Christmas 2010 Review

Much like writing in journals, I don't quit have the discipline yet to write everyday for my blog. So, I'm playing catch up as usual, and doing a Christmas 2010 review!  For a christmas party I was asked to do assorted mini cupcakes, and gingerbread cupcakes adorned with mini gingerbread men was the star of the show. Along with gingerbread cupcakes I made Apple Pie Cupcakes and Pumpkin Cupcakes with brown butter icing. The display was inspired by Martha Stewarts Christmas tree cupcakes, and a Santa cupcake i saw on Bakerella website (one of my favorite) . They both were a pain to make, but looked pretty.  I was really proud of my"cup cake ville"but  there are a few changes I would of made. One, make more cupcakes! The cupcake display could been filled out more,  and two instead of using fake snow I should of used shredded coconut.

Doesn't it look festive

Gingerbread Houses

Brenda showing off her Gingerbread house

Every year since I was seven my mother has been making gingerbread houses for my brother and I, cousins, and kids in the neighborhood. It's been a tradition that I try to keep, and even though I don't have kids yet I make them anyways for my college friends, friends that have children of their own, and recently for my Young Life girls. Because I don't live close to my family, I get terribly homesick during the holidays and making gingerbread houses makes me feel better.  

Gingerbread houses are awesome to do with all ages because you can see how creative people can be. The hardest part of doing a gingerbread house is not eating all the candy before you decorate it. In my family we would wait new years day to break our house and eat it, but who can wait that long?

The Brookie

 Have you ever heard of a Brookie? Well if not, it's a brownie and cookies combined to together into this ooey gooey awesomeness!  A few weeks ago I saw the creator of the Brookie, Matt Lewis of Brooklyn's Baked bakery, on the Martha Stewart show. The original Brookie is made with 4" pie pans, but because I didn't have any I instead used jumbo muffin tins and it worked beautifully. I will be investing in 4" pie pans though to get the brownie/cookie ratio more even. With the jumbo muffin tin, I feel like you get more brownie than cookie, but the taste is still fantastic. The Brookie is a great treat for kids birthdays and bake sales. Brookie, where have you been all my life?

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

You can't go through the holidays without having the classic Sugar Cookie. I have been trying sugar cookies recipes for the past two years, and I have yet to come across the sugar cookie that made me say, THIS IS IT! But, one recipe that has come very close is Martha Stewarts classic Sugar Cookie recipe. I bought Martha's super cute cookie application on my ipad ($5), and came cross this recipe. The cookie is super chewy, but has a nice outer crunch. The lemon zest adds a lot of flavor to the cookie, and in my opinion a great "grown-up" sugar cookie.  I call it a grown-up cookie, because many young folks didn't quit like it. Maybe because the cookie didn't have globs of sugary icing on it, or maybe the lemon is too sophisticated for their liking. But when I took the cookies to an adult christmas party they were gone in seconds. I'll keep searching for my perfect sugar cookie, but until then this recipe will be my staple.

 

Pepper Jelly Cornmeal Cookies

 

Man, man, man! These cookies are the ISH. Super easy, super buttery, and you can never eat just one. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com, and in the recipe it calls for pepper jelly for the filling. I didn't have any pepper jelly, but I did have some wonderful preserves a great friend of mine makes. She calls it Sassy Mango Chile preserves, and it just worked beautifully with these morsels. I tried to attach a link to this recipe, but unfortunately the recipe is no longer on the site. Thank goodness I printed it out. Here it is. Enjoy*

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup red and/or green jalapeno jelly

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla until combined. Beat in cornmeal. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. 

2. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on a un greased cookie sheet. Lightly press the tip of your thumb into the center of each ball of dough. Fill each center with about 1/8 teaspoon of the jalapeno jelly. 

3. Bake in the preheated oven about 10 minutes or until bottom are lightly browned. Cook on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cook. Makes about 96 cookies. 

To Store: Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; Cover. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. The dough doesn't refrigerate well, so bake it all then store.