These are one of the types of cookies I sent to Chris in the Middle East a few weeks ago. They took nine days to get there and he said that they were great, unbroken and still very fresh tasting. They are based on one of the recipes in my Everything Cookies and Brownies Cookbook.

Chris, as are all my kids, is a big tea drinker. He likes all kinds of tea. I wanted to make something a bit different, and wanted to stay away from dairy fillings so I used this recipe (which calls for water in the filling) and used a strong infusion of Earl Grey instead. Another great possibility would be coffee. I also used unsalted Plugra because it has a higher fat content than American butter. I think when you are shipping using a higher quality butter will make a huge difference. And don’t…Do NOT…DESIST…just don’t even think about using margarine or shortening in these.

These aren’t an especially sweet cookie and they are not only pretty on a cookie plate but are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee in the afternoon (or evening, or for breakfast).

The cookies are crumbly, melt in your mouth delicate and yet not one was broken in shipping. I used the method I outlined in Shipping Cookies Overseas without Tears. Here are some pictures from that baking extravaganza…

This butter is awesome for keeping baked goods fresh.

First the dough is crumbly.

Then it forms a ball...more or less.

Roll in the sugar.

That’s it! It was fun for Kyrie and I, Chris and some of his friends enjoyed them..and everybody wins!

Brown Eyed Susans

from Everything Cookies and Brownies, by Marye Audet

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Sugar for rolling
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tbs Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
• 1 tbs strong hot Earl Grey Tea infusion
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (or orange juice)

1. Preheat the oven to 375F
2. Beat the butter, vanilla, and sugar until light and fluffy
3. Blend in the flour and salt
4. Shape teaspoons of dough into balls and roll in sugar. You can use colored sugar for the holidays
5. Place on a silpat covered baking sheet
6. Press thumb down in the dough to create an indentation
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden
8. Remove from oven and press the center down again if it need it
9. Cool
10. Combine confectioner’s sugar and cocoa.
11. Add the hot coffee and vanilla – stir until smooth
12. Fill the depression in each cookie with the chocolate mixture
13. Add a pecan half, or apricot, or whatever you desire as garnish if you like.

Makes about 4 dozen but I think I made them bigger than teaspoon size.

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

I think it is a fun thing to make because it is so completely unnecessary. Cookies, cakes, breads, dessert, and the like are all fillers. You can say, “Yeah, I made these brownies to help fill the kids up”. With candy? Not a chance. Everyone knows you made it because you have a sweet tooth.

This buttermilk candy is really hard to describe. Something like praline, something like fudge, something like penuche…and totally like none of them. You need to beat it until it loses its gloss, just like fudge. The texture is buttery and melting though- it melts cleanly in your mouth with a lingering taste of sweet and nutty. I want to try to make it again and layer it over chocolate fudge.

I make mine a little different than most. I use local, raw honey rather than corn syrup. I like the flavor that honey gives it and I just don’t like corn syrup – even organic corn syrup is very concentrated. You can replace the honey with corn syrup if you like.

This is a great addition to a candy plate at Christmas. Many older folks will look at you with amazement and then pure delight as they taste this flavor from thier childhoods. The younger ones will just be chewing and drooling so you might want to have a mop handy.

My recipe is adapted from the one in an old Farm Journal Candy Cookbook.

Easy, Old Fashioned Buttermilk Candy

• 1 cup full fat buttermilk
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tbs honey
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in pieces
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• Coarse salt or fleur de sel for sprinkling if desired

1. Combine buttermilk and baking soda and let stand 20 minutes.
2. Add sugar and honey and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is disolved.
3. When mixture boils add the butter.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally to the soft ball stage, 238F
5. It should be a golden brown color.
6. Remove from heat and cool to 110F.
7. Beat until the mixture loses its gloss and thickens.
8. Stir in pecans and turn into a greased 8 inch square pan.
9. Sprinkle with coarse salt or fleur de sel if desired.
10. Cool completely and cut into squares.

About 1 1/2 lbs

Post from: Baking Delights

I love making Christmas cookies but get tired of making the same ones year after year. My family likes tradition and by the time they are two most of my kids can tell you what should be on the cookie plate for each holiday, what dishes should be on the table, and if I forget or try to do something different, you can bet I hear about it.

I can add to the basic stuff but never, never take away and do something different.

