More Holiday Kitchen Gifts

So, if you've been following this blog this week, you know that I have been up to my ears in sugar and spice and lots of things VERY nice as I have been trying out all kinds of treats that are perfect for wrapping up and giving to near and dear ones for the holidays. And while I do love all these new recipes, it reminds me that I have some old favorites that are pretty delectable as well.

So just as a reminder, here are a few treats from Christmas Past, starting with one that is absolutely guaranteed to be a huge hit, and that is Cookie Truffles! Super-easy to make, and you can make them in either Chocolate Nutter-Butter variety (pictured above) or the equally wonderful White Chocolate Oreo version. Here's the link:

Cookie Truffles

Now, for all you fudge fans out there, here's the perfect marriage of fudge and the holidays...

...and that is Eggnog Fudge, with a little nutmeg sprinkled on top. And if you give it to your true love on a pretty holiday plate, you won't even have to look around for any mistletoe. Here's the link for this one:

Eggnog Fudge

Next is a recipe that is SO fabulous, I actually had to make an entire secret batch for my sweet little sister last year and sneak it to her out of sight of the rest of the family. As she will tell you, this crunchy, salty, sweet, chocolate extravaganza is, um, well worth hiding from the rest of the gang!

It's called Cookie Brittle, and you actually make it with not cookies but saltines, and you really MUST make it because it is crazily good. Here's the link:

Cookie Brittle

And now that you have made all these delectable treats for everyone else, here's one that you need to make for yourself. This is my most beloved recipe because it came to me from my grandmother, and it is - day in and day out - the single most popular recipe on my blog. So if you haven't made them already, give yourself a gift from the kitchen... make them this holiday season, settle down with a cookie and a cup of tea, and you will know why they are my very favorite cookie. From me to you, my grandmother's molasses cookies, with love.

Here's the link:

My Grandma's Molasses Cookies

And now for the most important recipe of all this holiday season: Gather up your favorite people. Mix in some babies and grandparents and stir well. Wrap securely in hugs and sprinkle with kisses.

From my kitchen to yours - a sweet holiday season, my friends!

xox * Kate * xox

White Chocolate Vanilla Ice Cream...Without The Ice Cream Maker!

First of all, let me say that I DO own an ice cream maker. And as much as I love most of my kitchen appliances, from my rice cooker right on through to my popcorn popper (no microwave popcorn for me!), I just haven't been able to bond with the ice cream maker. It's a perfectly nice ice cream maker - it's just that it seems like such a production to freeze the inner liner, make the custard, put everything together the exact right way, and then say a prayer to the powers that be that it all comes out the right way.

So when I came across this recipe on the Cooks Country site, and read that it required exactly NO ice cream maker, I thought I better give it a try. And as it turns out, it was AMAZING ice cream. A gorgeously creamy consistency, a little hit of white chocolate taste, and all you need is your mixer and your microwave.

I thought it was feeling too good to be true, so I put it to the ultimate test, otherwise known as the teenager and her best friend. They loved it, and then told me that in return for their taste-testing services they were expecting to see their picture in this post. So here they are.

I love them dearly, but they don't usually look like this, just for the record. Nor did they actually go to the prom together, also for the record. But that's the most current picture I have of them, so there you go.

Back to the ice cream. You melt some condensed milk and a tiny amount of white chocolate chips in the microwave, and let it cool. Then you whip up some heavy cream in your mixer. Back to the melted chocolate chips: stir in some sour cream and some vanilla. Then you fold the whole thing together, freeze it for at least 6 hours (we let ours freeze overnight), and then you are ALMOST ready to dig in.I say almost because this fabulous ice cream is made completely perfect by adding some of this to the top of it.

Otherwise known as the best chocolate sauce on Planet Earth. (And by the way, if you haven't entered into my giveaway for a signed copy of STONEWALL KITCHEN FAVORITES, the completely fabulous cookbook from my friends at Stonewall Kitchen, then please click here without delay!)

So there you have it -- scrumptious ice cream, no ice cream maker, and with this amazing chocolate sauce...well, life doesn't get much better.

White Chocolate Vanilla Ice Cream, adapted from Cooks Country

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 ounce white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream

1. Microwave condensed milk and chocolate chips in 30 second increments until chips are melted and smooth, stirring after each 30 seconds. Let cool, and then stir in vanilla, salt and sour cream.

