Cookie Swap!

Recently, we went to our first cookie swap. It was fantastic, and I hope it becomes a holiday ritual.

Unfortunately, I don't have all of the recipes to share, but I do have a photo of some of the goodies we got to bring home. We took P's now-famous biscotti (12 o'clock on the photo below), and we were glad to know that recipe #5 is a keeper.

Below, you can see what came home with (starting at 1 o'clock and going clockwise) "comic fortune" cookies, chocolate "crackles," chocolate-covered mint cookies, macarons, peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies, fig pinwheels, and orange/ginger slice-'n'-bake cookies (unfortunately, you're not able to see the latter). The event was a great success, and I think the bar has already been set very high, so we'll have to start getting ready for next year now. ;-)

I am going to try my hardest to get the recipes for the macarons and the fig pinwheels so they can become part of my own cookie repertoire! ;-)

Orange Balls

The next installment in the Advent Cookie Countdown on this 4th Sunday of Advent is the recipe for "Orange Balls." I wish there were a more original name for these, but I suppose you know right from the get-go what you are going be eating.

Orange Balls

1 12-oz. package of vanilla wafers, crushed (Again, any inexpensive plain cookie would be fine.)
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 16-oz. package of powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 6-oz. can of Orange Juice concentrate, undiluted!

Combine all ingredients in a food processor in the order in which they are listed. Form into walnut-sized balls. Roll in powdered sugar and allow to "dry" for at least an hour before serving.

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Variation: Orange "Truffles"

The last time I made these, I halved the recipe...but I think I goofed and did not half one of the liquid ingredients since the cookies seemed to be softer than normal. So, after forming the balls and letting them dry for a day, we covered them in melted chocolate and then let those dry for day. We then wrapped the individual "truffles" in little squares of wax paper and put them in a candy dish. Everyone LOVED them!

Since it was a "save" from a mistake in the recipe, I don't know exactly how I did it, but I think basically, just add little extra OJ concentrate to make the mixture a little more moist and go from there!

Bourbon Balls

Growing up, we always made different kinds of "balls" during Christmastime: Orange Balls, Date Balls, Crème de Cocoa balls, and Bourbon Balls. They are no-bake formed cookies that are quick, easy, and delicious. Below is the recipe for Bourbon Balls.

Bourbon Balls

2 cups crushed vanilla wafers (any inexpensive "plain" cookie would be fine)
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
2 Tbsp corn syrup (both light or dark will be fine)

Mix the ingredients together in a food processor in the order in which they appear. Shape into walnut-sized balls. Roll in powdered sugar. (This last step is important; don't skip it!)

Yields 3 dozen.

Rosenmunnar

Here is a quick, simple, and good recipe for Rosenmunnar, a type of Swedish thumbprint cookie. It's a buttery tasting dough with a dollop of jam in the middle. We used our own jam made of raspberries from our garden in the Fenway as well as some fancy strawberry jam we bought at the store. Both were great.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 cup any flavor fruit jam



Directions:
1. Cream butter & sugar together
2. Add sifted flour
3. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place on a cookie sheet. Press your thumb in the middle of the ball to create a divot in which to put some of the fruit jam. Fill the divot with the fruit jam. Depending on the jam type, you will need to alter the amount so it doesn't bubble over, out of the cookie. Although, this does create a nice homemade look if it does happen so don't worry about it too much.
4. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees or until golden brown around the edges.

Makes about 20 cookies

Chocolate-Drizzled Coconut Marshmallows

Here is a recipe for home-made marshmallows. I was first introduced to making marshmallows by my friend Adam and fell in love with the idea once I saw how easy and good they were to make! You can experiment with different colors and flavors but the basic recipe stays the same.

Note: You will need a counter-top mixer for this. A hand mixer will not work!

Step 1: Mix 3 packets of gelatin powder with 1/2 cold water in a mixing bowl.

Step 2: In a medium sauce pan mix together:

1/2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup water

Stir on medium heat until the sugar melts in the mixture. Then raise the heat and keep heating mixture until the temperature reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Step 3: Once temperature is reached, carefully pour the hot mix into the mixing bowl with the gelatin and water. Have the mixer going (with the whisk) on low speed. You may want to use a guard so it doesn't splatter on you.