The problem is that when I add something new it becomes part of the repertoire, and must be served year after year after year after year….

These are a twist on traditional kiss cookies. I wanted something…oh..I don’t know, softer and gentler. Something festive in a more subdued way. With all of the different Hershey’s Kiss flavors these days it is pretty easy to come up with a totally new combination.

I used the cherry filled Hershey’s Kisses and flavored the dough with rose and almond. This is a fantastic combination, very subtle and yet it captures your attention like the softest whisper. They would work well for Valentine’s Day as well. You could even tint the dough to make it pink.

Almond and rose is a classic combination. Rose flavoring was particularly popular during the Victorian era and to me these would fit beautifully at a Victorian Christmas Tea.

Give them a try, see what you think. Rosewater is available at many health food and gourmet food shops. It isn’t very expensive at all and once you start working with it you will find more and more recipes to add it to.

Cherry Almond Kiss Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond

1 tsp. rosewater (or more to taste)

1 tsp baking powder

2 ¾ cup flour

Colored sugar for rolling

36 unwrapped cherry chocolate kisses

Preheat the oven to 375

Mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix in well. Add flavorings.

Mix together the flour and baking powder. Stir into the creamed mixture.

You may need to chill this for a few minutes if the dough seems too sticky.

Roll heaping teaspoonfuls of dough into a ball. Roll in sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on a silpat lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, or until cookies are puffed and soft, but done.

Remove from the oven and, working quickly, gently push a kiss into the center of each cookie. Let cool completely.

Image(c) 2008 Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Since we live in a 1910 house, once in awhile I treat myself to something that was made in 1910. I have collected a series of magazines, Ladies World, all published in 1910. I put them out according to the month or holiday,and so this month is the Christmas Issue. Now, people lived very differently in 1910 but it was such a fascinating time period to me…The foods and the recipes, the way they were written and presented all intrigue me. Following is an excerpt from an article called Sweets for the Christmas Table .

“In the near approach of the Christmas festivities I have thought it seasonable to offer a few reliable recipes for dainty sweets that may be useful to the housewives who take pleasure in catering for the folks at home. They are wise to do so, for the creature comforts form no mean part of the enjoyment of family reunions.

Sweet dishes are always fascinating to prepare, and they certainly repay for the trouble taken in making them, perhaps more than do ordinary dishes. In this department of cooking there is great scope for taste and decoration.”

I couldn’t agree more with the author who wrote this so many years ago. While it is often savory foods that bring us comfort it is the sweets that most often make us feel special.

Here is one of the recipes, copied as written, from this article

Banana Trifle – Six bananas, one small sponge cake weighing half a pound, one cupful of custard, one cupful of whipping cream, one orange, half a lemon, some strawberry jam, and some small pieces of angelica (a candied herb). Peel and quarter the banana lengthwise.Slice the cake thinly, spread each slice with strawberry jam.Peel and cut the orange into thin slices and then dice. Grate the lemon rind. Put a layer of the cake slices into a glass dish; place on them a spoonful of custard. Next, a layer of bananas, a few pieces of orange and a little of the lemon rind. Continue this until the dish is nearly filled. Then pour over the remainder of the custard. Whip up the cream, sweeten it, and heap it on the top. Decorate with small pieces of angelica. Serve as cold as possible.

Post from: Baking Delights

Now, Mary has been my best friend, side kick, and confidant…my counselor, my shoulder, and my sister for…uh….eighteen years. And every Christmas of those eighteen years she has made us sugar cookies at Christmas. I make them too but they are just not the same.

These are easy to roll out. They are so easy to roll and cut that we used to have all of the kids from the kids church ministry come over and make them to sell to raise money for missions. If a cookie can withstand THAT it can with stand anything!

These are great to leave out for Santa, they keep well (if they last that long), freeze well, and handle well. They are a soft cookie so if you are looking for crisp you may want to look elsewhere. I am sure that I have forgotten exact measurements over the years..it seems that every year I call her, beg for the recipe, promise I won’t lose it, write the recipe down, make it and then promptly lose it!

Give them a try. I think Santa will approve.

Mrs. T’s Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cup butter melted
2 cups white granulated sugar
4 eggs beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder ( or 1 tsp baking soda, for a softer cookie)
1 tbs vanilla extract
5 cups of flour
Melt the butter. Whisk in the sugar, let cool until lukewarm, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. add flour and baking powder (or soda). Chill for about 30 minutes in the freezer or overnight in the fridge.
Roll out about 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board, cut, and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will be golden at the edges but do not let them brown. let cool and decorate as desired.
Amount varies with size of cookie cutters.

