Christmas Sweets: Sugar & Spice Pecans

This recipe always gets raves from my neighbors. The secret to it is the salt and periodic stirring as the pecans bake. Even when I make a large batch, I run out!

Ingredients:

2 lbs of pecans (32 ounces)

2 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Beat egg whites to a light froth. In a large bowl, mix with pecans and toss to coat. Mix sugar, salt, and spices separately and pour over pecans, tossing again to distribute evenly over the nuts. Place in a single layer on a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet (I divide the mixture between two sheets). Bake at 225 degrees for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

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!

Brandied Plum Sauce

This is the best time of year for plums. They are plentiful and fresh and everywhere. We love to slice them up and eat them raw, but last night I was searching for a way to enjoy them cooked. This is what we came up with. Joe had it on vanilla ice cream last night, and this morning I tried it on Saturday French Toast (even though it is Thursday). It was truly delicious.

Ingredients:
2 fresh black plums
1 tbs water
1 tbs sugar
1-2 tsp brandy

Working carefully over a small saucepan, peel one of the plums, pit it, and quarter it. Leave the skin on the other, pit and quarter it. (Working over the saucepan ensures that you don't lose any of the tasty juice.) Place plum slices into the saucepan. Add water and 1/2 tsp sugar. Bring to a boil, turn down and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, gently mashing the plum slices with your spoon. The skins in the mixture will give the plum sauce a beautiful red color. After the 10 minutes, fish them out and discard. Add the remaining 1/2 tsp sugar and stir, cooking an additional minute or two. Turn off the heat. Add your brandy, 1/2 tsp at a time, stirring and tasting as you go, until the sauce suits your taste.

Enjoy!

Crispy Sugar Surprise Cookies

Here's another of our family's favorites. You'll never guess these cookies are eggless or that their secret ingredient is vinegar. They come out crispy and delicious every time and truly melt in your mouth. Make them -- they're sure to disappear!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. white vinegar
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla
Colored sugar sprinkles

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. Chill dough for 30 minutes.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, mixed with your favorite colored sugar sprinkles -- this is a great job for the kids. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet (cookie will spread quite a bit, so leave plenty of room). Flatten to 1/4 inch thickness with the bottom of a glass, dipped in sugar. Bake 12-15 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to cooling rack.

Enjoy!