Star Cookies and Christmas Goodie Hand-Outs

I made some Christmas cookies and was asked how I got the star in the middle. I was also asked a question about how these cookies compare to the thumbprint ones. And the last question that my friends inquired about: what was in the filling and what was in the glaze? I had a friend ask me last year if I knew of an inexpensive way to ship cookies (she didn't want to purchase the tins). This year, I figured out a way, so I will share that too. So, wha la... you ask and you shall receive the recipe, lol. ;0)

Here are the finished star cookies cooling on their racks. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 C unsalted butter

1 C wht sugar

1 egg

3 C's flour

1/2 tea salt

A Jar each of two kinds of jelly preserves (this yr I choose strawberry and orange marmalade, so I could have some red cookies and some that looked gold; raspberry works really well too).

2 C's confectioners sugar

2 tea almond extract (optional what kind of extract you use).

This yr I also dbled this recipe to get this many cookies in the photo, minus what my family ate before taking pic, lol.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray butter Pam on cookie sheets.

2. In Large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg.

3. In a second bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add to the creamed mixture. Dough will be stiff. On a nonstick pie mat or lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough out to about a 1/8 - 1/4 inch thickness. Cut this bottom Cookie into shapes (star or round is usually what I do; as you can see in the image, I did round this yr).

4. Set cookies on the cookie sheet, not touching, so they can rise a bit.

5. Put a dollop of jam in the center of the cookie.

6. Roll out the remaining dough and cut into the round shape w a star in the middle, or a star shape w a smaller star in the middle (any shape is fine). Note* If the dough gets too warm, it will be hard to handle, if this happens, just put the scraps into the refrigerator to chill a bit. This will make them also stick less to your cookie cutter.

7. Bake for 10 minutes, this will vary on how thick your cookies are. Watch until done, is what I typically do. The edges should be a slight golden brown on a few, but the bottoms should not be doughy.

8. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on racks.

9. In a smaller bowl, mix together the confectioners sugar and extract to form a glaze. Add water one teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too thick (I think I added around 9 tea's per single batch). You want the mixture to drizzle glaze over the cooled cookies. Let the extra just drip off.

You can use two separate cookie cutters to make the wholes in the center (one just much smaller than the larger one). But, here is how I did it:

This cutter comes w many different changeable shapes:

The bottom cookie is left just round, or it could be a larger star.

Here are the jams and extract I used. You can also use gelled icing to color your cookies; I sometimes do, but didn't this yr:

The difference between these cookies and thumbprint cookies is that they are really two cookies on top of each other. The thumbprint style is a thicker cookie that you press your thumb into and fill with filling. These are much thinner because together they make one cookie. You can also use crushed hard candies, I've done that in previous yrs.

Here is how I managed to pass them out, without purchasing multiple tins:

You just need tissue paper (I used white this yr), Glad wrap (optional), cellophane (I used green this yr), ribbon, parchment paper or wax paper, scissors and a handmade tag.

First lay out your material like this:

Cut this large sheet into two:

Note the ribbon is diagonal to make a candy cane stripe.

Wrap the cookies. I added the Glad plastic wrap to keep it fresher, but that is optional. Cut Parchment or Wax paper into circles to place between the cookies, so they do not stick together.

Here is a pile of handout cookies. Twist the ends, tie with your ribbon. Add tag, curl ribbon with scissors, and your done!

--And of course, this is how you can return Tupperware to your generous friends who gave you goodies. ;-)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

What we had for St. Patty's Day

Happy Green Day, St. Patrick's Day comes just once a year, so why not make it a fun holiday? ;-) In case your kids want to know, here's a link describing what it's all about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day

 Around here, we like the breaks of fun holidays throughout the year and won't miss an opportunity to celebrate. A few friends wanted to know how I cooked our corned beef this year, so here goes...

This is the finished cut up corned beef.

The first step that I took was to desalt the corned beef. I put the beef into a large pot of water with three cut up potatoes and brought it to a boil. Then I strained the meat and potatoes from the water in a colander, tossing the salt filled potatoes and started the same process again. I did this three times. Then, I let the meat soak in a mixture of water and one can of 7 Up.

Ingredients:

3 lbs of corned beef (found in a package)

17 whole cloves

2/4 Cup hot sweet honey mustard or sweet honey mustard w hot sauce or cayenne pepper. (Divide mustard into two 1/4 cup portions).

2 heaping Tbsp's of brown sugar

Brown Soda Bread is what I serve with this meal. You can make it homemade (ask me for the recipe if you want it) or ask for it at your bakery section. ;-)

Cabbage, onions, garlic (optional), potatoes, carrots and etc. ;-)

Instructions for cabbage:

To make your boiled cabbage, just simply cut up your veggies and add enough chicken broth to cover them, bring to a boil and simmer them until tender. During cooking, add garlic (optional), salt and pepper to taste.

*Note: do this when the meat has only 30 min's left to cook. ;-)

This year I took pictures of a new method of sauteing them and I did not like it nearly as well as this much easier way. It was many more steps and just not as good. If anyone wants that recipe just ask because I did snap a few images of the process. ;-)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Take the corned beef from pkg and discard the liquid it came in. (Save the spice packet for another meal, bc you will not need it for this recipe).

Lay corned beef, fat side up, on a folded heavy duty aluminum foil piece. Poke your whole cloves into the meat covering it evenly spaced.

3.Mix together your honey mustard and hot sauce if you did not purchase the hot honey mustard:

4. Spread the top of meat with the honey mustard mixture. (Remember you are only using half of your mustard for this first coat).