Step 4: After all the hot mixture is in the mixing bowl, turn the mixer up to high and whisk the mixture for about 15 minutes adding 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract about halfway through.

Step 5: As this is mixing, toast a bag of shredded coconut. After it's toasted, spread 1/2 of the coconut on the bottom of a 8"x12" pan (I like to use a Pyrex or ceramic one).

Step 6: After the 15 minutes is up, take a WET spatula and scoop the mixture into the coconut covered pan. Wet your hands and use them to smooth out the mixture in the pan, covering the whole bottom.

Step 7: After the mixture is smoothed out, take the rest of the coconut and sprinkle it over the top of the marshmallow, pressing down so they stick.

Step 8: Take a handful of semi-sweet chocolate and melt it in a double boiler with about 2 tablespoons of milk. This will make a nice chocolate glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the marshmallows and coconut mixture.

Step 9: Leave pan out in the open air for 24 hours. After, wet a knife and begin cutting out the marshmallows. Keep wetting the knife so the marshmallows don't stick to it. After you cut a marshmallow, roll the sides in confectioner's sugar so they aren't sticky.

Step 10: Serve & Enjoy!

Note: Seem like a huge mess to clean up? Not at all! Everything dissolves super easily in warm water. Barely any scrubbing required.

Marshmallows before being cut into pieces. Looks like a Jackson Pollock painting!

Struffoli

It's that time of year again. My favorite time. Every Christmas Eve growing up, my Grandma would zoom over to our house, in her little blue car, to drop off our family's share of struffoli. Struffoli was and is my most favorite dessert of all time. How could you not love deep fried dough balls drenched in honey and covered in sprinkles?!

Struffoli is a traditional Neapolitan dessert served at Christmas time originating in southern Italy. While my Grandmother is not with us anymore to make us this special dish, she did leave behind the family recipe which, for the past two years, I have been in charge of making. Our struffoli is a simple (but secret!) recipe (I'm sure you can find a decent one online) consisting primarily of a ton of eggs and flour with a bit of sugar and oil and other small things thrown in.



Once you have the dough mixed together, you kneed it a bit and roll it into cigar-size ropes, cutting them into small pieces.










After you have cut up the dough, toss it into hot oil (around 350 degrees works best) to deep fry.

After the balls float and turn golden "honey" brown, let them drain and cool on a paper towel and then drench them in a TON (like a whole bottle, the more the better) of honey and cover with small rainbow ball sprinkles.






Struffoli tastes best after about a day of sitting in the honey. Before serving, make sure to stir up the balls since the honey tends to pool together on the bottom of the dish. My grandmother served them on a Christmas paper plate and covered them in wax paper. They last for a long time and seem to get better with age. Don't leave them out too long or else they might just disappear!

Greek Koulourakia

This is a recipe for Greek cookies (that I got from my great-aunt, Ciocia Stella...who's Polish) that reminds me of my Italian grandmother's Easter Pigna. They are great every day cookies, you can even serve them at breakfast.

Greek Koulourakia
A.K.A: Braided cookies.
Yields 50-60 cookies.

Ingredients:

½ lb butter (at room temperature)
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
½ cup orange juice
6 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda

Topping Ingredients
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk


1. Preheat oven to 350º F
2. Cream butter with mixer until it becomes white & fluffy (about 4 minutes)
3. Add sugar gradually and continue mixing
4. Add eggs one at a time
5. In a separate bowl, combing flour, baking powder, and soda.
6. Alternating, add the dry ingredients and the orange juice a little at a time to the mixing bowl and continue mixing until ingredients become doughy enough to handle (mixer will start to struggle).
7. While still in the bowl, knead mixture until it’s stiff enough to shape.
8. Break off enough dough to make a 1 ½ “ ball
9. Roll this out on a clean surface to form a 9” strand. Take each end of this strand, bring them together, and criss-cross each of them over each other twice.
10. Place on greased cookie sheets.
11. Combine topping ingredients and beat well. Use a brush to coat the top of each cookie lightly once.
12. Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.