Tag: Christmas

Peanut Butter Blossoms

pb blossoms

 

 

 

 

 

My mom, Genny, made these cookies every Christmas when I was growing up. Her recipe involved a box of yellow cake mix, and I suspect that’s because she was a busy lady with a full-time job, two children, a million things to do at Christmas, and very little time for completely scratch-made treats.

Charlie Brown asked the immortal question “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is really all about?” and the ever-earnest Linus Van Pelt (who I suspect became a minister when he grew up) gave him a thoughtful answer in this clip. I think we’d all do well to remember, in this time of door-busters and inflatable snowmen and pop stars crooning about chestnuts and drummer boys and reindeer, what Christmas is really all about. So enjoy your friends and family. Bake some cookies (these ones, maybe?). Buy creative gifts from local merchants. Hang out in your pajamas. And take some time to reflect on what Christmas is really all about, and what it really means to you.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar, for rolling
  • 36 Hershey’s Kisses

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line several baking sheets with foil or parchment paper.

Unwrap 36 Kisses and set aside in a cool place, away from the heat of the oven so they don’t start to melt.

In a small bowl, measure out 1/4 cup sugar for rolling; set aside.

In another small bowl, measure out 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat shortening and peanut butter until smooth.

Add sugar mix and beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until combined.

Add flour and beat until well-combined.

Using a one-inch cookie scoop, scoop out dough and roll into balls; roll balls in sugar and place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-11 minutes; remove from oven and immediately press one Kiss in the center of each, then transfer the entire baking sheet to a wire rack away from the oven to cool for about 5 minutes.

Remove cookies and cool completely on a wire rack.

 

 

 

Nut Roll Update

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a brief update from the nut roll front.  Using the same recipe as last time, I successfully baked three nut rolls without them splitting open!  While one roll did split, I’m very happy with this outcome. Apparently so is Millie, my dog, who can be seen peeking up at the counter in the photo above.

This time, I used a few new tricks, including:

  • Using the paddle attachment to mix my dough;
  • Kneading the dough for about nine minutes, rather than the standard six to eight;
  • Rolling the dough to approximately 10×10;
  • Using much less filling, perhaps a quarter-cup, in each roll;
  • Pricking the tops of each roll with a fork to vent the steam;
  • Brushing each roll with an egg wash of one whole egg mixed with water; and
  • Perhaps most importantly, baking two of the rolls in lightly greased loaf pans; these definitely held up better than the two rolls that were baked on baking sheets.

Stay tuned for more adventures in nut roll!

 

Nut Roll

 

 

 

 

 

Food is a powerful link to heritage and cultural tradition.  My paternal grandparents, Andy and Zella Kozusko, prepared many Slovak and Hungarian foods at holidays, and while I refused to eat pig’s feet, hrudka (eggs and milk cooked together to make a sort of “cheese”), and hard-boiled eggs soaked in beet juice, I always loved nut roll.  Zella made nut rolls and poppy seed rolls each Christmas and Easter, and I planned to use her recipe, which called for fresh yeast, for this baking adventure.  I did a bit of reading about fresh yeast, and learned the hard way that when the yeast experts say fresh yeast is highly perishable, they really mean it.  The cake I bought went moldy in less than a week, even though it wasn’t anywhere near its expiration date.  Oh well.

Since I had plenty of active dry yeast, I found another recipe online and used jars of nut filling instead of making my own from scratch.  While these turned out to be very tasty, all but one of my four rolls split while baking, oozing filling out the sides.  Next time, I think I’ll make my own filling, not roll the dough as thin, and not spread the filling on as thick.  I also hope to learn the secrets of perfect nut roll preparations from a friend of my mom’s who bakes them each Christmas with his family, which Mike jokingly called my “nut roll internship.”  I can only hope!

Ingredients

  • 6-7 cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 packages active dry yeast (1/4 ounce each)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces sour cream
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup water
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3 jars nut filling

Preparation

Grease a large bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine two cups flour with the sugar, yeast, and salt.

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, sour cream, and water.  Heat to 120 – 130 degrees, then combine with flour mixture and beat for two minutes.

Add ½ cup flour and eggs.  Beat for two minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough flour to make a soft dough, then turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Place in greased bowl, turning over once to coat, and let rise until doubled in size.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Punch dough down and divide into four portions; form each portion into a ball, then press it down and roll it into a 12×12 square.

Spread each square with a thin layer of nut filling, leaving an edge of about 1 inch on each side.  Roll up into a log, pinching the seam to seal it and carefully tucking the ends under.  Place seam-side down on the baking sheet.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size; I preheat my oven while the dough is rising to help it along.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Cool on parchment on wire racks.

Russian Tea Cakes

These classic powdered sugar-covered treats are also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies, but my husband calls them Nut Bombs.  One Christmas during my childhood, my mom Genny (who fully admits that she’s no Betty Crocker) attempted to bake a batch.  I’m not sure what went wrong with her recipe, but they turned out like rocks and she called them Christmas Bombs.  I must have told Mike this story way back when we were just dating, but it stuck with him.  This past Christmas, a colleague of Mike’s asked if I could bake these for her, and when he told me what she wanted, he said, “you know, those nut bombs.”

Today’s batch is for my sister-in-law Kristin.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup finely chopped walnuts

2 ¼ cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt

powdered sugar for rolling

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat butter, ½ cup powdered sugar, and vanilla together until creamy.

Stir in nuts, flour, and salt until dough comes together; you may need to reach in with your hands and knead the dough a bit.

Shape into balls using a small cookie scoop.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are light golden brown.

Let cool about 4 or 5 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar and place on a wire rack to cool.

When completely cool, roll in powdered sugar again.