Glazed Lemon Cookies

There have been fewer home-baked cookies here at the castle lately. 
Sadly, the waistband of my jeans has been complaining.  I believe it was saying --  weakly and a bit melodramatically, if you ask me -- "More spandex, please."  But I am listening to the waistband of my favorite jeans, with the result of fewer treats around here lately.
But these?  These lovely little lemon gems?  I could not pass these up.
And they're small.
So small.
They hardly even count, unless you nibble your way through six or eight of them.
You hear that, jeans waistband?  THEY HARDLY COUNT.
There.  I do feel better.

Glazed lemon cookies, recipe from a back issue of Real Simple magazine.  I made them exactly as instructed; next time I will bake them just a tad less (rather than the 16 - 20 minutes recommended, I will try about 14 minutes).  Delicious.
And small.  Did I mention small?

Christmas Baking

Can you ever have too many Christmas cookies?  Some new favorites I've discovered in recent years include this yummy chocolate-coconut potato candy; orange snowball cookies; mocha truffle cookies; and frosted lemon ricotta cookies.  Yum.  Cookies.  Bring 'em on.

But if you find it a challenge to squeeze in all the holiday baking you'd like to in the weeks before Christmas, see if author and guest blogger Gina Conroy's tips, below, don't help.

Gina, by the way, has a brand new novella coming out in a month.  Called Buried Deception, in the Cherry Blossom Capers collection, you can read all about it here.  Then bake yourself some nice warm cookies and cozy up to a delicious fire.  It's the recipe for a perfect chilly evening, if you ask me.

HOLIDAY COOKIES MADE EASIER
by Gina Conroy

I remember the time I took a plate of Christmas cookies to my daughter's preschool teacher and was surprised by her comment.

"Thank you.  Not many people give homemade Christmas cookies any more.  It seems to be a lost art."

That made me sad to hear that so many people forego this holiday tradition.  As I was growing up, my mom always filled shoeboxes of cookies for neighbors, relatives, and friends.  It was her gift to them.  And they'd come to expect it every year and cherish their favorite cookies.

I have to admit I don't bake nearly as much as she still does.  One of the reasons is that it's too stressful cooking with four kids' schedules and trying to do everything else for Christmas.  But if you still want to bake and give those holiday cookies without the stress, here are some great ideas that have helped me.

YOUR FREEZER IS YOUR FRIEND
Pies, cookies, sweet breads all freeze great.  So don't be afraid to freeze them.  I usually freeze holiday cookies (and cookies throughout the year) for those unexpected guests.  Then I just pull them out and let them defrost.  Instant homemade treat.

ORGANIZE A COOKIE EXCHANGE
This is the BEST way to do the least amount of work and get the most variety of cookies.  Invite your friends over to a cookie exchange party.  Then have everyone bring a couple dozen of one or two varieties of their favorite cookies.  On the day of the party, break out the Christmas eggnog and coffee, scented candles and music, and arrange all the cookies on the dining room table.  You can even have everyone bring their favorite snack to share at the party.

Make sure everyone brings an empty container to take home cookies.  Then after you visit for a while, start revolving around the table, grabbing three or four cookies of each variety.  If you brought three dozen cookies, you take home three dozen.  If you brought two dozen, then you leave with two dozen.

Then take them home and enjoy.  I usually share my goodies with teachers and friends.  They don't have to know you didn't bake them all.

GIVE COOKIES IN A JAR
This has been my standard teacher's gift for the last couple of years.  It's so easy to do, and everyone loves to make their own cookies without all the measuring and the mess.  You can assemble these ahead of time, so start saving those applesauce, mayo, and tomato sauce jars now.

Check to see if you have to cut the recipes in half for smaller jars, and don't forget to attach instructions.  Also, don't be afraid to change up the ingredients and get creative.

(Lynn's note:  Here's a recipe for chocolatey peanut butter cookie mix, and another for homemade brownie mix.)

Christmas cookie baking doesn't have to be stressful, especially if you plan ahead.  So resurrect this lost Christmas tradition and bless someone this holiday season.

