Pumpkin Spice Biscotti with Chocolate Chips

 

Are you all familiar with Fika, the late morning/mid afternoon coffee break that the Swedes enjoy? I have fully embraced that custom, and I think you should too. While it’s rare that I take a break in the morning, I most definitely do every afternoon; I look forward to it. I hold it hostage until I get my chores done, so that I am able to relax and enjoy it, knowing that I have truly earned it. Instead of a pastry with my coffee, I have a cookie of some sort. This gives me an excuse to make cookies, and that’s always a good thing. This afternoon I was able to have a pumpkin spice chocolate chip biscotti because I had made them this morning specifically with afternoon in mind. They are a wonderful treat this time of year, and biscotti is very easy to make.Pumpkin Spice Biscotti with Chocolate Chips

2 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

½ T. pumpkin pie spice

½ t. kosher salt

1 large egg

¾ c. pumpkin puree

¼ c. packed light brown sugar

¼ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. mini chocolate chips

2 T. granulated sugar

¼ t. cinnamon

 Preheat oven to 350°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk egg, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. Add dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until combined; stir in mini chips.

Divide dough in half and place them side-by-side on the prepared baking sheet. Slightly wet your hands and pat each half to a rectangle approximately 8” x 2” wide. In a small bowl or ramekin, stir together the 2 T. sugar along with the ¼ t. cinnamon. Sprinkle tops with the cinnamon sugar.

Bake until lightly golden and firm to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife (I used this one, it cut through them like butter.) cut on the diagonal into ¾”-thick slices. Return to baking sheets cut side down.

Bake for 15 more minutes, flip to the other side and bake for 15 more minutes. Let cool completely.

Biscotti lasts a good long time. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

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Salted Caramel Nut Bars

 

A couple of weeks ago, I provided you with a delicious recipe for Artichoke Portobello Soup that came from the wonderful Kneader’s Bakery and Cafe Cookbook. Here’s another one that is simple to make, perfect for the holidays, and fabulously delicious! It’s the last recipe from this cookbook that you’ll get from me, you’re just going to have to buy it yourself, and let me say it is well worth it.

I realize that there are nut people and non-nut people. Clearly these nut bars are for nut people, however, feel free to just use one type of nut, rather than mixed, if there’s one in particular that you prefer. I’ve adapted this recipe to make it even easier than it already is. They suggested mixing the dry ingredients together using a pastry blender to cut in the butter, but who has the time? I threw everything into a food processor, pulsed about seven times, and it came out perfectly.Salted Caramel Nut Bars

Adapted from the Kneader’s Bakery and Cafe Cookbook

1½ c. all-purpose flour
¾ c. packed brown sugar
¼ t. salt
½ c. +2 T. unsalted butter, softened, divided
2 c. salted mixed nuts without peanuts
1 c. butterscotch chips
½ c. light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Place flour, brown sugar, and salt into the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add ½ cup butter that has been cut into cubes. Pulse eight times to thoroughly blend. Turn out into a 9”x 13” baking pan with straight sides. Press evenly into the bottom of the pan. (I used a tart tamper for this.) Sprinkle nuts evenly over the crust.

In a 1-quart saucepan over low heat, mix the butterscotch chips, corn syrup, and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, stirring occasionally, until the chips are melted. Drizzle butterscotch mixture evenly over the nuts, being careful to cover the edges of the crust. Bake for five minutes. Cut into 12 pieces while still warm.

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Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Maple Bourbon Glaze

 

Generally speaking, I get a craving for pumpkin in mid-August, which is why you’ll find a lot of pumpkin recipes here on the blog during that time. I got the same craving this past August, bought quite a few cans of pumpkin purée, and then I never got around to using them. That changed last weekend when I was a whirling dervish in the kitchen. Over the course of three days, I spent about 24 hours on my feet in the kitchen experimenting with recipes. This one is delish! It’s good at breakfast, brunch, as a dessert at dinner, or any old time of the day. I found that it tasted better the second day, so that makes it wonderfully make ahead.Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Maple Bourbon Glaze

1¾ c. flour

1 t. baking soda

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

1/8 t. ground cloves

½ t. kosher salt

½ c. vegetable oil

½ c. sugar

½ c. packed dark brown sugar

1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree

2 large eggs, room temperature

¼ c. milk, room temperature

Crumb Topping

¾ c. flour

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. packed brown sugar

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

6 T. unsalted butter, melted

Maple Icing

1½ c. confectioners’ sugar

2 T. pure maple syrup

2 T. bourbon

 Preheat oven to 425°F. Line  an 8” x 8” pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2” overhang on two sides; spray with nonstick spray. .