5. Add the brown sugar on top of the mustard.

6. Make a type of basket with the bottom foil:

The ends of the foil are simply folded toward the middle on each end.

Then just fold that piece down to seal the top side, making a rectangular bowl for the juice to rest in.

7.Take a second piece of foil and make a top lid to your foil bowl (no need to fold it in half making a double layer like the bottom one).

View of side of your rectangular foil bowl with lid:

8. Make sure you have a puff, you don't want the foil touching the top of your meat, or you will loose it's very yummy topping.

9. Now place this foil package into a shallow roasting pan, without a lid and bake for 2 hours.

10. Your timer rings, take out meat and separate your top from your bottom by preying up on one end. Be careful of the burning steam!

11. Spread your reserved honey on top of beef and broil it for 3 minutes. Do not leave, watch it carefully, because it could burn fast. You want a golden browned look.

Browned.

12. Meat before cut after tearing off foil.Let it rest 5-10 minutes. Then cut across the grain of the meat into 1/2 thick slices, cutting diagonal would have been preferred (Patrick cut it "acrossed" before I noticed; he did, however cut across the grain the meat).

13. Let your guests or family know to not eat the cloves; they can remove them prior to taking a bite. I like to leave them in because they decorate the meat nicely. ;-)

    Enjoy! ;-)     Not sure why                                                   these above photos look so bad (kinda green, or something). I just clicked in a hurry, as we were about to eat. ;0)

Beer:

Of course we had to put green food coloring into our beer. ;-D

Dessert:

To finish off the green theme, make yummy green velvet Woopie Pies! Just Red Velvet cake mix with green food paste added and icing in between (you can also use ice cream, or white custard; you can make the stuffing green as well).

Make green cake pops, Cake balls, or you can name them cakesicles! Starbucks has recently made these little tasty fellas the current rave. The thing is, they are so easy to make! Simply take a cake (out of a box mix, or your favorite recipe) tear it into small bits, add some icing and make little balls that fit into the palm of your hand. Poke sticks into them (I like the rounded ones. One long one can be cut into two. Or have them look like little truffles (like in picture below). Then dip them into icing! You can also sprinkle them with whatever you like: colored sugars, sprinkles, coconut, nuts, etc. Place on wax paper. They only look like they are hard to make!

Here are some great ideas of desserts using green tea. I will be looking into making some of these ideas myself:
http://cookingwithjapanesegreentea.blogspot.com/2011/03/matcha-tea-mousse-pies-and-japan-in-our.html

My son and I made cookies: Oatmeal Coconut Raisin Cookies; Oatmeal Cranberry Nut Cookies, and Blue Cookies!

My youngest son and I decided to make cookies. He could put whatever he wanted in his, and I in mine. Boy, did we get some unusual cookies. ;-D

Here is his blue foodcoloring, oatmeal, raisin, coconut, mulitcolored sugar sprinked cookies:

My boring, much less exciting Adult cookies had two colors of raisins, coconut and nuts in the mix:

Here are our recipes:

Ingredients:

Of course, start off with Oatmeal; you will need 3 Cups of old fashioned uncooked Oats:

1/2 Cup and 6 Tbsp of butter, softened. [That is one whole stick and another 6 Tbsp's marker on a partial stick.] ;-)

3/4 Cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 Cup white granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tea of vanilla

1 1/2 Cups flour (all-purpose)

1 tea baking soda

1 tea ground cinnamon

1/2 tea salt

Optional: 1 Cup of raisins, or 1/2 Cup of golden and 1/2 Cup of brown raisins,

Go ahead, grab one! Umm...

Optional continued: or 1 Cup of cranberries, or a mix of cranberries and raisins, totaling 1 Cup, 1/2 Cup Wallnuts or Pecans, 1/2 Cup Coconut, you can add 1/2 Cup of white chocolate chips, or butterscotch chips.

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies:

Instructions:

1. Heat Oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer until creamy.

3. Add eggs and vanilla: beat well.

4. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

5. Add oats and raisins; mix well:

6. Drop by rounded Tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets (I enjoy how easy using a small ice cream scoop is! The two spoon technique is fine too. Or, just use your hands and get dirty!):

7. Bake 8 minutes or until light golden brown.

(I set a timer and then watch them. Moist Chewy cookies cannot be overcooked, but you want a golden brown or they can look meally).

8. Move to wire rack:

Sometimes I just move them directly onto a plate. Usually, I am eager to get them off the cookie sheet to stop the cooking process a hot cookie sheet will continue to cook until they are off.

My Adult cookies, this baking time, had golden and brown raisins, pecans and coconut added to the oatmeal cookie mix:

Not as exciting as my son's blue cookies... Let the kids have fun with food coloring, colored sugar sprinkles and anything you can wrap your mind around! Just make sure your ratios are correct, you need some dough to hold the thing together! ;-)

Variations, so many choices, what do you put into your cookies at home?

Variations:

Everything, but the kitchen sink in Big Cookies. ;-) (Some even like M&M's or Peanutbutter thrown into their Oatmeal Cookies). Cranberry is my personal fav. An easy way to put more fruit and nuts into our diet is in cookies, lol. Well, in moderation at least. ;-)

White Chocolate icing drizzle (Great idea during the holidays.)

Sandwhich cookies, filled with icecream, creamcheese icing, or even Cool Whip! We have even used our cookies as the cracker for Smores!

Here is my son with his cookies that he made. It is a great way to spend time with your kids. Have FuN... Play and experiment with your kids and Eat YummY Cookies together. ;0)