Another cookie lover wins a cookbook

John Pacheco of St. Petersburg has sent in recipes for the St. Petersburg Times' annual Christmas cookiepalooza each year since 2002, the year we started the special section. He's made the paper twice, in 2002 and 2007. Many of his recipes reflect his Portuguese heritage.

For his efforts, I am sending John a copy of the new "Cook's Country Best Lost Suppers." There are still more cookbooks to give away! Send in your recipe today ... here's how.

Here's one John's that we printed in 2007. Yeah, it's called Christmas Gumdrop Bars but changed the gumdrops to black and orange, substitute cloves for cinnamon and make them for Halloween!

Christmas Gumdrop Bars
1/2 cup flavored gumdrops, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup nuts
1-1/2 teaspoons flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Frosting

Stir gumdrop pieces with nuts and 1-1/2 teaspoons flour to coat. Set aside.

Sift together 1 cup of flour, salt and cinnamon. To this, add the brown sugar, eggs and evaporated milk, and mix well.

Add gumdrop mixture and beat well until incorporated. (Batter will be thick.) Spread the batter into a well-greased 9- by 9-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 325-degree oven for 35 minutes.

Cool. Frost with vanilla or orange frosting. Cut into 3- by 1-inch squares and decorate with gumdrops.

Times testing note: Gumdrops are labeled as spice drops and will be coated with sugar.

Submitted by John Pacheco, St. Petersburg; Photo by Patty Yablonski, St. Petersburg Times

Another cookbook giveaway

Doris Baker of Dunedin is the second winner in my totally subjective cookbook giveaway contest. She wins Mary Ann Esposito's "Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen." Doris was kind enough to send via old-fashioned mail a couple of recipes for our annual Christmas cookie extravaganza. Sure, lots of people send in recipes but Doris laminated the recipes and writes a poem on the flip side. She attaches the cards to the cookie gifts she gives at the holdiays. Very sweet. For that, she deserves a cookbook!

I still want more recipes! and I have more cookbooks to give away.

 Basically, we're looking for two-dozen of the yummiest, most-tempting Christmas cookie recipes to test and then run in our Eighth Annual Christmas Cookiepalooza. This year it pubishes on Dec. 2.

Anyone, anywhere can submit a recipe. There's no prize; just the glory of being selected. For details, go here.

I'll give another cookbook away next week. Still looking for a cookie whose names beats Sandy's Date Balls. Send in those recipes!

The great cookbook giveaway

Yay for Judy Wray of St. Petersburg who was the first person to submit a recipe for the annual Christmas cookie issue of the St. Petersburg Times. For her effort (she e-mailed her recipe at 8:30 a.m. today), I am sending her the three-ring binder Taste of Home cookbook. I am not revealing the cookie recipe yet though. Just know it includes bite-size Snickers bars.

We put out the call for favorite reader recipes yesterday online and today in print. Basically, we're looking for two-dozen of the yummiest, most-tempting Christmas cookie recipes to test and then run in our Eighth Annual Christmas Cookiepalooza. This year it pubishes on Dec. 2.

Anyone, anywhere can submit a recipe. There's no prize; just the glory of being selected. For details, go here.

I'll give another cookbook away next week. Possibly to the cookie with the best name so far. Seriously, you'll have to beat Sandy's Date Balls. Send in those recipes!

Photo illustration by Patty Yablonski, St. Petersburg Times

Rotisserie Chicken Wednesday

Okay, so here's a weird coincidence. In the last week, I've been really studying (and clipping) recipes from the back of boxes/containers. I found a chicken pasta dish on a box of farfalle that sounded delish (and easy) and then there was a crab appetizer recipe I saved from a can of claw meat. What great fodder for a cookbook! That's what I thought.

Well, Barbara Greenman must have thought the same thing, and acted way quicker. In my mailbox today is "Back of the Box Cooking: 500 Delicious, Easy-to-Prepare Recipes from America's Best-Loved Brands" (Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, $19.95).

Too late on my great idea. Here, from the book, is a recipe fit for rotisserie chicken. From Birds Eye ...

