by Kathy Douglas | Dec 8, 2020 | Desserts, Holiday
Nothing smells better during the holidays then ginger cookies baking in the oven. So, get your
holiday baking going with these delicious rum raisin and candied ginger favorites.
INGREDIENTS
½ cup raisins
½ cup dark rum
2 ¼ cups White Lily flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 cup Dark Muscovado sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup molasses
1 large egg
1-1/2 cups chopped crystallized ginger
turbinado sugar for rolling
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the raisins and rumin a sauce pan on the stove top and over medium heat to a simmer.
Remove from the heat and set aside so the raisins can soak up the rum for about 15 minutes.
Drain off any remaining rum.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and salt
together. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the dark muscovado sugar, oil and molasses on
medium for about 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat for another minute. Scrape the bowl, beat
again for another minute and turn the mixer to low. Add the dry ingredients slowly, then
increase the speed to medium and mix until everything is well combined about 2 minutes. Stir
in the crystallized ginger and the rum soaked raisins. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 24-36
hours.
Heat the oven to 350˚F. Scoop the dough into a 1-1/2 inch balls and roll in turbinado sugar. Place on the parchment covered baking sheet about 3 inches apart and bake for 13-15 minutes.
Cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes and then cool completely on a rack. Store in
an air tight container.
by Kathy Douglas | Oct 26, 2020 | Desserts, Holiday
A delicious combination of sweet, salty, nutty, and crunchy in one easy to make treat. These seasonal popcorn balls are a perfect snack for celebrating Halloween.
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering hands
1 package miniature marshmallows (10 ounces)
¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
12 cups popped popcorn, we use Skinny Pop Popcorn
½ cup candy corn
½ cup salted roasted cashews
½ cup Halloween caviar sprinkles, spread out on a plate
Melt the butter in a large heavy pot over low heat. Add marshmallows and brown sugar and stir until completely melted and combined. Add the popcorn, candy corn, and cashews into a large bowl, mix well. Remove the marshmallow mixture from the heat and pour over the popcorn mixture and toss well to combine. With buttered hands, shape into 2 ½ inch balls and then immediately roll in Halloween caviar sprinkles. Set on parchment lined baking sheet to dry slightly, then serve.
by Kathy Douglas | Feb 10, 2020 | Desserts, Holiday
These bright red Valentine Brownies are a delicious fudgy treat for your loved one! Colored to match the holiday with a crunchy exterior, they’re a rich chocolaty brownie topped with a smooth cream cheese icing and shards of white chocolate.
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup butter, plus more for the pan
4-oz. high-quality dark chocolate such as Guittard
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1-oz. bottle red liquid food coloring, we used McCormick
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon expresso powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Topping (below)
cream cheese icing
white chocolate
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°. Using butter, lightly grease two 12 cavity nonstick brownie bar pan.
In a bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter whisking until smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until light in color Slowly, a small amount at a time, temper the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk in the red food coloring and the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, expresso powder and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and combine well. Add to the prepared pan.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a wire rack for ten minutes, then remove the individual brownies from the pan to a wire rack and cool completely for about an hour.
Cream Cheese Icing
INGREDIENTS
8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla beating until blended. Add the icing to a piping bag and pipe a small amount of icing on top of each brownie. Top with shards* of white chocolate.
*using a vegetable peeler with a bar of white chocolate, peel off thin pieces of chocolate.
by Kathy Douglas | Feb 3, 2020 | Desserts, Holiday
It’s the perfect combination for Valentine’s Day – all in one cookie. These heart-shaped shortbread cookies are flavored with delicious floral rose water, then filled with crushed rose petals, and topped with a sprinkle more of dried rose petals. It’s a delicious combination for your special Valentine.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups flour
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons rose water
1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
¼ cup crushed rose petals
INSTRUCTIONS
Whisk together the flour and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Using a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs, rose water, and lemon zest until blended. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mixture in to create a stiff dough. Add 3 tablespoons crushed rose petals and gently combine. Remove dough from bowl and wrap tight in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat your oven to 300˚ F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the wrap and roll on a floured board to ¼” thick. Using cookie cutters, cut heart shapes, rerolling the dough until completely cut. Sprinkle the remaining rose petals over your rolled dough, pressing into the dough so the petals stick. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 20 – 25 minutes or until bottoms are just golden. Cool completely.
