Candy Cane Cookies

My mother-in-law is the cookie queen. Especially at Christmas. Every year, I look forward to the massive tupperwares filled with all kinds of cookies. But my favorites are always, always the Candy Cane Cookies. These are the ones I sneak in the morning before breakfast, after breakfast with my coffee, as a mid-morning snack… You get the picture.

They’re simple shortbread-style cookies flavored with almond extract and covered in crushed candy canes and powdered sugar. They look they’re nestled in a snowdrift. They get all over your nice black pants. They’re simply awesome.

These cookies have been a tradition in Tom’s family for years and I know I’ll be including them with my own traditions.

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Dark Chocolate Candy Cane Pretzels

My tree is trimmed. My lights are hung. There’s no snow outside, but it’s definitely time for Christmas treats. Chocolate-covered pretzels are one of my favorite snacks, no matter the time of year. I love the salty sweet combination, the rich chocolatey flavor and the texture of the pretzels when they crunch in your mouth. They’re the perfect sweet treat for someone who’s not really a sweet tooth.

To make them a little more festive, I also sprinkled them with crushed candy canes and sparkly clear sprinkles. The result is a cross between peppermint bark and chocolate-covered pretzels. Absolutely delicious. This recipe, along with a couple of others that I’ll post soon, are going to become pretty little Christmas presents. There’s no better way to spread holiday cheer than with a chocolate peppermint treat.

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Our Thanksgiving Menu & Two Pie Recipes

Pie recipes are from last year and I can’t seem to find any photos…will update the post with pie pictures next week!

Thanksgiving is 10 days away. Menus are finalized, grocery shopping is in full force. Thanksgiving recipe testing is complete! And so, here’s the final menu and recipes for Pupmkin Mascarpone Pie with a Gingersnap Crust and a Crunchy Apple Pie.

Carrot Pupmkin Soup with Crushed Hazelnuts
…flavored with smoked paprika, shallots and sherry vinegar.

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Roulade
…filled with caramelized onions and figs, goat cheese, toasted pecans and fresh cranberries. Wrapped in peppered bacon and basted in pear jam.

Corn-bread and Chorizo Stuffing from Gourmet
…Olive oil instead of vegetable oil, fresh tarragon instead of dried oregano, chicken stock instead of broth, and probably some dried fruit (apricots?) soaked in brandy.

Potato Gratin with Roasted Garlic and Manchego from Food & Wine
…Probably remove the rosemary (my mom’s not a fan) and replace half and half with whole milk. Maybe add some caramelized shallots too.

Roasted Butternut Squash stuffed with Wild Mushrooms, Leeks and Chestnuts
…Halved and roasted butternut squash, stuffed with wild mushroom and leeks, sauteed in butter and tossed with chestnuts. Sprinkled with panko breadcrumbs and baked until slightly browned.

Pumpkin Walnut bread, Banana Pecan bread, Lemon Poppy bread

Pumpkin Mascarpone Pie with Gingersnap Crust (Recipe below)

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie (Recipe below)

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Thanksgiving Test Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Roulade

Some people might say there’s something missing at our Thanksgiving table. They might say that the conspicuous absence of a large, roasted bird means that it’s not Thanksgiving at all. But my family would disagree. I don’t remember the last time my mom roasted a whole turkey. They’re difficult to carve, easily dry out and everyone fights for the white meat. My mom tried a Turkey Roulade one year, and we haven’t looked back since.

Usually, we make a prosciutto and sage-stuffed turkey breast, wrapped in peppered bacon and basted with pear jam. It’s absolutely delicious. The bacon and jam keep the turkey nice and juicy, and the pepper is a perfect contrast to the sweet jam. My mom’s been doing this turkey for years, and we decided to change it up a little this year. We picked our filling ingredients and I volunteered to make a test turkey.

Instead of prosciutto and sage, I stuffed it with caramelized onions and figs, goat cheese, cranberries and chopped toasted pecans. I still wrapped it in bacon — how could I not wrap it in bacon? — but I did skip the pear jam and I couldn’t find peppered bacon.

The new filling was a definite success. It was rich, tart and sweet without being overpowering. I had skipped the pear jam because I thought the filling would be too sweet, but the sweetness actually mellowed out while the turkey roasted and the bacon didn’t caramelize as well as I’d hoped, so the pear jam will be back on Thanksgiving day. I also missed the spicy kick from the peppered bacon to counteract the rich filling, so I’ll redouble my efforts to find before the big day.

It’s not a traditional turkey, but it’s delicious, easy to slice, easy to serve. I already can’t wait to hit up the leftovers in my fridge!

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Thanksgiving Test Recipe: Carrot Pumpkin Soup

Some people are born to bake. They know how to follow instructions, can measure quantities with surprising accuracy and are patient enough to do things like let dough rise or bring ingredients to room temperature. Others are a bit more implusive, too impatient to wait for their ingredients (but I want cookies now!), too rebellious to follow a recipe’s instructions, tweaking and changing things as they see fit. These people may turn out some good cookies and cakes, but they’ll never be bakers at heart.

I think I fall into the latter category, and so my attempts and cookies and muffins are never as successful as attempts at soups, mains and sides. Whenever I’m baking, I feel like I’m throwing everything into a bowl and crossing my fingers. I can’t taste and adjust, add a little more of some ingredient, try different accompaniments. I’m coming to terms with it. I’ll never be a baker at heart.

Tangent over, now back to regularly scheduled programming…Thanksgiving. I mentioned on Monday that I’m using this week to test out some new Thanksgiving recipes. The first was a rousing, raging success: Carrot Pumpkin Soup with crushed hazelnuts. (Thanks again to Oh! Nuts for those hazelnuts! They’re so very delicious!)

I had some ground rules for this soup recipe. Since it’s just me and my mom cooking for a large crowd, it had to be somewhat simple. No simmering for hours, straining, simmering or making a roux. There will be enough of that with all of the other Thanksgiving dishes. This soup is super simple — a quick saute of shallots, carrots and garlic, then add some canned (or pureed) pumpkin and stock and simmer for awhile. Run it through with an immersion blender, then stir in some cream, smoked paprika and sherry vinegar. Top it all off with a good drizzle of olive oil and some crushed hazelnut and you’ve got a bright orange, smoky sweet soup that’s perfect for a Thanksgiving first course.

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