At 4:54AM on Christmas Morning, who knows the location of Jacob’s socks? Who cares (even when standing on the chilly front walk)? It’s Christmas Morning, I suspect that he jumped right out of his socks.
From the Paulsen Family and the Staff at www.CookiesbyDave.com, may your Christmas morning and the days ahead be filled with the Peace of our newborn Savior.
Here we are at Christmas Eve and the “Twelfth Day of Christmas Cookies.” Over the last twelve days, we have experienced cookie highs and lows. Traditions and adventures. Simple and complex. And now our journey comes to an end, so in keeping with the media tradition of the Christmas Special, I would like to present a Holiday Guest Post, by my beloved older sister, Kathy Carlin.
“What does the Kathy say?” Well, we will find out shortly. In the above photo, Guest Post Kathy willingly (honest, it may have even been her idea) poses with her brother, Cookie Dave.
“The Night Before Christmas – Cushman/Carlin Clan Style”
by Kathy Carlin
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the home,
Not a devise was plugged in, not even the phone.
The stockings were laying on the couch without care,
With the knowledge that St. Nicolas had already been there.
The children were nestled in all corners of the world,
While visions of past holidays in their heads swirled.
And I in my sweatpants and Jimmy in his shorts,
Had just turned on TV to a channel with sports.
When out on the drive there arose such a clatter,
I sprang up from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Quickly locking the door and hiding the cash.
The moon threw a sheen on the unshoveled drive,
Casting a glow on the ice, there was nowhere to hide.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a sub-compact car completely loaded with gear.
With a driver that looked like he’d had too much fun,
I knew in an instant it must be my son.
More rapid than eagles he brought in his stuff
Bags of clothes and a cat. Then I said, “That’s enough!”
As leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
My daughter, her husband, and son Levi stopped by.
Levi’s eyes-how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.
His tiny little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And his cute little boots were all covered in snow.
The stump of a candy cane he held tight in his teeth.
And a Thomas the Train hat encircled his head like a wreath.
He had big eyes and a round little belly,
His hands were a bit sticky. It think it was jelly.
My mother soon arrived, a right jolly old elf.
And I laughed when I saw her in spite of myself.
With a wink of her eye and a twist of her head,
She completed a feast with olives, drink, and bread.
I know it seems odd. Try to understand if you can.
This is just how we roll in the Cushman/Carlin clan.
Guest Post, Kathy’s view as she enjoys some coffee from her limited edition www.CookiesbyDave.com mug, while nibbling on a few last Christmas Cookies.
The Rum Balls all snug in the back of the fridge, next to the homemade sauerkraut and $5.99 Velveeta. The Rum Balls are happy with their living quarters and new neighbors, but I would not recommend serving sauerkraut, Velveeta, and rum balls at the same Christmas table. Although it does sound like an episode of “Chopped.” “In the dessert basket, we have sauerkraut, artificial cheese, and rum balls. Your time starts now!”
RUM BALLS
“Rum Balls, perfect for those moments when your boomerang children arrive back on your doorstep with their pets and dirty laundry in tow.” – Kathy
12 ounces (2 cups) Dark Chocolate Chips
¼ cup, plus 2 Tablespoons, Karo Syrup
1 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Rum
4 cups Gingersnaps
Sprinkles
Melt the chocolate chips, Karo syrup, and sugar in the microwave.
Stir in the rum and set aside.
Pulse the gingersnaps in a food processor, until they are fine crumbs.
Mix the gingersnap crumbs into the “rum mixture.”
Form the dough into tablespoon sized balls (it may need a little refrigeration first, in order to make it easier to handle) and roll in sprinkles.
Refrigerate until firm.
Makes about 48 rum balls.
Revised Source: the most amazing, loving, talented, smart, generous, and forgiving-of-her-pain-in-the-rear-little-brother big sister and Guest Post, Kathy Carlin
Cookie Dave performing one final Festivus Feat of Strength by hoisting 10-pound bags of flour and sugar.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
We are almost there. Almost to the summit of the Holiday season. We are so close to Christmas that I can almost taste the eggnog.
Even a walk around the office yields that telltale sign of Christmas, the Holiday potluck. Plus, since I have projects all over our building, I get to do plenty of walking around and today that produced wonderful benefits. As I bumbled from meeting to meeting from office to office, I kept happening upon Holiday potlucks in the various departments. It was like an abundance of Christmas tastiness cascading down on the Daveman. “Hey, I’m Dave the wandering Project Manager. I’m here for my meeting. Oh, it looks like you’re having your Holiday potluck. What’s that? ‘Grab a plate.’ Thanks, don’t mind if I do.” Ah yes, the life of a wandering Project Manager was very good today. I can worry about the calories next year, because today was all about abundance and my project was Holiday cheer. Yes indeed, you can see Christmas from here.
