You make your own birthday cake, right???

It was my birthday last weekend and I made a birthday cake for myself.  Never really thought about it but from the reaction I got from everyone who knew I was doing this, not everyone does it!  Control issues?  Maybe, but I know what I like and how to get it!  Do it myself.

My birthday always comes when strawberries are plentiful so naturally most of the cakes I have baked have strawberries involved.  This year they took center stage…along with some Limoncello of course!

I first made this cake almost 2 years ago, here, and absolutely fell in love with it.  It is a beautiful dense cake and the mascarpone whipped cream was the perfect compliment but I was not really keen on the sherry macerated berries so this year I decided to macerate the berries in Limoncello…good move too!

Mascarpone-Filled Cake with Limoncello Strawberries – adapted from Gourmet, July 2008

Ingredients:

For cake:
2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 large eggs
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

For berries:
1/2 cup Limoncello
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups strawberries, quartered

For cream:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese (1 cup)
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Line bottom with a round of parchment paper, then butter parchment.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer at low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing after each addition until just combined.

Spread batter in cake pan, smoothing top. Rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Discard paper and reinvert cake onto rack to cool completely.

Macerate berries:

Pour the limoncello and the sugar over the berries and toss gently ( allow to satnd for about 30 minutes mixing periodically - or you can do it the real way and bring Limoncello and sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Put berries in a bowl and pour hot syrup over them, gently tossing to coat. Let stand 15 minutes. make cream and assemble cake.

Beat mascarpone and cream with sugar in a large bowl using cleaned beaters until mixture just holds stiff peaks.

Halve cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Carefully remove top half and reserve. Put bottom half on a plate, then spread evenly with half of the cream and replace top half. Use the rest of the cream on the top and serve with berries.

Cooks notes:
•Cake, without cream, can be baked 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic wrap once cool and keep at room temperature.
•Berries can macerate at room temperature up to 2 hours.

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Parmesan Pull-Aparts

Nice fluffy and light rolls!

So this is my third entry into what was suppose to be a 4 part series throughout the month of February (and yes, I am sadly aware that it is March already, but only just!!!). This is all part of our Gourmet bread challenge and BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench. You could say that I was one batch behind. I keep threatening to catch up but that just may not be in the cards...


For my third and final entry I had to try the Parmesan Pull-Aparts. They looked and sounded like ones that we get at a small local restaurant here and I couldn't wait to try them. Gourmet Magazine describes them as brioche like in texture without all of the extra work! Sign me up.

When you are done here please be sure to head over to my baking buddies sites... Andrea of Andrea's Recipes; Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen (who also designed our cool badge!); Kelly of Sass & Veracity; Courtney of Coco Cooks; and Sandy of At the Baker's Bench ~ I'm sure they'll have something wonderful going on in their ovens too.

My 9 inch pan turned out to be only 8 inches hence the overflowing appearance...

Parmesan Pull-Aparts

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons instant yeast granules
• 
  
• 1 tsp mild honey or sugar
  

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling


• 1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 2/3 cup milk, warmed to 105-115 degrees F (I used 1% )


• 3 large eggs, divided


• 5 tablespoons butter, softened, cut into tablespoon-size pieces


• 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

1. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, sugar, flour, salt, and cheese; whisk together. Add milk and beat at low speed with the paddle attachment until dry ingredients are moistened.


2. Increase speed to medium and beat in the first egg. Add second egg and beat well. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl and paddle occasionally. Continue to beat until a soft, sticky dough forms, about 2 to 3 minutes.



3. Start beating in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is elastic ~ about 2 more minutes. The dough will still be very sticky at this point.


4. Scrape dough into center of bowl, sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.



5. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let sit at warm room temperature for about 2 hours, or until dough has doubled in size.



6. Gently punch dough down but don't knead it. Turn it out onto a floured surface. Don't worry ~ the dough will be very gassy and light, but it won't be all that sticky. The flour you dusted it with before will keep it from sticking to the bowl; it should come out fairly neatly.




7. Gently form the dough into a rectangular shape. Go easy here ~ you don't want to press the gas out of the dough, you just want it to form a rough rectangle so it's easier to cut into equal pieces.



8. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, and then into 12 equal parts.




9. Roll each part into a ball and place in a greased 9" x 2" cake pan, leaving space between the balls.



10. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, till rolls have puffed and fill the pan.



11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush over tops of raised rolls in pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.



12. Remove pan from oven and run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the pan to loosen rolls. Invert onto a large spatula or a small rack and then invert again onto a cooling rack. Cool at least 20 minutes before pulling apart and eating.

Makes 12 rolls

Made even better reheated with some garlic butter and more Parmesan! How could that not be good???

Will I make these again? I loved these rolls. Out of all the rolls (yep all 3 of them) these were my favorite. They were simple, elegant looking and fast. All things that are incredibly important to me.

Despite me being late and being short one recipe I loved doing this challenge with my fellow bakers! I think the main thing that it did was remind me how incredibly much I like getting my hands into some yeast breads and kneading with my hands. Don't get me wrong I love the recipes where I could use my KitchenAid but I really LOVED the ones I created with my hands. I have promised myself that I am going to start making some of my weekly bread using the old fashioned hand kneading method!!!


I am submitting this to Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench for her BYOB event as well!


As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Rye Walnut Rolls

So this is my second entry into what was suppose to be a 4 part series throughout the month of February. This is all part of our Gourmet bread challenge and BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench. You could say that I was one batch behind. I keep threatening to catch up but that just may not be in the cards...


So this week I decided I just had to try the Rye Walnut Rolls. And why was that you ask? I had all the ingredients and did not have to leave the house to get anything!!!

Am I pleased with how these turned out? Somewhat. I may have messed up a bit. I DID NOT want 24 rolls so I halved the recipe. Now have more than a little experience with baking bread so this should not have been too bad but I was very distracted and even when I turned it onto my board to start kneading it was way too dry and I should have added some more liquid right then. Oh well. I eventually got the texture right but it was still a really tough dough to work with. I did not get the elasticity that I like when I am kneading bread. Also my timing was bad and I had an errand to run after I picked the girls up so I think they started to deflate from too long of a rise. Despite all of my errors these rolls turned out great. Nice sweet flavor from the onions in a nicely textured dough. T had one of these with roasted chicken, tomato and lettuce. Held up great to that!!!

When you are done here please be sure to head over to my baking buddies sites... Andrea of Andrea's Recipes; Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen (who also designed our cool badge!); Kelly of Sass & Veracity; Courtney of Coco Cooks; and Sandy of At the Baker's Bench ~ I'm sure they'll have something wonderful going on in their ovens too

Rye Walnut Rolls (Gourmet Magazine February 2009)

Makes 24 rolls.

Equipment

8 to 10-inch saute pan
sieve
medium bowl
stand mixer with hook attachment
2 baking sheets, lined with parchment or lightly greased
large mixing bowl

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon salt, divided
1/2 cup (120 ml) olive oil
2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
1-3/4 teaspoons instant yeast (or 2 teaspoons active dry yeast)
1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water (105-115° F/41-46° C)
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
5-1/2 cups (660 g) unbleached all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup (128 g) rye flour
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup (56 g) walnuts, toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped
egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
1/4 cup (34 g) poppy seeds or nigella seeds

Preparation

1. Heat the saute pan and cook the onion in the olive oil with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt until it’s soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the onions in the sieve over the medium bowl. Add the milk and stir.

2. In the bowl of the stand mixer, mix the all-purpose flour, rye flour, pepper, yeast, and the rest of the salt. (If using active dry yeast, stir together yeast, warm water, and honey in large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast. Add flours and remaining salt to yeast mixture.)

3. Add the warm water and honey to the milk mixture, then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix on low until a soft dough forms. Turn the speed up to 2 and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, up to 6 minutes. (To mix by hand, add the ingredients in order described to large mixing bowl. Stir with wood spoon until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a wooden surface that is lightly dusted with flour. Knead by hand until the dough is elastic and smooth, about 6 minutes.)

