Tạp chí văn hóa ẩm thực Foodiecrush Holiday 2013

Tạp chí ẩm thực Foodiecrush Holiday 2013

THE ONLINE MAGAZINE THAT LOVES FOOD BLOGGERS, THEIR RECIPES & PHOTOGRAPHY

THE GREAT FOOD

BLOGGER COOKIE SWAP

P LUS

Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Orange Shortbread

from

JELLY TOAST BLOG

and more!

Holiday ‘13

ON THE COVER

Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Orange Shortbread created and photographed

by Emily Caruso

of Jelly Toast Blog Check out the article Cookies for a Cause for the recipe

* click the pic to take you to the article *

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publisher assumes responsibility for claims or recipes submitted

or reprinted by our contributors, errors, inaccuracies, omissions,

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Neither FoodieCrush LLC nor the publisher is responsible for

any statements, claims or representations made by contributiors,

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responsible for anyone’s reliance on the content herein.

COURTNEY BANKHEAD

is literally counting down the days

to receiving her BFA degree in Graphic Design

As a FoodieCrush intern, aka left- over blog post for lunch recipe taste tester, Courtney curated this issue’s product pages with a spiced twist When she isn’t mountain biking with her husband, hiking with her kids or answering Heidi’s texts, she dreams of some quality “me” time

at the spa Catch her on Instagram

@courtbankhead

HALEY TEATER

is a tor who writes and eats from Greensboro, N.C

contribu-She has a chant for baking, travel, writing and banana puddin’

pen-and often likes to sneak bourbon into her baked goods She put her taste buds into overdrive while research- ing and writing

“Around the World in Six Des- serts,” featuring traditional sweets from about the globe See more

of Hayley’s foodie adventures at her blog Tiptoes in the Kitchen

It’s all about the giving And the cookies.

Let’s face it When it comes to holiday eats, it’s all

about desserts—baking them, giving them and

defi-nitely craving them So why pretend to be interested

in anything but the sweet stuff this time of year?

That’s why in this issue you’ll find a bevy of sweet

treats, including two food blogging gal pals who’ve

teamed up to create the ultimate cookie swap,

bring-ing food bloggers together online and off and in the

process raising money for an amazing cause You’ll also

be introduced to six food bloggers who share

tradi-tional desserts that travel the distance from Croatia to

Texas, plus a blogger (he’s a guy with a sweet tooth!)

whose recipe for Peppermint Bark is worth every bite

But because we can’t subsist on sugar alone, we

made sure to even the stakes and share some favorite

cheese boards and party tips, plus some favorite swag

that’s sure to get you and yours saying ho-ho-ho

Happy holidays, have fun and bake on.

xoxo,

Heidi Larsen

CHIEF FOODIECRUSH-ER AKA DISHWASHER

GET MORE ONLINE ISSUES AT FOODIECRUSH.COM

have created a nationwide exchange of sweets that not only benefits the participants, but kids with cancer too

F How did the two of you become

friends?

We were online friends before we 'met'

in real life We actually missed our first

chance to meet, in 2010 at Food Blog

Forum Atlanta We were both there and

yet failed to meet We finally

did meet the following year

when Julie organized Food

Blog Forum Orlando where

Lindsay spoke We’ve been

besties ever since.

You’re both fierce bakers in

the kitchen What was the nugget of

inspiration for you to start the Great

Food Blogger Cookie Swap?

Honestly? The entire swap started with

a single tweet and a late night cookie

craving Lindsay tweeted something like

"Wouldn't it be great if we could have

one big, giant cookie swap where food

bloggers sent each other cookies?"

Julie responded, and probably within

24 hours we had launched our very first

cookie swap.

Why did you choose Cookies for Kids

Cancer to support via funds

generat-ed through the cookie swap?

The second year (2012) we decided we

wanted to add a charitable component

to the swap and charge a participation

fee (the idea was the fee would help

weed out the 'flakes' we had to deal with the first year) We hadn't yet started

to research charities when a friend at OXO mentioned Cookies For Kids' Can- cer It was such a perfect fit we didn't even think twice Every penny we raise

goes directly to CFKC We don't keep a cent and all of our time spent on the cook-

ie swap is a purely volunteer basis Honestly, we do it all for the cookies!

You’ve achieved great cess in the past 3 years, raising funds for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer What are your goals for this year, mone- tarily and otherwise?

suc-We set out to raise over $10,000 for CFKC this year, with the help of our generous brand partners (Dixie Crystals, Gold Medal Flour, Grandma's Molasses and OXO) And sure enough, we did it!

Our total, with matching funds, came to over $13,700 That’s a total over of over

$17,000 for an amazing charity.

Other than the charity component,

we really feel that the cookie swap brings the food blogging community together People come away with not only a few dozen delicious cookies, but also friendships with bloggers they may not have fostered otherwise.

ood bloggers Lindsay Landis of Love and Olive Oil and Julie Deily of The Little Kitchen have taken the concept of a

cookie swap party to a whole new level Created by Lindsay and Julie, 2013 marks the third year of The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

Beginning with sugar, flour and a whole lot of organization, the event is

a philanthropic endeavor that benefits more than just the cookie-loving recipients It syncs hundreds of food blogging participants and their cookies

in a massive, countrywide sweet-treat exchange, raising funds for the charity Cookies for Kids’ Cancer

BOURBON, BROWN BUTTER,

AND VANILLA BEAN

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

makes 30 cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ vanilla bean, seeded

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¹/8 teaspoon salt

¼ cup bourbon

1 Melt butter in a large saucepan over

me-dium heat Cook, stirring occasionally, until

butter solids (the bits that separate in the

bottom of the pan) turn a deep amber color

Watch this closely, as the butter will go from

brown to burnt very quickly if you’re not

careful Remove from heat and let cool for

15 minutes.