In honor of the lovey view as we approach Christmas Day, enjoy some Snow-Topped Chocolate Mountain Cookies.
Ah, the majesty of the snow-topped chocolate mountains…
but wait! With the appearance of plastic astronaut man, maybe this is some alien landscape. You be the judge.
SNOW-TOPPED CHOCOLATE MOUNTAIN COOKIES
“The Kiss in the middle makes this one a classic!”
1/3 cup Butter
2/3 cup Powdered Sugar
2 ounces Semisweet Chocolate, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1¼ cups Flour
2 Tablespoons Milk
24 Hershey’s Kisses
Frosting Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Shortening
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ cup Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Milk
¾ cup Powdered Sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and gradually mix in powdered sugar.
Mix in melted chocolate and vanilla extract.
Gradually mix in flour.
Mix in milk.
Shape rounded teaspoons of dough around each Hershey’s Kiss.
Place cookies pointed side up onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Bake 10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned.
Cool.
Prepare frosting by mixing shortening and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
Gradually mix in ½ cup powdered sugar.
Mix in 1 tablespoon milk.
Gradually mix in ¾ cup powdered sugar, until frosting is fluffy.
Top cooled cookies with frosting to make the appearance of snow-topped mountains.
Makes about 24 cookies.
Source: page 56 of my cookie cookbook, “Today is a Great Day for a Cookie,” which is available for free download at www.CookiesbyDave.com.
I had a long to do list. First thing, I needed to get the laundry started, so that the washer could do some work for me, as I moved on to other tasks. Entering the laundry room with an overflowing basket of dirty clothing, I found a rather unwelcome sight. There on the floor was gathering pool of water, which seemed to originate from the storage room. Tracking the stream back to its headwaters, I found the culprit. The top of the water heater looked like a volcano ready to burst. Setting down the dirty clothes and jumping into action, I soon had the water heater / time bomb disabled and properly draining. Next I scanned the side of the aspiring water fountain and found a phone number. Quickly dialing, my ears were met with the sound of a helpful plumber who promised to be on his way shortly.
Christmas miracle if I ever saw one, the plumber actually did arrive shortly and repaired the water heater in a jiffy. After he had finished, I asked if he could take a look at something else that had been stumping my limited plumbing abilities. Back in the warm Summer sun, my youngest son Ben had decided to play with sand in the powder room sink. During the course of this funfest, he jammed the drain shut. In all my plumbing wisdom, I tried to fix it with a hammer. Yes, a hammer. My friends, some free advice, do not try to fix drains with hammers. My attempt only resulted in one very broken sink and after two failed attempts to procure plumbers, I had mostly given up hope. Since I had promised my wife that I would have it fixed by Christmas, I had resigned myself to failure. Now, there was a real live plumber, who could potentially fix my sink. Was he really a plumber or an angel in disguise? After looking at the sink, he informed me that he could fix it, but he would need to purchase a new drain and would most likely return later today. Then the best part arrived, as he said, “When I finish that sink, we can settle up.” What? No payment until the sink was fixed, too? Yes Virginia, he would return to fix my sink. I would keep my Christmas deadline sink repair promise to my wife. An angel sent to repair a water heater would also save a man’s home repair reputation (exaggeration, since my reputation in such handyman areas is already rock bottom, but it sure sounds good). It was indeed a Christmas miracle.
Looking back at the sand that helped break the sink, let’s celebrate a “sandy” cookie, the Norweigian Sandbakkel.
Sandbakkels in the 2 and 3 inch varieties.
SANDBAKKELS
“Sandbakkels translates to ‘Sand Tarts’ in Norwegian and I will admit that until earlier today, I thought their name was actually ‘Sand Buckles.’ You can however cut me a break, since I am not Norwegian, but rather am married to one. These delightful little sugar cookie cups are just begging for a filler. Use some jelly, lemon curd, or Nutella to really finish off these Christmas treats.”
1 cup Butter
½ cup Superfine Sugar
1 Egg, beaten
2 cups, plus 2 Tablespoons, Flour
1 teaspoon of your favorite flavoring (almond extract, vanilla extract, lemon extract, rum extract, the list goes on and on)
Filling of your choice (popular options include jelly, lemon curd, or Nutella)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly grease Sandbakkel tins using cooking spray.
