Majek Gingersnaps

    I have another gingersnap recipe that I thought was very good.  Until I tried these.  Much spicer, and much more yummy!  If you find these too spicy, try Sparkling Gingersnaps.

3/4 C melted butter         2 C flour

1 1/2 C sugar 1 t baking soda

5 T molasses 2 t ea. ginger, cloves,

1 egg                                              & cinnamon

Additional sugar or rolling (granulated or turbinado)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Beat together ingredients on the left-hand column until light and creamy.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Form into 1-inch balls.  Roll in sugar.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet 3" apart.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove while puffy.  (It will deflate and flatten as it cools.)  Cool for a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Chili

• 2 to 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 
  
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt 
  
  
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Optional:  lime, cut into sections for squeezing over


1. Preheat oven to 425°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine the salt, chili and garlic powders, and pepper.  Set aside.
3. Cut each potato in half widthwise, then cut each half into 8 wedges.
4. On the prepared pan, toss potatoes with oil, then the spice mixture until coated. Arrange wedges, cut sides down.
5. Roast potatoes until browned and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with additional salt, if desired, before serving.  They will not be crisp but still yummy!
6. Serve with lime sections.  Squeeze on the potatoes for a nice tang.

Sweet Spiced Nuts

These are so addicting!  If they are out, it is so easy to grab a handful and munch, then go back for another handful!  Keep them in an airtight container, and they will keep for a few weeks.  They are a great gift in an attractive glass jar, tied with a festive ribbon.

1/4 C butter (1/2 stick)

1/3 C dark-brown sugar (70 g)

1/3 C white granulated sugar (65 g)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg, chile powder, ground cumin*

1/8-1/4 tsp smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and/or black pepper*

1 pound walnut or pecan halves (about 5 cups)

1 egg white, room temperature

1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Line a 13”x18” sheet pan with heavy duty foil. Cut butter into 4-5 slices and lay in pan.  Place in oven to melt.  Remove when melted, but you may need to put back into the oven briefly to liquefy it again later.

Mix sugars, salt, and *whatever spices you want to use, making sure there are no lumps; set aside. Beat egg white and water until frothy but not stiff. Add walnuts, and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle nuts with sugar mixture, and toss until evenly coated.  Carefully pour in the melted butter and mix again.  It’s not necessary to get it all the butter, because it will keep the nuts from sticking.

Spread the nuts into a single layer in the buttered pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  They will look golden when done.  Watch carefully during the last 10 minutes so they don’t burn.  Remove from oven, and let the nuts cool. When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.

These are great for munching on, but also good chopped coarsely and sprinkled on ice cream, or whipped cream on any dessert.

Cape Cod Cranberry Pie

This tastes so good right out of the oven on a wintry night.

1 pkg cranberries, sorted and rinsed 

¼ C brown sugar*

¼ C chopped nuts

1 egg

½ C sugar 

½ C flour

1/3 C melted butter

whipped cream or ice cream

Preheat oven to 325^o.  Butter a 9-10” pie plate and spread cranberries in it. Sprinkle with brown sugar and nuts.

In a bowl, beat egg until thick; gradually add sugar, then add melted butter and flour.  Pour over cranberries.  

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden on top.  Cut into wedges and serve warm.  It's great topped with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

*King Arthur Baking has a similar recipe, but half the cranberries, and twice as much everything else.

Nantucket Cranberry Cake

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Dried Cherries

Boo hoo, I've been without an oven for almost two months now.  (Long story, but I will have a new range when I return from visiting my mother.)   Every recipe I want to make seems to need the oven.  So I've had to improvise.  This recipe popped up here, and I wanted to make it.  I figured I could make it on the stovetop, and still have a similar dish.  I made a few changes, and it came out delicious!  Thank you, Lisa, for sharing your London adventure and this dish.

•  1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced in half

•   2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

•   4 slices thick-sliced bacon, sliced ¼-inch crosswise      

•   1/2 cup of dried sour cherries

•   2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

•   Sea salt or kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

•   Heat a large skillet, and add 1 tablespoon of oil.  Lay the brussels sprouts in the pan, and toss to coat with the oil. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spread them out into a single layer in the pan, cut side down. Cook on medium to medium low for 20 minutes. Sprouts should be browned in areas.  Turn the sprouts over and cook for about 15-20 minutes more.  Remove the sprouts to a bowl.  

•   In the same pan, cook the bacon over medium heat, until tender and cooked through, about 10 minutes. (watch the heat so the bacon doesn't get too crisp - you want it to cook slowly so it will be tender). Spoon out most of the fat from the skillet. Turn the heat to low. Add the cherries and cook, tossing, for 30 seconds or so, until the cherries soften. Add the roasted sprouts back to the skillet along with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Cook, tossing, for 2-3 minutes to heat everything up and to mingle the flavors. Season with pepper, to taste. Serve hot.

If you want to roast in the oven, see the original recipe.

