Pistachio Biscotti

  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cube (stick) butter
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbsp cream of pistachio liqueur – or pistachio liqueur
  • 8 oz pistachios, roasted – unsalted
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Sift together dry ingredients.  Cream sugar and butter, add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and pistachio cream. Stir in flour. Stir in pistachios.

Divide dough in half.  Shape into logs.  Place on greased cookie sheets and bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes.

Cool completely.  Slice into 1/4 to 1/2″ slices and toast on both sides in 350° oven.

Pistachio Cream Liqueur

  • 8 oz pistachios, roasted and coarsely chopped
  • 750ml Everclear or 100 proof vodka
  • 1 1/2 qts whole milk
  • 3 lbs sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Pour alcohol over pistachios and let sit for a week to infuse. Shake or stir now and again.

On day 7… Bring sugar and milk to a boil and simmer until sugar is dissolved and mixture gets syrupy – about 10 or 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Strain pistachio alcohol through several layers of cheesecloth. Discard pistachios.

Mix cooled milk syrup with liquor. Add vanilla.

It’s done.

The liqueur itself tastes pretty good. Over ice it would make a nice martini of sorts…


Coconut Balls

New for 2016!

  • 3 cubes butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp coconut extract
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup coconut flour

Cream butter with both sugars and salt.  Add coconut extract and mix in flour and coconut flour, being careful not to overmix.

Roll dough into large marble-sized pieces.  Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake about 20-30 minutes at 325° until nicely browned. Cool completely and roll in powdered sugar, if desired.

Alternately… Press thumb into unbaked ball to form thumbprint.  Fill with your favorite jam.  Bake as directed above.


Oatmeal Cookies

Last night Victor mentioned that we hadn't had any cookies in a while. Of course he was right. We hadn't. No particular reason... neither of us had made any. We tossed around a few ideas from double chocolate to pistachio biscotti - Victor stated the pistachio biscotti were Christmas cookies - but didn't decide on anything.

This morning I went looking around at old recipes and found one I haven't made in a long, long time. I have a file folder of clipped recipes from who knows where that one day I have to deal with. I guess. It sits on a shelf in the office and I just add to it when I see something that looks interesting.

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I keep adding to it, not really making anything. But I will. I'm sure of it. Otherwise there would be no reason to keep collecting them, would there?

There's no source for the recipe. Something like where it came from would only make sense - and lord knows I can't do that. That being said, a large amount of the recipes came from Bon Appetit, and a few other food magazines heading back 25 or so years. I've gone through and culled a few times, but at any given moment there are probably 300 recipes that I'm holding on to...

I'm glad I held on to this one! These are a soft cookie - not a crisp one. I think I like them better than the crunchy variety - and Victor said they were the best cookie I have ever made, so who am I to argue?

Oatmeal Cookies

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

Cream butter and sugars together until light - about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time and mix well. Add vanilla and molasses and mix well.

Blend together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix into butter and eggs. Blend in walnuts and raisins.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop 2 tbsp balls onto pans about 2" apart. Don't flatten.

Bake about 12 minutes, flipping pans halfway through.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

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I didn't have any raisins - what a shock - but I did have some whole dried cranberries, so they went in. The molasses and all of the vanilla really make these. Don't skimp.

These should keep us going for a few days...

 


Cuccidati

Cuccidati is a Sicilian Christmas Cookie we have been making for some time. I’ve played with the original recipe a lot and add pistachios and Marsala – because it’s Sicilian! The filling needs to be made at least one day in advance – a couple is better – to let the flavors meld.

The first image on the left shows three different ways of making the same cookie. It’s also traditional to cut the ends to form an “X”.

I’ve changed the recipe – again. For 2017, I made the dough with butter instead of lard – and the dough was richer.

Have fun with it!

 

The Filling

  • 1 lb dried figs
  • 1 lb dried dates
  • 1/4 lb raisins
  • 1/4 lb dried cherries
  • 1 seeded tangerine-peel and all
  • 1 1/2 cups pistachios
  • 1 small can crushed pineapple
  • 1 cup Marsala
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Working in batches, finely mince the dried fruit, tangerine, crushed pineapple, and nuts in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl and mix well. Add the sugar, Marsala, and cinnamon, and mix it all together. Filling will be sticky but should hold together if pressed. Place in container and refrigerate for a day or two to meld the flavors.

The Dough

  • 5 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • pinch salt

Cream sugar and butter until light. Add eggs one at a time and then vanilla and milk and mix well.

Mix flour with baking powder and slowly add one cup at a time until a reasonably-firm – but not sticky or dry – dough is formed. Refrigerate about an hour.

To Make Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F. Take a piece of dough and roll into a rope about an inch and a half around. Roll into a long, flat shape.