Gina Conroy is founder of Writer . . . Interrupted, where she mentors busy writers.  Her first novella, Buried Deception, in the Cherry Blossom Capers collection, releases from Barbour Publishing in January, 2012.  Gina loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter.

Excess Halloween Candy Ideas

Got a little too much of this lying around?  Me, too.  If you need some ideas on how to use it, check out this excellent post by Janet Rudolph of the wonderfully choco-licious blog Dying for Chocolate.  Janet provides more than a dozen creative ways to use it up.

Like using M & M's to make your own trail mix.  Doh!  Why didn't I think of that?!

Chocolate Goodness without Excess Guilt

I've gotta admit, some recipes I try without a lot of hope that they'll actually taste good.  You know the ones I mean.  Filled with sneaky little pulverized vegetables.  Low-fat.  Bran.

With low expectations is exactly how I approached this recipe -- a whole wheat brownie made with more than a cup of applesauce.  Healthy-ish, for a brownie.  But probably not a brownie you'd make again with any enthusiasm.

Well.  Can I just say here I was wrong.

This little beauty, from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, certainly surprised me.  It's moist.  Fudgy.  Even crowned with a handful of chocolate chips.  Two hundred calories for a square like this one.  Just 100 calories if you cut it in half. 

But then, of course, you'd have to eat two.

If you're looking for a nice little October brownie to have with your cup of hot tea, look no further.  Whole-wheat brownies, Martha's way.  It's a good thing.

Olallieberry Cake

Ooh la la,  olallieberries.

After the jam

and before the syrup

came the cake.

Dense and rich and studded with berries, this cake is a winner.  Even though it's topped with a powdered sugar glaze, I believe you can still sneak a piece and call it breakfast.  It has fruit in it, for heaven's sake. 

That totally counts.

OLALLIEBERRY CAKE
2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
4 eggs
1 c. buttermilk (I use regular milk and squeeze in the juice from one or two lemon wedges; stir and let sit a few minutes before using)
1 t. vanilla
4 3/4 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 c. fresh (or frozen) berries

GLAZE:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1 T. (plus more, as needed) milk

In large bowl, cream sugar and butter.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. 
If you're using this substitute for buttermilk, measure out the milk now and squeeze in the lemon juice.  Add vanilla and set aside.  
In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.  To the butter mixture, add some of the flour mixture, then some of the buttermilk, stirring well after each addition.  Alternate adding the dry and liquid ingredients until all have been incorporated into the batter.  Fold in the berries. 
Spread in greased and floured 10-inch Bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan.  Cool comletely.  (I can never make myself wait, but diligent student that I am, I pass on the wisdom anyway.) Stir together powdered sugar and enough milk to make a drizzling consistency and drizzle over the cake.  Delicious.

This recipe was clipped from a magazine; my guess is it was from Better Homes and Gardens.

Any berry picking going on in your neck of the woods?



Norwegian Rhubarb Soup Revisited

Turns out you can make Norwegian Rhubarb Soup in California, too. 
Though your meringues might bear a strong resemblance to amoeba.

Or maybe that's just me.

Norwegian Rhubarb Soup

If you've never had rhubarb before, you're in for a treat.

If you've had rhubarb lots of times before, you're still in for a treat.

This fruity dessert soup, served cold, has a wonderful orange undertone with a hint of cinnamon.  It's not hard to make, and it's so delectable I would suggest doubling the recipe.  The Norwegian master chef, shown here, 

says it should serve six to eight, but I have a feeling Kahuna and I could dust this off handily all by ourselves.  It is that good.

The garnish, you may notice, is a strawberry, mint leaf, and meringue.  These are optional; if you have the time, the meringue makes a nice touch.  But if you have time to make only the soup, feel free to serve it meringue-less.

 Try this.  Not kidding.

RHUBARB SOUP
4 c. diced rhubarb (cut into pieces 3/4-inch to 1-inch long)
4 1/2 c. water, divided
1 c. sugar
1 t. grated orange peel
1 orange peel (section off the peel in large pieces; you will fish it out of the soup later)
1 cinnamon stick OR 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
2 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. vanilla
(optional) 2 T. Grand Marnier (with the yellow cord around the neck, if you have it; otherwise regular Grand Marnier or other orange flavored liqueur)

In large pot, place rhubarb, 4 c. of the water, sugar, orange peel (both grated and large pieces), and cinnamon.  Boil for one minute.  Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. 