2. Whip heavy cream on medium high speed until soft peaks form, 1-2 minutes. Whisk 1/3 cream into white chocolate mixture. Fold remaining cream in until well mixed and smooth.

3. Place in airtight container and freeze for at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks.

Click here for printable recipe

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares

Now this is one of those recipes that has a backstory, so hunker down. A few weeks ago, we celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. We had a wedding cake and great music, and many many friends and family, and it didn't rain. Thank you, Lord.

They had a wonderful time, and then they went off to Maine on a little 50th anniversary honeymoon trip. (Aren't they adorable??). And while they were there, they visited one of my favorite, favorite makers of all things delicious, the amazing Stonewall Kitchen. And they brought me back some delectable Stonewall Kitchen goodies. Including this...

I have big plans for this that involve caramelized french toast and cinnamon and berries. Stay tuned for that one. They also brought me this...

I'm considering my peach jam options. Suggestions welcome. Now brace yourself for this next one...

I don't even know what to say. I am seriously considering just hiding somewhere and eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon.

Last but not least, this was in the Stonewall Kitchen bag...

Along with a recipe card for Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. (Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!) Anyway, this scrumptious recipe calls for making a super-easy shortbread cookie crust. On top of that crust goes a classic cheesecake batter...and then comes the fun part. You take that whole jar of wild blueberry jam (and when you open it up you will see there are tons of teeny tiny whole little baby blueberries in the jam. Deep breaths.) and drop it in spoonfuls on top of the cheesecake batter. Then take a knife and swirl, swirl, swirl the jam through the batter.

Bake. Cool, counting the minutes. Cut into squares. Try not to eat all of them at once. And if you have the self-discipline to put them in the fridge to chill down for a while -- well, the only better than a blueberry cheesecake square is a cold blueberry cheesecake square.

Stonewall Kitchen, have I told you lately that I love you??

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares, from Stonewall Kitchen

Cookie Crust:
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon ice water

Cheesecake Filling:
• 16 ounces (2 packages) softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup blueberry jam. I highly recommend Stonewall Kitchen Wild Maine Blueberry Jam!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9X13 inch pan.
2. Place flour, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse.
3. Add butter and process until the dough begins to form a ball, adding ice water if necessary.
4. Press dough evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until crust is lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes.
5. While cooling, prepare filling. Mix softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well blended.
6. Add eggs and mix just until eggs are incorporated.
7. After crust cools for 30 minutes, pour cheesecake filling evenly over the crust.
8. Spoon Blueberry Jam randomly on top of filling and then swirl to combine.
9. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 35-45 minutes or until center is set. Allow to cool in pan.

Click here for printable recipe

Blueberries with Vanilla Cream

Blueberries...did you know that there is a gigantic poem by Robert Frost all about blueberries? Here's a teeny piece of it.

"You ought to have seen what I saw on my way
To the village, through Mortenson's pasture to-day:
Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!
And all ripe together, not some of them green
And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!"


(And you thought all you were getting on this blog was recipes!) Anyway, I am not at all surprised, because if any fruit deserves its own poem, it's the blueberry. I love them, I love them, I can't stop piling them into my cart at the local farm market...

And while they are amazing in everything from muffins to blueberry cobbler bars, sometimes you just want to eat a pile of them plain...or maybe with just a little vanilla cream sauce, perhaps?

Okay, maybe a LOT of vanilla cream sauce.

Maybe we what we are talking about is not eating blueberries with vanilla cream sauce, but vanilla cream sauce with some blueberries.

This recipe comes from the always awesome Pioneer Woman, so when you drink down the whole bowl of this decadent sauce with your berries, you can blame her, not me. By the way, her recipe shows this sauce with blackberries...and I am sure it would be just as good on strawberries. So whatever sort of berry person you are...cream sauce. Yum.

Blueberries with Vanilla Cream, adapted from The Pioneer Woman

• 1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 cup Sugar, Divided
• 10 whole Egg Yolks (save The Whites For Another Use)
• 2 teaspoons Good Vanilla Extract
  
• Fresh Berries

Combine cream with half the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a strong simmer, but don’t boil.

Whisk egg yolks in a bowl with the other half of the sugar. Add vanilla extract.

After whisking on medium for a minute, begin slowly pouring in the hot cream.

After all cream is added, turn off mixer. Pour mixture into the top of a double boiler (or a glass bowl fitted over a saucepan). Cook in the double boiler over medium heat. Stir gently but constantly as the egg/cream mixture slowly thickens.

