Dark Chocolate + Candy Cane Bits Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
5 oz semi-sweet Hershey Baking Melts OR dark chocolate disks
1/3 cup candy cane bits

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and combine thoroughly. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until a very thick dough forms. Fold in the melts and candy cane bits. Form cookies by dropping 1 teaspoon of dough on the sheet two inches apart. Flatten slightly then bake until light brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

Yield: about 2 dozen

Tip: I leave the candy canes in their plastic wrapper and whack them with a rolling pin to create the bits. Then I "unwrap" them into a bowl or measuring cup.

My thoughts:

My mom brought me back these Hershey Baking Melts from Chocolate World at Hershey Park and then next thing you know, I found them at the regular supermarket! If you can't find them, I think some dark chocolate disks could be a good substitute. The best part of these cookies is the large chunks of chocolate so while chips would work, something with some heft is better. I really enjoyed the flavor, texture and melty-ness of the "melts" but I will say their size and flattish shape made them tricky to scoop with my cookie scoop and I ended up with rather large cookies. Which is fine with me, but the total yield wasn't as many as I could of eked out using regular chocolate chips. But! You do get a big shot of gooey chocolate in every bite so I think it is worth the minor hassle. I've been candy cane crazy this year so I stirred some into the dough which added a jolt of peppermint that was delicious and refreshing but not overwhelmingly "PEPPERMINT", just a lovely holiday note in an otherwise pretty straightforward cookie. I don't want to give the impression that straightforward is a bad thing. It isn't at all. These are very, very good cookies. We ate nearly all of them in about three days.

Potato-Rutabaga Horseradish Latkes

Ingredients:
4 cups grated Russet potatoes
1 1/2 cups grated rutabaga
1 medium onion, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup matzo meal
1 1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
canola oil
Directions:

In a large cast iron skillet or other heavy bottomed pan, heat about 1/4 inch oil.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, spices, horseradish and the matzo meal. Add potato, rutabaga and onion. Toss to combine. Form into flat patties. Fry in hot oil, flipping half way through, until just golden. Drain on paper towel lined plates.

Yield: about a dozen latkes, depending on size.

My thoughts:

You have to love a holiday that encourages the making and eating of fried foods. So yesterday we lit the candles, turned on the stove and fried up some latkes. The last few Hanukkahs I've pulled out the mandolin to shred the potatoes but this year I went old school and used the box grater. It really works well. If your potatoes weep a lot, drain them and pat them dry before frying.

Rutabaga naturally shreds finely and was easy to evenly distribute in the potato mixture. It also adds a bit of crunch and a peppery taste. I love horseradish so I threw some of that in too. It gave some zip without being overpowering. We enjoyed them with sour cream.

Gingerbread Kisses

Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 roll (30 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated gingerbread cookie dough
1 bag (13 oz) KISSES® dark chocolates, unwrapped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together the spices and sugar in small bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Immediately press a candy into center of each cookie. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

My thoughts:

Pillsbury asked me and a few other food bloggers to create some recipes using their refrigerated cookie dough. I had pitched some ideas for cookies and this one, Gingerbread Kisses, uses their limited edition gingerbread cookie dough. I'd seen it at the stores in years past starting in early November so I never dreamed I'd have a hard time finding it. It was the week before Thanksgiving and by the end of it, we had gone to nearly 20 supermarkets and big box stores looking for it to no avail. Finally, through the magic of Facebook, a high school friend of mine told me that she saw it at a store in Westminster, about a hour away. My tireless cookie search partner/husband checked a couple of more stores slightly closer to home then drove out to western Maryland and finally bought a tube. A cry of relief went out across the city that day.

It was worth it though because this cookie has been the favorite of all of the Pillsbury cookies I made this year according to my cookie tasters. The gingerbread dough is rolled in some extra spices and sugar and then a dark chocolate Kiss is placed on top. Simple but full of complex flavors.

Lemon Bites

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons white sparkling sugar
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
12 oz prepared lemon curd*
3 tablespoons lemon zest

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 24-well mini muffin tin with paper liners. Pour sparkling sugar into a small bowl.

Roll tablespoons of dough to form a ball. Roll the dough balls in the sparkling sugar and place in the lined muffin tin. Repeat for remaining dough.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. An indentation will naturally appear in the center of each cookie cup. Allow to cool completely in the pan.

