Cookie, Cookie Number Nine

Because the macaroons were a hit, I did try the apricot variation.  Unfortunately, the dried apricots look a lot like bacon when they are baked.  Which made them even more appealing to the both the Goob and the STP.  I chocolate dipped the bottoms of 2 dozen of these and donated them to the youth group for a fundraiser to be served at the Dodge City Bank Christmas open house.

Cuppa Tea Cookies

Tea Cookies--A traditional Welsh tea-time treat.  A raisin cookie with a spice taste.  Read that these can be eaten slathered with butter and served with tea.  Don't know how my dad never did that.  Slathering with butter has always been his MO.

Why I made these:  Feeling nostalgic.  My great grandma used to make these.  My dad loved these.  My mother learned to make these for my dad.  I think she found the recipe in the newspaper.  When my Grandpap visited, he would slip a few of these in his coat pocket on the way out the door.

Recipe I used:  My Mom's.  These can also be called Raisin Griddle Cakes even though she often made them with currants.  I looked for currants, but there were none to be found in Dodge City.  I substituted Pamela's gluten-free mix for the dry ingredients so the STP could eat them.

Roll them out.  Cut them round.  I have a round cookie cutter, but I used the top of a plastic tupperware cup.  Cause that's how it's done.

These cookies are not actually baked.  They are fried on a griddle.

When they get puffy they are ready to be turned over.

These gluten free cookies make the STP happy.  He has been eating them all week with his tea.  The Goob has not tried them.  They are certainly edible, but they are not the real thing.  They make me sad, because they remind me of my dad.  And I wish things were the same as they used to be.

Who will eat these:  Just the STP and me.  And you if you want to come over and have a cup of tea with us.   

Worth Noting--Cookies 7.5

I invited myself over to my friend Pam's house to bake cookies.
I can't really count these as my cookies.  Even though I helped roll them in powdered sugar.


 Mostly I just hung out and talked and laughed with my friend Pam.

And I decided that if I ever do another 'Year of the Cookie'  I will have a Christmas apron and a Christmas tablecloth to put the cookies on.  And photograph them.

Perfection Cookie #7

The Italian Pizzelle-- They are also known as Italian wafer cookies and there are various ways which to spell pizzelle such as "piazelle," "piazella," "pizzele" and "pizelle." The name comes from the Italian word "pizze" for round and flat.  In some parts of Italy, the irons would be made with family crests on them which would be passed down to each generation.

Why I made them:  A family tradition.  My Mom made these, but I think they may have originated in the family with my Aunt Rosemarie.  Who may have been Italian.  As far as I know, none of our irons has a family crest or have been passed down generation to generation.

The recipe I used:  This one that I saw and pinned on Pinterest.  Because it made a small batch.

The iron I used:  This one that has been in my cupboard for. ev. er. 

 The glitch was that I could not find the electrical cord.   So I had to postpone mixing and baking until the thrift store opened.  The STP scored two cords for a quarter, and then we were in business.

The dough seemed a little stiff to me, but since it has been for ev er since I have actually made these, I decided to trust the recipe instead of my memory.

The unfortunate thing about baking these is that you can only bake two at a time.  Good news--it only takes a little over a minute to bake them.

Also unfortunately, the first ones will stick to the iron.  You will have to scrape them out with a fork.  Clean the hot iron plates and try again.  At this point you will doubt the recipe, the ingredients, the process and your sanity.  Press on, my friend.  You can do this.
You can pass the time by making the dog dance for the broken messy pieces you scraped out.  The SLD was such a fan of the pizzelle that she stayed with me through the entire baking process.  Good dog.

Success.  I made mine small so they would fit in the little bags I bought for cookies.

Who ate them:  
The Goob.
Me
The Ladies at the the thrift shop who helped the STP find a cord.
Two teachers at the high school
One co-worker

Speaking of Chocolate

Public service announcement.

Even though these look like little discs you could melt and dip things in to coat them in chocolate, these little things are made to melt.  Not to coat.  If you melt these and coat things with the melted chocolate you will have to eat them directly from the refrigerator.  Melts in your hand.  Not in your mouth.  

These little yummies look and melt similarly.  Except they set up nicely.  Designed for candy making and dipping.   Moral of the story:  read the bag.  Use appropriately.  

Appropriately used you could end up with this.  Not bad for my first attempt at replicating my Mom's crunch. 

The Real Cookie #6

Coconut Macaroons

Recipe I Used:  This one from Taste of Home.  Because it was prize winning.

Why I made these:  They are easy peasy.  They are slightly unusual.  They are naturally gluten-free.  I wanted something to dip in chocolate.

