. They may be my favorite this year.

basic scottish shortbread crust
1 1/4 cups of flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter

In a bowl, mix four and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.

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coconut- lemon squares
1 recipe basic scottish shortbread
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon lemon peel
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut 

Prepare the basic scottish shortbread crust. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9x9 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
In a bowl beat eggs until they are foamy. Add the rest of the ingredients except the coconut, and beat the mixture until it is slightly thickened. Stir in the coconut. Pour the lemon mixture on top of the already cooked crust and bake 20 to 25 minutes more until golden brown. Top with powdered sugar, though this is optional.
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Creative Ideas: Christmas Cookies 1990

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Cranberry Bars
My family fondly calls these bar cookies "Cranberry O Bars," because they are absolutely amazing. They are sweet and the cranberries bring a little bit of tartness, and they are so chewy the bars are almost like candy. These cookies came from a recipe that my Aunt gave us years back. These cookies became a staple in our house at first taste. Remember how I used the left over cranberries after Thanksgiving here... this is the full recipe!

cranberry sauce
4 cups fresh/frozen craberries
2 cups of sugar
1/3 cup Brandy

Place cranberries in a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees. After removing the pan from the oven stir the cranberry mixture and then stir in the Brandy. Store in jars or containers in the refrigerator. Makes 3 cups.

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cranberry bar cookies

1.5 c oats
1.5 c flour
1.5 c brown sugar
1 tea baking powder
1 c softened butter

1 cup of Cranberry Sauce

Blend the dry ingredients with the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Press about two thirds of the oat mixture in to the bottom of a 9 inch square pan (we usually do a 9x13). Add the cup of cranberry sauce to coat the oat crust. Sprinkle the remainder of the oat mixture over the cranberry layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting the bars.

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Seven Layer Bars

These Seven Layer Bars or called Magic Bars, come in many different varieties and combinations, but they all have the same main components; graham cracker crust, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, nuts and coconut. You can add and subtract as much as you want. 

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I tend to subtract, using far less chocolate chips that prescribed. And my mother, who is a chocolate lover despises that I do that. One year, there was the battle of chocolate chips when making these sweet goodies. I put as many chocolate chips as I deemed necessary, and as I was baking the cookies, I had the control, until my mother came in and saw the paucity of chocolate. She grabbed the bag, and doused the already completed cookies with an alarming amount of chocolate chips (well, at least to me). And from that year on, I have been careful (and wise) to add more chocolate chips. These sticky sweet bar cookies are basically the only cookies we make during Christmas that add a chocolate punch. I am not fond of chocolate, but sometimes a little chocolate does add some special cheer. Check out Eagle Brand's recipe for these sweet textural adventures. 

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What kind of bar cookies do you make during the holidays or even all year round? I am always open to suggestions for sweet thangs. Help me set the bar and mangia more!

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12.28.12

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photo op: CHRISTMAS day

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Christmas is always pretty low-key at my house, meaning we do not have a lot of people over, not a ton of chaos, or dress up for dinner. It is usually small and quiet (except for Muppet Christmas Carol soundtrack and chewing). Just because it's toned down, doesn't mean we slack on the food or snacks. In fact, spending time gathered around the snackies, the cookies, or the dinner table are the best parts of Christmas at our house. It always involves a lot of laughs, cheese, sing-a-longs, and butter (stay tuned for some of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes and memories).

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I love the holiday season, the smells, the sounds, the food, the people. It truly is the most wonderful time of year! Happy Holidays!

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12.26.12

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re.CAP: THANKSGIVING

Now, who doesn't like Thanksgiving? It happens to be one of my most favorite days of the whole entire year. It always involves lots of laughs, kitchen chaos, fun company, great food, and tons of butter...good times. To me, the few trips to the grocery store (which occur almost daily) before Thanksgiving, mark the commencement of the Holiday Season. Bring on the cheer, the food, the friends, and the pounds!

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This is the famous cornbread stuffing. It happens to be one of my favorite Thanksgiving decadent treats. My mother probably starts this goodie before any of the other dishes that fall on the dinner table and stumble into our bellies. She makes the cornbread days in advance. This year some of it found its way into our freezer to maintain freshness. In the cornbread (made from the Jiffy mix...oldie but goodie), she incorporates cream style sweet corn, hot jalapenos, and other varieties of corn to add kick and texture. The broken bread is then mixed with butter drenched onions and celery, more corn and seasoning deliciousness, and thrown back in the oven to crisp up. In the end, it is crunchy, sweet, spicy, indulgent and mildly (euphemism) addictive.

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Because Hurricane Sandy deprived us of power for more than a week, all the things in our freezer were forced to be evacuated and mutilated into use. We always stock up on the fresh cranberries because during this Holiday Season, cranberries are a featured star. So our freezer was full of the berries. We cooked the berries with lots of sugar and brandy to create a chunky cranberry sauce, perfect for the Thanksgiving dinner table, but also a filler for one of our favorite cookies (more on those later). The sauce is sweet and tangy, and with every bite a berry bursts and brings a new flavor with it, making it interesting and never the same.

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Most times Thanksgiving dinners at our house deffo lack in the vegetable department and are laden with butter, corn, brown sugar and other delicious decadence. Other than greens (this year a mix of collard and kale), there is not much to offer in the realm of vegetables. My Aunt has been bringing another vegetable to help balance our meal. The fresh green beans, dotted with colorful bell peppers, garlic and spice add variety and color. They are crunchy, flavorful and fresh, brightening the rich meal.

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I can't say the turkey is always my favorite part of the meal or the accoutrement that I look most forward to. Turkey is just a platform, a subtle foundation to our Thanksgiving meal (in my mind that is), but this year, the brined and grilled turkey was delicious. It was smoky and moist, flavorful, but heightened the other flavors that danced on the dinner plate. This turkey was a success, and brining it shortened the cook time, which is always a plus when people are starving for the dinner of the year.

Unfortunately, some of my favorite Thanksgiving things are not shown, but check out my tumblr to see them. The corn pudding, which is a strange creamy, buttery rich, corn dish, that can pass as dessert, is probably at the top of my food list. This year I ventured to make it, and with mild modifications, it was as delicious as ever. The cinnamon and nutmeg make the side dish magical, as well as the cream style corn suspended in the custardy mixture. Another at the top of my list is the kind of sweet potato casserole that we make for every year, involving heavy amounts of brown sugar, rum, butter and marshmallows. This is a treat that reminds me of home and family, and it will be a tradition that follows into my Thanksgivings.

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And who doesn't like sweet endings? Why not end the meal with a meaty slice of pecan pie? Sweet and syrupy, but nutty and heavy at the same time, topped with a healthy scoop of cold vanilla ice cream. Sounds good to me. This year instead of making pumpkin or sweet potato pie, I made my popular pumpkin cupcakes, that turned out scrumptious once again. Their spicy sweetness reflects the fall flavors and all the aromas that make me feel like the holidays are around the corner.

I hope everyone had a super delicious, fun and food filled Holiday...counting blessings not calories.

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11.23.12