 For the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold everything together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain.

 Pour into prepared pan.

 For the topping: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice together until combined. Stir in melted butter with a fork until crumbs form.

Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F and then reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 30-40 minutes.

Lift cake from pan using parchment paper overhang and place on serving plate. Slide the parchment out from beneath the cake and drizzle on glaze.

 Make the glaze: Whisk glaze ingredients together until combined and smooth. Cover tightly and store at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I think this tastes better on Day Two.

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Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies with Christmas Sprinkles

 

It is officially cookie baking season, and while I am not keen on baking of any sort, cookies in particular, I do set my feelings aside in favor of Christmas cookies, the best cookies of the year! I don’t like cookies that are fiddly, but these get a pass because they require no special equipment other than a bowl and a spoon. They come together in no time, and if you don’t find rolling them into balls too tedious, you are going to be rewarded with wonderful buttery cookies full of mini chocolate chips and holiday sprinkles. These will be a beautiful addition to your cookie tray, and melt in your mouth delicious.

Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies with Christmas Sprinkles

Slightly adapted from moreorlesscooking.com

 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter

½ t. vanilla

2 c. flour

1 c. confectioners' sugar

½ c. Christmas sprinkles

1 c. mini semi sweet chocolate chips

 Preheat oven to 375ºF.

 In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Stir in vanilla; cool completely.

 In another bowl, combine flour and confectioners' sugar. Stir in the butter mixture, chocolate chips, and sprinkles. (The mixture will look very crumbly.)

 Shape into 1-inch balls. Place cookie dough balls on ungreased or Silpat-lined cookie sheet. Flatten a bit with the palm of your hand.

 Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are brown. Let cool on a wire rack. 

 Makes about 2 dozen.

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Soul Cakes

 

Source: Polka Dot Dinnerware

Happy All Soul’s Day, a.k.a Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, and the Day of the Dead, a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed. In many Christian traditions a soul cake is made for All Soul's Day to commemorate the dead. They can best be described as a cross between a scone and a cookie (biscuit). They are not overly sweet, so I have been enjoying one with coffee every morning.

Soul Cakes

7 T. butter

½ c. sugar

2 egg yolks

1-1/2 c. + 1 T. flour

1 pinch turmeric

1 t. allspice

½ t. mixed spice

2-3 T. whole milk

¼ c. raisins

 Preheat oven to 360° F. Spray a large cookie sheet PAM, or cover with a silpat; set aside.

 Cream together butter and sugar in the work bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. With the mixer on low, beat in the flour, spices, and milk enough to form a dough that holds together. Stir in raisins.

 Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll to nearly ½-inch thick. Cut out with a 2-inch biscuit cutter and place on prepared baking sheet. With the back of a knife, press a cross a cross in the top of each.

 Back for 20 to 22 minutes until golden and firm. These keep for three days.

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Christmas with Southern Living 2022, Reviewed

Ask anybody and they will tell you that I refuse to discuss Christmas until November. This business of putting Christmas items on display in August is wrong in so many ways.  That said, I have nothing against planning for Christmas in the month prior to November and, thanks to Southern Living’s new release in their Annual Christmas volume, Christmas with Southern Living 2022, I am doing that very thing.