4. Add the onion and the chopped roasted walnuts, then mix again on low until everything is evenly distributed. (By hand: Pat the dough into a 9-inch square and sprinkle on the onions and walnuts. Fold the dough over to enclose the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Knead the dough to distribute the onions and walnuts throughout, about 2 minutes.) The dough will be lumpy. Push back in any pieces of onions or nuts that pop out, though this might be easier said than done.

5. Put the dough into a lightly oiled large mixing bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Allow to rise in a draft-free spot at warm room temperature until doubled, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

6. Dust a work surface with flour. Punch down the dough, but do not knead. Divide in half and cover one half with plastic wrap. Roll the other half into a 12-inch (30.5 cm) log. Cut the log into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the rolls 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel. Make the rest of the rolls, place on the other baking sheet, and cover.

7. Allow to rise covered at warm room temperature until doubled, up to 90 minutes.

8. Place oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat to 375° F/190° C.

9. Brush the rolls with the egg wash and sprinkle with the poppy seeds. Bake for about 12 minutes, then rotate and switch the pans and bake for another 8 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack, then serve.

I am submitting this to Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench for her BYOB event as well!


As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Orange Pumpkin Cloverleafs

Once again I was lucky enough to be included in a baking event based around the recipes in Gourmet Magazine (remember the 12 days of Cookies?). Unfortunately with my crazy schedule and all of the things I have committed myself to life got in the way and these were suppose to be made and posted last week!!! Thank goodness my baking buddies are a pretty forgiving bunch...

This is all part of our Gourmet bread challenge and BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench. The plan was that out of the month of February we were to choose 4 recipes for rolls from 6 recipes that Gourmet Magazine and post one a week. I failed the first week but I will not them down again!!!

When you are done here please be sure to head over to my baking buddies sites... Andrea of Andrea's Recipes; Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen (who also designed our cool badge!); Kelly of Sass & Veracity; Courtney of Coco Cooks; and Sandy of At the Baker's Bench ~ I'm sure they'll have something wonderful going on in their ovens too.

For my first roll recipe I chose to make the Orange Pumpkin Cloverleafs. They turned out to be a real simple roll but I don't find much flavor in them. Could just be me though...I did have to use Clementine's instead of oranges and homemade roasted and pureed pumpkin instead of canned pumpkin. That may have made a difference!

Orange Pumpkin Cloverleafs (Gourmet Magazine)
Makes 1 dozen rolls
Active time: 40 mins Start to Finish: 4-3/4 Hr (includes rising)

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted, divided
2 tsp active dry yeast (from a 1/4 -oz package)
1/4 cup warm milk (105-115 degrees)
1 Tbsp mild honey or sugar
2-3/4 cups all purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
1 -1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin (I used roasted and pureed pumpkin I had frozen)
2 large eggs, divided, plus one yolk (never figured out what to do with it all so only used 2 eggs)
1/2 tsp grated orange zest (I used Clementine's :))
2 Tbs fresh orange juice (I used Clementine's-seeing a trend here?)
1 Tbsp water

Equipment: 12 holed muffin tin

• Butter muffin cups with 1 Tbsp melted butter.
• Stir together yeast, warm milk, and honey or sugar in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes (if mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast)
• Mix flour, pumpkin, 1 whole egg, yolk, orange zest and juice, and remaining 5 Tbsp butter into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula until soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, dusting surface and hands with just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6-8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.
• Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with some plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise in a draft free place at warm room temperature until doubled about 1-1/2 - 2 hrs.
• Punch down dough (do not knead) then halve. Roll half of dough on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured hands into a 12 inch long log (keep remaining half covered in plastic.)
• Cut log into 6 equal pieces, then cut each piece into thirds. Roll each piece into a 1 inch ball by cupping your hand and pushing dough against work surface as you roll in circular motion. Put 3 balls side by side in each of 6 muffin cups.
• Make more rolls with the remaining dough in the same manner. Cover rolls with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough is about 1 inch above the rim of the muffin cups, 1 to 1-1/2 hrs.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in the middle.
  
• Whisk together the remaining egg and water and brush on top of rolls. (You will have leftover egg wash).
• Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.
• Cooks note: Rolls are best the day they are made but can be frozen (cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven until warmed through, 5-10 minutes.

