Chocolate Thumbprints

second cookie of the holiday season!


Chocolate Thumbprints

20 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, divided
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon corn syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside. If you are not using parchment or a silicone baking mat, you do not need to grease the baking sheet.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together 2 stick of the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium-high.
3. Using a small cookie scoop or heaping teaspoons, roll the dough into balls, and place 1-inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and make an indentation into the middle of each cookie. Return to oven, and bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
4. Combine chocolate, 4 tablespoons butter, and corn syrup in a small heat-proof bowl. Set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternately, you can microwave the mixture on 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until completely melted and smooth.) Allow to cool slightly. When cookies are cool, fill the thumbprints with the chocolate mixture.

(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living, December/January 1994/1995)

Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam

"Linz is the third largest city in Austria.  Beautifully bifurcated by the Danube River, Linz was originally founded by the Romans.  Later it served as a provincial city of the Holy Roman Emperor.  With a current population of nearly 200,000, Linz is diametrically known for its steel and chemical industry as well as its endorsement of music and art.  Linzer cookies employ the same recipe as the Linzertorte but instead the dough is cut into cookies and two of them form a sandwich around the preserves.  Moreover, the top cookie has a small cutout in its center (known as Linzer eyes), thus exposing the underlying jam and adding to the visual appeal.  While the traditional cutout is circular, all sorts of shapes, such as hearts, are also popular".

by Mark R. Vogel

lets get daring and make linzer cookies.  something we never made before.

 

Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam

• 2/3 cup hazelnuts (3 oz)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 12-oz jar seedless raspberry jam

• Special equipment: a 2- to 2 1/4-inch fluted round cookie cutter and assorted 1/2-inch shaped cookie cutters or aspic cutters

Preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Toast hazelnuts in a shallow baking pan until fragrant and skins begin to loosen, about 6 minutes. Rub nuts in a kitchen towel to remove any loose skins (some skins may not come off), then cool to room temperature.

Pulse nuts and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a food processor until nuts are finely ground.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with paddle) or 6 minutes with a handheld. Add nut mixture and beat until combined well, about 1 minute. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

With floured hands, form dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 5-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

Roll out 1 disk of dough into an 11-inch round (1/8 inch thick) between 2 sheets of wax paper (keep remaining dough chilled). If dough becomes too soft to roll out, rewrap in plastic and chill until firm. Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with larger cookie cutter and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging about 1 inch apart. Using smaller cutters, cut out centers from half of the cookies, reserving centers and rerolling along with scraps (reroll only once). Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are golden, 10 to 15 minutes total, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies from second disk.

Spread about 1 teaspoon jam on flat side of 1 solid cookie and sandwich jam with flat side of 1 windowed cookie. Sandwich remaining cookies in same manner.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Linzer-Cookies-233295#ixzz2mnWi8Cud

Baked Pineapple Casserole

my friend told me about this recipe.  he says he used to have this dish as a boy during thanksgiving in the south.  i've never heard of this so i went ahead and made it.

Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
1 (20-ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained, and 3 tablespoons pineapple juice reserved
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (recommended: Ritz)
4 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a medium-size casserole dish with butter.

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and flour. Gradually stir in the cheese. Add the drained pineapple chunks, and stir until ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

In another medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, melted butter, and reserved pineapple juice, stirring with a rubber spatula until evenly blended. Spread crumb mixture on top of pineapple mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_24448_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html?oc=linkback