If you don’t have Superfine Sugar on hand (who does?), you can make some easy enough. Take ½ cup regular Sugar, plus 1 extra teaspoon full, and pulverize it in a food processor for 30 seconds. Presto! ½ cup of Superfine Sugar is now at your disposal.
Cream the butter and sugar.
Mix in the egg and flavoring (I selected rum extract and they turned out tasty).
Mix in the flour.
Use 1½ Tablespoons of dough for each Sandbakkel tin. Take the dough, place it in the tin, press down with your thumbs to cover the bottom and sides. Make sure to cover the inside with only a thin layer of dough or else your Sandbakkels will turn out too thick and won’t leave much room for filling. If you have too much dough in the tin, simply take off the portion that rises above the edge.
Sandbakkel tins destined to be filled with dough happiness.
Place tins on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes or until they are lightly brown.
Remove from oven and let cool a little. Flip tins over onto a baking rack. The tarts will fall out on their own, but if they are reluctant, simply encourage the edge out with your finger or lightly tap on the bottom of the tins.
Cool completely before adding filling.
Makes about 40 tarts.
Revised Source: Kari Diehl’s “Basic Sandbakkelser Recipe” on scandinavianfood.about.com.
This morning started out like any regular Sunday morning, I got up, started the coffee, and headed outside to get the newspaper. Exiting the front door in my bathrobe (don’t worry, not a lot of traffic in front of the house on a Sunday morning), I found a scene of devastation. For 13 days our snowmen had not experienced a human attack, last night was different. Of our three remaining snowmen (dwindling numbers due to heat, rather than vandals), all had been knocked over. Humph. Grumble, grumble. Still in my bathrobe (a stunning visual that makes this post all the more riveting), I stacked the snowmen back up. You see, over the last warmer few weeks, I consolidated the snowmen and as a result, they were as easy to stack back up as building blocks. So easy, you can do it in your bathrobe. In total about 5 minutes spent repairing the damage. I had taken that negative doings of those nighttime visitors and rebuilt the ruins. Sort of my gift to the neighborhood, in addition to of course my extended foray to get the morning newspaper in my bathrobe.
Snowy morning ruins…
followed by a snowman rebirth.
Still a bit grumpy about the morning’s events, I walked with my family down the hallway at church. As we approached the sanctuary, I was struck by such a pleasant reminder. A reminder of the blessings that surround me daily. Here was my beautiful wife and three wonderful boys. I was blessed beyond measure and here I was focusing on a small band of anti-snowman punk losers, who were bringing me down. Time to shed that negativity and embrace the moment, because I am indeed surrounded by so many blessings and of this I am ever thankful.
My daily blessings taking a silly pose (Ben, in the center, didn’t get the “act silly” memo).
Snowball Cookies… jelly beans surrounded by their powdered sugar dusted, cookie coating blessing.
SNOWBALL COOKIES
“This cookie is a reminder of our blessings, as we walk through life. We are the jelly bean constantly surrounded by a cookie blessing. Now, let us all be blessings to one another, just as the jelly bean is the blessing of those who enjoy this cookie. Amen.”
¾ cup Butter
½ cup Sugar
1 Egg
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1¾ cups Flour
¼ teaspoon Salt
Jelly Beans
Powdered Sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar.
Mix in egg and vanilla extract.
Mix in flour and salt.
Shape dough into 1 inch to 1½ inch balls around single jelly beans.
Bake for 15 minutes or until bottom edges are lightly browned.
While cookies are still warm roll them in powdered sugar.
Makes about 28 cookies.
Revised Source: “Surprise Snowballs” recipe in Better Homes and Gardens “Cookies Cookies Cookies” book.
Can’t afford a trip to Europe this Holiday season? No fear, we have brought the flavors of Christmas in Italy and Norway to you. Enjoy a delicate circle shaped Pizzelle (Italy) or their conical shaped cousin, the Krumkake (Norway). These cookies will be sure to please, while whisking you away on a flavor trip overseas.
Please place your seats and tray tables in their locked and upright position, we will be arriving at your exotic cookie destination shortly. Enjoy!
The secret to success in baking these fancy cookies is very simple…
Take the mixin’s…
Add the means…
Rely on the masters (special thanks to the incredibly talented Skalla-Marshall baking family)…
and there you have the measure (of success), piles and piles of Pizzelles and Krumkake.
