Weekly Menu - week of November 2nd

Ok. So I didn't actually cook last week. Granted, there were only two nights that I was even going to be able to cook due to our schedule, but I think we just ended up eating veggie burgers or cereal those days (I honestly don't remember), but I seriously AM determined to do some cooking this week!

I did make some cute cookies on Thursday for a Halloween baking swap at work. Check them out! Unfortunately, though, I didn't get to eat any because they weren't vegetarian. They're just made from a chocolate cake mix, eggs, peanut butter and water. I bought the cheapo, local, generic cake mix, which I was really excited to see did not contain dairy, only soy. Hooray, right? WRONG. Upon closer look, after the cookies were in the oven, I discovered that the cake mix contained vegetable shortening, "including one or more of the following: beef fat, lard, tallow". Ugh!

But they sure were cute, weren't they?



And as long as we're on the topic of cookies, I just have to share some really neat cookies that Lydia, my 10 year old, decorated at our friends' house. Aren't the adorable? I love how she did the eyes! She made them with frosting and black confetti sprinkles. Clever!



These pumpkins look like Veggietales!









And now for my menu for this week!

Sunday - veggie burgers

Monday - we have class, so we'll eat on campus (either vegetarian sushi or a veggie burger)

Tuesday - Cold noodle salad with peanut sauce

Wednesday - Margarita night with girls from work (fun!)

Thursday - Stir-fried sesame veggies with jasmine rice

Friday - Gnocchi with herb sauce, french bread, spinach salad

Saturday - not sure yet if we're going to the game, watching it at home, or going out to watch it somewhere

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies have been in my mom's cookie line-up for years, and deservedly so. They have an unexpected cake- or bread-like consistency, leading my brother and his college roommates to debate whether they were cookies, cake or bread. The recipe surprisingly doesn't call for eggs, and everything on the ingredient list is nonperishable, so it's easy to keep the ingredients on hand for whenever you feel like making them. Mom used to send them to me in care packages at college, and my floormates went nuts over them.

I made these tonight because we have some friends coming over to watch the LSU-Florida game. Brad made a big batch of his killer chili, which we're going to serve over Fritos. That's a great dish for Fall, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies just seemed to make sense with the cooler weather theme.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter flavor Crisco
2 c sugar
1 15-oz can pumpkin
4 c flour
2 c chopped walnuts (optional)
2 tsp vanilla
2 c chocolate chips
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix all ingredients together. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Oh, how I love gingersnaps!

Gingersnaps are one of my favorite cookies, and my mom has the best recipe EVER. My freshman year of college, my roommate would go nuts every time my mom sent them in a care package. I don't know what it is that makes this recipe so awesome, bu you know, it's just one of those things you don't question. They rock. That's enough for me.

I veganized them this evening, with equally fantastic results. The only non-vegan ingredient in the original recipe was an egg, so I just substituted a ground flax seed and water mixture. They were delicious, spicy, crispy on the outside with just a little chewiness in the middle. The perfect gingersnap, in my opinion. Nice! They're great with a cup of tea, or a glass of almond milk. Dig in! Vegan gingersnaps! Hooray!



Vegan Gingersnaps

1 Tbsp ground flax seed
3 Tbsp water
¾ cup all-vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp molasses
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
¼ tsp cloves

Preheat oven to 375.

Whisk together flax seed and water. Set aside.

Cream together shortening, sugar and molasses. Add flax seed mixture, beating well. Sift together dry ingredients and add to batter, mixing well.

Roll into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes for soft, chewy cookies, or 12 minutes for crispy cookies.

TWD - Thanks for waiting!

First off, to the lovely people who commented about my sweet new puppy: Thank you! He is such a sweetie, and we just love him to pieces already! We got him from the same animal shelter where we adopted Gretel a couple months ago. In fact, when we adopted Gretel, we held Ringo and his siblings who had just been born a month before, but we weren't in the market for such a young puppy at the time. Little did we know that we'd be back a few months later to adopt the little guy. A really quick PSA: please support and adopt from your local animal shelter! There are so many awesome dogs who will be put down otherwise, but who are longing for a family to love. Check them out next time you're looking to add to your family.

Ok, now onto food.

It's time again for Tuesdays with Dorie. Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook chose this week's recipe, French Chocolate Brownies. And holy cow! These brownies rock!

At first when I read the recipe, I was nonplussed. Raisins? In brownies? Really? All week I was less than thrilled about this recipe, but then it hit me today: Raisins + Chocolate = Raisinettes. And the drooling commenced.