Take a piece of filling and roll it into a rope and place down the center of the dough. Brush one edge with egg wash and roll dough over filling to seal.

Cut on an angle about every half-inch and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets.

Bake 13-15 minutes or till lightly browned.

Cool and frost, as desired, with milk and powdered sugar glaze and sprinkles.


Christmas Cookies 2015

 

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It's beginning to look a lot like Diabetic Coma...

That means it's the Annual What Were We Thinking I Thought We Were Going To Cut Back Christmas Cookie-A-Thon!

Yeppers... we done did it, again. More cookies than we planned on making - which only means more cookie-eating. We'll worry about the diet in 2016.

We made several of the traditional cookies, starting with Aunt Emma's Apricot Cookies and four different Biscotti. Victor makes the Biscotti - and he has it down to a science! A triple batch of Aunt Dolores' Rum Balls... Almond Cookies made into Thumbprints...

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And a couple of new cookies for us. We made a Soft Sugar Cookie this year - rolled in colored sugar. Festive. These came from The Food Network.

 

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Something fun and a bit of a different take on a traditional Sugar Cookie.

The real fun cookie, though, is the Cuccidati!

These are a Sicilian Christmas Cookie that we've both had in the past, but where or when escapes us... I had done a Google Search for Italian Christmas Cookies - note that we have been trying to cut back so I did a Google search for more recipes - and found dozens of recipes for the cuccidati that all had pieces or parts that sounded good - but not quite what I wanted - so I took the best from many and came up with a pretty darned good filling - if I do say so, m'self!

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These will be topped with a milk and powdered sugar glaze and then topped with either sprinkles or colored sugar. The Italians really like their sprinkles - me, not as much - but tradition is tradition.

There's also a version where they're dipped in egg and rolled in sesame seeds before baking. I thought I might do some of them like that and ended up not. Oh well. An excuse to make them, again.

Cuccidati

The Filling - should be made a day or two in advance

  • 1 lb dried figs
  • 1 lb dried dates
  • 1/4 lb raisins
  • 1/4 lb dried cherries
  • 1 seeded tangerine-peel and all
  • 1 1/2 cups pistachios
  • 1 small can crushed pineapple
  • 1 cup Marsala
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Working in batches, finely mince the dried fruit, tangerine, crushed pineapple, and nuts in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl and mix well. Add the sugar, Marsala, and cinnamon, and mix it all together. Filling will be sticky but should hold together if pressed. Place in container and refrigerate for a day or two to meld the flavors.

The Dough

  • 5 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups lard
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • pinch salt

Cream sugar and lard until light. Add eggs one at a time and then vanilla and milk and mix well.

Mix flour with baking powder and slowly add one cup at a time until a reasonably-firm - but not sticky or dry - dough is formed. Refrigerate about an hour.

To Make Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F. Take a piece of dough and roll into a rope about an inch and a half around. Roll into a long, flat shape.

Take a piece of filling and roll it into a rope and place down the center of the dough. Brush one edge with egg wash and roll dough over filling to seal.

Cut on an angle about every half-inch and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets.

Bake 13-15 minutes or till lightly browned.

Cool and frost, as desired, with milk and powdered sugar glaze and sprinkles.

 

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And just because one does not live by cookies, alone, I made a big tray of Fudge with Crushed Peppermint Candy topping.

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We still have a Greek Walnut Cookie to bake off - dough is made - and then we need to chocolate-dip and/or decorate and then start making trays.

It really is a fun tradition...

 


Oatmeal Cookies

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I needed a cookie tonight. Several cookies.

It's been a rough couple of days and I needed to get into the kitchen and dirty things up a bit. I knew right away that I wanted Oatmeal cookies and was quite relieved to find that I actually had a bit of oats up in the cabinet. Just enough to get me through today - and they're added to Monday's shopping list for the next emergency baking need. It's work keeping the larder stocked all of the time, but it really pays off when ya just have to make something - now.

This is an easy recipe I got from my Mom and I've made for years. I will often play with the recipe and add different things, but today I made them really simple. They take no time at all to pull together. They're pretty much dump and bake.

They didn't disappoint - they came out perfect.

Oatmeal Cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • scant 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup walnut pieces
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup shortening, melted
  • 1 tbsp molasses
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg

Mix dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and mix well.

Drop by tablespoon onto parchment-lined cookie sheets - or ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350° for 12 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Really simple but they pack a wallop of flavor. They remain chewy - not crispy. Just the way I like 'em.

 


Leaving Modica, Sicily, May 31, 2014

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One year ago, today, we were boarding a plane in Catania to Rome. It was the end of two glorious weeks in Sicily at The Villa Modica. It was tough leaving.