The classic beauty of the Italian Pizzelle.
PIZZELLES
6 Eggs
¼ cup Vegetable Oil
¼ cup Butter
1½ cups Sugar
¼ cup Shortening
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon Salt
1½ teaspoons Anise Extract
2½ cups Flour
Preheat Pizzelle iron.
One at a time, mix the ingredients together.
Use cooking spray to coat the Pizzelle iron’s cooking surfaces.
Drop a large teaspoon of batter into the center of each Pizzelle iron cookie mold.
Close lid and cook for 25 seconds or until lightly brown.
Cool on wire racks.
Makes 72 pizzelles.
Note: this recipe requires a Pizzelle iron.
Source: page 58 of my cookie cookbook, “Today is a Great Day for a Cookie,” which is available for free download at www.CookiesbyDave.com.
Krumkake of the regular, chocolate, and swirled variety.
KRUMKAKE
4 Eggs
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Butter, melted and cooled
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ teaspoon Cardamom Seed
1½ cups Flour
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
Preheat Krumkake iron.
Mix eggs and sugar together, but do not over beat.
Mix in butter, vanilla extract, and cardamom seed.
Mix in flour and corn starch.
Coat the Krumkake iron’s cooking surface with cooking spray.
Place 1 inch balls of batter on Krumkake iron.
Cook for 30 seconds.
Cool on wire racks.
Makes 60 cookies.
Note: this recipe requires a Krumkake iron.
Revised Source: variation of the “Chocolate Krumkake” recipes found on page 59 of my cookie cookbook, “Today is a Great Day for a Cookie,” which is available for free download at www.CookiesbyDave.com.
CHOCOLATE KRUMKAKE
4 Eggs
1 cup, plus 3 Tablespoons, Sugar
½ cup Butter, melted and cooled
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ teaspoon Cardamom Seed
1½ cups Flour
3 Tablespoons Baking Cocoa
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
Preheat Krumkake iron.
Mix eggs and sugar together, but do not over beat.
Mix in butter, vanilla extract, and cardamom seed.
Mix in flour, baking cocoa, and corn starch.
Coat the Krumkake iron’s cooking surface with cooking spray.
Place 1 inch balls of batter on Krumkake iron.
Cook for 30 seconds.
Cool on wire racks.
Makes 60 cookies.
Note: this recipe requires a Krumkake iron.
Revised Source: variation of the “Chocolate Krumkake” recipes found on page 59 of my cookie cookbook, “Today is a Great Day for a Cookie,” which is available for free download at www.CookiesbyDave.com.
SWIRL KRUMKAKE
Place ½ teaspoon of Krumkake batter and ½ teaspoon of Chocolate Krumkake batter next to each other on hot iron.
Some days are just a little off. You know those days, when you should be in the Holiday spirit, but it just isn’t working for you? Where things at work that should run smoothly just get all messed up? Where a little black cloud not only follows you around, but also sometimes strikes you with little bolts of lightning just for fun? It was one of those days.
Case in point. I was trying to put sheets on the top bunk of Sam and Ben’s bunk bed. While performing nearly acrobatic moves to get the sheets on and not have my big frame crash through the top bunk, I apparently knocked their cardboard Titanic model off their dresser. As I continued trying to secure the sheets, Kirby the Beagle thought it would make sense to rip their cardboard Titanic model to shreds. Strangely, the Titanic just seems to have transformed from the above water model to the sunken variety. The day was just a little off like that.
I should have known that the Titanic model was doomed.
Case in point, number two. Our Kindergartener Ben had his class Christmas party. As a craft, they assembled bags of reindeer food. Sitting at the dining room table, he gleefully informed me that it is all food that people can eat, other than the corn. Then he proceeded to snack on the reindeer food, while setting aside corn pieces. Okay, maybe your teacher meant to say that it is edible in the same way as dog food. If you have nothing else to eat and you are starving to death, go ahead and eat it. Yep, the day was just a little off like that (on the bright side, Ben can now fly and help pull Santa’s sleigh).
See, it clearly states, “Reindeer Food,” not “Kid Food.”
Trying to bring the day back into balance, I figured I would go to one of my old standbys, Snickerdoodles. All was going well, until I discovered that I only had half of the Cream of Tartar called for in the recipe. Not to be stopped, I assembled everything else and went to find the right substitute. Unfortunately, the substitute should have been administered before I put everything else in the mixer. Once again a little off, therefore I threw caution to the cookie baking wind and just substituted a teaspoon of baking powder for the teaspoon of missing Cream of Tartar (the recipe below includes the revision). I know, I know, “Dave, you are a crazy man!” Then I discovered I was short on cinnamon (the recipe below includes this revision, too), hence the birth of “A Little Off Snickerdoodles.” The good news, they turned out just fine. No need to worry, even with the world a little off, things turned out just fine.