I worked all day today, and then I started these as soon as I got home. I cheated and melted my chocolate in the microwave, and they came together in a snap. I will admit that the batter tasted so good that we were on the verge of foregoing baking, and just eating it raw with a spoon, but we kept ourselves in check, and I'm glad that we did.

They're amazing! They're incredible! They're the best brownies I've ever tasted! I think they're going to become that go-to brownie recipe that I make often. Thank you, Di, for choosing such an amazing recipe!

Sadly, photos don't do these justice, or at least mine don't. But take my word for it, they're incredible!



French Chocolate Brownies
- makes 16 brownies
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Getting ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving:
The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing:
Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Traditional Madeleines

It's time again for Tuesdays with Dorie! This week's recipe, Traditional Madeleines, was chosen by Tara of Smells Like Home. I was really excited about this week's recipe, because I've always wanted to make Madeleines. I lived in Spain for much of elementary and junior high school, and we always used to buy bags of Spanish Magdalenas. They're much like Madeleines, but in mini cupcake form rather than shells.

I bought a Madeleine pan a couple years ago in Japan, but have never used it until now. It's about time, right?

The batter was ridiculously easy to mix up, with just a few simple ingredients. It needs to chill at least three hours, or up to two days, so there's tons of flexibility with this recipe. Mix up the batter when you have a few spare minutes, then come back to it sometime within the next two days, and you're good to go. They bake very quickly, too, just over 10 minutes, so the active time spent on this recipe is really minimal.

My pan only holds six Madeleines, which is probably a good thing, since I didn't know exactly how full to fill them. Turns out I filled the first pan too high. Woops. I baked them for 11 minutes, not being sure exactly how brown they were supposed to get. And in spite of very generously buttering and flouring the pan, they still stuck like you wouldn't believe. I whacked them against the counter and everything, but they didn't budge. Big bummer. I chalked it up to it being a brand new pan.



You may want to shield your eyes. This ain't pretty.



The carnage!

The second batch, however, turned out beautifully! I cooked them for the full 14 minutes, figuring that that may have been part of the reason the first batch stuck as much as they did. And this time when I rapped the pan on the counter, to my delight, the Madeleines popped right out. Woohoo!

Everyone has been talking about the characteristic bump on the non-scalloped side of the Madeleines. I think mine had it. I mean, they weren't flat or anything, and they did bump up nicely on that side, but I don't know if there was something more I should have been shooting for. No matter, though, because they tasted incredible. Soft inside, with a little crispiness on the outside. Absolutely amazing. I can't wait to make these again!







Traditional Madeleines
From Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours


2/3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) (85g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don’t worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven’s heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.

Just before serving, dust the madeleines with confectioners’ sugar.

Makes 12 large or 36 mini cookies

Serving: Serve the cookies when they are only slightly warm or when they reach room temperature, with tea or espresso.

Storing: Although the batter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, the madeleines should be eaten soon after they are made. You can keep them overnight in a sealed container, but they really are better on day 1. If you must store them, wrap them airtight and freeze them; they’ll keep for up to 2 months.

Dark Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Brad was craving something sweet today, so I chose these chocolate crinkle cookies that I found on All Recipes. They're dark, rich and chocolatey. They're a little time consuming to make, since you have to let the dough chill for awhile, then you have to fuss with scooping them and rolling in powdered sugar, but they're worth the time and trouble. Good stuff!



Dark Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, stir the dry ingredients into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift powdered sugar into a shallow bowl. Using two spoons, drop dough by teaspoons into powdered sugar, one or two at a time. Toss to coat and gently shape into balls. Place on prepared cookie sheets, 2 inches apart.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Mascarpone Brownies

I've seen these Mascarpone Brownies on blogs all over the place, and have really been wanting to try them. The look so dense and chocolately and fabulous that I couldn't resist. I wanted a dessert for this evening that my mother-in-law was coming over for dinner, and this was the first thing I thought of.

(Isn't that a pretty plate, by the way? I bought it at the Daiso (100 Yen Store) in Japan right before we moved, and now I really wish I had bought a whole matching set. So bright and cheery!)


I couldn't get mascarpone at the local grocery store, and didn't really have time to trek all the way out to a bigger store, so I subbed cream cheese whipped with some half-and-half instead. Not having tried the real deal, I don't know how these measured up in taste, but they were absolutely delicious and decadent, and they look just like the pictures I've seen of those made with mascarpone, so I'll call them a success. ; )

I was afraid the kids wouldn't care for them since they're so rich, but they loved them!

