It’s the most bakeable time of the year.
It’s the season for last minute shopping, last minute cards to be sent out, and the most fun of all—last minute baking,
Sharing a few recipes to complement your sweet table. These can be enjoyed any time of the year, so if you don’t have time before Christmas, you can whip them up for New Year’s, PJ Weekends, any time is a good time to bake and fill your home with the sweet essence of home-baked goodies made with love.
Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Salted Caramel Cookies
Ingredients:
15 Kraft Caramels
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter (you can use chunky peanut butter for more texture if you’d like)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. table salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips (in my experience, Hershey’s milk chocolate chips are the tastiest)
Sea Salt
Directions:
Slice each caramel in half. Put on a microwaveable dish, and microwave for 15 seconds. Remove, roll each caramel slice in a ball, then flatten. Place on a plate and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk butter and brown and white sugars together until creamy. Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla and mix until everything is well combined and smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and table salt, then add the chocolate chips and mix together.
Slowly fold in the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture, until everything is combined.
Put the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
When oven is ready, drop tablespoon-size balls of cookie dough onto cookie sheet, and press each cookie down to slightly flatten.
Bake for 9-10 minutes until set and very light in color. They will appear under-done.
Remove from oven and while cookies are still hot, press a caramel in the middle of each cookie, then sprinkle the caramel with a few grains of sea salt.\
Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Store at room temperature in a cookie tin.
If you can manage to make them last, they are good for 5 days in the tin.
Italian Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
4 tsps. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar), sifted
6 tsps.lemon juice, freshly squeezed from a lemon
Colored sprinkles
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F
Line baking sheet with parchment paper or grease your cookie sheet.
Place a piece of wax paper underneath your cookie cooling wracks.
In a bowl sift icing (confectioner’s) sugar, and add lemon juice. Mix well together, until smooth, and not too watery. You can thicken it with more icing sugar if you need to. Set aside, while you make your cookies.
In a big bowl bowl cream together, eggs, butter, vanilla extract and sugar, until creamy.
In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt together and mix well.
Slowly add flour mixture to creamy mixture, and knead well to form a non-sticky dough.
Sprinkle working surface with some flour, and turn dough onto your surface and roll the dough to form a log.
Slice into two inch pieces, then twirl into shape.
Place each cookie on the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and let sit for 2 minutes, then dip each cookie into the lemon icing sugar bowl, and top with sprinkles. Then transfer onto a cooling rack.
Maple Pecan Tarts
Ingredients:
1 cup pure Maple Syrup
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped (you can toast them ahead of time, or use them as is)
48 miniature uncooked tart shells, or 24 large tart shells, or if you want to make a pie, 1 uncooked pie shell. You can purchase pre-made ones (saves time) or you can make your own.
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350
Tip: To keep the edges of any pie or tarts from burning, place a small bowl of water in the corner of your oven. Just use a oven-proof glass bowl, add about 1 cup of water and put in the corner. Helps to add moisture and not burn your crust. I do this for cakes as well, and makes cakes nice and light.
In a bowl add: maple syrup, sugar, eggs, butter, salt, lemon juice and vanilla, mix well until smooth and creamy.
Distribute pecans evenly to each tart shell.
Fill tarts with creamy mixture to the top.
Bake tarts for 18 – 20 minutes (for pie, bake for 45 – 50 minutes)
They’re done when you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out dry.
Best wishes from our home to yours.
Whatever special holiday you are celebrating;
May you be dashing through the snow (or sand or grass) with laughter.
May your star on your tree, the twinkling lights in your world shine bright with blessings.
May your bells jingle with music, whether you can carry a tune or not.
May your homes be filled with warmth, love, laughter, candy, good health, kindness, p eace and harmony for you, your families, friends, community, country during the holidays and throughout the year….the world is always a better place when it’s filled with love, laughter and light.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa,
Happy Pancha Ganapati, Bright Yuletide
Happy Holidays to all!
Filed under: Holidays Tagged: Chocolate Chips, Christmas Baking, Holiday baking, Italian Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies, Pecan Tarts