Really tough.

We had more fun than six people should be allowed to have. We've thought of the place often since we returned and even called our host, George, for more of his olive oil back in December. Liquid gold, indeed.

It was seriously one of the most fun and relaxing times I've ever had.

To celebrate this most auspicious occasion, I decided to use up the last two chocolate bars we brought back. Modica is the chocolate capital of Sicily and we brought back several dozen bars to give as gifts and to nibble on when we needed a Sicily fix.

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The chocolate is totally unique to the area and made the same way as it has been since the Spaniards brought chocolate from Mexico way back when. It's has a grainy texture and the flavor combinations they have come up with are great, from oranges to cinnamon to hot red pepper to vanilla to lemon and a score more flavors.

Pretty outstanding stuff.

I had been holding on to these two, but decided what I really need to do is use them up and then go get more.

Cookies seemed to be the right thing to make.

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I used my basic oatmeal chocolate chip recipe, but tweaked it a bit. I spaced out what I was doing and flattened the cookie balls which helped them to spread a bit too much, but what they lack in thickness they make up for in flavor. They work really well.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 2 cubes butter (1 cup)
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp Cinnamon liqueur
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 bars chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cream butter and sugars together until light and creamy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix well.  Add cinnamon liqueur and mix well.

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add slowly to butter mixture, mixing well.  Add oats and mix well.

Add chocolate and mix until blended.

Scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake about 14 minutes.  (I use a #30 scoop – about 2 1/2 tbsp per cookie.)

Next year we're planning another European adventure and we're seriously thinking Sicily, again. We'd like to see more of the western and northern coasts this time and maybe stay somewhere between Trapani and San Vito Lo Capo.

With so much of the world we still haven't seen, there's a draw to Sicily that almost defies explanation.

I really could live there.

Really.

 

 

 

 


Orange Ricotta Cookies

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I brought home lots of ricotta yesterday, just in case Victor wanted to make more Zeppoles. I'm considerate, that way.

Instead, this morning, he baked off chocolate croissants, so it was my turn with the ricotta. I thought of several ideas, but, since I'm also baking bread, today, laziness took over. Ricotta Cookies was my path of least resistance.

Ricotta cookies are like little cakes. They're soft and not too sweet - until you glaze them. Perfect for Nonna and her mid-morning and afternoon treats.

I usually make them with either lemon or orange, although I think the basic is made with vanilla. They're pretty forgiving cookies, so you can play with the flavors.

Orange Ricotta Cookies

Cookies

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 oz ricotta
  • juice and zest of 1 medium orange
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt

Glaze

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • juice and zest of 1 medium orange

Preheat oven to 350. Butter pans or line with parchment.

Cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.

Add ricotta, zest, and orange juice, then add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.

Use a #70 scopp - or 1 tablespoon - and portion cookies onto prepared sheetpans.

Bake about 10 minutes. Cool, then glaze.

For glaze, place juice and zest in small bowl. Stir in enough powdered sugar to make a soft glaze.

They're start-to-finish 45 minutes - perfect cookies for a lazy day.


Nectarine Squares

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This is a bit of a no-brainer bar cookie that really works well with thin slices of fresh fruit. I've made it it peaches, plums, and nectarines, so far, and I imagine just about anything would work - including bananas or thin-sliced or chopped cherries. Or apricots. Or whatever looks good at the grocers or farmers market.

What's nice is there is no additional sugar in the filling - just a thin layer of fresh fruit.

Nonna loves them. She's finding lots of reasons to get up and head into the kitchen for one of those "as long as I'm here" moments!

Nectarine Squares

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • pinch salt
  • 3-4 nectarines or peaches

Preheat oven to 375°

Butter a 9×13 inch pan. Mix together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices. Cut cold butter into dry ingredients. Add egg and mix well.

Press 2/3 of the crumbs into buttered pan, pressing well.

Layer nectarine slaices over packed crumbs.

Sprinkle remaining crumbs evenly over the top and bake about 30 minutes or until top is slightly brown.

Cool and then cut into squares.

 

 

 


Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

 

 

After yesterday's Coca-Cola Cake Disaster, I had to come up with something new. My first thought was to make a peach pie with the frozen peaches from last summer - but cookies were quicker. Sometimes speed trumps desire. (I may be making that pie this weekend, though. I want the freezer space back!)

I've been making variations of this cookie for a long time and started mixing in mini peanut butter cups about 5 years ago. What I keep forgetting is that mixing the mini peanut better cups in with the mixer tends to break them up - they really should be mixed in by hand.

I'll probably forget next time, too.