Easy Chicken Pot Pie With Herbed Biscuit Topping

1-pound bag bag mixed veggies, thawed
1-pound white pearl onions, thawed
4 cups cubed rotisserie-style chicken, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half & half cream
Pinch nutmeg
1 package refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough (7.5 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place vegetables in a 2-quart baking dish. Spread chicken evenly over vegetables. In small saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and mix until smooth. Whisk in chicken broth and cook until sauce comes to boil. Add half & half; cook 1 minute longer. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables. Separate biscuits and place over chicken mixture. Sprinkle parsley over biscuits. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until biscuits are brown and sauce is bubbling.

Serves 6.

Source: Birds Eye (recipe and photo)

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26 great cookie recipes for the holidays

Martha Stewart's got nothing on us and our cookie recipes. That's because we've spent countless hours sorting through 500 recipes from Times readers to get 26 sweet surprises for the holidays this year. And everything is covered: Orange cookie recipes. Peanut butter cookie recipes. Chocolate cookie recipes. Even caramel cookie recipes. You'll find them all here along with baking tips and dozens of recipes from past years.

Now, I didn't get to sample any of the 26 cookies featured -- maybe we can work on that for next year --  but going over the recipes, I like the looks of Carolyn Smiley's Caramel Bars and Nancy Cruz's Orange Creamsicle Drops (pictured). But they all look good. So check out the recipes, preheat the oven and fire up your mixer. Baking season is upon us.

Times photo

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The best for last ...

Okay, this is the most stupid-simple recipe in the world. Plus, it's the most fantastic. The recipe calls for "nuts" so you can use any type you like. I usally use pecan pieces. You could make it Peanut Butter Brickle by using peanut butter chips. Or, a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter.

Looking for last-minute presents or hostess gifts? Make a couple batches of Brickle this weekend. After it's chilled and broken into pieces, place in Ziploc bags and put those in decorative gift bags. Voila! You're a genius.

Funny story about this recipe that ran in 2002. A woman called afterward and complained that the melted butter ran off the pan and into the oven, making a mess. She had used a cookie sheet with no edge on it. Whoa. Kids, don't try that a home.

Stir Crazy will return on Wednesday, Dec. 26, with a few days of appetizer recipes. Until then, have a fantastic Christmas and don't forget to cook!

Brickle
40 saltine crackers
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 12-ounce package chocolate chips
Chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover baking sheet with 1-inch edge with foil and cover lightly with non-stick spray. Place saltine crackers in single layer on foil.

On stove, melt butter and brown sugar. Bring to full boil and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove and pour over crackers. Bake for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Leave until melted, less than 5 minutes Spread out the chocolate and sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Source: Judith L. McVaugh, Beverly Hills; Carol Latta Milner, Seminole.

Coconuts over these macaroons

We went a little crazy for the 2003 cookie issue. Our photo editor and my buddy Patty Yablonski made little decorations for each cookie. This one was pretty simple, but some where really very Zsa Zsa Gabor. You've got to look.

That year,I picked the recipes from cookbooks. No surprise, they took up one entire page more. The recipes from readers always reflect what real home cooks are making. In the cookbooks, you find much more fussy stuff.

This is not one of those fussy recipes. The macaroons come together so easily and the little dip of chocolate really elevates them to fancy stuff. You've got time ... make them!

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons
2-2/3 cup flaked coconut, firmly packed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unbleached flour
4 egg whites, unbeaten
1 cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine coconut, sugar and flour. Stir in egg whites, almonds, vanilla and almond extract. Form balls from rounded tablespoonfuls and place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden. Remove from pans while hot and allow to cool.

For or chocolate edge: Melt chocolate in double boiler, stirring until two-thirds melted; remove from heat and continue stirring until completely melted. Dip one edge of each cookie into chocolate and set on waxed paper to allow chocolate to set.

Makes about 30.

Source: “Christmas from the Heart of the Home” by Susan Branch (Little, Brown & Co., 1990).

Mocha macadamia mama

Mocha Macadamia Shortbread is a departure from what you usually find on the Christmas cookie tray. When I select recipes for our annual cookie issue, I always imagine how they would all look on a plate laden with goodies. I want a variety of tastes and shapes. Coffe, or mocha, is a good flavor that doesn't find its way into holiday cookies too oftn.

This recipe is interesting because the pricey macadamia nuts aren't in big chunks in the cookie, but rather they are pulverized in a food processor along with the sugar. This leaves their flavor but not the bits in the cooie.The shortbread is good on its own but the mocha icing really seals the deal. If you want it less sweet, don't ice the entire cookie like the ones in the photo. Just drizzle little squiggles over the top.