Post from: Baking Delights

Christmas morning. Visions of children with joyous expressions quietly opening their gifts in front of a crackling fire as the snow falls softly outside and Christmas carrols play quietly in the background. A beautiful table is set in the dining room with a delicious breakfast waiting for the family…

This in no way is an image of the wild free for all that happens here. First, the kids are not allowed to open presents until Marc and I get up but they can check their stockings if there is at least one streak of light in the sky…it has to be a warm color- a lighter shade of dark doesn’t count. Next, the have to feed the horses, goats, and chickens and then we settle in to the parlor for the passing out of the gifts. Only one person at a time opens a gift, youngest to oldest. We have a family tradititon of someone wearing a Santa hat (my oldest son, who is in the air force and won’t be home this year actually started that, calling himself santa joe- which is odd because his name is Chris)

Anyway, with numerous kids and adults the present opening drags out until afternoon…what to do to keep the kids from the traditional Christmas morning sugar high? Try this easy, make ahead strata. You can put it together up to 24 hours ahead of time and then just bake it and serve it with coffee and hot chocolate. It easily doubles to make more if you need it..and it is high enough in protein that it handles the sugar monster that lurks in most filled stockings…

Cheddar and Ham Strata

3 c unflavored croutons, or cubes of stale bread

1 c sauteed onions (saute until transparent but not brown)

1/2 c each red and green peppers, sauteed

1 c colby cheese

1 c monterey jack cheese

1 c sharp cheddar

2 c diced ham (cooked sausage or bacon works too)

2 c half and half cream

1 c heavy cream

6 eggs beaten

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

Toss ham, cheese, croutons, onions, and peppers together in a bowl. Turn into a greased, 13x 9 inch pan.

Beat eggs, cream, half and half, mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Pour over crouton mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes at 350, or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. do not overbake. Allow to stand 5 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

This is great with either broiled grapefruit or pineapple rings, and a copious amount of coffee, hot cocoa, and Irish Breakfast tea.

Post from: Baking Delights

I grew up loving fruitcake and i could never figure out why people didn’t like it..To me, there was nothing more delicious than a piece of the moist and chewy cake, slathered with cream cheese or butter and  resting next to a cup of hot chocolate.  Mmmmm – Christmas!

Until..until the fateful day when I tasted someone ELSE’S fruitcake. EWWWW! I finally understood the jokes..the grimaces..the gagging.

I used to sell this cake on ebay for $30 …and that was ten years ago! Noone that has tasted this cake doesn’t like it…It is moist..and more chewy than cakey…there are no raisins in it and no “junk” candied fruit…It is sweet, intense and just good.

If you are looking for the best fruitcake recipe ever I will submit that it is right here…from the family files…I have NO clue where it began, or how old it is. I just know that you have to try this because you will be addicted. If you really want to be treated to the best taste experience anywhere go on over to Kettle and Cup and enter for the weekly coffee giveaway…that way you will have coffee to go with it!

I am still without the ability to upload pictures…hopefully that will be resolved soon.

Best Ever Fruitcake 

1 lb pecans

1 lb dates-pitted and chopped

1/2 lb candied cherries  (red and geen)

1/2 lb candied pineapple (green and yellow)
3/4 c sugar

3/4 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 250 degrees (that is not a typo-TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY degrees)  Place a pan with boiling water in the oven to create steam. Fill the pan as needed during baking.
Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and line with wax paper. spray wax paper with cooking spray.

Chop fruit and nuts.

Sift dry ingredients over fruit and nuts and mix in.

Beat eggs until light, add vanilla and pour over fruit, mixing well. Spoon into prepared pan, pressing down gently to remove large air bubbles and spaces. Bake at 250 for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Let cool.

1 loaf

Post from: Baking Delights

Texas is such an odd climate. I spent the first 12 years of my life in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and I always have a hard time associating this weather with Christmas! It was 80 degrees three days ago..then we had some snow flurries..then it was in the 60’s and now, today, it is in the 30’s again. I miss the Currier and Ives Christmases of the North East!