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies
Cookworks Show on Food Network Canada via Recipezaar via The Kitchen Sink

For the Brownies:
1 cup unsalted butter (plus more for preparing pan)
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325°. Butter an 8-inch square glass baking pan and set aside.

Place the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at half power in 30 second intervals, stirring between each heating. Continue until both are completely melted.

Sift sugar and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/chocolate mixture. Beat in (by hand) the mascarpone, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth. Fold in flour and salt.

Pour batter into pan and spread evenly.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on cooling rack.

For the Ganache:
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter and cream over medium heat, stirring constantly. When mixture is almost boiling, pour over the chocolate. Let stand for 30 seconds. Then, stir until smooth.

Pour ganache over cooled brownies and spread evenly.

Allow ganache to firm before cutting brownies. Brownies may be placed in refrigerator to expedite this.

Meringue Cookies

After seeing Jenn's posts about making meringue cookies with her daughter, I was compelled to make some myself. We used to buy these a lot at the commissaries in Bremerton and Yokosuka, but it's been a long time since I've had one. I always figured they would be way too much work to make at home. I tend to have those kind of misconceptions about recipes that involve something as complex as (gasp!) filling a pastry bag, or baking in two parts (as in a crust and a filling). I am such a dork, because it's not like those things are even difficult, it's just that I often look at them as disqualifiers for recipe selection. Silly Food Slut...

Anyway, these were an absolute breeze to mix up! I didn't have a pastry bag on hand, so I used my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator instead, and it got the job done just fine.

There are a bunch of different ways you can make these...with different flavorings added (peppermint, vanilla, chocolate), with nuts or chocolate chips folded in, tinted with food coloring, or with crushed peppermint candies sprinkled on top. I went the very basic route, because I'm in a very basic kind of mood today. ; )

I tried several different shapes, but I think these hearts are my favorite!



Meringue Cookies

2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 200. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.

In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat to stiff peaks. The mixture will start to look glossy. Pipe onto the prepared baking sheets, or use two spoons to drop them in mounds.

Bake for 90 minutes. The meringues should be completely dry on the inside. They should not brown. Turn off the oven, keep oven door open a bit, and let the meringues sit in the oven until they have cooled completely. Carefully peel from the foil or parchment paper.

These will get soggy quickly in humid weather. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Linzer Cookies

1 c sliced almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans
2 c flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 c (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2/3 c sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla
2 large egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon
Powdered Sugar for dusting
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam (or other jam of your liking)

Preheat the oven to 350 and place rack in center of oven. Toast the almonds or pecans on a baking sheet for about 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Once the nuts have cooled, place in a food processor and process with 1/4 cup of the sugar from the recipe until finely ground. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract, egg yolks, and lemon zest. Beat in the ground nuts. Add the flour mixture beating just until incorporated. Divide the dough in half and shape into two rectangles about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap the two rectangles of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm – at least one hour and up to several days.

Preheat oven to 350 and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Remove one rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared pan. Use a smaller cookie cutter (3/4 - 1 inch) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. (You will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small 'window or cut out' in the top cookie so you can see the jam that will be underneath.)

Re-roll any scraps and cut out the cookies. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or until they are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

While the cookies are cooling place the raspberry jam in a small saucepan and heat gently until it has thickened slightly. Strain if there are any lumps in the jam. Let cool.

To Assemble Cookies: Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and lightly dust the tops with the confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar.

On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread a little (about 1/4 teaspoon) of the jam. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smudge the powdered sugar. Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam.

Makes about 15 3-inch sandwiched cookies.

Santa's Whiskers

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup flaked coconut

In mixer bowl, cream together butter or margarine and sugar. Blend in milk and vanilla. Stir in flour, dried cranberries and nuts. Form into 2 rolls, each 2 inches in diameter and 8 inches long. Roll in coconut. Wrap and chill several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375.

Slice dough 1/4 inch thick. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or till edges are golden.

Tuxedo Brownie Cups

1 package (19-21 oz) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies)
2 squares (1 oz ea) white chocolate for baking
2 Tbsp milk
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup thawed, frozen whipped topping
1 pint small strawberries, sliced
Orange Zest, mint leaves and melted semi sweet chocolate for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 325.

Spray cups of mini muffin pan with Pam. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies. Fill cups 2/3 full (a small scoop works well). Bake 14 minutes or until edges are set. Do not overbake.