How they turned out:  A little dry. I added an extra egg white. I will try them again but I will use a fresh bag of coconut--not an already opened bag I had in the cupboard.  I might also try this variation and use some of my dried apricots.  I will still dip them in chocolate.

Who ate them:  Me.

The Goob

Two of the Goob's friends.

The STP

Some friends.

Cookie #6

Yeah, not really cookie number 6. but I don't think you've seen the moose in the snow.

Cookie #5

Thumbprint cookies:  Buttery shortbreadish cookies with thumbprint indentation filled with your favorite jam.

But what if I have three favorite jams?

Homemade sweet cherry, apricot, and peach.

Recipe I used:  This one from Martha Stewart.   Because, say what you will about Martha Stewart, she has a good thumbprint
cookie recipe.

Why I made them:   I saw a picture of them in a magazine.  That's all it took.

I used my food processor to process the almonds.

And my mixer with the wisk attachment to froth the eggwhites.

After I read the comments, I divided my dough into thirds, and then each third into half.

Then each half third into sixths.

So I got three dozen cookies from the recipe.  Just like Martha said.

Rolled little balls, dipped in eggwhites, and rolled in almonds.

Used my thumb to make the indentations, cause I don't have a wooden spoon, and because they are called thumbprint cookies after all.

I baked them 10 minutes before I indented them again and filled them with jam.  Because I was committed to following the recipe.  

I think I may have overfilled them, but it didn't seem to make a big difference in the end product.

How they turned out:  Wonderful two bite bits of yum.  I like these because they were small and could be baked on just two cookie sheets.  I would make these again.

Who ate them:  Not the Goob (nuts)

Not the STP  (wheat flour)

Me.

The Goob's Science teacher.

Me.

The people I cut up pigs with.

The Front Porch

Changed up the front decorations this year.  Started with this Pottery Barn inspired sign.

(As if the moose needed an explanation)

Instead of the snowflakes, I hung a few garage sale ornaments.  (50 cents worth.)

I decorated with my tubs and buckets. Grew those red sticks myself.

Do you recognize the pine cones?  Number 26 on the non-resolution list.  So nice to pull them out of box all ready to go.  Had a friend with a chainsaw custom cut those logs for me. Everything else I had on hand.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Kisses 4 the STP

Peanut butter kisses--finally a gluten free cookie

Recipe I used:  this one from taste of home.  I originally got this recipe from my Aunt Louise, but it is easier to look it up online than sort through my recipes.   So simple that I should know it by heart. And, yes, there is no flour in this recipe.

Why I made them:  Kiss cookies look like Christmas.  On a plate of cookies there is always at least one with the kiss missing.  Stolen by a child who wasn't interested in eating the cookie.  Stealing the kiss is wrong.  But I always wanted to do it.  Plus this flourless version is gluten free without tasting gluten free.

How I changed the recipe:  I rolled the balls in sugar before I baked them.

Because it makes the cookie as appealing as the kiss. You know, less likely to have it's kiss plucked out and left kissless on the plate. 

I also experimented by using caramel kisses, which worked fine and reportedly tasted fine as well.

How they turned out:  Fine

Who ate them:  The Goob

The STP ( I put half a dozen in the freezer to tide the STP over until I bake another gluten free cookie)

Me

People at the fellowship dinner.

How Sweet It Is--Cookie #3

The Sugar Cookie--Rolled, cut, baked frosted bits of yum.







Recipe I used:  This one:

Our first family vacation to New England was when the girls were 2,4, and 6 years old.  We drove in the little red Subaru through 8 states in 10 days.  We budgeted $5 each for souvenirs.  This, along with the dolphin shaped cookie cutter was my souvenir. Not sure I spent all of my $5 on it, but it was worth every penny.  This ended my search for the best sugar cookie recipe ever.

Why I made them:  Every year I plan to make these.  Most years I don't actually get around to it.  I had everything I needed in the house to make these.  No year of the cookie would be complete without them.

How they turned out:  Soft.  Sweet. Superb.  These are my favorite sugar delivery system ever.  I wish I had made them when the Goob and the STP were gone.  Then I would lock the doors, make myself a pot of hot chocolate, tune into the Hallmark channel, and eat the whole batch myself.

Who will really eat them:
Not the STP--still wheat flour :(
Me.
The Goob.
People at the fellowship dinner today.
The Goob's chemistry teacher.  I made a few periodic table sugar cookies.  No really I did.  It is not easy to spell things using the element abbreviations.  For some reason I can't remember right now, I tried anyway.

Hope this is worth some extra credit points.

**Note:  I did not take pictures of the ingredients.  If you don't know what sugar looks like, do not attempt to make these cookies.