EGGC Christmas Cookies 2015 Chocolate Coconut Macaroons Nancy Baldwin 4 oz. Baker s German s Sweet chocolate ½ cup granulated sugar 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 egg whites (lg. or extra lg. eggs), at room 7 oz. (2 2/3 cups, loosely packed) shredded temperature coconut Pinch of salt Instructions: Adjust 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two 12 x 15 ½ inch cookie sheets with aluminum foil. Break up the sweet chocolate. Place both chocolates in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted. Then uncover and stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside, uncovered, to cool to room temperature. In the small bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the salt until they hold a firm peak when the beaters are raised. On moderately low speed add the sugar 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, pausing about 10 seconds between additions. Add the vanilla. Then increase the speed to high and beat for about 5 minutes more until the meringue is very stiff. Reduce the speed to low and add the cooled chocolate, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until mixed. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, with a rubber or wooden spatula, fold in the coconut. Use a moderately rounded teaspoonful of the mixture for each cookie. Place the mounds 1 inch apart on the aluminum foil, forming 15 cookies on each piece of foil. Bake for about 16 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once to ensure even baking. When the macaroons are done they should feel dry on the outside but must remain soft in the centers. With a wide metal spatula transfer the macaroons to racks to cool. Even if the racks have little feet to raise them, they should be raised still more; place them on any right-side-up pan or bowl. (These need plenty of room for air to circulate underneath, or steam forms on the bottom and keeps the bottoms of the cookies from being as dry as they should be. These may be stored airtight or only loosely covered. If they feel too soft/moist when they have cooled, let them dry out by storing them so air can get to them. Maida Heatter s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (1980)
Frozen Fruit Cookies Vivian Sellers 1 cup butter 1 cup sifted powdered sugar 1 egg 2 ½ cups flour ¼ tsp. cream of tartar ¼ cup salt ½ cup pecans, chopped ½ cup chopped candied cherries 1 cup whole candied cherries Cream butter and sugar; beat in egg. Stir in flour, salt and cream of tartar. Blend in pecans and fruits. Divide in two balls; form into rolls 1 1/2 in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Slice very thin. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 6-8 minutes. Makes about 10 dozen. 1 ½ lbs. candied cherries (I use ½ lb. green & 1 lb. red) 8 oz. candied pineapple 1 ½ lbs. chopped dates 3 cups pecans 3 cups walnuts Stir together in very large bowl. Fruitcake Vivian Sellers 2 cups flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt Mix together, and then sprinkle over fruit mix. Stir to coat all fruit and nuts. 1 tsp. vanilla 4 beaten eggs 1 ½ cups sugar Mix together; pour over fruit/flour mixture. Stir well. Spray loaf pans with PAM, then line loaf pans with strip of parchment paper. Bake 325 degrees 3 ½ X 7 ½ - 1 hour 3 X 5 55 min. Recipe makes 3 large loafs and 1 small loaf.
1 cup flour ½ cup sugar ½ cup brown sugar ½ tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. soda ¼ tsp. salt ½ cup shortening 1 egg ¼ tsp vanilla ¾ cup oats ¼ cup walnuts Oatmeal Cookies Joyce Jones Mix together form balls and roll in sugar. Bake 375 degrees 10-12 minutes 3 eggs 2 cups sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 1 tsp. vanilla 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. salt ½ tsp. ground nutmeg 2 cups chopped nuts 2 cups shredded zucchini Zucchini Bread Joyce Jones 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 X 5 inch loaf pans or seven 5 ¾ X 3 inch X 2 inch foil loaf pans. 2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in cream cheese. 3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. On low speed, gradually beat into the egg mixture. 4. Fold in walnuts and zucchini. Evenly divide batter between prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees 60 minutes for large pans and 35 minutes for small loaves or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 5. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes on wire rack. Turn out of pans and allow to cool completely.