I am submitting this to Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench for her BYOB event as well!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Round up of my 12 Days of Cookies, A Gourmet cookies extravaganza!!!

As of now anyone who has looked at my blog knows that I spent 12 days starting on the 1st of December and posted a new cookie everyday for 12 days. This event was called the 12 Days of Cookies, A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. I was invited to participate in this little event and jumped at the chance of doing it with some of my favorite bloggers (be sure to check them out!!!).

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes

The event was coordinated by Andrea of Andrea's Recipes. The idea behind it was that for each of the 12 days at the beginning of December we were to choose a cookie from Gourmet's online magazine and bake and post one for each day! Gourmet had decided that instead of doing a feature cookie recipe they were going to feature their best and favorite from all of the years leading up to 2008! The recipes started at the conception of the magazine in 1941 and went all the way through to 2008. The big thing was that we weren't suppose to tell each other what ones we were doing and to make the post a surprise. Some day's we posted the same cookies but this was all part of the fun!

I wanted to have one place on my blog that had all of these cookies so that if I was interested in revisiting one of them I would be able to find it easily and you wold be to!! I will be including some personal notes following each recipe!

Without further ado her is my 12 Days of Cookies!

Day 1: Lemon Thin (read my full post here!)

Lemon Thin was first published in Gourmet Magazine April 1976

My Verdict: These cookies were delicious and were everything I thought they would be. Light, crispy and full of flavor! I had some problem trying to get the size and the timing right. After my first batch I was on the right track.

Will I make these again? I most definitely will. They would be a great snack for a hot summer day around the pool!


Day 2: Jelly Centers (read my full post here!)


Jelly Centers - Gourmet Magazine June 1948

My Verdict: I loved the flavor of these cookies. Not too sweet. If I made these again I would definately fill them with a homemade jam or jelly. I think that would really add to these. For me though they were a little fussy to make and I found some of the (very short) directions a little confusing. There wasn't even a bake time in the original recipe.

Would I make these again? Probably not as they were a little fussy for me but they did look really elegant and I could see how they could have been a really popular cookie back in 1948!


Day 3: Cranberry Turtle Bars (read my full post here!)


Cranberry Turtle Bars - Gourmet Magazine November 2001

My Verdict: I love these bars. I love the tartness of the fresh cranberries mixed with the pecans. Just a wonderful flavor explosion. They also look so festive and seasonal.

Will I make these again? Oh yes without a doubt and I don't think I would change a thing! They are both tasty and pretty! These ones are being frozen and given as Christmas gifts!


Day 4: Mocha Cookies The Bakery (read my full post here!)

Mocha Cookies The Bakery - Gourmet Magazine October 1990

My Verdict: I did not like these cookies. I had more trouble with these than I have with any cookie recipe ever. Was it the way it was written or was it user error? Not sure. They never puffed up for me and I also waited for the top to become shiny and crack. As you can see that didn't happen for me. I think I ruined one of my favorite baking sheets as the batter oozed under the parchment and baked on tight! Oh well...

Will I make these again? No way! I didn't even finish baking these ones. Hope the rest of you faired better if you tried them!


Day 5: Mocha Toffee Bars (read my full post here!)

Mocha Toffee Bars - Gourmet Magazine December 1987

My Verdict: Mmmmm! These were really good! They taste very adult like with the espresso flavor coming through just enough to enhance the chocolate and the nuts...oh the nuts, the nice salty nuts with all that rich sweet chocolate!!! I am really liking the bar cookies of this series. Not only are they a bit less time consuming but I haven't really had too much trouble with them!

Would I make these again? Not sure. I liked them but there are a million more cookies that I want to try. I like these flavors together but maybe a cookie with all of them mixed together or a brownie?


Day 6: Biscotti di Regina (Queen's Biscuits) (read my full post here!)

Biscotti di Regina (Queen's Biscuits) - Gourmet Magazine November 1955

My Verdict: I LOVE these...now I'm not sure if it was them or the fact that I was sooooooo tired of mocha and coffee and chocolate! No really. I LOVED these. They are so Italian cookie tasting. I wanted to just drown it in an espresso but alas I only had hazelnut coffee!

