Christmas Cookie #1: Surprise Sugar Cookies

My family is crazy over Christmas cookies. We bake them. We exchange them with friends. We use and re-use old recipes, adapt recipes, and try new recipes. Because Christmas cookies are such a fun and important part of our holiday celebration, I thought I'd spend December posting old stand-bys and new favorites.

The first is Surprise Sugar Cookies -- they are crisp and tasty and they disappear fast! And the surprise is just how easy they are to make! We made a batch today (my three-year-old and I) in about a half hour. With her helping. A lot. (Get the picture?)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. white vinegar
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla
Red and green colored sugar sprinkles, mixed together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, combine butter and 3/4 cups sugar and beat until light and creamy. Add baking soda and mix until incorporated. Add vinegar. Gradually mix in flour and vanilla. (The dough should be quite thick.) Roll dough into 1 inch balls.

Roll the balls in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, mixed with the colored sugar sprinkles -- this is a great job for the kids. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet (cookie will spread quite a bit, so leave plenty of room). To make it easier to bring the cookies from the sheet to a cooling rack, I line my cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Julia's Pumpkin Cake

I made this cake for my family last night and they loved it! It has a moist texture and just enough sweetness without being too sweet. I used fresh pumpkin puree (from my Perfect Baked Pumpkin recipe), but you can use canned if you need to. This is one of my favorite fall sweets and it's so easy!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pumpkin puree

Mix brown sugar, oil, applesauce and eggs. Sift in the flour, soda, salt, and spices. Mix well with an electric mixer until there are no lumps (3-4 minutes on medium). Add pumpkin puree. Mix again for one minute. Bake in greased and floured 9x13 cake pan at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out completely clean. Cool completely and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. (so yummy!)

Enjoy!

NanaJane's Minestrone Soup

My mother had a wonderful way of making this soup just when we needed it most -- after a day of leaf-raking or chopping wood for the woodstove. It was such a welcome feeling to walk into the warm house and smell this wonderful soup on the stove. One bowl would turn you from chilled-to-the-bone straight into warm-n-cozy. (I think it's magic.)

Ingredients

1 Tbs oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup green beans
2 cup tomatoes, smashed (canned work best)
1 cup of white beans (canellini, navy, Lima etc.)
1 zucchini, cut into half-moon slices
1/4 cup fresh parsley (or1 Tbsp dry)
1 tsp basil and 1 tsp oregano, dried
1 bay leaf
8 cups of beef broth
salt and pepper to taste
4 oz. small pasta (any variety)
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, celery and carrots for about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta and cheese, and cook over low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cook pasta separately, then add to soup right before serving. top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Serve with nice, crusty bread.

Enjoy!

Megan's Cranberry Bread

Megan bakes this bread every year and gives it away as gifts. It is so tasty and moist, with a hint of citrus and those tangy, tart cranberries. We look forward to it every November!

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fresh orange zest
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tbs water
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup raw cranberries

Mix dry ingredients and add egg. In a saucepan, melt butter and add water and orange juice. Pour wet ingredients into batter and mix well. Fold in pecans and cranberries. Bake in greased loaf pans at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

"Impossible" Coconut Custard Pie

This is a recipe from my childhood. We called "Impossible Pie" because it is crustless. I can think of no circumstance in which it could be considered healthy. It is decadent and wonderful and best in small slices.

Ingredients

4 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla

Blend all ingredients until fully incorporated. Pour into a 10 inch greased and floured pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

NanaJane's Pumpkin Pie

The secret ingredients of this classic recipe are honey and molasses. They give NanaJane's pumpkin pie a flavor that's just different enough to set it apart at Thanksgiving time.

Ingredients:

One 8-9 inch pie crust, unbaked

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cup mashed pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1 Tbs molasses
1 Tbs honey
1 can of evaporated milk

Blend together the eggs and pumpkin. Add sugar, salt, spices, molasses and honey. Mix well. Stir in evaporated milk. Pour custard carefully into crust and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue baking for 40-45 minutes. If crust starts to get too brown, cover the edge with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking.

Enjoy!

Tante Dedi's Porkchops with Dill Gravy

When I was seventeen, I spent a summer in Northern Germany. It was my first trip outside North America. I was fortunate enough to spend part of my time with a friend's Great Aunt in her beautiful home called the Hahnheider Hof. She prepared this recipe for us, and took the time to teach it to me (as I spent time learning German from the local children, Silke, Ole, and Jan.) It remains one of my favorites to this day. I cannot prepare it without thinking of her.

Ingredients
4 boneless center-cut pork chops
1 cup flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
1 egg
2 tbs water
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tbs fresh dill weed (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tbs corn starch
1 cup sour cream
1 lemon, sliced

Lightly tenderize the pork chops -- I pound them to about 3/4 inch thickness, thinner if I want them to cook faster. Beat the egg with the water and set aside. Dredge the chops in seasoned flour, dip them in the egg mixture, and bread them with the breadcrumbs. Allow them to rest for 5 minutes on a platter. In a large skillet, heat the butter and oil. Brown the chops over medium heat until golden, about 4 minutes per side. (If chops are thick, you may want to finish them in the oven. If thin, skillet cooking will be enough.) Place chops on a heat-proof dish and place in a warm oven. Pour chicken stock into skillet and heat, scraping up any bits left on the cooking surface. Reduce by half. Mix dill, corn starch, and sour cream. Remove pan from the heat and gently whisk in sour cream mixture. Return to the heat and gently heat through until thickened and bubbling.

Squeeze lemon slices over breaded chops and serve with dill gravy on top or on the side. I always prepare boiled potatoes with this dish. Potatoes with this gravy are to die for (even though it is definitely a diet-buster, it is so worth it.)

Enjoy!

NanaJane's Pumpkin Muffins

When I was a girl, my mother would serve these muffins as a surprise addition to her oven-fried chicken dinners. I looked forward to their moist texture and perfect sweet-spiciness. Pumpkin muffins were a welcome sign that Fall had arrived. I am so blessed to be able to pass on this recipe to my own children. I love to see their delighted eyes when they spy this delicious treat on our supper table.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
(see Perfect Baked Pumpkin)
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled slightly
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped nuts or raisins (optional)

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add wet ingredients. Mix gently with a wooden spoon or spatula until the batter is just moistened and lumpy. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. (Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar if you like.) Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and serve piping hot.

Enjoy!