Know what I hate about baking?  Cleaning up.  I'm so bad when it comes to cleaning up after nomming down on a few fresh-baked cookies.  I take one look at the table covered with flour, saran wrap, bowls, sugar, and anything else I had to use and say, "Ugh..I'll do it in five minutes. I need to rest after spending all day making my cookies."

Even right now, I have a table full of stuff that I'm going to have to clean up before I go to bed! It's such a mess!  Right now, I have a huge tv on the floor in my kitchen because the new HD tv we got from my father is in the old tv's place.  I have nowhere to put this old thing!  I don't want to get rid of it though.  We will probably be moving in a few months and I'm hoping to have a place for it there.  If not, I'll get rid of it then.  But what about now?  Well, right now It's taking up space and making it even more difficult to clean and a whole lot easier to procrastinate. Oh well... it will get done.  I think, though, that after this project, I'm done creating for a few days... I need to focus my attention on cleaning the rest of the house too!

Soooo, what did I make?  I made my own rendition of Linzer cookies!  See, I had this idea to make them heart-shaped.  I was sure it had been done before, but what strikes me now, after doing some searching, is that my 'creative idea' had been done almost exactly like so many others!  This is the picture I took after making my cookies: 

And here's the cookies I found here:Simply Recipes

It's even on a red plate!!  Obviously they read  my future back in 2007, knew I was going to make these in 2011 and decided to beat me to the punch.  Either that or it just goes to show that my mind is in tune with other mighty chefs! Either way works for me. At least my recipe differs a slight bit. 

These cookies aren't all that easy to make, but they're worth it.  When first I took a taste of the dough, I had to go for a second helping!  But later, I found, that that dough tastes even better cooked and then refrigerated!  I made them pretty big  (I don't really have small graduated heart cutters)   so really, they're like a small meal and they're really great as a snack.  So I have them in individual baggies so that I can pull one out and chow down if I'm starving and I've got a few hours before dinner.  These things are packed with nuts and sandwich a spread of jelly soo they can't be too too bad for me?  Right?  Well, ok, they're still cookies.  Lets not forget that.  Alongside the nuts comes a healthy helping of sugar and a big-butt load of butter.

 

Here is my recipe:

What you'll need

• 1 C Hazelnuts (chopped)
• 1/4 C Almonds (chopped)  
• 3 C Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking powder
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp Chocolate powder 
• 1 C   Sugar
• 1/4 C Milk
• 1 1/2 C Butter (room temp)
• 2  Large Eggs
• 1/2 Tsp   Vanilla extract
• Jelly/Preserves for filling
• Confectioner's sugar for dusting

What you'll do:

First, make sure the nuts are chopped up very very fine, but not to where it's pasty.  Then, in your mixing bowl, cream together your butter and sugar. Gradually add your nuts, then eggs one at a time. Add your milk and then vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, chocolate, cinnamon, and baking powder.  Carefully add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and finish mixing.  Once completely mixed, the dough will still be hard to manage, so roll it out onto a table and form into 2 or 3 separate disks or loafs.  Wrap them in saran wrap and chill in the fridge until the disks are firm enough to roll out. 

Once they've chilled, remove from fridge and place on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper.  Roll the loaf out until it's about a 1/4 inch thick, lightly flour the top and set aside.  Take out the next loaf and repeat.  Stack the sheets on top of each other and chill again.  By the time you are done rolling them out, they will have softened enough to be hard to handle again, so wait until the sheets have firmed up again and then set one out on your table.

Preheat your oven to 350f

Cut out your first shape, in my case, the larger heart, and place on your cookie sheet. Once you've filled your sheet, cut out the center shape of half the cookies on the baking sheet, in my case, the smaller heart.  Bake the cookies for about 11-16 minutes.

Once the cookies are done, remove them from the oven and allow to cool.  Then, spread your jelly on the bottom halves of the cookies.  Before putting the cookies together, sprinkle powdered sugar on the top halves of the cookies.  Then assemble.