2 Line a heat-proof container with plastic

wrap or aluminum foil Pour brown butter

into container, then refrigerate for at least

2-3 hours or overnight, until butter has

re-turned to its solid state Remove from

refrig-erator and let sit at room temperature for 15

minutes, then dump into a large mixing bowl

or the bowl of a stand mixer Beat on

me-dium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes or until

light and fluffy Add brown sugar and

contin-ue to beat for 1 to 2 minutes more Add

va-nilla bean seeds and mix until incorporated.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt until evenly blended Add dry ingre- dients to butter mixture in 2-3 additions, and mix on low speed until incorporated After about half of the dry ingredients have been added, mix in bourbon, then add remain- ing dry ingredients and beat until mixture comes together into a crumbly dough.

3 Divide dough into two portions, then place in the center of a sheet of plastic wrap, forming into a 10-inch log Roll tightly with plastic wrap Repeat with remaining dough You should end up with two 10-inch logs ap- proximately 1-3/4 inches in diameter (about the size of a paper towel tube) Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight, until firm You can place the logs in a paper towel tube

if you like, which will help them keep their round shape when refrigerated.

4 Preheat oven to 350°F Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

5 Remove logs from refrigerator; remove and discard plastic wrap With a sharp knife, cut into 3/8-inch-thick slices and arrange on baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between each cookie Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set and bottom edges are light golden brown Let cool for

5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to

a wire rack to cool completely Cookies will keep, stored in an airtight container, for up

to 1 week.

/ Lindsay /

loveandoliveoil.com

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Sea Salt

I think everyone wants to know,

how do you manage the number of

bloggers involved and choose whose

cookies get delivered to who?

One big, giant spreadsheet After the

first year—which was a huge logistical

nightmare as we had to figure out how

it would all work—it’s actually gone

pretty smoothly Once we format the

spreadsheet and divide it into groups

(by country and also by food allergy),

we offset the rows and each person

gets lined up with 3 other bloggers The

matches are totally random We even

split up the list so Lindsay’s name goes

on Julie’s half and Julie’s name is on

Lindsay’s half, so our own matches are

total surprises too We then email each

blogger with the names and addresses

of their three matches

As the creators of the swap, do you

find yourselves putting extra

pres-sure on yourselves to create a

stun-ning cookie recipe for the swap?

Of course! It's definitely a challenge to

come up with a delicious cookie that holds

up well for shipping Many standard cookies

dry out too quickly and so you're forced to

think outside (er, inside?) the box.

The web is full of some pretty

cre-ative food bloggers Have you had

a recipe come through that you

thought, “Oh wow! Why didn’t I think

of that?”

Honestly it’s more that we’re just in awe

of the sheer number of cookies that

come about as a result of this swap

Last year we calculated there were over

22,000 cookies sent around the world

IT ALL STARTED WITH 96,000 COOKIES

Upon 2-year-old Liam Witt's diagnosis with neuroblastoma in 2007, his parents Gretch-

en and Larry Witt were shocked to learn of the lack of effective treatments for pediatric cancers due to lack of funding That was all it took for them to pledge to support the development of research for safer, more effective treatments

It all began with a cookie drive With the help of 250 volunteers, his mom Gretchen baked and sold 96,000 cookies, raising more than $400,000 for research

Word quickly spread, and people wide began asking, "What can I do to help?" With that they created Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, committed to raising funds for research to develop new, improved treat- ments for pediatric cancer, the #1 disease killer of children in the U.S

nation-The Witts efforts have always been spired by their son Liam’s battle with stage

in-IV cancer Tragically, Liam came to the end

of his courageous 4-year fight with cancer

on January 24, 2011 at just six years of age How can you get involved? Become a Be

a Good Cookie™ by hosting a fundraising event, order cookies as gifts, shop the on- line gift shop, make a donation, or create a fundraising page—every bit counts.

Learn more about the kids who inspire the drive at cookiesforkidscancer.org

excerpted from cookiesforkidscancer.org

Watch a video about the history of Cookies for Kids Cancer and hear Gretchen’s own words by clicking here.

ABOUT

COOKIES FOR KIDS CANCER

l a n mor

The thought of that many cookies flying through the air makes our hearts happy The other amazing aspect of this is, Veronica, a blogger who organizes a

non-blogger cookie swap (see sidebar.)

She’s a postal service employee and has told us time and time again how appreciative she is of the sheer vol- ume that food bloggers send packages through the US Postal Service.

What happens if someone missed the opportunity to participate this year?

We are definitely planning to do

it again next year! Sign up

to receive notifications here:

http://eepurl.com/qCABj We'll send out an email to this list when sign ups open for next years' swap.

You two are both well respected recipe creators, photographers, designers and content creators It seems like you do it all How do you manage to create new initiatives like this, and the Food BlogForum

conference, and keep up with it all?

Um, we don't? Haha We both have a habit of taking on too much at once But we both seem to work quite well under pressure and somehow manage

to get it all done.

And honestly, we wouldn’t be able to

do it without each other We’re both hugely supportive and one another’s best sounding boards.