Remove pan to cooling rack. Immediately press tops of brownies with mini-tart shaper to make indentations. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Loosen edges and gently remove brownies from pan. Cool completely. Wash pan, spray with cooking spray and repeat baking with remaining batter.

Microwave white chocolate and milk in small bowl, uncovered, for 1 minute; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. In medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar; mix well. Gradually stir in white chocolate mixture until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.

Fill pastry tube fitted with star tip with cream cheese mixture. Pipe cream cheese mixture into cooled brownie cups. Slice strawberries; arrange on tops of brownie cups. Garnish with orange zest and mint leaves or drizzle with melted semi-sweet chocolate, if desired. Place in airtight container and refrigerate 1-3 hours before serving.

Santa Face Cookies

1 roll Pilsbury sugar cookie dough (or your favorite sugar cookie recipe)
White frosting
Flaked coconut
Red tinted sugar
Mini marshmallows
Chocolate chips
Red hots

Bake sugar cookies in rounds as directed; cool completely.

To make Santa faces, frost each round with white frosting. Sprinkle coconut across the bottom half of the cookie for Santa’s beard. Sprinkle red sugar in an arc across the top of the cookie for Santa’s hat, placing a mini marshmallow at one end for the tassel (it will look like Santa’s hat is flopped over). Use chocolate chips for Santa’s eyes, and a red hot for his nose. These are really cute!

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

3 tablespoons butter
½ c smooth peanut butter
1 package (10 oz. about 40) regular marshmallows
or 4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Melt butter and peanut butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.

Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cut into 2-inch squares when cool. Best if served the same day.

Fruitcake Cookies

1 lb chopped dates
1/4 lb candied pineapple
1/4 lb candied cherries
1/2 lb chopped walnuts
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 325.

Cream together butter and sugar; add egg. Stir in dry ingredients. Fold in nuts and fruit. Drop by Tbsp on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

Frosted Scotch Drops

1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c sour cream
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream. Chill for at least 2 hours. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Frosting:
1/4 c butter
2 c powdered sugar
2 to 3 Tbsp sour cream

Mix together butter and sugar. Add sour cream 1 Tbsp at a time, until frosting consistency.

Mincemeat Filled Cookies

½ c shortening
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp cream (heavy cream or half-and-half)
1 tsp vanilla
2 ½ c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 jar mincemeat

Thoroughly mix together shortening, sugar and eggs. Stir in cream and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients and stir in to sugar mixture; chill dough.

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll dough to 1/16-inch thickness. For each cookie, cut out two 3-inch rounds using cookie cutter. Place a rounded tsp of mincemeat on one round, then top with other round, pressing edges to seal together. If desired cut a 1-inch circle from the center of the top round, allowing filling to show through.

Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes, until delicately browned.

Magic Cookies

AKA "Jesus Bars"

¾ stick of butter
1 c graham cracker crumbs
1 c coconut
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 c chopped walnuts or pecans
1 c sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in a 9x13 pan, then sprinkle evenly with graham cracker crumbs. Sprinkle coconut evenly, then nuts, then chocolate chips. Finally, drizzle sweetened condensed milk evenly over everything. Do not mix. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Chewy Brownie Cookies

2/3 c shortening
1 ½ c packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 ½ c flour
1/3 c cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
2 c semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, beat shortening, brown sugar, water and vanilla on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating on low speed just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set. Cookies will appear soft and moist. Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet, then remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Lemon Bars Deluxe

2 c flour
½ c powdered sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
1 c butter
4 beaten eggs
2 c sugar
1/3 c lemon juice
¼ c flour
½ tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift together 2 c flour and powdered sugar. Cut in butter until mixture clings together. Press into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Beat together eggs, sugar and lemon juice. Sift together ¼ c flour and baking powder; stir into egg mixture. Pour over baked crust. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar. Cool and cut into bars.

Scotch Shortbread

1 ¼ c flour
3 Tbsp cornstarch
About 1/3 c sugar, divided
½ c butter, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 325.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, ¼ cup of the sugar and the butter. With your fingers, rub mixture together until it is very crumbly and no large pieces remain. Press into a firm lump, using your hands. Place dough (it is crumbly) in a 8- or 9-inch diameter cake pan with a removable bottom and press out firmly and evenly. Impress edge of dough with the tines of a fork to make a decorative border, then price surface evenly.

Bake until pale golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and, while warm, cut with a sharp knife into 8 to 12 wedges; sprinkle with about 1 Tbsp sugar. Let cool, then remove pan sides and transfer cookies to a serving tray or airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 1 week (freeze if you want to keep longer).