They are sweet and cake like and covered with wonderful toasted sesame seeds and on top of all of that they are so easy to make. I made the dough the day before and then in the morning used the 450° oven to warm my kitchen and bake these little bits of goodness!

Would I make these again? OMG yes and maybe next week...


Day 7: Coconut Bars (read my full post here!)

Coconut Bars - Gourmet Magazine October 1953

My Verdict: Even once I got this all pressed into the pan and it was cooking, the timing was way off. I think I only cooked it about 15 minutes. Poured the topping on and cooked for another 15.

I only just now realized that I could have made my life easier by lining the pan with parchment and it says in the italics part of the description. What is with these recipes????

Cutting it was next to impossible. I had to wait until T. got home to cut it. He finally just lifted the whole thing out of the pan and cut it with the huge knife!!!

Would I make this again? Maybe. I think there are a lot of things that could be done better but overall everyone liked these. There was a yummy gooey layer between the crust and the top that was wonderful. Nice and sweet. my oldest daughter thought it was honey! Even T. who "hates" coconut was munching away on them!


Day 8: Kourambiedes (Greek Butter Cookies) (read my full post here!)


Kourambiedes (Greek Butter Cookies) - Gourmet Magazine April 1974

My Verdict: I hated this recipe. I almost quit baking cookies with this one. I swear I have never had a recipe for cookies (sugar people!!!!) turn out this bad. If not for the fact that I am incredibly stubborn and determined I would be hanging up my hat and baking no more of Gourmet's top pick of cookie recipes in the history of their magazine! WTH Gourmet- do you need recipe testers??? I'm pretty good at it by now!

Anyway, these turned out dry and incredibly flavorless. I am going to save then and try and make a tart crust with them or something. I took them with me and I met one of my girlfriend's and asked her to taste it. I thought she was going to gag. It was almost to dry to swallow!

Would I make these again? No way in Hell would I ever do this again! Feeling pretty strongly about this one. There are no redeeming qualities to these cookies. Please don't make them!!!!!

Day 9: Rugelach (read my full post here!)


Rugelach - Gourmet Magazine May 2004

My Verdict: I really liked these cookies. Their flavor reminded me of something from my childhood. It reminds me of our Christmas dinners at my Grandma's house but I can't quite put my finger on what it was. I don't think it was these exact cookies but...

They called for golden raisins and for some reason I could not find them so I used regular raisins. They probably are a bit stronger flavored but they were still delicious. T. does not like raisins so I made one log with just the nuts and the sugar. Those were good too.

Would I make these again? Probably but only for someone really special. Not that they were hard or anything but they seem really special for some reason. Could that just be the memory attached to it? Not sure.

Day 10: Dutch Caramel Cashew Cookies (read my full post here!)


Dutch Caramel Cashew Cookies - Gourmet Magazine March 1972

My Verdict: I really liked this cookie. The only thing that I was very sad about was that it only made about 18 cookies!!! Not nearly enough of a good thing!

Would I make these again? Oh yes and next time I would double or triple this to give me more!!! See how nice and gooey the praline is? This was after it was baked. Before it was just crisp and delicious! I LOVED these cookies!

Day 11: Spritz or Norwegian Butter Cookies (read my full post here!)


Spritz or Norwegian Butter Cookies - Gourmet Magazine March 1983

My Verdict: I truly love these cookies. They were my test to see if I could succeed at making a butter cookie after this disaster! Well I can and very well too! I wanted to dress them up a little so I sprinkled some red and green sprinkles on them and I think it made them look very festive. I wasn't going to try piping them as I was already a little gun shy after my last ones so they did get balled and flattened. I loved the way these tasted and so have the girl's. They love being able to take a different type of cookie to school with them each and every day!

Would I make these again? Most definitely. I think with the sprinkles they will be very good in cookies tins for gifts. These will be made again next week!

Day 12: Chocolate Wafers (read my full post here!)