“A Little Off Snickerdoodles,” but they look and taste just fine.
A LITTLE OFF SNICKERDOODLES
1 cup Butter
1½ cups Sugar
2 Eggs
2¾ cups Flour
1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
Coating…
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar.
Mix in the eggs.
Mix in the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Roll tablespoon sized balls of dough in sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Bake 8 minutes or until lightly browned.
Makes about 42 cookies.
Source: page 18 of my cookie cookbook, “Today is a Great Day for a Cookie,” which is available for free download at www.CookiesbyDave.com.
Ah, the colors of the Holidays surround us. The dark green hue of the Christmas tree. Red and white stockings hung over the fireplace. Multicolored strands of light bringing happiness to an otherwise dark December night. The black and blue marks from Family Night at Swim Classes?
Yes, the end of swim session ritual, “Family Night.” The night when parents sadly realize that they also did not pay for a water based babysitting service when they signed up for swim classes (I am in full support of the babysitting concept, while I exercise) and are instead forced through guilt to join their kids in the cool Y Center swimming pool. Taking my turn at Family Night, I waited on the end of the huge water slide for 5-year-old Ben to come shooting out the end. Upon his splash down and resurfacing, he mentioned how he bumped his head on the slide. Bruise on face number one, forehead variety. At least red is a Christmassy color.
Then as I finished showering and the boys played in the main locker room area, more misplaced Holiday colors arrived. Emerging from my Family Locker Room cell, I mean shower stall, I took three steps into the hallway, before 5-year-old Ben came running up to me. Sure enough, under his left eye was a red bruise with some serious potential to go black-and-blue. “Sam (his 7-year-old brother) hit me in the face with his head.” Sadly, this is a very believable story and most likely inadvertent on Sam’s part, since every member of our family has at one time or another been bumbled into by Sam. It’s not intended to be harmful. It’s just his nature. Bruise on face number two, the below the eye variety.
Enough misguided shades, time for some appropriate Holiday colors, brought to you by Gumdrop Cookies…
A www.CookiesbyDave.com file photo.
GUMDROP COOKIES
“These playful cookies have long been a favorite of my wife Charlene.”
¼ cup Shortening
¼ cup Butter
½ cup Sugar
¼ cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Flour
1/8 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 cup Gumdrops, snipped (sounds painful, doesn’t it?)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream the shortening and butter.
Mix in the sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.
Mix in the flour and baking soda.
Stir in gumdrops.
Drop by teaspoons onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Bake 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
Makes about 18 cookies.
Source: Page 50 of my cookie cookbook, “Today is a Great Day for a Cookie,” which is available for free download at www.CookiesbyDave.com.
My wife hates coconut. She just does. As a child born in early April, one of her greatest fears as a young girl was a birthday cake shaped like a bunny and covered in coconut faux fur. There you have it, my wife hates coconut. No problem on my end, since I love my wife and I can live without coconut, so all is good.
This coconut ban however conflicts with one of my favorite Christmas cookies, the coconut infused Chocolate Macaroon. I figured that if I baked them and took them into work, no one would be harmed in the production of the cookie and I could relive a childhood memory. Every Christmas my Grandma Franck would prepare the most amazing cookie tray and my favorite was the Chocolate Macaroon. Crunchy exterior, chewy coconut interior, with rich chocolate flavor throughout. It was one tasty cookie.
A few years back, after trying to recreate Grandma Franck’s Chocolate Macaroons and failing miserably, I decided to ask her about the cookie, since the only information I could get was that she used to bake them on a paper sack. This scared me a bit, but apparently paper sacks were the parchment paper of yonder year. Unfortunately, Grandma Franck was already well into her 90s and suffering from advanced dementia, so she really could not lend much help to my Chocolate Macaroon struggles. I was on my own, until a few years back my mom gave me an incredible binder containing all of Grandma Franck’s recipes, including… the Chocolate Macaroon.