Southern Living is known for quality, and it shines through in this festive volume. As usual, there are loads of ideas to inspire holiday cooking and decorating. If you’ve seen previous years volumes, then you are pretty much familiar with the format. Basically, that doesn’t change. But, I find there is comfort in familiarity. Southern Living is someone whom I know I can trust. I never hesitate to put my holiday parties in their hands, and my guests have yet to be disappointed. The first of the book is filled with inspiring ideas for holiday decorating. No matter what you celebrate, there are decorating ideas for you; no matter what your style, you will find something of interest here from colonial and early American to modern, outdoor dining, and bohemian. This section also includes tips on how to wrap gifts like a pro.The second half of the book is on dining that, equally, has something for everyone. I love that they included a section on “board dining.” They have gone way beyond simple charcuterie boards to include an Appalachian Breakfast Board, Creole Brunch Board, “Floribbean” Sunset Board, and Delta Dessert Board. All of the recipes to create these beautiful and delicious looking boards are included.If you like to celebrate the holidays with game night, they’ve got you covered. If Christmas dinner or brunch is more your style, they’ve got you covered too, with recipes that are simple, or more complex, depending upon your skill level and amount of time that you are willing to delegate.Now for the recipes. My favorite part of Christmas is the cookies. I don’t bake them, mind you, I leave that for my aunt, but in this book, I have found quite a few recipes to send to her including my very favorite Iced Sugar Cookies, Pecan Cookies, and Peppermint Pinwheels. Honestly, I could swoon…or slip into a sugar coma. A fun chapter in this book is called “Snacktastic.” It features a variety of fun homemade goodies like Rosemary Bacon Nut Mix, Smoked Gouda Shortbread, Zesty Parmesan Popcorn, Crispy Potato Chips with Caviar, and more.

One of my favorite things about this book is the holiday planner at the back. It is extensive, well thought out, and begins with a planning calendar for November. There is a decorating planner, grocery store list, party planners, gift lists, a place for memories, simple things that you can buy at the grocery store to yield beautiful and fragrant holiday decorations, and a space to plan for next year. I am also a fan of the indexes. You would be surprised at the number of new cookbooks that don’t have one, much less two. This book has a general index, and a recipe index. They’ve won me over with this aspect.

  I get this book every year, and I think this one is my favorite. Pick one up for yourself and see if you don’t agree.

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 Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Southern Living Christmas 2022 from Abrams Books as a participant in their Abrams Dinner Party Program for 2022-2023.

Chocolate Caramel Turtle Bars

The day after Thanksgiving is my official day of collapse. The days following that day mark the beginning of holiday baking. As I have mentioned before, I am not much of a baker, but I do enjoy Christmas cookies. I also enjoy a wide variety of them, and hold the bar cookie in high esteem. Cookie trays need different tastes, textures, and shapes, and the bar cookie can provide all three. This easy-to-prepare square of chewy deliciousness will be a star in your display.

Chocolate Caramel Turtle Bars

Adapted from Hoffman Media

 Crust:
1½ c. flour

⅓c. sugar

¼ t. kosher salt

¾ c. cold unsalted butter, cubed

 Filling:

2/3 c. sugar

2 T. flour

½ t. kosher salt

⅔ c. light corn syrup

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

1 t. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 c. pecan halves

¾ c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, letting excess extend over sides of pan. Spray foil with Baker’s Joy.

 Crust:

In a food processor, pulse crust ingredients until mixture is crumbly. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until edges have lightly browned and center is dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

 Filling:

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in corn syrup, melted butter, vanilla, and eggs. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate onto prepared crust. Pour sugar mixture over pecans and chocolate.

 Bake until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. Cut into squares. Garnish with warm caramel topping, if desired.

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Macadamia Nut Bars

For the most part, I don’t consider myself a baker. I don’t particularly enjoy baking, and I tend not to do it all that often. One has to wonder, then, why I subscribe to Bake from Scratch magazine. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. It’s just one of life’s puzzles. But when a new issue arrives, I do page through and place markers in amongst the pages to remind me of the recipes that I would like to try.

Over the weekend I actually did try one of the recipes (that I honestly find quite cumbersomely written) for a delicious looking nut bar. This recipe employed the use of honey. If you like honey, then use it; don’t divide it up, as I did, by using honey, and both light and dark Karo syrups. I find honey to be cloying, and despite its use in most of the pecan pie bar cookie recipes that I’ve seen, it doesn’t belong there. You will never find honey in a pecan pie. It’s just wrong! So, what you will find below is my version of their recipe. Because I didn’t need a huge pan of these, or have the desire to take out a home loan in order to buy the macadamias, I cut their recipe in half and baked it in an 8” x 8” pan. These little rascals are addicting!