I prefer to refrigerate the cookies before eating, but you can still eat them once you're done.

Enjoy!

 

By the way, I did clean my kitchen...

The other day, I just had the urge to make a dessert I haven't made in a while (or one I've never done before.)  I had been thinking and reading about cookies all day.  I spent a good few hours looking at things about effects of different ingredients, flavors, and all the other sciency stuff about baking- cookies in specific.  I found a few good recipes that I want to try out, but nothing really stood out to me. 

mmm, tres leches

I was going to make tacos that night- nothing really fancy or time consuming, so I thought it would be nice to compliment the tacos with a mexican dessert.  What first popped into my mind was somehow making a tres leches cookie, but the more I thought about it, the more I didn't really want to experiment with something of that caliber so close to dinner time.  So, I further looked into Mexican desserts. Again, I found lots of delicious recipes, but the problem was, I either was missing some ingredient, or I knew my son wouldn't like it.

A lot of Mexican desserts use cinnamon and every time I came across that word, one recipe kept coming to mind.

Kana had mentioned almost a year ago how she loved these little cookies when she was younger.  She had even obtained the recipe from her sister and gave it to me.  The recipe had been sitting in my recipe box since then.  So, that night, I made Molasses Crinkles.

Little side story:  When I was a little kid, my family was having a Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's house.  My mother and her friend were making pumpkin pie.  When it was done, we tried it, it was bland.  They had forgotten the sugar.  I had made fun of her up until this point.  When I made these cookies, I forgot the sugar!  Luckily, I had enough dough left after the first batch that I could knead in some sugar and save the last batch of cookies.  They taste good now!  :-)

Ok, so how do you make these tasty little cookie balls?
What you need:
3/4 C    Cooking oil
1    C    Sugar
1/4 C    Dark molasses
1           Egg
2    Tsp Baking Soda
2    C    Sifted flour
1/2 Tsp Cloves
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1    Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Salt

What you do:
Preheat oven to 350f.

Mix together your sugar, molasses, eggs and oil.  Beat well, then sift together your flour, baking soda, spices,
and salt.  Add to the first mixture.  Mix well.  Wrap dough in saran wrap and chill. 

Form 1-inch balls of the dough and then roll in loose sugar.  Place balls on a greased cookie sheet roughly 1-2
inches apart.

Bake for about 7-8 minutes.  The idea is to have the cookies be soft and chewy.  Let cool before
serving.

Ps.. Don't forget the sugar!

Ok, so... I have to admit that until last night, I had never made checkerboard cookies.  It really wasn't all that hard.  I wouldn't put it in a list of easy recipes.  Martha Stewart says they're easy, but then again, you can't always trust what that woman says.  Her police record is proof to that!  The dough was very crumbly and hard to knead and maneuver and stacking the strips to make the  bricks was difficult as well. 

But they were fun to make!  You get all messy with the egg wash and kneading the chocolate into the dough was all too pleasing.  It reminded me of the Mythbuster's episode where they polished poop balls because by the time I was done, I had a shiny brown ball that looked dangerously like something I saw on the TV!

I'm not too pleased with the way Martha's recipe tasted, though, so now that I know the technique, I intend to tweak the recipe a bit to my liking before putting a card up for it. Sorry... if you want Martha's recipe, it's here.

Cookies aside, I feel the urge to express my jealousy of a co-worker of mine.  For her birthday on December 31'st, her boyfriend bought her a diamond Hello Kitty watch.   Freakin diamonds and Hello Kitty together on her wrist.  How freakin' awesome is that?  I knew they were out there and have seen some in some jewelry stores, but never that close! 
I tried to take a picture, but it came out really blurry so..blah.  I tried looking around online to try and find it to see how much it cost, but no luck there.  Hell, Amazon.com has hello kitty diamond watches ranging anywhere from $30.00-$1,300.00!  Unbelievable!  I'd ask for one, but I can't really wear watches too well.  I have a bad habit of chewing on watches.  So, I just put them on my purse strap instead.