Watch the mixture: if it starts to really thicken up, remove it immediately from the heat. You want this to be more of a thick, pourable cream than a thick, heavy pudding texture. As soon as you remove the pan from the heat, set the bottom of it in a bowl of ice to stop the cooking process (but be careful not to let ice or water drip over the edge of the pan.) Stir to cool. If you need to use the cream right away, keep it in the ice bath and stir to cool.

Transfer the cream to a container and refrigerate it for several hours before serving.

Click here for printable recipe

Blueberry Cobbler Bars

Ahh, blueberry season, I love you so! Blueberry muffins, blueberry pie, blueberries eaten straight out of the carton. Blueberries, you may just be my favorite berry.



And so it is no wonder that my life got that much better when I found this recipe for blueberry cobbler bars on the Joy The Baker website. She credits the recipe to The Pastry Queen, and whomever the Pastry Queen is, I want to come live in her castle, or at least work in her kitchen, because these were...oh, my my. First of all, they include a shortbread-type crust that is made with lemon sugar. Lemon sugar! Which is made by rubbing the zest of two lemons into a lot of sugar. Among other benefits, it makes your hands smell really, really good.



Now brace yourself, because the crust is made with three, count 'em, three sticks of butter. At this point, it is best just to throw caution to the wind, promise yourself you aren't going to eat the whole thing yourself, and hang on the for the ride.



That buttery, lemon-sugary crust bakes up into this...



..and then you start the truly mind-blowing part, which is the blueberry cobbler topping. Eggs, more sugar, sour cream, a little flour, some salt, and a whole lot of blueberries. Mix it all up and try not to start licking the bowl while it is still full.



Pour it over the lemon crust...



...and wait, you're not done. You've saved a little of the crust batter, and at this point you drop it in little chunks on the top of the berry mixture. (You can see where this is going, right?)



Bake. Dance around the kitchen. Cool.



Warm, chewy, lemony, sugary, blueberry heaven. I've found my thrill...

Blueberry Cobbler Bars, from Joy the Baker

Crust and Topping

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

zest of two lemons

Berry Filling

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

2 (16-ounce) packages frozen mixd berries, defrosted and drained

(You can also use 6 cups of fresh berries, or 1 (16-ounce) package frozen berries and 3 cups of fresh berries)

To make the crust and topping-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a half sheet baking pan (12×17-inch) with butter or cooking spray and set aside. If you use a 9×13-inch baking pan you’ll have thicker bars. Zest two lemons. Measure out the sugar onto a clean work surface. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with a bench scraper or the back of a spoon. Rubbing the zest into the sugar will release oils from the zest and create a lemon scented sugar.

Combine lemon sugar, flour, salt and butter in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment. Beat the ingredients on medium speed until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust for 12 to 15 minutes until it is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.

To make the filling-

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt. Gently fold in the berries. Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust. You may have to distribute the berries evenly around.

Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

Click here for printable recipe

Coconut Snowballs

Two things.

First of all, I realize that I already have a post on the blog called Coconut Snowball Cookies. They are the ones that look like this:



And they are very scrumptious cookies.

But then I found a recipe elsewhere for something called Coconut Snowballs, and these cookies were actually pretty different from my other coconut snowball cookies, and so I wracked my overworked brain for something else to call the new guys. And I came up with...nothing. So sorry about all the coconut snowball confusion, but I can promise that both of these recipes are very worth making.

Second thing is this: you'd think that I would be organized enough to make something called "Coconut Snowballs" when it looked like this outside:

Instead of like this:

But at this point, I am complicating just about everything that has to do with the whole coconut snowball thing, so I figured I would just go ahead and post the darn thing. Because they ARE melt in your mouth delicious, and to be honest, there's no wrong time to make a coconut cookie, right?

Here's the recipe. :-)

Coconut Snowballs, from Everyday Food

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar, plus more for dusting
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar until fluffy. Mix in flour and salt until they're just combined. Stir in coconut.
2. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake until just starting to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Roll the warm cookies in confectioners' sugar; let cool completely.

Click here for printable recipe

Cashew Brittle Chunks

This is one recipe that almost didn't get posted here, because it just didn't turn out the way I expected it to. The title of the original recipe was "No-Bake Cashew Brittle Bars," and the picture of them showed these nice neat little bars. Yes, there was a crumb or two in the picture, but overall? Nice organized little bar cookies.

