Snow Day Snickerdoodles

"Snow Day" Snickerdoodles

We took full advantage of the snow day to bake Snickerdoodles - one of my favorite cookies. Though, come to think of it, all cookies are tied for first in that list.

We used a fairly standard recipe - I'll let you choose your own. But the tip I want to pass along is this.

Be sure to give the dough a rest in the fridge before rolling the dough balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, As little as 30 minutes will do the trick.

Be sure to rest these in the fridge before rolling!

This will firm up the butter, preventing the cookies from spreading too thin before setting while they bake. If you can rest them longer - even overnight - you will gain the benefit of additional flavor complexity. But I understand if you can't wait that long.

Enjoy!

Avocado Toast

At home we love a big spread at breakfast as much as anybody - bacon and eggs, waffles, pancakes, hashbrowns - ok not all at once, but you get the picture. Sometimes, though, we're looking for something that doesn't require as much effort and cleanup, but also doesn't come from a box.

I've recently found that Avocado Toast fits the bill - avocados, they're not just for guacomole any more...

There's only one fruit that contains more oil than avocados, and that's olives. (that's right avocados are fruit). But not to worry - most of the fat in avocados is of the monounsaturated variety  - aka "the good kind of fat". When made into a nice spread and combined with great toast, this can become a surprisingly good, and filling, breakfast.

There's plenty of room for variations on the setup, but here's a place to start.

Ingredients -

Serves 2-4

1 - ripe Avocado, halved and pitted

juice from 1/2 ripe lime

1/2 tsp salt

4 - slices great multigrain bread

4 tbs - quality yougurt - plain

your favorite hotsauce

Instructions

Place your bread in a toaster, and proceed to mash the flesh from the avocado in a small bowl along with the salt and the lime juice. Once the bread is toasty, spread each slice with the yogurt, top with some of the mashed avocado, then finish with a few dashes of hotsauce.

Historical Tidbit - 

The word avocado comes from the Spanish word for lawyer. When Cortez and his fellow conquistadors first encountered the avocado when they arrived in the Aztec Empire, they couldn't pronounce the name in the local Nahuatl language, which was "ahuacatl" - so they used the word that sounded the closest in Spanish - "abogado" or "lawyer". 

But "ahuacatl" doesn't mean lawyer in Nahuatl - it means testicle...

 

Winter Spiced Cider

Hot spiced cider can help chase away the winter chill

This past fall my wife and I were looking for a way to wind down at the end of the day while also spending time together as a family. We were already helping my daughter with her regular reading routine as part of her homework, so we decided to join in.

Each person picks a book of their choice and boom - family reading night...(exciting, I know, but we're trying to relax, remember).

With the short days and cooler temps I felt that a hot drink could improve the entire experience for me. Coffee would be fine, but I wanted to avoid the caffeine at night, so I decided to take advantage of the excellent cider available from the many fine orchards here in the Midwest.

It's interesting how cider has never really caught on in the U.S.  We grow excellent apples, have no problem incorporating them into all sorts of desserts, but cider seems to be fully entrenched in its seasonal niche. This also holds true for hard cider - we're the exception as the former colony that doesn't share England's affinity for the drink, but more on that in another post.

Hot spiced cider has always been a favorite of mine -  Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice really work well with the sweetness and fruit in the cider, but you can choose any spice you like.

Some nice bourbon also can transform this into a great winter cocktail.

This is a single serve version, for those nights when you could really use something hot to drink, but I'll include a version below you can use at any holiday gathering.

Ingredients

Serves 1 - 

Add to a mug of quality cider:

1-2 cloves

1-2 allspice berries

a few grates of cinnamon and/or nutmeg.
add a slice of orange and a cranberry or two if desired, but feel free to leave out as well.

Use whole spices whenever possible, but ground spices will serve in a pinch.

Heat in a microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes (based on your microwave of course). Add a shot of bourbon if desired and enjoy.

Multiple serving modification - 

Ingredients - 

Serves 12

Make this in a slow cooker and keep the ladle handy for your guests.

1/2 gallon of nice apple cider
1 - orange sliced
10-12 - cranberries
6 - cloves
10 - allspice berries
2 - cinnamon sticks
1 - tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker set to high, heat through (15-20 minutes or so) and reduce heat to low. Ladle into mugs and serve warm. You can let the spices float in the mugs for a little character, but feel free to fish them out as well. Add a shot of quality bourbon to the mug of anyone who so desires.

Hungarian Kiflies

Kiflies (pronounced "keeflees") are a pastry with roots in Eastern Europe. This version comes from my Hungarian grandparents and has been a holiday staple in our family. This year I made them alongside my mom and aunt. My daughter helped a bit too.

This recipe is bit of work. It requires a lot of rolling and filling over the course of two separate days, but the results are outstanding. Invite someone over to help and spend some quality family time together.

Day One: 

Ingredients - dough

1 lb. unsalted butter, chilled
12 egg yolks
1 c. sour cream
6 c. all purpose flour, sifted (plus extra for rolling)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

In a large bowl, cut the butter into small pieces (even better if you use a large cheese grater), and work it into the flour along with the salt, using your hands until the butter pieces are roughly pea-sized. You can use a pastry blender, but I find that fingers work better. Imagine the motion you use when rubbing a dog's ear.

Add the remaining ingredients  and mix well until the dough is smooth, similar to pie dough. You can use a hand mixer or stand mixer for this. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place into a large bowl, with wax paper between layers (expect roughly 100-120 balls). Place in a refrigerator to rest overnight (don't try to do it all in one day - resting the dough will create better structure and flavor).

Dough balls - End of Day 1. They need a rest in the fridge - overnight. Don't skip this.

Day two:

Ingredients - filling

2 lb. walnuts - grind very fine

1 lb. confectioners sugar

12 egg whites

1 lemon - juice and zest.

Instructions

Preaheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, then slowly add the sugar and continue beating. Add the lemon zest and juice. Fold in the ground walnuts.

Roll the dough balls paper thin on a well floured mat. If you have a warm kitchen or warm hands, the dough will roll better if you leave the bowl in the fridge and only take out a few dough balls at a time. Dust the mat and roller with flour as needed If  dough is sticky.

Roll the dough balls paper thin.

To fill the kiflies -
Place a small amount of filling in the center of each kifli and spread very thin, stopping just short of the edge of the dough. Think "spreading butter" vs. "filling a pastry"- using too much will burst the kifli.

Gently roll and shape into crescent. Use a light hand here - pinched ends or crimped areas will cook before the rest of the kifli is finished. Place on an ungreased baking sheet with seam side up. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until lightly brown. Watch this carefully, the residual heat make bake them a bit faster after a few batches. Remove and cool completely  on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

Don't pinch the ends!

You may find a rhythm after a few batches and be able to roll and fill one sheet in the time it takes a second sheet to bake.

Enjoy!