Chocolate Wafers - Gourmet Magazine February 1950

My Verdict: My family made me make these! They wanted chocolate after all of the others that I have posted! I really liked these but mine are nothing like what the ones Gourmet magazine made. Somehow missed the part about the chilling time???? So I made my cookies and wanted to roll them out. The stuff was like glue and I knew this wasn't going to work for me. I rolled it into a log and set it in the freezer. I was short on time (can you tell). Pulled the log out and sliced it. Could I get it thin enough? No way, my dough was still too soft but I needed to get these in the oven! I rolled the edges in sugar and plopped them in. I knew my timing was going to off but I sure didn't mean to burn them!!!

I am really kind of sad that this event is coming to an end. At a crazy time of the year I didn't even have to think about what I was going to post on any given day and I got to bond with some wonderful people over our trials and tribulations of these recipes!!! Do I wish this last cookie had of turned out better? Oh yes, I would love to be going out with a blaze of glory but my timing was off and these are what I ended with!

Would I make these again? Probably not. Too many other great cookies out there that have decent directions attached to them!


I can't wait for next years cookie event!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This wonderful event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 7 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.

These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each year.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes


Day 12 of the 12 Days of Cookies features Chocolate Wafers!

n the 1950s, Gourmet was quite smitten with wafer cookies, and these are the ideal chocolate version—thin and deeply chocolaty. To make for easy rolling, chill the dough until quite firm (overnight is best).-Gourmet

Chocolate Wafers - February 1950 (link to the recipe as it was originally printed)

3/4 cup of butter
1-1/4 cup of sugar
1 Tbsp Rum Extract
1 egg
1-1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup breakfast cocoa (???)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

• Cream butter, add gradually the sugar. Cream them together until light and fluffy.
• Add run extract and egg to the butter/sugar mixture and beat thoroughly.
  
• Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt
• Add the dry ingredients gradually, mixing well after each addition to make a light dough.
• Roll the dough out to 1/8 " in thickness on a lightly floured board and cut with a floured cookie cutter into round about 2-1/2 " in diameter.
• Place the rounds on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 8 mins. in a 400 degree oven.
• makes 6 dozen cookies.

Crappy picture but it shows how some of them are burnt!

My family made me make these! They wanted chocolate after all of the others that I have posted! I really liked these but mine are nothing like what the ones Gourmet magazine made. Somehow missed the part about the chilling time???? So I made my cookies and wanted to roll them out. The stuff was like glue and I knew this wasn't going to work for me. I rolled it into a log and set it in the freezer. I was short on time (can you tell). Pulled the log out and sliced it. Could I get it thin enough? No way, my dough was still too soft but I needed to get these in the oven! I rolled the edges in sugar and plopped them in. I knew my timing was going to off but I sure didn't mean to burn them!!!

I am really kind of sad that this event is coming to an end. At a crazy time of the year I didn't even have to think about what I was going to post on any given day and I got to bond with some wonderful people over our trials and tribulations of these recipes!!! Do I wish this last cookie had of turned out better? Oh yes, I would love to be going out with a blaze of glory but my timing was off and these are what I ended with!

Would I make these again? Probably not. Too many other great cookies out there that have decent directions attached to them!

All in all I am so glad that I was invited to do this. I couldn't have been with a better group of people:

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes

But...I am really disappointed in Gourmet Magazine and the cookie recipes that they published on Gourmet.com. Some of these recipes were terrible and others could be salvaged. Maybe one or two turned out great. I think I am going to do a round up of my cookies over the weekend so I can see and have a clearer mind about my 12 Days of Cookies!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This wonderful event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 7 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.

These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each year.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes


Day 11 of the 12 Days of Cookies features Spritz or Norwegian Butter Cookies!

Simple, classic, and very buttery, these Norwegian cookies are typically made with a cookie press. But we like them just as much when they are baked in rounds or piped into little S’s (using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip).- Gourmet

Spritz or Norwegian Butter Cookies - March 1983 (link to the recipe as it was originally printed)

Ingredients:

• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 4 cups all-purpose flour sifted with 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• In a large bowl cream the butter, beat in the sugar, a little at a time, the vanilla, and the almond extract, and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy.
  
• Add the egg and combine the mixture well.
  
• Add the flour mixture and combine the dough well.
  
• Form the dough into walnut-size balls and arrange the balls 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using a fork flatten the balls 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using a fork flatten the balls to form cookies 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick, making a crosshatch design.
  