Today, at my house, we are going to make cookies and cream bark. It is easy, delicious, and makes an awesome gift. The kids have a great time doing it too! Give it a try and see what you think. It may well become a yearly tradition.

2 lbs white chocolate

1 half package mint oreos, cut in pieces. Use more if you like.

Spray a large cookie sheet or casserole pan with PAM or any cooking spray. Line it with waxed paper. Spray waxed paper with more spray.

melt 2 lbs of white chocolate and spread over the waxed paper. Quickly sprinkle chopped oreos over the top and press in carefully. Allow to set in the fridge. Remove and break into pieces.You can, at this point, melt milk chocolate and spread it on a prepared cookie sheet and lay the cookies and cream bark on it for a second layer of chocolate.

You can use nearly anything in place of the oreos:

regular oreos, m & m’s, peppermints, macadamia nuts, etc.

I will try to get pictures later…I am not on my regular computer (yeah..it is sulking again) .

Post from: Baking Delights

This Banana Chocolate Chip Bread recipe is my eldest daughter’s favorite. I usually give her a loaf of this along with a container of Russian Tea Mix ( you know, the kind with orange, clove, red hots, and tea?) and she is blissfully happy. Always a good thing.

It is a particularly moist and delicious bread, and unusual enough to make a gift that is different from what other people are doing. I swear one year I am going to try it with macadamias and white chocolate chips but so far I haven’t done so.

If you are giving it as a gift then make it in mini loaves and wrap in colored cellophane. Nestle several in a basket and add some coffee or tea. Toss in some Hershey’s Kisses and you have a really pretty basket. Another way I like to present gifts like this is arranged on a vintage plate. You can find beautiful vintage china for not much money and it does make for a special gift.

This bread freezes well, although it does not keep at room temperature long due to the moistness.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
1 c chocolate chunks
1 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 .

Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter, vanilla, and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir in nuts and chocolate chunks.

Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

1 loaf

Post from: Baking Delights

I just wrote a LONG article about making chocolate from scratch. Yep. Scratch. Like buying green cacao beans, roasting them and then making chocolate. I DID love the move, Chocolat, but I am not sure I am up for going through all of that to feed the chocolate monster that lives inside me.

I also wrote a tutorial for making the gingerbread houses from graham crackers .

I am making homemade pizza tonight for supper and we are probably going to watch It’s A Wonderful Life . We have a series of movies we watche very single year…Miracle on 34th Street (the original in black and white) for me and then It’s A Wonderful Life (original in black and white) for Marc. Those, being most important are followed in quick sequence with: (let me just add that all movies are original and not colorized if they were done in black and white)

A Christmas Story

Christmas In Connecticut

Holiday Inn

White Christmas

Santa Clause 1,2,3

Grinch (cartoon)

Charlie Brown Christmas

Frosty, Rudolph et al

Bells of St Mary’s

well and more. Yes. We LIKE Christmas movies here. I will soon begin to read to the kids various Christmas stories… and I think this year I am adding Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory.

I think that it is funny but our family seems to be overly interested in the foods of the season. When we are reading the kids will stop me to ask about a food that is mentioned in the book. “Fruitcake? Is that like the one you make, mom? Or is it a different type do you think?” “Mom, What exactly ARE roasted chestnuts?”

And on. I have a family of foodies. They read cookbooks. Seriously.

Anyway..here are some more pictures from the Gingerbread house Party last night. We had 11 kids here (not all were mine) and we celebrated Sean’s 9th birthday at the same time. He requested spagetti and meatballs, homemade french bread with garlic butter,and a spinach-dried cranberry-smoked almond salad with cranberry vinaigrette. At this point my life is nothing but relaxing until Christmas. My shopping is done..my baking is basically done..and I plan on hibernating with the spinning wheel from this point on…except the felt food I am making for four year old Chef Kyrie.

By the way…my house, if you didn’t know, is in a state of restoration. The kitchen has a LONG way to go….keep that in mind when looking at these pictures…

Sean the Birthday Boy!

Shiloh, Nick, and Chef Kyrie get started

Sean, ready for construction

Matt works on his house

Chef Kyrie in Action

We are not sure if Shiloh is eating more or gluing more !

My friend Juanita is serious about gingerbread houses!

Ethan shows off his handiwork…and his goofy expressions.

Shiloh’s house….she MAY have it a day before it is gone…

I hope you enjoyed this small weekend tour of my life.

Post from: Baking Delights