by Kathy Douglas | Dec 16, 2019 | Desserts, Holiday
Who needs fruit cake when you can have this updated version of fruit jammy cookies? Our Holiday Fruit Cookies are filled with delicious apricot, cherry, and orange jammy bits along with candied ginger, pecans, and rum-soaked raisins. Rolled in sparkling sugar before baking, they have a super crispy, crunchy exterior and a soft jammy fruit filled interior.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup golden raisins
¼ cup dark rum
¾ cup cherry jammies*
½ cup apricot jammies*
⅓ cup diced orange jammies*
¾ cup pecan, broken into pieces
⅓ cup diced crystallized ginger
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, we prefer White Lily
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sparkling sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the raisins and rum in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, tossing often, until liquid is almost absorbed about 6 -7 minutes. Cool completely gently pressing down into any remaining liquid. Add the cherry, apricot, and orange jammies to a bowl along with the pecans, ginger, and cooled raisins.Toss to combine.
Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then the extract. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add into creamed mixture. When completely combined, Stir in the fruit mixture.
Place the remaining sugar in a shallow bowl. Shape 2 tablespoons of dough into balls; Roll in the sparkling sugar to coat. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough balls from the refrigerator as needed, keeping the others cold, and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until just golden brown and set, about 15-17 minutes. Cool on the pan for five minutes then move to wire racks and cool completely.
* Fruit Jammies can be found on-line at KingArthurFlour.com
by Kathy Douglas | Nov 25, 2019 | Desserts, Holiday
Our new favorite Thanksgiving Dessert is Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese bottom, that’s topped with sweetened sour cream and nutmeg. We like to serve it with a little caramel sauce and toasted pecans on the side.
INGREDIENTS
12 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
2 ½ cups ginger snap crumbs
4 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese at room temperature
2 ¾ cups of sugar plus 3 tablespoons, divided
1 ¼ cups sour cream, divided
6 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg, plus more for topping
For serving (optional):
Toasted Pecans
Caramel Sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325˚F.
To make the gingersnap crumbs, grind ginger snap cookies in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form. Measure out 2 ½ cups and add to a large bowl. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with a small amount of butter. Line the springform bottom with a 9” parchment circle. Lightly brush the parchment with a little more butter.
Stir the remaining butter in the bowl with the crumbs. Add ¼ cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt and combine well. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan. Use a flat bottom measuring cup to packing it tightly and evenly in the bottom and sides. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, remove and cool completely on a rack. Wrap the outside of the springform pan with three layers of foil up the sides to form a water tight seal around the pan and place in a large roasting pan. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add 2 ½ cups of sugar and beat until just light, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in ¼ cup sour cream, the eggs, and salt until well combined. Remove three cups of the mixture to another bowl. Add the vanilla bean paste and whisk until well combined. Carefully pour the vanilla mixture over the cooled crust.
To the remaining cream cheese mixture left in the mixer bowl, add the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and beat until just combined. Carefully spoon over the vanilla layer. Smooth the top.
Gently place in the oven and very carefully add the boiling water into just the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Be careful to not splash any water into the cheesecake batter. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake is set but the center is still loose, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven heat and crack open the door for 2-3 minutes to vent out some heat. Close the door and leave the cheesecake in the oven, with the heat off, for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from the oven. Remove the foil from the outside of the springform pan and cool on a rack for about 30 minutes.
Set the oven rack on the lowest point in the bottom of the oven and heat the oven on the broiler setting to high. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of sour cream, 3 tablespoons sugar, and a pinch of nutmeg. Carefully spread in a thin layer over the top center of the cheesecake leaving a 1-1 ½” ring of the pumpkin cheese cake on the outside. Place on the lowest rack and cook until the topping is just set. About 6 -10 minutes. Watch carefully so the cheesecake doesn’t get too brown or start to burn. Remove and sprinkle with more nutmeg. Cool completely.
Run a very thin knife around the edges inside the springform pan, cover, and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
Set the cheesecake out about 30 minutes before serving. Unlock and remove the springform ring. Slice with a warm knife and serve with toasted pecans and caramel sauce on the side.
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