Macadamia Nut Bars
Adapted from Bake from Scratch

Crust:
½ c. +1 T. unsalted butter, softened
¼ c. + 1 T. firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ t. fine sea salt
1½ c. all-purpose flour

Topping:
½ c. unsalted butter, softened
½ c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/8 c. honey*
1/8 c. light Karo syrup*
1/8 c. dark Karo syrup*
1/8 c. granulated sugar
1/8 c. heavy whipping cream
½ t. fine sea salt
1½  c. macadamia nuts
1 c. pecan halves
½ t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray an 8” x 8” pan with PAM. Line pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on either end; set aside.

Beat together butter, sugar, and salt until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly add flour and beat until the dough comes together and forms large clumps. Press into the bottom of prepared pan (a tart tamper works well for this). Using a fork, prick the dough all over.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes until edges are light brown. Let cool until it is warm to the touch.

Reduce oven temperature to 325° F.

Topping: In a large saucepan bring butter, brown sugar, honey, both syrups, granulated sugar, cream, and salt to a boil over high heat stirring constantly. Cook until an instant read thermometer registers 243° F. Remove from heat and stir in macadamia nuts, pecans, and vanilla. Pour onto prepared crust.

Bake until topping is bubbly and nuts around edges are mahogany colored, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Remove from pan, cut into bars. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week.

 *Get yourself a set of these.

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Butter Pecan Cookies

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I have another cookie recipe for you this week (If you missed last week’s recipe for Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies, you can find it here.) and it’s a winner! The late Mr. O-P used to love butter pecan ice cream. Me, not only am I not a particular fan of butter pecan ice cream, but ice cream, in general, doesn’t wow me...but I digress. I was thinking about him the other day, as I often do. He absolutely loved cookies, and I wondered what it would be like if I were to create a butter pecan cookie in his honor. He would have loved these, and so would have my dad, yet another cookie fanatic. Toasting the pecans makes them wonderfully flavorful, adding butter flavoring, gives these an extra buttery taste. Make up a batch for now, and another to freeze for the holidays.

Butter Pecan Cookies

2 ½ c. flour
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
½ c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
½ t. butter extract
2 c. pecans, roughly chopped

In a 9” skillet over medium heat, toast to pecans, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes or until fragrant.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the work bowl of your stand mixer, beat butter for 2 minutes until light and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for an additional 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in extracts. Gradually mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Fold in 1 ½ c. of the pecans.

Wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F; line baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat. Using a cookie scoop, mound scoops of dough onto your cookie sheet and top with reserved pecans, pressing pecans down lightly into the dough. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool five minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

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I don’t particularly like following directions, people who know me will tell you that. So when an online friend posted a recipe for these cookies a couple of weeks ago, I took one look at it and thought no, that’s not the way I’m going to make these. There was no almond flavoring, first of all. Cherries and almond flavoring go hand-in-hand. So I cut the amount of vanilla in half, and added double the amount of almond. Second (here’s a little tip for you if you are ever making any type of slice and bake cookie that contains chocolate chips), use mini chocolate chips. It is so much easier to slice.

That said, this is a marvelous recipe! It's like biting into a chocolate and cherry-studded cloud. Why I had maraschino cherries in my fridge is anybody’s guess (and let me tell you, if you spill maraschino cherry juice on the floor, you will be wiping up stickiness for the rest of your life, don’t ask me how I know), but I’m thankful that I did because I found these easy to deal with and tasty to boot. And look how pretty they are; they should be wonderful for the holiday season. Yes, it’s early, but I start thinking about the holidays in September. How about you?

 Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

2 c. flour
½ t. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
½ c. powdered sugar
½ t. vanilla extract
1 t. almond extract
¾ c. chopped maraschino cherries, well drained*
2/3 c. mini chocolate chips

Whisk together flour and salt; set aside.

Cream together butter and powdered sugar, 1-2 minutes; mix in extracts.

Add flour and salt mixture and mix until it starts forming a dough. Mix in chocolate chips and maraschino cherries.

Form the dough into a log, about 2” thick, compacting as you go to keep it from crumbling when you slice the cookies. Wrap securely in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Cut the log into 1/4“ thick slices, and place them onto the baking sheet 1” apart. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until they just start to turn lightly golden brown on top. Allowed to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 24 cookies

* spread cherries on paper towel to drain well