This recipe calls for regular cocoa powder - not Dutch-processed.  Cocoa that is Dutched is treated with alkali to neutralize the cocoa acid, so baking soda doesn't react properly with it. Dutch-processing makes for a darker and more complex cocoa while natural cocoa powders like Hershey's, Ghirardelli, and most other American brands are lighter in color and fruitier in flavor.

Most single-origin and other top-shelf cocoa powders are generally natural. In most cases, it's just a personal preference, but remember that if the recipe calls for baking soda - you need to use natural cocoa.

If you only have Dutch-process, the workaround is to add 1/4 tsp of vinegar with the vanilla to add the acid back into the recipe.

Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp espresso powder
  • pinch salt
  • 2 cubes (1 cup) butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 12 oz mini peanut butter cups
  • 1 cup chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350°.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt. Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.

Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in mini peanut butter cups and chocolate chunks.

Use a heaping #30 scoop (a good 2 tablespoons) and place about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake about about 16 minutes.

The recipe made 24 over-sized cookies. That will get us through to the weekend. I do think a peach pie is in order...

 


Snow Day and Biscotti

I missed the Staff Meeting and Cookie Contest last night. I think I've mentioned that I'm not quite as adventurous in the snow as I was in my youth. Not getting power until Monday and heading up north to get Nonna Tuesday left no time for baking cookies, anyway.

But since I'm home enjoying a snow-day, I thought I'd bake a batch to bring in for the staff tomorrow. These may well have been the winning cookie, but, it's a moot point, now. The good part is now folks can just enjoy them - no pressure involved! That is assuming, of course, that the township does come by at some point and plow our street. We just got the latest robo-call from them letting us know how hard they're working - and they are - but they're still concentrating on main thoroughfares. They will get to the side streets within 8-10 hours after the snow stops - tomorrow.

I did shovel out the driveway this morning while it was still coming down because I knew that rain and ice were coming between snow storms. The joys of the Winter of 2014!

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It's blissfully quiet outside. It's one of the joys of snow - the muffling of sound. We are assaulted by so much noise all of the time that the quiet is really welcome.  I brought Cybil out to romp while shoveling. Our neighbors across the street and our new neighbor next door were also out clearing their drives. She went and visited and we all stopped for a few moments to catch up and kvetch about the weather. There were no problems with her crossing the street - there are no cars traveling on our block until it's plowed.

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By the time the next round hits us this evening, I'm expecting the bottom rung of the fence to be buried completely. Drifts have covered the top rung in places already. There's a lot of snow out there!

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So while the snow falls, I'm cooking and baking. There's a pot of black bean soup on the stove and the last batch of biscotti coming out of the oven any minute.

Pistachio Biscotti

  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cube (stick) butter
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbsp cream of pistachio liqueur
  • 8 oz pistachios, roasted – unsalted
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg mixed with a splash of water
  • demerara sugar

Sift together dry ingredients.  Cream sugar and butter, add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and pistachio cream. Stir in flour. Stir in pistachios.

Divide dough in half.  Shape into logs.  Place on greased cookie sheets and brush with egg wash. Top with demerara sugar. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes.

Cool completely.  Slice into 1/4 to 1/2″ slices and toast on both sides in 350° oven - about 20 more minutes.

Here's to another storm!

 

 


Molasses Chews

Okay... So maybe I've been going about this cookie contest wrong. Maybe a simple perfect cookie is the way to go. And this is most definitely a simple perfect cookie!

I was cleaning the baking cabinet the other day - everyone has a baking cabinet, right?!? - and while cleaning the molasses and honey jars that were glued to the shelf, a chewy molasses cookie came to mind.  Since I have a free day off, today, and it's a zillion degrees below zero outside, I thought it a perfect day for experimenting!

I just reworked an old cookie recipe I've had forever - adding some brown sugar and rolling them in demerara sugar before baking.

They're crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Good flavor but not overpowering.

I think they're contenders!

Molasses Chews

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 375°.

Mix egg, butter, molasses, and sugars. Blend flour, baking soda, and spices together. Mix wet and dry ingredients just to combine.

Scoop out walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll into balls. Roll in sugar and place on parchment-lined baking sheets about 2" apart.

Bake cookies until cookies are puffed and cracked - about 10 minutes.

Cool and enjoy!

This is a cookie that you don't want to incorporate a lot of air into, so melting the butter instead of creaming it and mixing just until everything is incorporated works best. You don't even need to dirty the mixer - it can all be done by hand.

And if you don't have demerara sugar, roll them in granulated. It will still work.

Now... if you really do want to take them over the top, you can always make a ginger cream filling - or a lemon cream - and turn them into sandwich cookies!

I'm leaving them alone, for today and enjoying their outrageous simplicity!