What do you think The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap will look like in

5 years?

I hope it's even bigger and better, with more cookies and more money raised for Cookies for Kids Cancer.

ABOUT THE

POSTCARD PROJECT

with

VERONICA OF VERONICA’S CONUCOPIA

As a postal worker by day who loves receiving

items in the mail, Veronica Miller knows the

im-portance of keeping the age-old tradition alive

In 2011 she created the Postcard Project as a

way to inspire others to do the same Inspired

by Lindsay and Julie’s efforts, Veronica has

cre-ated an event for non-bloggers to participate in

their own holiday cookie swap.

I started the Postcard

Project in 2011, just

before the inaugural

Great Food Blogger

Cookie Swap was

the project since it

generates many extra

packages for the post

office Not to

men-tion how much joy

and cheer it spreads,

another main goal of

my project.

Since the Great

Food Blogger Cookie

Swap is for food

blog-gers only, I thought

it would be great to provide a separate swap for non-blog- gers as part of my project I am so glad Julie and Lindsay came up with this great idea, and that they were happy to let me piggy back it for many of us

We also support Cookies for Kids’

Cancer by reporting the number of cook- ies swapped, and Glad matches each cookie with $1 which resulted in raising

$3,574 for kids cancer just by doing what

we love and shipping that love around the country.

veronicascornucopia.com

l a n mor

“

”

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

WITH SEA SALT

makes 24 cookies

3 ¼ cups unbleached

all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter

(two sticks), softened

4 ounces cream cheese,

softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 ¼ cups light brown sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla

extract

2 large eggs

8 ounces bittersweet

chocolate, roughly chopped

1 cup semisweet chocolate

chunks sea salt

1 Mix dry ingredients

to-gether in a medium-sized

mixing bowl.

2 In the bowl of a stand

mixer (and using a flat

beater) or large mixing bowl

(and using an electric

mix-er), beat cream cheese and

butter Add both sugars and

cream together thoroughly

Add vanilla extract and mix

Add eggs one at a time and

mix thoroughly until bined.

com-3 Add flour in two batches and mix with a rubber spatula Add chocolate and mix just to combine Don’t over mix.

4 Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and using a medium (1.5 Table- spoon) cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough portions Place portioned cookie dough into the freezer for

3 to 4 hours or overnight

If not baking immediately, after the dough is frozen, place in one or more zip- pered plastic bags and label with date and baking tem- perature and time.

5 Heat oven to 375° F. and place cookie dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at least 2 to

3 inches apart Bake for 9

to 12 minutes until

slight-ly golden brown Remove from oven and place parch- ment paper with cookies

on top directly on a cooling rack Store in an airtight container to maintain chew- iness.

/ Julie /

thelittlekitchen.net

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened baking cocoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoons salt

½ cup butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar

1 Preheat oven to 350° F Line cookie

sheet with parchment paper or silicone liner

2 Melt chocolate in a small saucepan or

double boiler over low heat Set aside

3 Sift together flour, baking cocoa,

baking powder and salt

4 Beat butter and sugars until creamy

Beat in eggs and vanilla until well bined Slowly beat in melted chocolate

com-5 Alternate between beating in flour

and milk until incorporated and dough forms

6 Form dough into a ball and cover

with plastic wrap Refrigerate for at least 2 hours

7 Roll dough into 1-inch balls Roll

dough in confectioner’s sugar

8 Place cookies on prepared cookie

sheet Bake for 8 minutes

9 Remove from oven Sprinkle the tops

with peppermint baking chips Lightly press chips into tops of cookies

Return to oven and bake for another 4-7 minutes

10 Transfer cookies to a wire rack to

cool completely Store in an airtight container

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CRACKLE COOKIES

makes 36 cookies

/ Jessica /

a-kitchen-addiction.com

With hundreds of food bloggers

participating in the Great Food Blog

Cookie Swap, choosing a small

selection of recipes to feature was no

small task Here are a few favorites

that caught our eye

2 cups butter (4 sticks) softened,

1 In an electric mixer fitted with a

pad-dle attachment, cream butter and sugar

until well blended Add vanilla extract

and salt With the mixer on low,

gradu-ally add flour, scraping down the sides

HOLIDAY

CHECKERBOARD COOKIES

makes 96 cookies

2 Turn dough out onto a

clean work surface; it will be loose and crumbly Knead dough together Divide dough into 4 parts Color one part green by drizzling

a bit of the green color into the middle and knead until well blended Add more color until you achieve the desired color Repeat process with the red color with another

¼ of the dough Leave the two other parts white

3 Place each half of the

kneaded dough between two sheets of plastic wrap Using

a rolling pin, shape dough into two 7-inch squares, about 3/8 inch thick Using a sharp knife and a ruler, slice each square into nine ¾ inch-es-wide strips

4 Whisk together the egg

and 1 tablespoon water

Cov-er work surface with plastic wrap Place three strips of dough on plastic, alternating white and red for the first set, to create a checkerboard effect Brush tops and in between the strips with the egg wash Gently press strips together Repeat, forming second and third layers, alternating colors to create

a checkerboard effect Wrap assembled log in plastic Repeat process with green for second log Refrigerate