1 ½ cups butter, softened 2 cups packed brown sugar 1 cup canned pumpkin 2 large eggs ½ cup crystallized ginger, finally chopped 5 cups flour 2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. cinnamon 2 tsp. ground ginger ½ tsp. salt Pumpkin Cookies Punky Dias Cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in pumpkin, eggs, crystalized ginger; add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Drop by teaspoon onto greased or parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 375 degrees 8 minutes Ingredients White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cathy Jow 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup cold butter 12 ounces white chocolate baking squares with cocoa butter, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 2 drops red food coloring (optional) 2 teaspoons shortening White nonpareils and/or red edible glitter (optional) Directions 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spread cherries on paper towels to drain well. 2. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in drained cherries and 4 ounces (2/3 cup) of the chopped chocolate. Stir in almond extract and, if desired, food coloring. Knead until smooth and form into a ball (dough will be crumbly at first, but will come together as you work the dough with your hands). 3. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar; flatten balls to 1-1/2-inch rounds. 4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. 5. In a small saucepan, combine remaining 8 ounces white chocolate and the shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. If desired, roll dipped edge in nonpareils and/or edible glitter. Place cookies on parchment or waxed paper until chocolate is set.
No Bake Peppermint Chocolate Vanilla Wafers Rita Montez 1-8 oz. package Vanilla Wafers 1 package of Hard Candy Peppermints 1 package of chocolate chips Chop up the package of the peppermint candies into smaller pieces. Melt approximately ½ package of chocolate chips. Slather the top of each vanilla wafer with the melted chocolate and dip into the peppermint candy pieces. Refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes until the chocolate hardens. Ingredients for cake base Holiday Pineapple and Cream Cheese Cake- Barbara Gumbs 3 eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup flour 1/4 pound butter (melted) Vanilla essence (a drop or two) Method for cake 1. Beat eggs and essence; gradually add sugar. 2. Add flour gradually. 3. Add melted butter. 4. Pour this batter into a dish, cake pan or deep pie pan. 5. Bake 25-30 minutes at 325 degrees F. 6. Let cake cool in container. Ingredients for topping 1. Packet JELL-O instant pudding/pie mix (your choice of flavor) 2. 2-8oz packets of cream cheese 3. 1 large can of crushed pineapple (drained) 4. Candied cherries 5. Ground or sliced nuts (of your choice) 6. Optional - toasted sweetened coconut flakes 7. Optional - Cool Whip/Dessert Whip Method for Topping 1. Make pudding according to directions and add toasted coconut - if using. 2. Soften cream cheese and add to pudding. 3. Use mixer to whip pudding and cream cheese together to a smooth consistency. 4. Spread pudding/cream mixture over the cake in the pan/dish. 5. Spread drained crushed pineapple to cover the pudding/cream cheese mixture. 6. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving or until firm. 7. Decorate with chopped/sliced nuts and candied cherries.
½ cup butter ¼ cup brown sugar, packed 1 egg, separated ½ tsp. vanilla 1 cup flour ¾ cup finely chopped nuts Jelly or tinted icing Thumbprint Cookies Rhinda Furtado Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix shortening, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla thoroughly. Blend together flour and salt, stir in. Roll dough into balls (about 1 tsp. per ball). Beat egg white slightly with fork. Dip balls in egg white. Roll in nuts. Place about 1 apart on ungreased baking sheet; press thumb gently in center of each. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool. Fill thumbprints with jelly or tinted icing. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. Chocolate thumbprint variation: Make as above except substitute ½ cup of sugar for brown sugar; add 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted with the shortening. 400 degrees 18 min 12 muffins 1 ¾ cup flour + 1 Tablespoon 1/2 cup sugar + ¼ cup sugar 2 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 1 beaten egg ¾ cup milk ¼ cup oil ½ cup fresh or thawed frozen raspberries 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest (optional) Raspberry Muffins Rhinda Furtado 1. Grease muffin tins or line with paper baking cups. 2. In a medium bowl combine all but 1 T of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 3. In another bowl combine egg, milk and oil and lemon zest. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). 4. Toss raspberries gently with 1 Tablespoon flour. Fold them gently into the batter. 5. Spoon into 12 muffin tins/cups. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup sugar on top of muffins if desired. 6. Bake 17-22 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or cool. Freeze well.
