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valarltdToday is the Feast day of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra.
He is the patron saint of the Varangian Guard, sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children, pawnbrokers and students. He is also the patron of the cities of Aberdeen (where the Kirk of St. Nichols dates to 1157), Amsterdam, Barranquilla, Bari, Burgas, Beit Jala, Fribourg, Huguenots, Kozani, Liverpool, Paternopoli, Sassari, Siggiewi, and Lorraine.
(And my name saint for my true name)
Sounds of the season.
Because boy soprano.
And though I couldn't find a clip from The Miracle Job, let's steal some Christmas Cheer
Tasty Tuesday:
Baking season is upon us, and that means scads of cookies.
To make things easier, start with Mother Dough. This basic cookie dough will let you make six different kinds of cookies.
Mother Dough Recipe
Ingredients:
• 2 cups flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Combine first four ingredients in a bowl. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix in half the dry ingredients, then add what is remaining. Divide dough in half and wrap with plastic wrap until ready to use. This recipe makes enough for two batches of cookies, so we suggest that you always divide the dough in half and wrap each separately in plastic. Keep the other half refrigerated until you need it (it will keep in the refrigerator for up to four days).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decorated Cut Out Holiday Cookies
Makes 20 Cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Using a half portion of chilled Mother Dough, roll out on a lightly floured surface to π” thickness. Using a floured cookie cutter, cut out shapes. Transfer to a parchment-covered sheet pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool until ready to decorate with sprinkles, Royal Icing (recipe below) and candy.
Royal Icing:
Beat together on low speed 2 cups icing sugar, 2 tsp powdered egg white, 1 tsp lemon juice and 3 tbsp of warm water for one minute. Add more water if you’d like the icing to be thinner. Increase speed to high and beat for 3 more minutes until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Divide into small bowls and add food colouring.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jammie Sammie Cut-Outs
Makes 10 sandwich cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a half portion of Mother Dough roll out on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with a lightly floured 2-inch cookie cutter. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out centres from tops. Transfer to parchment-covered sheet pan leaving a 1-inch space between each one. Bake for 8–10 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool until ready to decorate with icing. Match up decorated tops and undecorated bottoms. Cover bottoms with a thin layer of seedless jam. Sandwich together and fill cut-out with jam.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies
Makes 20 cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix 1/4 cup of each: white chocolate chips, dried cranberries and almond slivers to a half portion of Mother Dough (you can add more to suit your taste). Drop 1 ½ tbsp of dough onto parchment-covered sheet pan, leaving 1 inch between each. Bake 8–10 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to rack.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sugar Coated Spice Cookies
Makes 20 cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a half portion of Mother Dough, add 1 tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp ground ginger. Stir in 1 tbsp molasses. Drop 1 ½ tbsp of dough onto parchment-covered sheet pan, leaving at least 1 ½-inch space between each one. Sprinkle each cookie with coarse sugar. Bake 8–10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to rack.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dulce de Leche Coconut Bars
Makes 40 squares
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Press a half portion of the Mother Dough evenly into greased, foil-lined 9 x 9 square pan. Chill for 15 minutes. Bake for 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Top cookie base with 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut. Heat a 450g jar of President’s Choice dulce de leche for 30 seconds in the microwave and pour over coconut-covered cookie base. Bake 25 minutes. Let squares cool completely in pan before serving, at least 2 hours. Cut squares using a serrated knife dipped in hot water after each cut.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One Bite Chocolate thumbprints
Preheat oven to 350. Sift 1/4 c. cocoa powder into half of dough. Microwave 1 c. chocolate chips for 20 seconds, stir, microwave another 20 seconds. Stir until completely melted. Add to dough. Form into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar. place on parchment covered cookie sheet. Indent each cookie with the end of a wooden spoon. Bake 10 minutes, re-indent.Bake 15 more minutes. Cool. Cream 4 oz cream cheese with 2 TBSP powdered sugar. Top cookies with cream cheese and a dab of jam.