30 minutes, or freeze 15 minutes

5 If you have extra dough

continue repeating the cess until all dough is used Preheat oven to 350° F Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper Slice each log into ¼-inch thick slices; placing on baking sheet Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar Bake until done, 10 to 12 minutes Remove baking sheet from oven, and let cookies cool 2 minutes Transfer cookies to a wire rack

pro-to cool completely

/ Lisa /

authenticsuburbangourmet

blogspot.com

2 ¼ sticks butter, at

room temperature

¼ cup coconut oil

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ tablespoon freshly ground

ginger

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

½ cup light unsulphured molasses

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon cloves

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

A bout a ¼ cup of turbinado sugar

for rolling the balls of dough in

before baking

P ieces of crystallized ginger to

top cookies with after they’re

baked

TRIPLE GINGER

LEMON COOKIES

makes 48 cookies

1 Preheat oven to 375° F In a large

bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt Set aside

2 With an electric mixer, beat

togeth-er butttogeth-er, coconut oil, and sugars until combined Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition Then add molasses, lemon zest, lemon juice, and fresh ginger, beat until combined Then add in the dry ingredients, mix until just combined

3 Roll the dough into small balls (about

1 inch in diameter) Fill a small bowl with turbinado sugar, and roll each ball in the sugar until it’s well coated Place dough

on cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart and bake for about 10 minutes Once they are done, remove from the oven, press the crystallized ginger pieces lightly on top and let cool for a minute

or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely

/ Ashley /

bakerbynature.com

CHOCOLATE, HONEYCOMB

& ROAST ALMOND COOKIES

makes 36 cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups brown sugar

3 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups self raising flour

1 ½ good quality chocolate covered honeycomb

1 cup roasted almonds

1 Preheat oven to 350° F Line three

large baking trays with non-stick baking paper

2 Beat butter and sugar until very well

combined Add eggs and beat again til combined Sift in flour and stir with a wooden spoon unitl well incorporated

un-3 Roughly chop the honeycomb and

almond and add to the mixing bowl Stir gently until almonds and honeycomb are evenly distributed through the cookie dough

4 Roll tablespoon sized balls with the

cookie mixture Place 12 balls on each baking tray (leaving enough room for them to spread out slightly) and flatten slightly with your hand

5 Place trays in the oven and bake for

20 minutes until lightly golden, turning the trays and swapping their position in the oven halfway through

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

34 Hershey’s Kisses Candy

Cane Flavored Candies,

2 In a medium bowl,

com-bine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt

3 In the bowl of an electric

mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 1¼ cups sugar and espresso powder on medium-high un-til light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes Beat in eggs, one at

a time, until well combined

Beat in vanilla and mint extract until well com-

pepper-bined Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture at low speed, beating just until incorporated

4 Roll tablespoons of dough

into 1-inch balls and coat in remaining ½ cup sugar Place onto baking sheet and bake until outside is crackly, but center is still moist, about 9-10 minutes

5 Remove from oven and let

cool 2-3 minutes before ping with a Candy Cane Kiss

top-in the center of each cookie

/ Chung-Ah /

damndelicious.net

SALTED DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

makes 36 cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder

(or unsweetened Dutch-process

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter chocolate chips

1 stick unsalted butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

sea salt for sprinkling

1 Preheat oven to 325° F.

2 Whisk together flour,

cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl;

set aside Melt coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter in a small heatproof bowl in a double-boiler or

in the microwave, stirring frequently

3 Once melted, transfer

chocolate mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attach-

ment Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix on medium speed until combined Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture Fold in choco-late and peanut butter chips.Round batter into heaping tablespoon-fulls, and place

2 inches apart on ment-lined baking sheets Sprinkle each ball of dough with a pinch of sea salt Bake until cookies are flat and sur-faces begin to crack, about 12-15 minutes (Do not over-bake these, or they will dry out.) Transfer on parchment

parch-to wire racks and let cool

1 Preheat oven 350° F Line baking sheet

with a baking mat or parchment paper

2 In a small saucepan, brown your

but-ter: Over medium heat, melt the butter Whisking frequently, let the butter turn into an amber color It will foam a little Once it subsides and brown specks appears at the bottom of the pan, it will begin to have a nutty aroma Once butter turns a light golden brown color, transfer to a bowl to cool or stick it in the freezer to cool faster

3 In a large bowl, whisk together flour,

baking soda, and salt

4 In a bowl with electric mixer

attach-ment, mix the brown butter with sugars

5 Add egg and vanilla, mix to combine.

6 Add the dry ingredients (flour, etc.)

into wet ingredients (butter, etc)

7 Using a rubber spatula, mix in cream

cheese slightly Fold in chocolate chips and chopped Oreos

8 Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough

onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 minutes apart each

9 Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until

edg-es are slightly golden Let cookiedg-es cool slightly on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on cooling rack

/ Lynna /

heartsinmyoven.com

CHOCOLATE CHIP OREO CREAM COOKIES

makes about 20 cookies

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup golden brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup chocolate chips

6 Oreo cookies, chopped

The cream cheese in this recipe helps the cookies stay soft for

a long time.