Spoon a teaspoon of lemon curd into the center of each cookie. Sprinkle with lemon zest.

*Or make your own.

My thoughts:

When Pillsbury asked me and some other food bloggers to come up with some creative recipes using refrigerated dough, I thought it would be fun to try and make something that was as "uncookie" as possible. I did some experimenting with a giant tube of cookie dough and was excited to find out that if I rolled it into a ball and popped it into a mini muffin tin it would rise then fall forming the perfect cookie cup. I rolled the dough in white sparkling sugar for a little pizzazz and crunch. I filled it with lemon curd and topped with some zest for a extra burst of lemon flavor. These were really simple to make (especially if you use a good quality store bought curd) but they are really delicious and impressive looking.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls

Ingredients:
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated peanut butter cookies
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ cup baking cocoa

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. Place on the cookie sheets spacing each cookie 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned and “set” in the middle. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

Line a platter or cookie sheet with waxed paper. Whisk together cocoa and confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl.

Place the cookies in a food processor and pulse them until they are fine crumbs. Pour the crumbs into a medium bowl and stir in the peanut butter. Mix until a uniform texture is reached.

Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in the cocoa and sugar mixture. Place on waxed paper lined platter and refrigerate 1 hour prior to serving.

Refrigerate leftovers.

My thoughts:

Pillsbury asked a few bloggers to come up with some quick and easy recipes using their refrigerated dough. Normally I make my cookies from scratch but I can't resist a challenge and I think we've all been in the situation where we need some last minute cookies. Well, during December, any way! These cookies are sort of like a cross between a cookie and a truffle. Crunchy and creamy at the same time they are the perfect treat for peanut butter lovers. If you want to get extra fancy, you could dip them in chocolate but I enjoyed the flavor and ease of rolling them in cocoa.

Knäck (Swedish Toffee)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup ljus sirap*
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds

Directions:

Arrange the paper cups on a baking sheet or platter. Set aside.

Whisk together the sugar, syrup, butter and cream in a heavy bottomed 2 quart saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture forms a firm "hard" ball when dropped into a glass of very cold water. Stir in nuts and divide quickly into very small paper candy cups.

*Swedish light syrup. I buy it at Ikea or stores that sell European and/or Scandinavian ingredients. Golden syrup is an acceptable substitute.

Yield: about 30 candies

My thoughts:

Knäck translates into "crack" which makes sense because this thick toffee is quite crisp and cracks when you bite into it. It is also terribly addictive! It has a almost burnt sugar flavor to it thanks to the syrup and the almonds provide a delicious, nutty crunch. It is the perfect addition to a holiday dessert table.

The candy is easy to make and in small batches like this one (you can double this recipe successfully) it cooks up very quickly. The most difficult part is pouring the mixture into the cups. They are quite small and easily tip over. The liquid is also very, very hot yet cools rapidly so one has to work very quickly to fill the cups before the mixture cools and hardens. I transferred my molten mixture into a large, glass measuring cup with a lip for easy pouring. Take care, you don't want to burn yourself for the sake of candy!

Note: The candy should be made in tiny waxed paper cups. I find mine at Ikea during the wintertime but I've seen similar sized cups at candy supply shops. Any store that sells Swedish cooking and baking items should have them in stock as well. They are about 1/2 the size of a mini muffin liner.

Gingerbread (Bread)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon tangerine zest
1 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground galangal
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/4 cup black rum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray loaf pan with baking spray. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, vanilla paste, oil, zest sugar and molasses until well combined. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and rum. Beat in the dry mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture, mixing well with each addition.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake 45-55 minute or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan 5 minutes then invert into a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners sugar if desired.

My thoughts:

Last year I received this neat gingerbread loaf pan but didn't get a chance to use it before the holidays and well, making gingerbread outside of December seems a little wrong. It was worth the wait! I'm always a little nervous using shaped pans, especially for a moist bread like this but it came out beautifully. A loaf is the perfect size for us as well, a whole cake is a little daunting but this bread is just right.

The bread is very fragrant and has just the right amount of spice. I love adding a bit of citrus zest to my gingerbread. I think it perks the flavor up a bit and to me, tangerines just smell like winter holidays. It reminds me of when it would be an immense treat to receive a tangerine or orange in your stocking because they were such a luxury.