OATMEAL CRANBERRY WALNUT COOKIES

If you are looking for one more easy cookie to round out your holiday baking, try these delicious cookies. They are light, crispy and buttery tasting (not the standard heavy oatmeal cookie).

1 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups Craisens (sweetened dried cranberries)
1 cup chopped walnuts
Beat butter, sugars, eggs and extracts for FIVE MINUTES (important to the light crispy nature of this cookie).
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In another bowl, mix the flour, oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add this dry mixture to the butter mixture (1 cup at a time) beating well after each addition.
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Stir in the dried cranberries and walnuts. Let this finished cookie dough sit for about 5 minutes.
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Roll the dough into 1" balls (dough will be a little sticky). Place the dough balls on lightly greased cookie sheet, about 2" apart. Bake in 350 preheated oven for 12-14 minutes (my oven took 13 minutes).

NOTE: Before you put the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet, look for the side that shows the most cranberries and put that side up (the prettiest side).

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NOTE: These freeze very well. I drizzled a vanilla glaze on my cookies (for the holidays) but that is not necessary. Makes about 4 dozen?

(TWIX COPYCAT) CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL-SHORTBREAD COOKIES

A few days ago, I spotted an intriguing recipe on someones web page, however, in my haste I didn't take note of who's page it was (thank you to everyone who helped with page suggestions). Instead I found a similar recipe and gave it a try (with a couple minor changes). My first "taste testers" were a group of old grizzled snowmachine groupies in Hubby's shop and the treats disappeared instantly.


Next, I made some to take to our granddaughters 14th birthday party; they were a hit there as well. It is unfortunate that these cookies are called Twix cookies, because they are vastly better than ANY Twix candy bar I've ever eaten. There is a sweet crispy shortbread cookie base, topped with a nice thick layer of caramel made from sweetened condensed milk, and then they are topped with your favorite flavor of melted chocolate. These cookies are totally addicting and the recipe is going straight into my FIVE STAR recipe folder.

COOKIE BASE
1 cup cold butter
2 generous cups all purpose flour
heaping ½ cup brown sugar (I used dark)


Put all the of cookie ingredients into the food processor and pulse until it just starts to bind together. It won't go completely together, but if you watch it while you pulse, you will see the consistency change and small "clumps" appear.


Press this mixture into a parchment paper lined 9x13 baking dish (I left the ends of the parchment paper long, so I could grab them and lift the final product out of the pan for easier cutting). Bake in preheated 350F oven for 20-25 minutes or until edges are light golden. (see note below)

While the crust is baking, make the caramel filling:

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¾ cup butter

generous ½ cup brown sugar (I used dark)

3 tablespoons Karo corn syrup

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

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In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix all of the caramel ingredients. Heat (and stir constantly) on medium high heat until it comes to a boil. At first, the melted butter will sort of float on top, but as it cooks (and you stir) it will incorporate. See note below for burner temperature suggestions. Reduce heat and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over pre-baked cookie base. Refrigerate until caramel layer is cold and firm to the touch.

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Melt 12 ounces of your favorite flavor chocolate (I used milk chocolate) + a teaspoon of butter. Stir until smooth and pourable (I just melted mine in the microwave for 60 seconds). Spread over cooled caramel and return to the fridge to let the chocolate set (I actually speed set mine in the freezer).

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Cut into small squares and serve. These are really rich, so I cut them into squares just a little bigger than 1" x 1".

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NOTE: The recipe calls for "2 generous cups of flour"...whats up with that? I measured my flour and sugar in the standard way then added a tablespoon extra per cup. I'm not sure if that is what the original recipe meant, but it worked well for me.

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NOTE: The ingredient amounts for the cookie crust are way off track in the original recipe. I only used about 2/3 of the crumbs for the cookie base and it was perfect. If you like a thick cookie base, use all of the crumbs.

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NOTE: My burner settings go from 1 to 10. I brought the caramel ingredients up to a boil at setting 8 (medium high), then quickly turned it down to setting 5 (medium) for a couple of minutes, and finally ended up on setting 3 (low); cooking for a total of 6 minutes. The caramel will be pretty thick, so keep reducing the heat until the caramel. The caramel traps and holds the heat for a long time, so start turning down your burner before it gets to that wild-boil stage.