“

”

Zest of 1 navel orange

1 cup dark chocolate

(chips or melting

wafers are easiest)

1 cup whole, roasted

and salted

pistachios, chopped

1 In a large bowl, with

a large wooden spoon,

begin to work the

but-ter until it is very soft,

but not greasy Spread

and flatten it against the

bowl with the back of

the wooden spoon until

it is creamy and very

pliable, scraping down

the bowl occasionally

Add the zest and sugar,

all at once, and stir until

the sugar is dissolved

and no longer gritty

2 Add the flour, 1 cup

at a time, incorporating

it fully before adding

more After you have

added the second or

third cup, you may want

to finish mixing with

your hands Once all 4½

cups of flour have been

mixed in, the dough will

be firm and uniform,

not sticky, but only dry

enough to crack slightly

when pressed Leave the dough to rest for

at least 1 hour at room temperature This allows for the flavors to meld and for the butter

to be completely sorbed by the flour

ab-3 Once it is rested, roll

the dough out to ¼”

thick on a lightly floured surface Cut out cookies

in whatever shape you like Press the tines of

a fork into each side

of the squares, giving them a ridged effect

Lastly they are pierced three times with the fork, making 3 rows

of 4 small holes in the top If you choose to make round cookies or other shapes, pricking them will help ensure that they bake up flat and smooth Not prick-ing them may result

in some bubbling and warping of the surface

4 Line a baking sheet

with parchment or leave it ungreased if you prefer Bake at 325° F for 18-20 min-utes until the bottoms and bottom edge are golden and the tops are dry looking Cool the cookies on a wire rack

Do not dip in late until they are fully

choco-/ Sarah /

feastsforallseasons.com

cooled

5 Chop the pistachios

finely and melt the chocolate (with 10 second intervals in the microwave, or in a heat proof bowl over sim-mering water) Dunk the cookies, shaking off excess (or dribble pools

of chocolate on top) and roll through the finely chopped pista-chios Place the choco-late coated cookies on the same parchment lined cookie sheet and allow the chocolate to firm up

6 To store, keep these

tightly sealed for up to

2 weeks at room perature

makes about 36 cookies

1 Combine the butter,

sugar and corn syrup in

the bowl of a stand

mix-er fitted with a paddle

attachment and beat

on medium-high speed

for 2-3 minutes Scrape

down the sides of the

bowl Add the eggs and

vanilla bean paste and

mix for 7-8 minutes, until

mixture is light and fluffy

2 Meanwhile, in a

sepa-rate bowl, sift together the flour, French vanilla pudding mix, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt Slowly add to the wet ingredients, mixing until the dough forms together

3 With the mixer at low

speed, add the sprinkles and mix just until incor-porated

4 Cover bowl with

plastic wrap and chill for

at least one hour and up

to overnight

5 Preheat oven to

350°F Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or baking mat

6 Scoop dough out in

rounded tablespoons, approximately one inch apart, on the baking sheet

7 Bake for 18-20

min-utes then remove from the oven Allow to firm

up on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then re-move from cookie sheet onto a wire cooling rack

½ heaping cup dried sour cherries

½ cup orange juice

4 tablespoons butter,

at room ture

tempera-1 cup sugar Zest of 1 lemon

¼ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup shelled

SOUR CHERRY &

PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

makes 18 cookies

1 Combine cherries and

orange juice in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer Cover, remove from heat, and let sit In the bowl of a stand mix-

er, beat butter, sugar, zest, and salt until fluffy

Add eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate, and beat in extracts

2 Drain the cherries

and gently fold them and the pistachios

3 When dough is

thor-oughly chilled, divide dough in half and roll each half into a 14-inch cylinder on a floured work surface Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a fresh cookie sheet with a clean sheet of parchment paper Place the 2 chunks of dough

on the cookie sheet and bake them for 30 min-utes Remove cookies from oven and turn the oven down to 275°F

4 When the cookies

are cool enough to dle, use a sharp knife to cut each log into 18 slic-

han-es at a 45° angle fer the cookies to a new parchment-lined cookie sheet, bottom-side down, and bake them at 275°F for 1 hour

Trans-Remove to a wire rack

to cool completely

CHOCOLATE DIPPED CRANBERRY ORANGE SHORTBREAD

makes 36 cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups of all-purpose flour

Zest of 2 oranges

½ cup of sweetened dried cranberries

6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips

1 In the bowl of an electric

mix-er, beat buttmix-er, sugar, vanilla, and

salt until smooth With mixer on

low speed, add flour, mixing just

until a dough forms Use a

spat-ula or wooden spoon to gently

stir in cranberries and orange

zest Divide the dough in half

and place each half on a piece

of floured waxed paper Lightly

dust your hands with flour and

gently roll each half of the dough

into a 1½-inch-diameter log

Wrap logs tightly in the paper,

twisting the ends up, and

refrig-erate until firm, 1 to 1½ hours

(To store longer, wrap log and

paper tightly with plastic wrap.)

2 Preheat oven to 350° F

Un-wrap the logs and use a serrated

knife to slice the logs into 3/8 inch

slices If the dough doesn’t slice

well, allow the it to sit at room

temperature for about 5 minutes

and try again Arrange the slices,

about 1 inch apart, on baking sheets

3 Bake until slightly puffed and

lightly golden around the edges,

15 to 20 minutes Cool on the baking sheets for 1 to 2 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely

4 Place chocolate in a

micro-wave safe bowl Micromicro-wave on high for 30 seconds and then stir Microwave on high in 15 second intervals, stirring be-tween each time, until chocolate

is melted

5 Dip cooled cookies halfway

into the chocolate and then place dipped cookies onto parchment lined baking sheets

