making a list, checking it twice

The end of the holiday shopping season is almost at hand. I've been making lists and making sure I get things done on time and what needs to go my daughter's on Sunday. 

Since I had yesterday off, I accomplished some preparations for Christmas dinner. I made my daughter's favorite cookie, Italian sesame seed. It made a nice small batch of cookies that I'll share with her. 

Today I hope to make a batch of cocoa snowflakes cookies. They are a rich, fudgy, chocolately cookie that is to die for!

---

One of the traditions we had when the kids lived at home, was to make a do ahead breakfast casserole for Christmas morning. Even though, it will just be my husband and I, I've decided we deserve to be treated to something special. Tomorrow I'll be preparing baked blueberry-pecan french toast with blueberry syrup. However, I'll be skipping the blueberry syrup and just topping the casserole with New Jersey blueberries that I froze last summer. The recipe is yet another from Gourmet Magazine June 1999. Instead of baguette, I'm using challah bread that I purchased earlier in the week from Delicious Orchards.

As I had a busy day yesterday, I needed a quick recipe for last night's supper. Earlier in the week I purchased pork loin bone in chop at Wegmans. I purchased the ones they refer as "from family farms near our store." They are a bit pricey at $7.99/lb., but oh are they worth it. 

I've had in my possession a Gourmet Magazine recipe (December 2000), for pork chops with sweet-and-sour cider glaze. Granted, I had frozen some Delicious Orchards apple cider in my freezer, which made this recipe doable last night. I don't think it will work substituting apple juice. It took under 30 minutes to prepare. My husband and I enjoyed the pork chops, which were absolutely tender. 

---

---

Cocoa Snowflakes
From the website Penzeys
 
Prep: 15 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling time
Bake time: 8 minutes per pan
Yield: 50-60 cookies
 
Ingredients
1 Cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
5 TB. butter
6 TB. COCOA POWDER (NATURAL or DUTCH)
1 Cup sugar
1 tsp. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
2 extra large eggs
1/2 Cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 Cup powdered sugar (for rolling)
  
Directions

1. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
2. In a small heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat, add cocoa powder, blend well until smooth. Remove pan from heat, stir in sugar until combined (it will be dark brown at this point). Transfer to a large mixing bowl, add pure vanilla extract, then eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add flour mixture and nuts if desired (skip the nuts if baking for children, as most don’t seem to enjoy them), mix well.
3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, refrigerate until chilled (at least 2 hours). The dough never gets really stiff, but it won’t roll into nice balls if it’s warm.
4. Preheat oven to 400°. Grab a handful of dough, enough to fill a cookie sheet, leaving the rest in the fridge. Roll each hunk of dough into 3/4-inch balls and then roll in powdered sugar. It is easier to roll the dough into balls if you coat your hands with powdered sugar (kids love doing this).
5. Place the sugar-coated balls onto a greased cookie sheet, 2” apart. Bake cookies for 8 minutes at 400°, let cool a minute, and then remove from pan.
6. Store in an airtight container to maintain the soft and chewy texture of these cookies. If you’d like a crisper cookie, bake a minute longer (be careful not to burn the bottoms).

 
 

cocoa_snowflakes.pdf
File Size:	58 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---

---

Italian Sesame Seed Cookies
from the kitchen of Connie Salvatoriello
  
1 cup sugar
¼ lb. butter (original recipe called for margarine)
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (I use Crisco)
3 cups flour, sifted
2 tablespoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sesame seeds
 
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients in large bowl. Roll into short log and then roll in sesame seeds. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until golden, approximately 12-15 minutes.
 
Donna’s Notes:
As I prepared the dough a day in advance, I made one large log and refrigerated overnight. The next day, I made approximately ¼-1/2” slices and then rolled into short logs.
 
You can purchase sesame seeds in the bulk food section of Nature’s Corner at Wegmans. I would recommend purchasing about 4 oz. or more to ensure you have enough seeds to make the cookies. If you have any leftover, store in a container in your refrigerator. 

italian_sesame_seed_cookies.pdf
File Size:	28 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---