These slice-and-bakes beat anything you'll find in a tube in the grocery store ...

See you back tomorrow for another sweet treat. 

Mocha Macadamia Shortbread
3/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces) salted macadamia nuts
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into half-inch pieces
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Mocha icing:
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
3 tablespoons boiling water
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place the macadamia nuts and sugar in a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds, or until the mixture resembles a fine meal. Add the vanilla extract and butter. Process just until smooth. Add 11/4 cups of the flour and pulse just until the flour is incorporated. Stir in the remaining cup of flour and process just until the dough starts to form a ball. Briefly knead the dough to fold in any loose crumbs.

Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a log about 8 inches long on a sheet of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Tightly wrap the dough and twist the ends closed. Chill for several hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the chilled dough into 1/3-inch-thick slices and place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in the center of the oven for about 8 to 9 minutes, or just until set but not brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack (careful, they're fragile while they're still warm).

To make glaze, dissolve the coffee in boiling water. Whisk in the melted butter, confectioner's sugar and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Cover the icing with plastic wrap, with the wrap actually touching the surface, until you use the icing.

Glaze the cookies while still warm with mocha icing, using a pastry brush. For less sweet cookies, drizzle the glaze over cookies. Store completed cookies in an airtight container to retain crispness.

Makes 4 dozen.

Bake your bonbon, bake your bonbon

2004 was a very good year for Christmas cookie recipes. This one from Linda Siedle of Palm Harbor creates a frenzy in our house. I made a batch over the weekend and was forced to hide a dozen in the far-reaches of the fridge. My young wolverine loves them so much he'll eat 'em frozen.

Often adults have warm and fuzzy memories of holiday cookies. I get lots of letters from people who tell very sweet stories about how just a bite of this cookie or the smell of that treat makes them remember their mothers or grandmothers. I always get choked up when I read them. I hope I'm making those kind of memories for my son.

But here's the reality check. These are his very favorite cookies. He calls them the Christmas Turds. You can see why from the photo. Go figure.

Be warned: they will be very soft when they come out of the oven. Do not fear, the firm as they cool.

Holiday Chocolate Bon Bon Cookies
1 package (6 squares) white baking chocolate
11/2 packages (12 squares) semisweet baking chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop each white chocolate square into 8 chunks; set aside.

Microwave semisweet chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high 2 minutes, or until butter is melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Blend in milk and vanilla. Add flour and walnuts; mix well (dough will be stiff).

Shape 1 level tablespoonful of dough around each white chocolate chunk, enclosing white chocolate completely. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until soft and shiny (cookies will firm as they cool). Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Source:

A week of Christmas cookies

As promised, I'm sharing the recipes for my favorite cookie recipes this week. All of them come from our annual Christmas cookie issue and most of them submitted by St. Petersburg Times readers. With Christmas just a week away, it's now or never for baking. C'mon, start your mixers!

Peppermint Wands were submitted in 2004 by Marion Haupt of Zephyrhills. I've made them every year since, sometimes even twice a season. They get me off of the hook from making the frustrating candy cane cookies my husband so adores. You know the ones, dye half the dough red (really pink), roll out ropes of dough and then braid them together to make a candy cane. Mine always crumble or break in two after baking.

The dough for Peppermint Wands is essentially the same, and so is the taste. It's very tender because of sweetening by confectioners' sugar rather than granulated. Don't make logs larger than suggested. I smash up candy canes for sprinkling because they crush easier than candies. Somebody could make a lot of money coming up with peppermint candy pieces for baking. Did I just give up my million-dollar idea?

Peppermint Wands
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
For coating:
4 ounces German sweet chocolate, melted
10 red, green and white peppermints, crushed, or finely chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. (We used parchment paper.)

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour mixture until combined. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Roll 1 teaspoon of dough into a log, about 21/2 inches long. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, placing cookies 11/2 inches apart.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until pale golden at edges. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool.

For coating: When cookies are cool, dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate. Return to wire rack. Sprinkle each dipped end with 1/4 teaspoon crushed peppermints or finely chopped nuts. Cool on racks in refrigerator for 20 minutes to set. Store in airtight containers at room temperature. Makes about 7 dozen cookies.

Source: Marion Haupt, Zephyrhills, 2004