Refrigerate until firm

Cookies can be stored

in an air tight container,

at room temperature for 5 days

/ Emily /

jellytoastblog.com

COVERRECIPE

For the shortbread

1 stick unsalted butter,

1 ¼ tablespoons peppermint extract

1 pound powdered sugar

½ teaspoon salt crushed candy canes, optional

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT

SANDWICH COOKIES

makes about 24 sandwiches

For the shortbread dough

1 Cream butter, sugar and salt in a bowl

until well combined

2 Sift flour and cocoa into butter

mixture and blend just until mixture forms a soft dough

3 Divide dough in half and place each

half in between two sheets of ment paper Roll the dough out to roughly ¹/ 8” Chill dough, uncovered, until firm, about 30 minutes Preheat oven to 375°F while dough chills

parch-For the filling

1 In a stand mixer or bowl, combine

shortening, salt, peppermint and water Mix on lowest speed with paddle attachment or handbeaters As liquid gets incorporated into shortening, grad-ually increase speed until creamy and combined

2 Reduce speed to low and

gradual-ly add ¼ of the powdered sugar until incorporated

3 Slowly add the rest of the sugar,

working in four additions Taste test The cream should be spreadable, but not too thin If the mixture is too thin, you can add more powdered sugar and

if it is too stiff, you can add more water

4 Remove one sheet of dough from the

fridge Cut circles with a 1” - 1.5” cookie cutter and place on cookie sheet Bake shortbreads in middle of oven until centers are dry to the touch and edges are slightly darker, about 10-12 minutes Cool on baking sheet on a rack 10 min-utes Transfer to rack to cool

Assembling cookies

1 Once the cookie shells are cool, take

one circle, pipe with a piping bag and

#7 tip or spread it with a layer of permint filling and top with another shortbread circle Roll frosted edges in crushed candy canes, if desired

pep-/ Kelly /

kellybakes.com

1 ¼ cup confectioners sugar

1 cup ground almond meal

3 egg whites, from large eggs, room

temperature

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1-2 drops food coloring or food gel

(optional)

Candy Cane Filling

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

4 ounces Wilton Candy Cane

Colorburst Candy Melts, melted

and slightly cooled

CANDY CANE

MACARONS

makes 24 cookies

1 Line 2-3 large baking sheets with

parchment paper and set aside

In a medium bowl sift confectioners

sugar and almond meal and set aside

2 Using an electric mixer whisk egg

whites until foamy on medium speed

Sprinkle in sugar, vanilla and food

coloring and whip on medium high

speed until soft peaks form

3 Gradually fold in almond mixture into

egg whites a third at a time until mixture

becomes glossy and has a ribbon like

consistency

4 Place batter into pastry bag fitted

with a round tip and pipe about 48

1-inch circles on prepared baking sheets

Tap side of baking sheet to remove any

air bubbles Let stand at room

tem-perature for 30 minutes to 1 hour until

top can be touched without any batter

coming up

5 Preheat oven to 350°F Bake in

pre-heated oven for 12-16 minutes, rotating

half way through Cool on baking sheet

for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack

to cool completely

Candy Cane Filling

1 Using an electric mixer beat butter

un-til fluffy Gradually add in confectioners sugar until combined Blend in melted chocolate until creamy Place filling in pastry bag fitted with round tip

2 Pair up same size macarons Swirl

a small amount of filling on macaron and gently sandwich paired macarons together

3 Store in an airtight container

/ Jennifer /

mothertyme.com

½ cup unsalted butter,

room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup roasted hazelnuts,

half roughly chopped and

half finely chopped into

very tiny pieces

Sea salt

¼ cup dark chocolate chips

¼ cup white chocolate

chips

HAZELNUT CRANBERRY COOKIES

WITH A CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

makes 18-24 cookies

1 Preheat oven to 300°F Line a

baking sheet with parchment per and set aside

pa-2 In a bowl, beat the softened

butter and sugars together with an electric hand-held mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy (about a minute)

3 Add the egg and vanilla and beat

to incorporate for about 1 minute

4 In a separate bowl, combine the

flour, baking soda, and salt Dump the mixture slowly into the butter/

sugar mixture and mix (using a rubber spatula) until everything is thoroughly combined

5 Add the dried cranberries and

nuts Mix well

6 Using a cookie scoop, scoop 1

½ tablespoons of dough at a time

onto the baking sheet Repeat until the sheet is full (about 5-6 cook-ies) Make sure the dough is round-

ed so it bakes nicely and leave about 2 inches between each ball

of dough Then sprinkle each ball

of dough with a little bit of sea salt

7 Bake for 18-22 minutes The

cookies are ready when they start

to get golden brown on the edges.Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack

Let cookies cool completely While cookies are cooling place the white and dark chocolate (in separate bowls) in the microwave

8 Melt the chocolate for 30

sec-onds and then stir Repeat until chocolate is just melted but not very hot

9 Place the chocolate in

individ-ual piping bags (or ziplocks with a corner cut off)

10 Drizzle the chocolate over the

cooled cookies and let the late harden completely

choco-/ Stephanie /

lifetasteslikefood.com

LINZER THUMBPRINT

COOKIES

makes 50-60 small cookies

¾ cup salted butter

¾ cup raw cane sugar

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons almond extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup almond meal, divided in half

½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon five spice

1 jar apple butter

1.Preheat oven to 350°F Whisk flour, ½ cup almond meal, baking powder, and five spice together with a fork In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar Add egg yolks one at a time, followed by almond extract Gently fold in dry mixture in two parts, until just com-bined