Pics of the Day:
He is the patron saint of the Varangian Guard, sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children, pawnbrokers and students. He is also the patron of the cities of Aberdeen (where the Kirk of St. Nichols dates to 1157), Amsterdam, Barranquilla, Bari, Burgas, Beit Jala, Fribourg, Huguenots, Kozani, Liverpool, Paternopoli, Sassari, Siggiewi, and Lorraine.
(And my name saint for my true name)
Sounds of the season.
Because boy soprano.
And though I couldn't find a clip from The Miracle Job, let's steal some Christmas Cheer
Tasty Tuesday:
Baking season is upon us, and that means scads of cookies.
To make things easier, start with Mother Dough. This basic cookie dough will let you make six different kinds of cookies.
Mother Dough Recipe
Ingredients:
• 2 cups flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Combine first four ingredients in a bowl. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix in half the dry ingredients, then add what is remaining. Divide dough in half and wrap with plastic wrap until ready to use. This recipe makes enough for two batches of cookies, so we suggest that you always divide the dough in half and wrap each separately in plastic. Keep the other half refrigerated until you need it (it will keep in the refrigerator for up to four days).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decorated Cut Out Holiday Cookies
Makes 20 Cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Using a half portion of chilled Mother Dough, roll out on a lightly floured surface to π” thickness. Using a floured cookie cutter, cut out shapes. Transfer to a parchment-covered sheet pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool until ready to decorate with sprinkles, Royal Icing (recipe below) and candy.
Royal Icing:
Beat together on low speed 2 cups icing sugar, 2 tsp powdered egg white, 1 tsp lemon juice and 3 tbsp of warm water for one minute. Add more water if you’d like the icing to be thinner. Increase speed to high and beat for 3 more minutes until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Divide into small bowls and add food colouring.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jammie Sammie Cut-Outs
Makes 10 sandwich cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a half portion of Mother Dough roll out on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with a lightly floured 2-inch cookie cutter. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out centres from tops. Transfer to parchment-covered sheet pan leaving a 1-inch space between each one. Bake for 8–10 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool until ready to decorate with icing. Match up decorated tops and undecorated bottoms. Cover bottoms with a thin layer of seedless jam. Sandwich together and fill cut-out with jam.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies
Makes 20 cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix 1/4 cup of each: white chocolate chips, dried cranberries and almond slivers to a half portion of Mother Dough (you can add more to suit your taste). Drop 1 ½ tbsp of dough onto parchment-covered sheet pan, leaving 1 inch between each. Bake 8–10 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to rack.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sugar Coated Spice Cookies
Makes 20 cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a half portion of Mother Dough, add 1 tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp ground ginger. Stir in 1 tbsp molasses. Drop 1 ½ tbsp of dough onto parchment-covered sheet pan, leaving at least 1 ½-inch space between each one. Sprinkle each cookie with coarse sugar. Bake 8–10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to rack.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dulce de Leche Coconut Bars
Makes 40 squares
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Press a half portion of the Mother Dough evenly into greased, foil-lined 9 x 9 square pan. Chill for 15 minutes. Bake for 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Top cookie base with 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut. Heat a 450g jar of President’s Choice dulce de leche for 30 seconds in the microwave and pour over coconut-covered cookie base. Bake 25 minutes. Let squares cool completely in pan before serving, at least 2 hours. Cut squares using a serrated knife dipped in hot water after each cut.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One Bite Chocolate thumbprints
Preheat oven to 350. Sift 1/4 c. cocoa powder into half of dough. Microwave 1 c. chocolate chips for 20 seconds, stir, microwave another 20 seconds. Stir until completely melted. Add to dough. Form into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar. place on parchment covered cookie sheet. Indent each cookie with the end of a wooden spoon. Bake 10 minutes, re-indent.Bake 15 more minutes. Cool. Cream 4 oz cream cheese with 2 TBSP powdered sugar. Top cookies with cream cheese and a dab of jam.
Pics of the Day:
