Thank you France for the Cocoa Sables

The day you decide to make sables, wake up early, get out all the best ingredients in your kitchen, COCOA, chocolate, vanilla, butter, sugar, MIX, roll AND WAIT.

I usually make the beautiful sable during the holidays, but the crazy group, at French Fridays with Dorie, picked Cocoa Sables for the recipe last Friday.  I wasn't going to make these sables until Easter, but why not have sables year round?  My husband said, "Those would be good with coffee".  Good point!  I made two rolls of sables, one smaller than the other.  This way I can cut the smaller ones any time, bake 15 minutes, and Viola...the beautiful cocoa sables and French press coffee: Priceless!

I did a little experimenting with different sugars, but cocoa sables really don't need anything,

they're perfect plain.

For the recipe, check out Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table, I love this cookbook!!!

Holiday Baking: Mexican Chocolate Cherry Rounds

Spicy, Sweet and "Oh so YUMMY!"

I have been making Mexican Chocolate-Cherry Rounds for years, since I first saw them featured in Bon Appetit in 1996. I stick to the original recipe, most of the time, but this year I substituted Ibarra Mexican Chocolate for unsweetened chocolate. To be honest, I just didn't feel like going to the store to get unsweetened chocolate when I had bittersweet, semi-sweet, and pounds of other chocolate. Anyway, the cookies turned out great. My husband, the skeptic, noticed the cookies were flatter than before, but he thought the flavor was the best this year.

I may not ever tell him what I did...ha, ha.

Mexican Chocolate-Cherry Rounds

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate or Ibarra Mexican Chocolate, chopped

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 T ground cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup powdered sugar

60 candied cherry halves

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. If you are using the Ibarra chocolate, add 1 tablespoon of butter to the chocolate when melting; cool.

Combine flour, baking powder and spices. In an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and cooled chocolate. Gradually add the dry ingredients. Gather the dough together and chill for at least 2 hours.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with either a silpat or parchment paper.

Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar, repeat with all the dough. Place the dough balls on baking sheet 1 1/2 -inch apart. Press 1 cherry half into the center of the dough.

Bake until the dough cracks, about 10 minutes.

Transfer to cooling racks and cool completely.

These cookie will stay fresh up to 1 week in an airtight container or frozen for 1 month.

Santa Baby!

Seriously, if my husband doesn't get the hint...

I know I have the color just right...

Cute, aren't they?

The color works on other holiday cookies too!


YUM!

Holiday Baking: Snow Ball Cookies (Russian Tea Cakes)

Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cookies? Whatever you want to call them, in December they are Snow Ball Cookies. These are a family favorite, not only because they are delicious, but because they are fun to make with family and friends.

You should start by making the dough early, chill the dough, then invite over friends and family, young and old to help make the Snow Ball Cookies. Not much attention is needed, so stir up a batch of Eggnog and have fun!

Russian Tea Cakes

adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup of unsalted butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup finely chopped, toasted black walnuts

powdered sugar

Sift flour ans salt. In a another bowl, cream together the butter.

Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until fluffy.

Add vanilla.

Mix in dry ingredients in 3 batches.

mix in nuts.

Chill dough for at least 1 hour.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

form dough into 1-inch balls.

Space balls on a lined cookie sheet, 1 inch apart.

Bake until the cookies are firm, about 15 minutes.

Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar and transfer to parchment lined rack.

Cool completely. Roll in powdered sugar again. Enjoy!

Holiday Baking: Rugelach

This is the first holiday season in years that we haven't ditched the cold Seattle weather and escaped to a warmer place; Florida or Mexico. The great thing is now I have time to bake!!! I haven't made rugelach in years, so since they are my husband's favorite, I couldn't wait to make them again. Problem, I lost my recipe. Solution, ask Jennifer Penson for advise. My friend Jennifer is a brilliant Pastry Chef. We worked together years ago and to this day, I have so many fond memories of all her yummy, sweet treats. Jennifer was so kind to share her rugelach recipe with me and WOW, so good!!!

OK, warning, making rugelach takes some time, so get ready.

Jennifer's Rugelach Dough
8 oz. cold unsalted butter
8 oz. cold cream cheese
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar

Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and cheese, until it's light.
Add sugar and beat until fluffy.
Mix in flour and sugar.
Gather the dough into a ball and divide into 8 pieces; form into flat disks, wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

The Rugelach Filling
1/2 - 3/4 cup Apricot-Raspberry Preserves

Mix together the following:
1 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
3/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Take out one disk of dough and roll out to about a 9-inch round.
Spread 1 heaping teaspoon of the preserves on the dough and spread, and then spread 1/4 cup of the apricot-nut mix onto the dough and press lightly into the dough.
Cut the round into 12 wedges. Start at the wide end of the wedge and roll tight.
Brush lightly with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar topping.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Cool and eat!

Apricot-Raspberry Filling

Roll the wedges of dough tightly...

Dip in sugar-cinnamon and bake. YUM!

Back to School AND Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today was the 3rd day of the new school year and some thing was wrong. What, no Room Mom Meeting? No meeting with the teachers. Hmmm... I didn't even make a PB&J this morning. I must be the mother of a high school Senior.

Something else was missing. Ah, I know...get yourself organized and bake cookies!

What can I say, it's a tradition. School starts and I bake chocolate chip cookies. The difference this year is I am no longer on the PTSA, Chair of the Auction or making treats for teachers or anything.

Not exactly a low-calorie, low-carb, fat-free, sugar-free diet option, but everything in moderation. Well, I had 1 cookie and it was pretty good!

Nothing special with this cookie, it's your basic Nestle's Toll House Cookie, recipe on the bag.

Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. (I use unbleached parchment on the cookie sheet.)
BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.