Being fearless (and a tad cocky) in my cookie making abilities, I figured it was time to tackle the Chocolate Macaroons once again. Following the recipe containing her handwritten notes, I gave it my best try and once again, as my 11-year-old son would say, “Fail!” They tasted alright, but they were way too thin. Almost like a cracker or using a more palatable term, they were crisp. I had accidently created a Cookie Crisp. Not where I was headed, but not a complete disaster. Just goes to show, I’m not such a bad baker, but I’m certainly no Grandma Franck.
This cookie… way too thin to be an acceptable Chocolate Macaroon.
From the aerial view, the cookies look about right.
A plate full of Cookie Crisps.
COOKIE CRISPS
2 Egg Whites
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ teaspoon Salt
1 cup Sugar
1½ ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1½ cups Coconut
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and set aside.
Beat egg whites, vanilla extract, and salt until foamy.
Add 2 Tablespoons of sugar at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Once all of the sugar has been added, continue mixing until the mixture can stand in peaks.
Fold in the melted chocolate.
Fold in the coconut.
Drop by teaspoons onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Makes about 26 cookies.
Revised Source: my beloved Grandma Franck, no one ever baked Christmas cookies as good as you did.
Standing in line at the post office, I saw an unfamiliar site. A woman several customers in front of me was carrying two large boxes by handles located on the top. Also on top of the boxes were quarter sized circle openings, which appeared to be air holes. This would make sense, since the side of the box said, shockingly enough, “Live Birds”! That is right, folks, she was transporting birds directly through the US Postal Service. No word on if each box contained a Turtle Dove.
Surprised by this unique shipping transaction, I turned to the woman in front of me in line and remarked, “You don’t see someone shipping birds every day.” Then waiting the perfect amount of time and in a deadpan voice, I added, “I bet they are being shipped via Air Mail.” Then came her response… nothing. Nothing at all. It was as if the Earth had opened up and swallowed my joke whole. I was somewhat offended. Although the joke was cheesy, the timing and delivery were perfect and the setting was spontaneous, the least I deserved was a small grin, snort, or crooked smile, but instead I got nothing in return. So much for the Season of Giving. Makes me kind of sad, in a joke that landed like a box full of birds kind of way.
If you, too, have some Holiday frustrations to work out, boy have I got the cookie for you. Enjoy.
CANDY CANE BISCOTTI
“These Italian treats are labor intensive, but are easily one of my favorite Christmas cookies. Perfect for dunking, the hard cookies pack a delightful peppermint flavor. They also help relieve some holiday related stress, as you will receive the opportunity to pulverize some candy canes with a hammer.”
2/3 cup Butter
1 1/3 cups Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon Salt
4 Eggs
½ teaspoon Peppermint Extract
4¼ cups Flour
1 cup Candy Canes or Peppermint Candies, coarsely chopped or pulverized, if you wish. I like to take the peppermint candies and place them within three Ziploc bags and then hammer the living daylights out of them on the basement storage room’s concrete floor. Mind you, just my personal preference, pulverize them however you wish, but a hammer is much, much more exciting than a food processor.
Red Food Coloring
2 cups Powdered Sugar
2 Tablespoons Peppermint Schnapps
1 Tablespoon Peppermint Schnapps
Extra Candy Canes or Peppermint Candies, coarsely chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Mix in eggs and Peppermint Extract.
Mix in flour.
Stir in 1 cup of Candy Canes.
Divide dough in half.
Tint one portion of the dough with red food coloring.
Divide each half of the dough into three portions.
Roll each portion into a 14-inch-long rope.
On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, place a rope of each color side-by-side.
Twist pairs of ropes around each other several times.
Flatten twists until 2 inches wide. Place about 4 inches apart on baking sheet.
The Biscotti logs ready to bake.
Bake 20 minutes or until light brown and tops are cracked.
Cool completely on baking sheet on a wire rack.
Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Transfer twists to a cutting board.
Using a knife, cut twists diagonally into ½ inch slices.
Place slices, cut sides down, on parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Bake 10 minutes.
Turn slices over.
Bake 10 minutes more or until slices are dry.
Transfer biscotti to a wire rack and cool completely.
Prepare icing by stirring together 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 Tablespoons of Peppermint Schnapps until smooth.
Add enough additional Peppermint Schnapps (about 1 Tablespoon) to make an icing of drizzling consistency.
Drizzle cooled biscotti with peppermint icing.
Sprinkle with topping of additional chopped candy canes.
Let stand until set.
Makes 25 long biscotti or up to 72 stubby biscotti.
Source: on page 66 of my cookie cookbook, “Today is a Great Day for a Cookie,” which is available for free download at www.CookiesbyDave.com, under the “Cookbook” tab.