Mix cornstarch into 1/2 c. water.  Stir into soup until it thickens slightly, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla.  Add liqueur if using.  Let cool and cover with plastic, refrigerating until chilled.  Remove cinnamon stick and large orange peels and serve, garnished with whole strawberry, a mint leaf, and a small meringue island, if desired.

MERINGUE ISLAND (optional garnish)
3 egg whites
6 T. sugar
4 c. milk

Beat egg whites; add sugar gradually.  Boil milk, drop in egg mixture by soup spoonfuls; turn, and drain.

This Chocolate Idea Looks Promising

Look what I saw at the airport in Amsterdam.
It's a hot chocolate mug that includes a wooden spoon (the kind you get when you order a chocolate malt ice cream cup at the ball game), embedded in a big ol' hunk of chocolate.

Have I mentioned that I love the Amsterdam airport?

Chocolate Crunch Brownies

Golden idea of the week:  Make your favorite brownies.  Once cooled, top with a layer of marshmallow creme (for a 9 x 13-inch pan, you'll use the whole 7-oz. jar; if your yield is a 9 x 9-inch batch, use a little less).  In medium saucepan, melt 1 c. peanut butter and 2 c. chocolate chips over low heat.  (NOTE:  This is for a large panful of brownies; if your brownie batch is smaller, adjust accordingly.)  When smooth and melted, remove from heat and stir in 3 c. Rice Krispies.  Spread over the marshmallow creme.  Can chill brownies and store in refrigerator.

This recipe came from an old issue of Taste of Home magazine.

Chocolate Oranges

Well I knew you could do this with strawberries.
And I knew you could do this with cherries.
And now I know you can do this with oranges, too
.
Chocolate-covered orange slices.  Just peel and segment an orange, careful to remove as much of the white pith as possible without breaking the membrane.  Melt a square or two of semi-sweet baking chocolate and dip away.  Place on wax paper-lined plate and refrigerate 10 minutes until hardened.

Any other good ideas for chocolate dipping?  Because a girl can never have too many chocolate options.

Shamrock Cookies



Five lessons learned while making cute little shamrock cookies:

1.  Despite rolling dough between wax paper for ease of removal, note there will be no ease of removal.



2.  "Chill dough until it is firm enough to roll" means waaaaay longer than an hour.

3.  Sprinkles go on before baking, else the effect will be similar to trying to stack grapes on a hill.

4.  "Cook 9 minutes" = too long.

5.  Even if the cookies on the plate never quite measure up to the cookies in my imagination, I am still a sucker for cute little seasonal cookie cutters (only $2!!  At Ross!!). 

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Baked Cinnamon Bananas with Strawberry Sauce

Mmmm, tonight we have the perfect dessert for this time of year.
Why is it perfect, you ask?
OK, you didn't really ask.  But humor me.
1. Spring is coming, so strawberries are starting to show up at the grocery store.
2. Yet it's still chilly enough outside that making an oven-baked dessert is not a bad warm-up strategy.
3.  You can use any frozen strawberries you happen to have if the fresh ones haven't yet appeared in your part of the world.
4.  Bathing suit season is not far off.  And certain people have perhaps over-indulged in the baking department this winter.
Sorry, bathroom scale.
BAKED BANANAS WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE
2 firm bananas
1 t. lemon juice
cinnamon, to sprinkle
2 c. strawberries, sliced
2-4 t. sugar, to taste
1/2 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375.  Peel bananas and slice lengthwise.  Put on parchment-covered baking sheet (or non-stick baking sheet).  Brush lemon juice on cut sides of bananas.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, and bake for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, make the sauce:  put sliced strawberries in bowl with sugar and vanilla.  (If you're using frozen whole berries, you can just smush 'em up a bit with a pastry blender at this point.)  Put about half a cup of strawberry mixture in blender and whirl them around, then add back to the rest of the sliced berries.  When bananas come out of the oven, top with sauce.

Anything healthy-ish going on in your kitchen?