CANDY CANE KISS COOKIES- LINDA FUENTES When the fall holidays arrive, the Candy Cane Kisses begin to appear on supermarket shelves too. These are an incredibly delicious flavor delivered by the Hershey s Kisses people. And they re amazing tucked into a cookie too. INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 1/4 cups butter, at room temperature 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, optional 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large egg 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup Candy Cane flavored Hershey's Kisses, finely chopped granulated sugar additional, unwrapped Candy Cane Kisses- about 30 DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Make room in either refrigerator or freezer for your cookie sheet. 2. In large mixer bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, extracts and egg. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until creamy (2-3 minutes). In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet mixture and beat, scraping bowl often until well blended (1-2 minutes). The mixture will be a bit crumbly. Stir in chopped Kisses. 3. Shape dough into 3/4-inch to 1-inch balls; roll in granulated sugar. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set. As soon as they come out of the oven, press a Candy Cane Kiss in the center of each cookie. They'll crack a little around the edges, so just use your fingers to kind of hold the cookie together while you set the kiss inside. Put cookie sheet (with cookies) immediately into the freezer (preferred) or refrigerator so that the Kisses will set quickly. As soon as you press them into the cookie, they will begin to soften... so if you can get them into the freezer then they will keep their Kiss shape. 4. Store in a covered container- at room temperature for up to a week. In the freezer they should be ok for a couple of weeks. Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies; Prep Time: 30 min; Cook Time: 12 min TIPS: *The addition of peppermint extract is completely optional. The cookie gets plenty of peppermint flavor from the addition of the chopped kisses, but if you d like it really minty then go ahead and add the peppermint extract. *I ve spotted these Kisses at Target and CVS Pharmacy. This delicious recipe brought to you by RECIPEGIRL http://www.recipegirl.com/2008/08/08/candy-cane-kiss-cookies/
Raisin Oatmeal Frost Bite Cookies Peggy Wedge Ingredients 3/4 cup Sun-Maid Natural Raisins 3 tablespoons orange juice 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine 3/4 cup sugar 1 large egg 2 teaspoons grated orange peel 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats or quick oats 1-1/4 cups white baking pieces 1 teaspoon vegetable oil Directions: HEAT oven to 350 PLACE raisins and orange juice in a small microwave-safe dish. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 1 minute. Let stand. BEAT butter and sugar in a large bowl using a mixer or wooden spoon. ADD egg and orange peel; mix well. Stir in flour and baking soda. MIX in oats and raisin-orange juice mixture. SCOOP spoonful s of dough with two small spoons and drop onto cookie sheets leaving 2 inches between each cookie. BAKE 10 to 12 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. HEAT white baking chips and oil in a microwave-safe bowl on medium power (50%) for about 2 minutes. Stir until chips are melted. DIP cookies one at a time about half way up into chocolate. Place on a wax paper lined pan and refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes until white chocolate is set. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup Sharon Saint Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup Total Time: 9 hour; Prep: 20 min; Inactive: 8 hour; Cook: 40 min Yield: 6 to 8 servings Ingredients 1 loaf French Bread (13 to 16 ounces) (Sharon used Texas Toast Bread) 8 large eggs 2 cups half-and-half 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Dash salt Praline Topping, recipe follows: 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 cup chopped pecans 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg Directions Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Praline Topping: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread. Bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup. (Most of us felt maple syrup wasn t necessary) Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen
1 cup persimmon pulp 1 tsp. baking soda, dissolved in pulp ½ cup melted Crisco or oil 1 egg, beaten 1 cup sugar 2 cups flour ½ tsp. EACH cloves, cinnamon & nutmeg 1 cup chopped nuts 1 cup raisins Persimmon Cookies Jeannette Martin Cream shortening & sugar with egg. Add to pulp. Sift dry ingredients and add nuts and raisins. Drop onto cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees until done. ¾ cup shortening 1 cup brown sugar, packed 1 egg ½ cup molasses 2 tsp. baking soda ¼ tsp. salt 2 cups flour ½ tsp. EACH cinnamon, ginger & cloves 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup raisins Molasses Fruit Bars Mary Hill Cream shortening & brown sugar; add egg and molasses. Mix well. Add dry ingredients, mix till smooth. Add nuts and raisins. Spread in well-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars. Chewy Dark Chocolate Meringue Cookies Jennie Hertzler 4 egg whites ½ tsp. lemon juice ½ tsp. vanilla Pinch of salt ¾ cup sugar 12 oz. 70-72% cacao dark chocolate, melted and cooled (Jennie used 10 oz. 60% &2 oz. 100%; Next time would only use 60% dark chocolate) ½ cup chopped walnuts, plus walnut halves for garnish (Jennie used pecans) ½ cup chopped dried cherries or cranberries. 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper 2. Beat egg whites, lemon juice, vanilla and salt, beating until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in chocolate, walnuts and cherries. 3. Drop by spoonful on to prepared cookie sheets. Top each cookie with a walnut half. 4. Bake 15 minutes or until outside is set and dry. Cool completely on pans. 5. Store in airtight container for up to a week. Makes 36 cookies
Pain d Épice Cookies with Grand Marnier Glaze - from Mary Adams-Wiley Makes 80 small cookies Plan ahead these cookies need to be refrigerated for 8-12 hours before baking Ingredients for cookies (See note from Mary at bottom of recipe) 1 cup (4-¼ ounces/120 grams) rye flour ¾ cup (3-⅝ ounces/103 grams) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon each ground allspice and ground ginger ¾ teaspoon each ground cinnamon, grated or ground nutmeg, and salt 2 sticks or 1 cup (8 ounces/227 grams) ¼ cup (1-¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar ¼ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) packed dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon mild honey 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or ¼ teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (an orange and vanilla flavored extract) Ingredients for glaze 4 cups (17 ounces/482 grams) powdered sugar, measured or weighed first, then sifted 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons Grand Marnier ¼ cup whole milk 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Ingredients for decoration Candied orange peel (for a high quality peel, order it from www.kingarthurflour.com) ¼ teaspoon edible gold luster to be mixed with ½ teaspoon vodka or substitute a small amount of tiny gold edible stars Directions: Whisk together flours, spices, and salt. With an electric mixer, beat together butter, sugars, honey, and vanilla or Fiori di Sicilia at medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined. Dough will be sticky. Put dough in a 1 gallon sealable plastic bag (not one with a pleated bottom) and smooth out with a rolling pin, filling the bag. Alternatively, you can roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 10 square, about ¼ thick. Chill dough (still in bag or parchment) on a baking sheet for 8 to 12 hours to allow flavors to develop. Heat oven to 350 F with rack in the middle; allow 20-25 minutes for oven to be ready. Cut bag open (or remove top layer of parchment). Trim edges of dough, then cut 20 strips ½ wide with pastry wheel or sharp knife. Either use a ruler or cut a ½" strip of parchment paper to use as a guide. Cut each strip crosswise into fourths for a total of 80 cookies. If dough begins to soften, chill or freeze until firm. With a spatula, transfer about 30 cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, arranging them 1 apart. Keep unbaked cookies chilled or frozen. Bake until edges are several shades darker, 13-15 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookies. To make glaze, whisk together all glaze ingredients until smooth.
To decorate cookies, tip the bowl with the glaze on its side (to make the pool of glaze as deep as possible) and put a folded kitchen towel under bowl for support. Dip half of a cookie into glaze to coat on a diagonal (lengthwise), letting excess drip off into bowl, then scrape bottom of cookie with a table knight to remove excess glaze. Transfer cookie to parchment sheet and immediately put a piece of candied orange peel on the glazed half of cookie. If you are using edible stars, add those now. If using luster dust, put it in a small saucer, then add vodka and stir to moisten. Dot candied peel with luster dust (the vodka will evaporate, leaving only dust). Let stand until completely set, about 1 hour. Cookies will keep, layered between sheets of parchment paper in metal tins, at room temperature for up to 3 days. Cookies can be well wrapped and frozen for 1-2 months. Recipe adapted from The Gourmet Cookie Book: the single best recipe from each year 1941-2009, published in 2010. The Pain d Épice Cookies were the best from the year 2000. Note to Garden Club members If you would like to make this recipe, I m happy to give you the rye flour and Grand Marnier you need. Also I have a 5 pound bag of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour that I can share. Call me at 925 200-3250 if you are interested.