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NOTE: I found this recipe (dated 2008) on a web page called The Domestic Side of Life.

CLASSIC PECAN TASSIE

Almost everyone has their own favorite version of a pecan tassie, the classic Christmas treat. However, for those who don't, this is a great one. Pecan tassies are a bite size pecan pie in a cream cheese pastry crust. I used to make them only at Christmas, but they have become one of Hubby's favorites, so I make them throughout the year. This recipe makes 4 dozen and freezes well.

PASTRY CRUST
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour

Cream the butter and cream cheese (with electric mixer) until it is light and fluffy. Add the flour and beat until the dough comes cleanly away from the inside walls of your mixing bowl. Flatten dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for one hour (I NEVER chill this dough, it is a dream to work with).

FILLING
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Beat the eggs until very well mixed and lemon colored. Stir in everything else.

ASSEMBLY
Roll pastry into 1 inch balls and place them into an ungreased mini-muffin pan. Using your fingers, press the balls of dough into the bottom of each cup and up the sides. (I use the floured end of my rolling pin to press the dough into place). Put a few chopped pecans in the bottom of each pastry shell and top with about a tablespoon of filling. (see note)

 Bake in pre-heated 375F oven for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is set, yet still a little soft in the center. Remove from oven and sit the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before you try to lift them out. Lift tassies out of pan and cool on a wire rack.

NOTE: Keep in mind that the filling puffs as it bakes, so don't overfill the unbaked shells. If you overfill them, they will be hard to get out of the pans. For those stubborn tassies, use the tip of a knife to help you lift them out of the pan.

 

SWEET POTATO PECAN PIE TARTS

I'm posting this at midnight and it is FIFTEEN BELOW ZERO HERE!!
This last weekend was our 39th wedding anniversary; we were high school sweethearts. To celebrate, I made a big roast beef dinner and these heavenly little tarts that I found on Shelby's The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honybunch. They are absolutely delicious tiny bites (about the size of a tassie) of cinnamon spiced sweet potato and pecans all baked in a pre-prepared mini-phyllo cup. They are impressive looking, great tasting, ultra-easy and (believe it or not) the recipe says they are only about 45 calories each!! It doesn't get much better than that!!!

1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato
3 tablespoons white sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon dark corn syrup (I used light)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg white

2 (2.1 ounce) packages mini-phyllo shells

Poke sweet potatoes a few times with a knife and place them in a pie plate with 2 tablespoons of water; cover loosely with waxed paper and microwave on high for five minutes (mine took 7 minutes) or until tender.

Mash and measure out 1 cup of sweet potato. Add sugar, cinnamon and salt and stir well (I used my electric mixer to really mash the potatoes). Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine toasted pecans, brown sugar, syrup, vanilla and egg white. Stir well and set aside.

Set mini phyllo shells on a baking sheet and put about 1 teaspoon of the sweet potato mixture into the bottom of each shell (gently push down-in a little). Spoon ½ teaspoon of pecan mixture over the sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

NOTE: Our super-store sells these little pre-made phyllo shells in the ATHENS brand.

CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER FILLED COOKIES

There should be a warning attached to this recipe...do not eat these while they are still warm, because you won't be able to stop!! These chocolate spritz dough cookies with a mini-Reese's center, are heavenly right out of the oven. I "accidentally" knocked a few of them over, while they were still hot, and the melted chocolate sort of got drippy like in this photo (so I was FORCED to eat those imperfect ones...snicker).

The chocolate shell is a spritz cookie recipe

1¼ cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup bakers cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Frozen miniature Reese's cups

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars at medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add vanilla extract. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add this gradually and beat well. Let dough sit for about 15 minutes.

Roll dough into 1½ inch balls and place in an ungreased mini-muffin pan. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes, leave the cookies in the pan.

Immediately press a frozen miniature Reece's cup candy into the center of each baked cookie, pressing down as far as you can. Let cookies sit in pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully lift them out and place them on a cooling rack. The chocolate will be very liquid, so be careful not to spill it.

 Cookies will cool and set in an hour so. After the chocolate "sets" the cookies are no longer messy. Makes about 4 dozen.

NOTE: Christmas sprinkles or candy would make these a wonderful addition to your Christmas cookie trays.