Chocolate-y Toffee Shortbread

According to one of my favorite magazines, FamilyFun, these rich chocolate-y shortbread bars are a hit among Irish families, making them the perfect choice for serving on St. Patrick's Day.

All I know is these received two bellies up -- the highest honor -- among the guys who gather at our house for weekly Bible study.

Two bellies up -- these babies are winners.

Go see the recipe at the FamilyFun site, here.

Lemon Cheesecake

I'd like to welcome a guest poster today, a new friend from No Reason Needed blog.  We decided it would be fun to do a blog post swap (you know, kind of like a cookie swap only via the magic of the internet).  Here, then, is Carol's post, a yummy looking cheesecake made with lemon curd -- doesn't that sound heavenly?  Take it away, Carol:

Hello, Queen of the Castle readers. Carol from NO REASON NEEDED here, popping over from my blog to share a Lemon Cheesecake recipe.

Originally obtained from Veronica’s blog, La Recette du Jour it was previously unknown to me that cooks in Europe measure dry ingredients by weight, not volume (i.e. cups). Many of her recipes use European standards for measurement; weights are in grams or kilos, volumes are in litres, centilitres, or millilitres, and oven temperatures are in Celsius.

Fortunate for me, Ivy from Little Ivy Cakes had used the same recipe previously and had converted the measurements to American standards...THANK YOU!!!

I L♥VE all things LEMON and wasn't in the least bit apprehensive to try her Lemon Cheesecake.

LEMON CHEESECAKE

the bottom crust:
1 1/4 cup shortbread biscuits (I used Arrowroot's)
1/2 cup butter


the filling:
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cup cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup caster sugar & 1/4 cup granulated sugar)
3 eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus the juice of half of it
3/4 cup lemon curd

-Preheat the oven to 350F. Have a large spring-form pan ready
-Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush with a meat tenderizer or roll with a rolling pin. Don't reduce them to powder leave some biggish lumps, otherwise the base will be too stodgy. Melt the butter, mix with the biscuits, then spread the mixture over the base of the tin, patting it down firmly,
-bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 280 F.
-Meanwhile, put all the cheese in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk for 30 seconds to make it smooth and light. Beat in the sugar, then the eggs, one by one, followed by the lemon zest and juice.
-Swirl in half the lemon curd
-Pour into the tin and bake for about an hour (I baked for 1 hour at 280F and an additional 15 minutes at 300F). The filling should be only just set and still a little bit wobbly in the middle. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in it to cool.

- When it's completely cold, unmould it and put it on a plate.

- Spread the rest of the lemon curd over it and decorate.

LEMON CURD
Juice of 2 lemons
1 large strip lemon peel
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
5 Tbs. butter cut into little pieces
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until mixture thickens and starts to bubble a little(5 mins), mixing occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat immediately and press through a sieve. Stir and then store in a container. Chill at least 1-2 hours before serving. I stored mine in the fridge until I was ready to use.

Aside from Dalton (my picky eater)... Dakota, John and I LOVED it. Dakota even went on to declare it being "a little taste of heaven", and somewhat "similar to Lemon Meringue Pie, 're-arranged'"

That said, I was impressed with how EASY this cheesecake was to make and how well it held up, without crumbling upon being sliced.

This recipe is a DEFINITE keeper!!!

Orange Snowball Cookies

Today I'm guest posting over at No Reason Needed blog.
The topic? you ask.

Christmas cookies.  These orange snowballs, in fact.

Recipe snagged from this delightful book, for which Frosty and I have made further plans.  Many further plans.
How about you?  Any Christmas baking going on at your house?
Fill me in.  I am dying to know.

Fudgy No-bake Drop Cookies

If you need a quick chocolate fix, here's a great recipe that stirs up in no time.  You dump most of the ingredients in a bowl, microwave for three minutes, add the last couple ingredients, then plop onto a greased cookie sheet and pop in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Voila.  Done.

You may want to use oven mitts as you take the bowl out of the microwave.  And next time I'll grease my cookie sheet a little better, or even use parchment paper, so the tasty little morsels will slide off the pan more easily.

Also, I cut this recipe in half to get the amount shown here. 

Because we all know that if cookies are just sitting on the counter, they are asking for it. 