• Bake the cookies in a preheated moderate oven (350° F.) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden around the edges, and transfer them with a spatula to racks to cool. Store the cookies in airtight containers. Makes about 70 cookies.

Can you see how flaky and buttery they look? I have eaten way too many of these ones!

I truly love these cookies. They were my test to see if I could succeed at making a butter cookie after this disaster! Well I can and very well too! I wanted to dress them up a little so I sprinkled some red and green sprinkles on them and I think it made them look very festive. I wasn't going to try piping them as I was already a little gun shy after my last ones so they did get balled and flattened. I loved the way these tasted and so have the girl's. They love being able to take a different type of cookie to school with them each and every day!

Would I make these again? Most definitely. I think with the sprinkles they will be very good in cookies tins for gifts. These will be made again next week!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 7 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.

These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each year.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy - At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes

Day 10 of my 12 Days of Cookies features Dutch Caramel Cashew Cookies

This recipe came out of a tour that one of our writers took to a Dutch tulip farm. Streaked with cashews and crunchy caramelized sugar, the cookies were, in the editors’ opinion, every bit as appealing as the flowers. When we made them recently, however, we used roasted, salted cashews instead of raw ones, which transformed the cookies into something even more spectacular.-Gourmet

Dutch Caramel Cashew Cookies - March 1972 (link to the recipe as it was originally printed)

Cashew Praline:

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp water
pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 cup finely chopped raw cashews (I used roasted, salted ones and they rocked!)

In a heavy skillet cook sugar with water and a pinch of cream of tartar over moderately high heat, washing down any undissolved sugar that clings to the sides of the skillet with a brush dipped in cold water, until the mixture is a light caramel. Stir in quickly finely chopped raw cashews. Pour the praline onto a buttered piece of foil and with a buttered spatula spread it into a thin sheet. Let it cool until it hardens and chop it coarsely.

Cookie:

1 stick or 1/2 cup butter softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg yolk (oops I added a whole egg)
1/2 tsp vanilla (I added 1 tsp by mistake:))
1 cup flour
2/3 of the chopped praline

In a bowl beat butter with sugar until it is creamy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in flour and two-thirds of the chopped praline and form the mixture into a dough. Form the dough into cylinders 2 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide and put them about 2 inches apart on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Sprinkle the cylinders with the remaining praline and bake them in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for about 1 minute and with a spatula remove them to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 18 cookies.

See how nice and gooey the praline is once it bakes up? This is one yummy cookie!

I really liked this cooked the only thing that I was very sad about was that it only made about 18 cookies. Not nearly enough of something really good.

I ended up inadvertently changing some of the recipe around.:

I did use roasted and salted cashews for the praline. Good thing too there is no salt in this recipe at all!

I added a whole egg and I think that gave a nice puffy cookie.

I added 1 tsp of vanilla instead on 1/2 tsp.

I had no idea what they were trying to tell me to do when shaping these things - Form the dough into cylinders 2 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide and put them about 2 inches apart on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Sprinkle the cylinders with the remaining praline and bake them - what in the world does that mean????? I used a small scooper and made them that way. I flattened the top to allow for more praline to be sprinkled on.

Would I make these again? Oh yes and next time I would double or triple this to give me more!!! See how nice and gooey the praline is? This was after it was baked. Before it was just crisp and delicious! I LOVED these cookies!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This wonderful event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 7 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.

These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each year.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes

Day 9 of the 12 Days of Cookies features Rugelach!

This very homey recipe for rugelach was handed down through 4 generations of food editor Melissa Roberts’s family; though rugelach is typically rolled, then sliced and baked, these are scored first, baked, and then broken into individual cookies afterwards, for a wonderful variety of textures from top to bottom.-Gourmet

Rugelach - May 2004 (link to the recipe as it was originally printed)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup apricot preserves or raspberry jam (I used raspberry jam)
• 1 cup loosely packed golden raisins, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups walnuts (1/4 lb), finely chopped
• Milk for brushing cookies

Directions:

• Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined well. Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, then flatten (in wrap) into a roughly 7- by 5- inch rectangle. Chill until firm, 8 to 24 hours.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of a 1- to 1 1/2-inch-deep large shallow baking pan with parchment paper.
• Cut dough into 4 pieces. Chill 3 pieces, wrapped in plastic wrap, and roll out remaining piece into a 12- by 8-inch rectangle on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment, then transfer to a tray and chill while rolling out remaining dough in same manner, transferring each to another sheet of parchment and stacking on tray.
• Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon.
• Arrange 1 dough rectangle on work surface with long side nearest you. Spread 1/4 cup preserves evenly over dough with offset spatula. Sprinkle 1/4 cup raising and a rounded 1/4 cup walnuts over jam, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar.
• Using parchment as an aid, roll up dough tightly into a log. Place, seam side down, in lined baking pan, then pinch ends closed and tuck underneath. Make 3 more logs in same manner and arrange 1 inch apart in pan. Brush logs with milk and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of remaining granulated sugar. With a sharp large knife, make 3/4-inch-deep cuts crosswise in dough (not all the way through) at 1-inch-intervals. (If dough is too soft to cut, chill until firmer, 20 to 30 minutes.)
• Bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to warm in pan on a rack, about 30 minutes, then transfer logs to a cutting board and slice cookies all the way through.

See how moist and tender these look? They really were!

I really liked these cookies. Their flavor reminded me of something from my childhood. It reminds me of our Christmas dinners at my Grandma's house but I can't quite put my finger on what it was. I don't think it was these exact cookies but...

They called for golden raisins and for some reason I could not find them so I used regular raisins. They probably are a bit stronger flavored but they were still delicious. T. does not like raisins so I made one log with just the nuts and the sugar. Those were good too.

Would I make these again? Probably but only for someone really special. Not that they were hard or anything but they seem really special for some reason. Could that just be the memory attached to it? Not sure.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 7 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.

These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each year.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy - At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes


Day 8 of my 12 Days of Cookies features Kourambiedes (Greek Butter Cookies)

Utterly simple, these buttery bites have a flavor all their own, thanks to the inclusion of orange liqueur and ground almonds in the dough; the crowning touch is a single clove on top of each cookie. The original recipe calls for you to cream butter with sugar for an hour, but thankfully today’s mixers will do the job in about 8 minutes. The result is a cookie that almost sings Noël when you take a bite. - Gourmet

Kourambiedes (Greek Butter Cookies) - April 1974 (link to the recipe as it was originally printed)

Ingredients:

4 sticks (2 cups) of butter (unsalted)
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg yolk (yes more egg whites in the fridge)
1 Tbsp orange flavored liqueur or brandy
4-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup finely chopped blanched almonds
clove
powdered sugar for dredging

Directions:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer cream butter, softened, at low speed for 1 hour, or until it is almost white.
• Add confectioners’ sugar, sifted, 1 tablespoon at a time, egg yolk, and orange-flavored liqueur or brandy and blend in flour and finely ground blanched almonds, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough. (If the dough seems sticky, chill it, wrapped in wax paper, for 1 hour.)
  
• Form the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and stud each ball with 1 clove. Put the balls on baking sheets and bake them in a preheated moderate oven (350° F.) for 15 minutes, or until they are pale golden.
  
• Transfer the cookies to a rack, let them cool for 2 minutes, and dredge them in sifted confectioners’ sugar.
• Makes 48 cookies.

This is what happened to them if you held them normally. I crushed a bunch trying to dredge them in sugar!!!

I hated this recipe. I almost quit baking cookies with this one. I swear I have never had a recipe for cookies (sugar people!!!!) turn out this bad. If not for the fact that I am incredibly stubborn and determined I would be hanging up my hat and baking no more of Gourmet's top pick of cookie recipes in the history of their magazine! WTH Gourmet- do you need recipe testers??? I'm pretty good at it by now!

Anyway, these turned out dry and incredibly flavorless. I am going to save then and try and make a tart crust with them or something. I took them with me and I met one of my girlfriend's and asked her to taste it. I thought she was going to gag. It was almost to dry to swallow!

Would I make these again? No way in Hell would I ever do this again! Felling pretty strongly about this one. There are no redeeming qualities to these cookies. Please don't make them!!!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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