Now, I am a cashew fiend, and I always have them around. And anything with the word "brittle" in it has me at hello. These also have a good amount of oatmeal in them, along with one of my all-time flavorings in the world, and that is molasses. I heart molasses. My grandmother's molasses cookies (which you can find here) are the single most popular item on this blog by a country mile, so I think a lot of you are with me on the whole molasses thing. Plus I like the bunny on the molasses bottle cap.

Anyway, I made these things last weekend and followed all the directions, and they looked and smelled just heavenly, and then came time to cut them into the nice little bars. I got out my trusty big chef's nice and made a nice slice down the middle.

C R A C K!

They broke apart into two uneven hunks, with some smaller chunks breaking off the the bigger pieces. Hey!! What happened to my nice even no-bake-cashew brittle-bars??? I tried again, working on the bigger of the two uneven hunks. Same thing. So at the end of the whole process I ended up with what I am now calling cashew brittle chunks. That's when the Southern husband walked into the kitchen. I guess I was looking a little aggravated, and I did have a big knife in my hand at the time, and he catches on really quickly...so he asked me ever-so-gently if there was anything wrong?

I launched into a whole rant about bars and chunks and following directions and what the picture looked like and what MY version looked like and at some point during my whole monologue I realized that he was nodding...and eating. And eating. And eating. Now, the Southern husband is not a big one for sweets. He'll eat a cookie if I hand it to him, but he doesn't seek them out. (I know. I'm not sure what's wrong with him. It's just not normal.) But he was munching away on those chunks, and so I picked up my own piece.

Oh my goodness. They might not be beautiful, but they sure do have a nice personality. YUM. They are like the love child of a granola bar and traditional nut brittle. Sweet and crunchy and just a tiny bit chewy and full of that sweet molasses and salty cashew taste. Now, if you (or I) really did want them to come out in organized, even little square shapes, the trick would be to cut them up after they had cooled just enough to handle, but not so much that they were fully hardened. I'd say a good ten minutes in the fridge would do it...cut them up and then pop them back in to finish hardening. I will try that next time, because there WILL be a next time. It might ruin the Southern husband's reputation but I must tell you that he ate all but one chunk that day. All but one.

Who leaves just ONE? I ask you now.

Cashew Brittle Chunks, from Martha Stewart.com

• 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup (about 5 ounces) salted cashews
• 1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1. Line a 4 1/2-by-9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on each long side. Toast oats and cashews in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until aromatic and just starting to turn golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
2. Add butter, sugar, cinnamon, corn syrup, molasses, and salt in the skillet, and cook over medium heat, stirring, until butter melts and mixture bubbles, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour hot mixture over oats and cashews, and stir to combine.
3. Transfer mixture to loaf pan. Using a spatula, press mixture into an even layer. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Remove chilled mixture from pan using parchment, discard parchment, and cut into 1-inch thick bars. Or chunks, as the case may be...

Click here for printable recipe

Maple Butterscotch Macadamia Blondies

Chocolate? Who needs chocolate when you have butterscotch, macadamia nuts and maple, all baked together into the richest blondie you will ever have in your LIFE? These delectable delightful treats are a breeze to make, and I promise that you will remember them long after the last one is gone, they are that wonderful.

I do have some words of wisdom for you about these babies. Ready?

1. Grease the pan really well. If you do, and if you run a knife around the outside edge while they are still pretty warm, you should have no problem popping them out of the pan.

2. Wait until they are completely cool before you cut them. It will be difficult. You will be sorely tempted. But until they are cool, they are very likely to fall apart when you cut them. Once they are cool, they are very well-behaved.

3. Cut them into small pieces. SMALL. When I say these are rich, I am not kidding around.

Okay, now that you have all these words of warning, I also have to say that these are hands down the best blondies I have ever eaten in my entire life. Yum, yum, a thousand times yum. Go get yourself some macadamia nuts and make these before any more time goes by.

MAPLE BUTTERSCOTCH MACADAMIA BLONDIES

• 3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract
• 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place nuts on baking sheet and toast for 6 minutes. Remove from oven.

2. Grease 9 inch square cake pan.

3. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

4. In large bowl, combine butter and sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and maple extract and beat until combined.

5. Add flour mixture and mix slowly until combined. Stir in nuts and chips.

6. Spread batter in pan and bake for one hour.

7. Cook completely and cut into small, small, small squares.

Click here for printable recipe