2 Roll dough into 1 teaspoon sized balls and roll each

one in remaining almond meal Place on Silpat liner

or parchment paper lined cookie sheet Make a well

in the middle of the dough with the end of a

wood-en spoon You want to put what looks like too much apple butter into the well Remember, the cookies are going to spread in the oven A heaping ½ teaspoon is about the right amount Bake for 18 minutes and cool

on a wire cookie rack

/ Hannah/

nothingbutdelicious.com

SPICED MUSHROOM

COOKIES

makes 36 cookies

1 Combine flour, soda and

spices in a medium bowl

Set aside

2 Cream butter and sugar

until well combined Add in eggs, mixing well after each addition

3 Stir in yogurt and honey.

Slowly add in flour mixture and mix until well combineChill for one hour or up to overnight

4 Preheat oven to 375°F

Prepare cookie sheets with parchment or silicone bake mats

5 Once dough is chilled,

scoop about a tablespoon sized ball for the mushroom caps Roll the dough balls around in your hands Make

an indent on the bottom with the end of a small round wooden spoon handle Gen-tly press so you don’t squish the dough too much Place bottom side down on bak-ing sheet For the stems roll about a half of a tablespoon

of dough about an inch and a

half long with one end

point-ed and the other slightly flat Place stems on a separate baking sheet from the caps

6 Bake 10-12 minutes for

caps 8-10 for stems, if the holes in the caps close up, once cooled, scrape a little back out with a sharp knife, just enough to fit the pointed end of the stem in it Match

up stems and caps so they are ready to “glue” together

For the icing

1 Combine sugar, water and

lemon juice Dip pointed end of stems in the icing, let excess drip off and insert into indent in caps Place cap side down and let fully dry

2 Add cocoa to the

remain-ing icremain-ing and mix Carefully dip the caps in the icing and lie on a wire drying rack and let fully dry These keep well

at room temperature in an airtight container for up to

a week or frozen for several months

¼ cup sweet cream butter,

room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

¼ cup plain yogurt

¾ cup honey

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoons cocoa powder

/ Shanna /

pineappleandcoconut.com

First off there were no real mushroom harmed in the making of these, they are merely shaped like mushrooms, second they don’t taste

like mushrooms either

“

”

½ cup (1 stick) salted butter

½ cup peanut butter

1 Preheat oven to 375°F.

2 In a large bowl, stir together first six ingredients

until smooth and creamy

3 Sift dry ingredients and add to peanut butter

mixture; Stir until combined

4 Shape mixture into balls (2 tablespoons each)

and place on a greased cookie sheet, about

2 inches apart Press cookies with the tines of a fork and bake for about 10-12 minutes Let sit on cookie sheet for about a minute before removing

to a cooling rack

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

makes 30 cookies

5 cups Cornflakes cereal

1 package (11 ounces) butterscotch chips

½ cup creamy peanut butter

2 In a 1-quart microwaveable bowl, melt the

chips and peanut butter in the microwave on

high for 1 minute Stir until smooth

(micro-wave an additional 30 seconds, if needed)

3 Remove melted butterscotch from

micro-wave and pour over the cereal Use a rubber

spatula or wooden spoon to gently mix the

cereal and coat with the butterscotch

4 Drop by small spoonfuls onto wax paper

Allow to completely cool until hardened

/ Nikki /

simplyfreshcooking.com

¾ cup butter, softened

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

1 box (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding, dry

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch pieces

½ cup White Chocolate Peppermint M&Ms

1 Preheat oven to 350°F

2 In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and

brown sugar together 3 Add the vanilla pudding

mix and beat until incorporated

4 Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined

5 In a small bowl combine the flour and baking

soda Slowly add this mixture to the wet ents until all ingredients are well incorporated

ingredi-6 Stir in the Peppermint Crunch pieces and M&Ms

until they are all mixed into the dough

7 Roll the dough into rounded teaspoonfuls and

for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown Cool completely

PEPPERMINT M&M PUDDING COOKIES

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup crushed corn flakes

½ cup coconut flakes

1 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla

RANGER COOKIES

makes about 48 cookies

1 Preheat oven to 325°F Prepare baking

sheet with parchment paper

2 Sift together the flour, baking powder and

baking soda in a medium bowl Mix in the

corn flakes, coconut, and pecans Set aside

3 Cream the shortening in the bowl of an

electric mixer and slowly add the sugar Beat

in eggs one at a time

4 Gradually add the flour mixture Mix in the

vanilla

5 Drop cookies (about 1” in size) using a

spoon or cookie scoop onto a baking sheet,

about 2 inches apart Bake for 10-12 minutes

Remove from oven and let cool for about 5

minutes on the baking sheet before

transfer-ring to a wire cooling rack to cool

/ Melissa /

whatscookinglove.com

For the cookies

brown sugar, packed

4 ounces good

2 tablespoons chai tea

powder (made from

about 6 good quality

chai tea bags, I used

Tazo decaffeinated)

Vanilla Chai Sugar

(for rolling cookies in)

¼ cup vanilla sugar

¼ teaspoon chai tea

powder

For Chai Tea Powder

(for use in cookie dough

and Vanilla Chai Sugar)

1 In a food processor

or powerful blender,

add contents of 6 chai

tea bags I just simply

removed bags, snipped

off the top with kitchen

shears, and dumped

each bag’s tea into the

processor

2 Process on high for

about 30 seconds or until you have a fine powder

3 Dump powder

care-fully into a bowl and set aside

For the cookies

1 Preheat oven to

350°F and set two racks

in oven to the middle

Line two sheet pans with parchment or bak-ing liners Set aside

2 Make vanilla chai

sug-ar by mixing together ¼ cup of vanilla sugar and

¼ teaspoon of chai tea powder into a dish or pie pan Set aside

3 Add room

tempera-ture butter, vanilla sugar and brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer

Mix on medium-high until light in color and fluffy for about 5 minutes

4 While the butter and

sugar is creaming, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside

5 Scrape down sides

of mixer bowl, and add room temperature egg Mix again until fully combined Scrape down

sides again Next add 2 tablespoons of chai tea powder Mix well

6 With mixer on low,

add the sifted flour mix Combine until just incorporated

7 With a ½” ice cream

scoop, scoop out balls

of dough Roll in hands until smooth and round, then roll around in vanilla chai sugar Make sure all of the surface of each ball is covered

8 After the dough has

been rolled in sugar,

place onto baking sheet, about 1 ½ -2” apart, about a dozen on each sheet pan

9 Bake for about 15

minutes Remove from oven as soon as cookies have risen, cracked a little on top, and are just beginning to brown on the bottom Do not let bottoms get darker than

a light golden color—it will take away from the chai flavor Allow to cool

on a wire rack for 10 minutes and enjoy

CHAI TEA SUGAR COOKIES

makes 24 cookies

/ Christina /

sweetlavendarbakeshoppe.com

¾ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup quick cook oats

¾ cup crispy rice cereal

¼ cup Jif Mocha

1 In a mixing bowl, add butter

and brown sugar until bined Stir in flour, salt and baking soda Mix in hazelnut spread Slowly fold in oats and cereal

com-2 Press dough into a large,

parchment paper lined

cook-ie sheet

3 Bake in a 350°F oven

for 20-25 minutes, until browned Allow to cool in pan completely

4 To finish, spread melted

white chocolate over top

of cookie bark Immediately sprinkle with Andes baking chips Allow to set, about 15 minutes and cut into triangu-lar pieces Serve and enjoy

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup dark cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

4 ounces dark chocolate with

almonds and sea salt

2 ounces milk chocolate

1 teaspoon instant

espresso powder

2 sticks butter plus 2

table-spoons butter or shortening

for melting chocolate

2 ½ cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sea salt for sprinkling

1 bag Gharidelli 60% chips

48 rolos

Fleur de sel for sprinkling

1 Sift dry ingredients together

twice and whisk until

complete-ly combined In a double boiler, melt chocolate with instant espresso powder and 2 table-spoons butter (or shortening)

Cream remaining butter and sugar with paddle attachment

in stand mixer Beat in eggs one

at a time, then vanilla Add in chocolate mixture and continue mixing 2 Add in dry mixture

and beat until just combined

Stir in chocolate chips

3 Using a tablespoon sized

scoop, fill half the scoop with dough, then place rolo face down in the center, then cover the rest so you have a heaping tbsp full

4 Place on greased baking

sheet and bake at 325°F for

10 minutes per batch Top with fleur de sel while still warm

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving

SALTED DARK CHOCOLATE

I was blogging for two months when I joined my first Cookie Swap with you That was the first time

I ever felt part of the food blogging community I met fabulous bloggers, whom I am still

in contact with! This is my third year now, and

as long as you have the swap

I will join in.

~ Jennifer Drummond

Peanut Butter and Peppers

“

”

sign up for updates here

GAMES

written and photographed by

HEIDI LARSEN of FOODIECRUSH com

Small gatherings don’t have to

be a big affair

as long as you have quality company, food and drink

Y ou could say food blogger

Becky Rosenthal and her husband Josh have a knack for making people feel like joining the party

As the creator of the food blog The Vintage Mixer, Becky shares

seasonal fare and recipes, always with

a connection to making the experience

personal But she doesn’t stop there

She also authors a guide to local food

and events in Salt Lake City, Utah at SLC Foodie and the duo is the force behind SLC Mixers, where Becky and Josh con- nect their community with local chefs and food purveyors through intimate food experiences and events

“We love small gatherings because

it gives us the opportunity to engage deeper than with a big crowd, making the food experience one where we can connect with guests,” explains Becky

SPANISH-STYLE BOARD

Green olives Make sure and have a extra bowl for pits.

Marcona almonds These are a little fancier than regular almonds with a more

creamy, almost buttery, taste.

Manchego & Wisconsin’s Roth Käse Affinee Blue cheeses

Seeded crackers and the classic Negroni cocktail

MANCHEGO

WISCONSIN’S ROTH KÄSE AFFINEE BLUE

With their extended families living

in other states, Becky and Josh make

weekly gatherings with friends at their

home a priority and usually ground the

gathering with a theme

“Cheese boards offer a fun eating

experience because it puts the

deci-sion making and creating in the hands

of our guests,” says Becky “It elongates

the dining experience and makes for a

more relaxed time together.”

The couple also keep it simple by serving one signature cocktail that can

be customized for new flavor ences as the evening progresses Josh suggests if you’re having an early after- noon cheese party, “Try serving an ap- ertif cocktail like the Negroni.” The pair also suggests finding local cheese or meats to incorporate so you have a story

experi-to tell with the food, and if the maker is available invite them to the party too.

We’re partial to local Deer Valley Resort’s

Flaxseed Crackers that make a crisp base of any size

and go well with savory or sweet

USE CRACKERS OR BREAD THAT CAN TRANSITION WELL BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT CHEESES SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO PURCHASE MULTIPLE TYPES

“

”

TIP

1