Lisa’s Amaretto Cranberry Sauce

Lisa has made this cranberry sauce for the holidays for several years now.  The addition of the amaretto takes cranberry sauce to a higher level.  Enjoy this for Thanksgiving.  Besides serving it with turkey or other holiday meats, it is good on toast or biscuits, or over ice cream.

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries

1/3 cup orange marmalade

1/3 cup Amaretto

1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

optional: zest and juice from one lemon

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and heat to boiling.  Add cranberries and cook for about 5-10 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add marmalade and optional lemon zest and juice. 

Cool completely and add amaretto and almonds.

Pour into glass jars and chill.  Keeps in refrigerator for months.

Special Day Waffles

These can be "special day" waffles or you can make them to be "everyday" by varying the amount of a few ingredients.  I like this recipe because you don't need to whip the egg whites, as most waffle recipes call for. * Use the greater amount for Special Day, and the lesser amount for everyday.  Or something in between.  This is another recipe that I've been making for over 40 years.

2 C sifted flour                              2 C buttermilk or sour milk (see note below)
1 Tbsp baking powder                   *2-4 eggs
1 tsp baking soda                          *1/2-1 C melted butter, or salad oil     
1 tsp salt 

Start heating waffle iron as directed.  Melt butter and set aside to cool slightly, if using.

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl.  Combine buttermilk and eggs in another bowl, then add to the flour.  Beat with a mixer on medium to high until smooth; stir in butter or oil.

When waffle iron is ready to use, pour batter into center of lower half until it spreads about 1" from edges.  Bring cover down gently.  Cook as directed. 

Makes about 10 6" round waffles.

 Note: To make sour milk, add 2 Tbsp vinegar to measuring cup.  Add milk and stir.  Let sit a few minutes before using.

Recipe from : Good Housekeeping Cookbook, 1963

Kay's Peppermint Cookies

Here are all the cookies: (L-R) Kay's Peppermint Cookies, Toffee Grahams,(plain and chocolate covered), Christmas Sandies, and Benne (Pecan) Wafers.

Lisa brought these cookies to us one Christmas. The recipe was from her mother-in-law, Kay.

1 C butter                             1 1/2 C flour        

1 1/2 tsp vanilla                    1/4 tsp salt

1 C powdered sugar              1 C oats

1/4 cup crushed peppermints (about 10 mini-candy canes)

additional powdered sugar

Cream butter and vanilla. Add sugar, flour, and salt. Stir in oats, and candy. Form into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional powdered sugar and press each cookie with a fork.

Bake at 325o for 15 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Store in a tightly covered container.

Makes about 5 dozen small cookies

Benne Wafers from Wednesday Chef

Benne wafers made with sesame seeds

Made with toasted pecans after I used up sesame seeds.  Both absolutely DELICIOUS!

     I have read about these in the past.  Then I recently read a post about these at: http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2010/12/benne-wafers.html  ( I was waiting for a response for permission to post this, but have not heard back, and now the response section is closed.)

It's a very lengthy article.  After you read the section just below the cookies, scroll down until you see the ingredients on a table, then start reading again. (I just made a 2^nd batch, and since I had no more sesame seeds, I used finely chopped roasted pecans. I think I like these even better!)

     As you can see, mine are quite odd shaped, except for one batch that happened to be sort of round.  I was a little more careful with that batch about the size of the dough.  Little means about 1 level teaspoon or a small marble size, (makes about 2 inch cookies) which will make almost 5 dozen.   Mostly I wasn't patient enough to make them that small, and I didn't bother trying to make them too round either, which ended with ghost-shaped cookies.  I took some out of the oven too soon (because they were too big) and they were more chewy than crispy, but still very tasty. 

     They really need to be the same size on each pan.  You have to be sure to bake them until very golden brown, then wait until it cools before trying to remove them.

     Some other online recipes used more flour and suggested toasting the sesame seeds first.  I think toasting would make the cookies taste even better.  These wafers are very thin and you'd probably have to eat about a 5 to 8 to equal one 3-inch chocolate chip cookie, but these are a real treat!  Let me know what you think.

Note: Some people reported having issues with the texture of their cookies; please remember that the butter you use must not be warm or room temperature, but cool to the touch and still quite firm before you begin to cream it with the sugar. Here's an article on butter in baking for your reading pleasure.)
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cool but not cold
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and well-combined. Add the egg and beat until combined. Add the flour, salt, vanilla extract and sesame seeds. Mix until all the ingredients are combined.
3. Drop small spoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten the wafers with a knife dipped in ice water.
4. Bake for 6 minutes. The cookies should be a golden brown with deeper golden edges. Pull the parchment paper off the sheet pan onto a cooling rack. After about 5 to 8  minutes, gently pull the cooled cookies off the parchment. Reuse the parchment for the next batch.
5. Cool completely and store in a tin for up to 2 weeks.  They will lose their crispness if not tightly contained.