Christmas cookies - Mint cookies

Throughout the year I am not generally into cookies. I figure there are a lot of better ways to waste some calories on sweet treats then a mere cookie. Between that an my hatred for baking, fresh baked cookies don't appear too often in my home.

Thinking back this was the time of year that fresh baked cookies would make an appearance in my family home. So I thought I would continue the tradition.

We would decorate cookies every year and leave some for Santa.

With a note and milk of course. We also left a few carrot sticks for the reindeer. We knew that not everyone remembered to leave the reindeer snacks.

Decorating cookies isn't really what I wanted to post about though. I just wanted to share a few nostalgic photos.

What I really wanted to share is a few recipes that I think of as Christmas cookies. The first is one from my mom's recipe book. I tried to make these myself this year and had a huge fail! They still tasted okay but there was too much butter and the cookies spread out waaaay too much. (maybe next year...) The other recipe I found on foodnetwork.com and had great success with. This recipe is going in my recipe book. They are both excellent recipes. Just like with any other baked good remember to not be lazy like me and measure carefully. Ha.

Melt-Away Peppermint Wreaths

1-1/4 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sifted powdered sugar
2-1/2 c. all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
red and green food coloring

Cream butter, gradually add sugar beating well.
Add flour and mix well. Stir in peppermint extract. Divide dough in half and place in separate bowls. Tint half with the red food coloring and the other half with the green.
Roll dough into balls using 1/2 teaspoon dough per ball. For each wreath-shaped cookie, place 6 balls in a circle on ungreased cookie sheets, alternating colors. Press together securely. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes; remove to cooling racks and cool completely.

I divided the one of the dough balls in half again and left it white to also make candy cane shapes. This picture was taken before they went in the oven. Sadly I wasn't able to take a good shot of them after they came out. Actually looking at the picture I may or may not have made the balls too big as well. Oops.
These cookies are true to their name, they will melt in your mouth. A sweet buttery taste with the sharp tang of peppermint give these cookies a Christmas-y feel. The cute shapes only reinforce the holiday theme. They are a definitely classic in my book.

Delicate Mint Sandwich Cookies
by Melissa d'Arabian

Cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Mint Filling:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 or 2 drops mint extract
1 or 2 drops red or green food coloring

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting, optional

For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until smooth using a handheld mixer in a medium bowl. Add the flour slowly, mixing on low, until incorporated. Scoop the dough into a ball using your hands and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the dough has firmed slightly, about 30 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll the dough about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out as many rounds as possible with a small cookie cutter and transfer to ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie. Re-roll the dough scraps and repeat until all the dough is used. Use a smaller cutter, about 3/4-inch, or cut freehand with a small sharp knife to punch a small window out of half of the cookies. Place the cutouts on the baking sheets.
Bake until golden around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
For the filling: Place the sugar, butter, mint extract, food coloring and 1/2 teaspoon of water in a medium bowl and beat on medium speed until well combined and fluffy. Spread a thin layer of mint filling on the cookies without the windows and place the wafers with the windows on top. Sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar, if using, and serve the sandwich cookies with the cutout cookies on the side.

 A friend of mine has a picture of the ones I made. I used a star shaped cookie cutter and I did not do the cut out part. I also doubled the recipe for the frosting. When I made it looked like a few tablespoons of frosting. Haha. I knew that wasn't enough.

I, my friends, Paul and my parents loved these cookies. They are as titled delicate cookies. Not too sweet of a cookie which pairs well with the sugary frosting. Even though they are pretty labor intensive, I would like to make these again soon. Because they were really that good. But I am glad I was making them with my friend so that we could chat and cut up while making them.

Even if baking is not your thing, Christmas is a great time to flex those muscles. You can give them as gifts to those hard to buy for coworkers or take them to a church cookie walk or just enjoy them for yourself with a tall cold glass of egg nog.

Oh and Merry Christmas!

Mushroom Ragu

Okay so I LOVE pasta. I am always searching for the next new pasta recipe to get obsessed with. Every week I am browsing foodnetwork.com, recipe books and food blogs, to come up with dinner ideas. Anytime I come across a pasta recipe that even remotely looks good I'm all over it. This recipe popped up on foodnetwork.com's homepage one day and I was instantly interested.
I know that there will be plenty of people that will overlook this recipe because its all about the mushrooms. But come on mushrooms are such an amazing ingredient! They are earthy, meaty, chewy and take on all kinds of flavors that are added to the mix. They are a versatile ingredient that I am always excited to find new and different ways to use them.
When I read through this recipe I knew that I wouldn't be able to find some of the mushrooms that it was calling for. Usually that would cause me to pass up the recipe all together. But it popped into my head that I could use a dried mushrooms and then use the liquid that I reconstituted them in as a replacement for the chicken broth. That would add even more mushroom-y flavor. So I decided to give it a try.

Mushroom Ragu
by Giada De Laurentiis

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound mixed mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake) chopped 1 package of dried Monterey mushroom mix, chopped & 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Marsala white wine
2 cups chicken mushroom broth
1/3 cup heavy cream
5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup grated Parmesan

Reconstitute the dried mushrooms according to package instructions. Reserve liquid and chop mushrooms.