Go visit Sandra at Keeping it Simple to get the recipe.

Now I have a question for you.  On a completely unrelated chocolate note,
How the heck do you get chocolate curls, not chocolate dust?  Any secrets?

Chocolate Chip Bread

While I could have posted aboutthese vegetables that I made today, which were good, honesty prevails upon me to admit that the chocolate chip bread, visible here thanks only to a cookbook photo seeing as we descended upon and devoured the actual product like a pack of famished wolves before a true-life photo could be taken, was better.

What can I say?  We like our treats around here.

The recipe came from this book, because I think it is entirely appropriate to start baking Christmas-y items once October rolls around.  I use my bread machine, so I'll alter the directions to reflect that.

CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD

3/4 c. water

1/4 c. butter

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1/4 c. sugar

3 - 3 1/2 c. flour

3 T. cocoa

3/4 t. salt

1/8 t. ground cinnamon

1 package (about 2 1/4 t.) yeast

Place these ten ingredients in bread machine in order listed.  Make sure machine is on "dough" setting and press button to start :)  Once it starts mixing, check to see if it looks like the amount of flour you've added is enough.

When the dough is done, remove from pan and roll out with floured rolling pin on floured surface to an 18- x 10-inch rectangle.  Sprinkle with about 3/4 c. chocolate chips (the recipe in the book called for 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chunks, but I had chips, not chunks, so that's what I used; I also decided 1/2 c. did not look like nearly enough -- a good decision).  Press chips lightly into dough, then roll up starting from shorter side.  Fold ends under and place, seam side down, in greased 9- x 5-inch loaf pan.  Cover, let rise in warm place for about an hour, until doubled.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when you tap it.  Remove from pan immediately.  When cooled, drizzle over this glaze:

GLAZE

1 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 T. milk

1/2 t. vanilla

Mix all glaze ingredients together.

NOTE:  My loaf rose quite a bit while baking, so make sure you bake on a rack toward the bottom of the oven to give it plenty of room. 

So what's your favorite thing to bake this time of year?

Graduation Cupcakes

. . . because graduation is just one more excuse to play with your food . . .
Aren't these cupcakes the cutest? You just make regular old cupcakes, add food coloring to frosting to match school colors, then top off with mortarboard hats made of candy

(mini Reese's peanut butter cups turned upside down, small squares of Ghirardelli dark chocolate, the top of a Dots candy, and sour candy that comes in rainbow strips that I forgot the name of ; "glue" them all together with a mixture of powdered sugar and water).

Voila! Oh so cute cupcakes. A big thank you to Mimi of Mimi's Kitchen for the inspiration.

Super Simple Chocolate-Orange Truffles

If you happen to have any leftover evaporated milk hanging around -- which you will, if you made this -- whip up a quick batch of these yummy, chocolatey morsels. You need just four ingredients; cute little melon baller and mini cupcake papers are optional.

CHOCOLATE-ORANGE TRUFFLES

1/2 c. evaporated milk

1/4 c. sugar

2 c. chocolate chips

1/2 t. orange extract

itty bitty paper cups, if desired

Bring evaporated milk and sugar to a boil over medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil gently for three minutes. Add chocolate chips and orange extract and stir until smooth. (I turned the burner off and did this over the warmed heating element.) Use cute little melon baller, or clean hands, to make into balls when cooled.

Eat.

Kiwi Cheesecake with Key Lime Sauce

Consider yourself fortunate if you have friends who invite you over for the occasional dinner. Consider yourself inordinately fortunate if said friends are amazingly good cooks.

We are inordinately fortunate.

I won't induce you to envy by describing our dinner of succulent smoked ribs, creamy potato salad, or beans simmered with bits of pork.

Envy is not an attractive quality and I want no part of leading you down that dark path.

But in the spirit of sharing that typifies bloggers and food lovers everywhere, I would like to share with you this dessert that our good friend and accomplished kitchen genie Stuart made for us the other night.

Cheesecake (you can buy it or make your own), topped with thinly sliced kiwi that's swimming in this key lime sauce.

Arrange kiwis artfully over creamy cheesecake, spoon on a bit of the sauce, and serve to applause.

Thank you, Stuart.