My purse got quite the makeover when McDonald's came out with these watches.  The second these came in the store, I had my wallet ready!  They go well with my Hello Kitty super ultra fluffy pink bathrobe and marker-customizable Hello Kitty messenger bag and all that other stuff I have. 

Ok, since I don't have a recipe card for the Checkerboard cookies, I'll supply the one for the Roast I made for Yule.  Yes...I did cheat on the marinade.  What can I say?  The pre-made stuff is good!

Enjoy

Well, I hate to say it, but this Yule time could have gone better! I suppose a good deal of bitterness has developed after two years of missing my mother. This is also almost the time of year that I found myself homeless a year ago.

However, this is also the time that I turned my life around and, in five more days, I will be celebrating the one year anniversary of when my partner and I made our commitment. Naturally, I will be working, but it's still exciting to think that so much time has gone by so quickly and with little incident. I also reconnected to an uncle of mine that I had no idea had so much in common with me. So, I still write this year up as a win for me.

I have to say that the best gift this year is the wii that Santa brought to our family, but the more useful of gifts(I still haven't gotten some from other family members) so far was a brand new Kitchen Aid mixer!



Before, I was mixing everything with a whisk, fork, and hand. Then, I had bought a six dollar had mixer at Wal Mart. That was a waste of money. The first batch of chocolate chip cookies I made nearly burned the motor out and it's not like the dough was over-thick or anything either. But this sweet momma has turned my cooking around entirely! Sure, I have to pull a TV tray out and hold it steady while I'm mixing (I have no counter space), but it's so much faster and efficient! I can't wait to see how it will be able to help me with pizza dough!

Of course, my favorite present came from my son.




Those are my partner's lovely hands by the way.

One more good thing about this Yule Time has been a great improvement in my cooking and baking skills and reputation. Having my own kitchen to work in has been a big factor in this- not to mention a growing family. It's not just me and my son anymore. My partner is a part of the household and I LOVE to cook for her as well as my son. (My son just happens to be too picky to be able to properly appreciate and critique what I do.)

Kana, my partner, just so happens to be a major carnivore and has been longing for a steak or a roast, or SOMETHING that is thick, meaty, and rare. I've never been too big on overly-meaty dishes, and red meat isn't all that appealing too me, so cooking it has been somewhat foreign to me. So, one of the presents for my hubby this year was to learn the special art of cooking a roast!




My first ever roast came out great! Even I liked it a little bit. The potatoes and the gravy were especially good. I'll have to share the recipe I used later. I do want to share one recipe with everyone though.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

This isn't an original or new concept, especially to experienced bakers or cookie eaters, but to a lot of people, it's a favorite! My family love these and so do some of my co-workers. In fact, I was asked to make these as a Christmas present for some. So, I may as well share, just because I'm proud to say I can make these- and well at that.

You can use any peanut butter cookie recipe, but if you don't know any, you can use the one I use. This recipe is a hand-me-down recipe from my partner's side of the family.

What you will need
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C brown, packed sugar
1/2 C softened shortening
1/2 C peanut butter
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 3/4 C white flour
1 Tsp baking soda
1/2 Tsp salt
20 oz bag of Reesee's mini peanut butter cups (how many depends on how many cookies you make. I recommend estimating high and having leftovers)

How to do it
Preheat oven to 375f.
Cream shortening and sugars together, then add the peanut butter, milk, vanilla and egg. Mix until smooth.
Sift together all the dry ingredients and then gradually add to the liquid mixture.
Once all ingredients have been nicely blended, spoon balls slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball onto a greased cookie sheet. Flatten the balls in a criss-cross pattern with a fork.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
While cookies are baking, begin unwrapping your peanut butter cups.
When cookies begin to brown, remove from oven and immediately push the peanut butter cups into the center.
Allow to cool, then enjoy.


Enjoy the cookies, everyone, and I'll be back later!