In a large skillet heat the oil. When almost smoking, add the onions and garlic over medium-low heat until the onions have wilted, about 8 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Raise heat to high and saute until mushrooms are tender and all the liquid has evaporated. 

Remove pan from heat and pour in Marsala white wine. Return pan to stove and allow wine to evaporate, about 3 minutes. 

Add chicken mushroom broth and simmer for 1/2 hour until the sauce has reduced by half. 

Add heavy cream and mix well. 

Take the pan off the heat and add the fresh herbs and Parmesan and mix thoroughly. 

I can't explain in a just a few words how delicious this pasta is. Other then saying that my original picture was so lame because it was a small second helping that I swiped out of the pan before it was all gone. Well I did save some for lunch the next day, because it reheats so well. I have already made this recipe twice since I found it. I'm sure Paul is already over eating it. But its so easy and so tasty that I can't help putting it on the menu.

So don't tell me how you don't like mushrooms, blah blah blah, if you don't bother to try this recipe. Just do it! You'll be glad you did and if you aren't just ship it to me. Ha!

Choosing a Christmas Tree

Honestly one of my favorite parts of the holiday season is the Christmas tree. Its so iconic, fun and it even smells Christmas-y.
When we moved to North Carolina in 1995, our family started a tradition to drive to the mountains and go to a "choose and cut" Christmas tree farm. My parents would let me and my sister loose and we would run and race to see who could find the best tree first.
It was a difficult process, between my mom and dad there were many rules and specifications to the perfect tree. The height and width were the first, but certainly not the only. Branch density, trunk width, needle type, color, fullness of the branches, and shape of course. I don't mean to make my parents sound strict. There was nothing mean or harsh about the way they evaluated the trees. It was a great game we played. We'd shout to each other across the lot announcing that we had found the perfect tree. Then everyone would gather around and check out the whole 360 degree view. We would all touch, look at, smell and even shake the tree (to see if a lot of needles would fall off, that's bad, means the tree is dried out and probably dieing). It was very exciting if the tree you found was the chosen one.
Then my dad would whip out his saw and cut it down, or the lot workers would do it for us. My  parents would go through the whole trial of dragging it to the car and tying it on top of the car. My mom would hold her breath all the way home just waiting for it to break out of its intense bondage and fly off the roof of the car. Us kids would always be useless with the getting the tree inside and setting it up. That was left to my parents again. There would be needles flying all over the house and we would trot behind waiting to see it put into place.
Some years my dad would even let us choose a tiny tree that we were allowed to put in our room to decorate. It was usually the most Charlie Brown looking tree on the lot or just one he would cut down in our own woods for us.

Dad was in charge of the lights every year. He would struggle to untangle the mess of wires, test every bulb and finally artfully and evenly string them around the tree. This was not something the kids generally helped with either.
It wasn't until the ornaments that we got involved again. Then its all hands on deck. Each person has certain ornaments that are "theirs". My mom always insists that the girls put on all of "our" ornaments. Dad has one or two that he is forced off the sofa to place on the tree. Mom does whichever ones are left and of course her Georgia ornaments. This part is filled with Christmas tunes, hot cocoa, maybe even cookies, and lots of stories of Christmas times past. We talk about all the ornaments as we put them on the tree. They all have meaning and stories. I love this part of the holiday. Even when I pretended that I was too cool for it. This really makes me feel like its Christmas. My mom to this day still likes my sister and I to put a few of "our" ornaments on the tree. Even if the rest is already decorated.

This year Paul and I traveled to several different places to get a tree. We finally found a great tree with our friends. Like I told my friend after looking at two vendors across town for a tree, the tree will stand out to you. Its almost like your wedding dress, you just know. There is nothing you can find that's wrong with it. Its just the right tree.

I put the lights on it. Paul was making chili for dinner.

Oh well not a great picture. But as you can see oooooh lights. After eating dinner and some cookies and buckeyes were made, then we could start the decorating process.

Ah thank you Paul for the picture of my booty. Anyways, we don't have as many great ornaments as my parents. But we do have a few of special ones. Paul has a pickle he loves and mug of beer he just acquired. I have some wreaths my great-grandma crocheted, a few fleur de lis, an owl, and a whale from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We even have some joint ornaments which is pretty good since this is only our third "married" Christmas. We have a portrait ball of Paul, me and the cat, Paul's parents got us last Christmas, a black sheep (that we put up as a family tradition because we aren't going to our parents' home for Christmas), and two shells from our cruises. All the glittering, twinkling and shinning makes me smile.

Now it feels like Christmas here. Even if there is no snow and its still 50 degrees!

Okay so this wasn't a post about any cute craft or tasty recipe. But more then that how to create the holiday spirit in your home. Just remember that even if everything doesn't go "perfectly" you can still make some lovely memories. I'm sure if my parents were telling this story they would remember some very different things then I do. But in the end its the feeling you get that leaves the biggest impact on your memory.