Recipes Discovered - Recipes

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground ginger
• 1/2 cup espresso or really strong coffee

Directions:

In a small saucepan, add all the ingredients expect the espresso. Heat over medium heat until milk is hot, but not boiling. Remove from the heat and blend with a immersion blender for 1 minute, or until frothy (can also be done in a regular blender). Add 1/4 cup espresso to a mug along with 1 cup of the milk mixture.

Makes 2 mugs.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 5 cups milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more for water
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place the bread crumbs in a medium bowl. Melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the bread crumbs, and toss. Set aside.

Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, about 5 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander and drain.

Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese (12 ounces), and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere (6 ounces) (or 1 cup Pecorino Romano). Stir the macaroni into the cheese sauce.

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (6 ounces), 1/2 cup Gruyere (2 ounces) (or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano), and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer the dish to a wire rack for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 12.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

I’m still undecided about the nutmeg… certain times I could really taste it and other times I couldn’t. Since Seth likes really brown cheese, I baked the macaroni for 20 minutes and then put it under the broiler for a couple minutes to brown the top.

Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 - 3 pounds bone-in skinless chicken breast
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cups chicken stock or 4 cups water with 6 chicken bouillon cubes
• 5 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Salt, to taste
• 3 cups flour
• 3 eggs

Directions:

Place chicken in a large soup pot and cover with water. Add the onions. Bring to a boil, then cover the pot, lower the heat, and simmer the chicken for 30 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the chicken to a platter. Allow the chicken to cool slightly and then pull the meat off the bones. Add chicken stock or water and bouillon to the pot, along with the carrots. Bring back to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

While that’s cooking, combine the flour and eggs in a large bowl. Add ice water a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together (7 or 8 tablespoons should do it). Let the dough rest for 10 minutes then divide into 3 balls. Roll the dough out into a rectangle with a lot of flour (the dough is sticky). Rub top of dough with flour before rolling it up like a jelly roll and cutting into 1/4 inch pieces. Unroll noodles and toss with a little flour. Repeat with remaining noodles.

After the carrots have cooked for 30 minutes, add the shredded chicken back to the soup. Season with parsley, pepper, and salt, if necessary. More bouillon or stock can be added at this point as well. Once seasoned, add the noodles a handful at a time to the pot. Once they are all added, stir to seperate them. Cook the noodles for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serves about 8 people.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

You can also add celery to the soup when you add the onions. Seth and I aren’t huge celery fans, so I skip it, but he seems to think the soup would be better with potatoes. I usually end up added a couple extra bouillon cubes at the end.

Recipe courtesy of Sharon Gibbons.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 pounds powdered sugar
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 7 tablespoons marshmallow creme
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 ounces dark chocolate
• 3 cups chopped peanuts

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix the powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla by hand. It takes a little work to get it mixed together, but make sure it’s smooth. Roll into balls and refrigerate overnight. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the balls into the chocolate and then roll in the peanuts. Transfer to wax paper until the chocolate hardens.

Makes about 10 dozen balls.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

We had a hard time getting the balls coated in the chocolate until we added a little wax to the chocolate.

Recipe courtesy of Theresa Quinn.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2-pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 9 tablespoons
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

Directions:

Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut the ball in quarters, wrap each piece in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the filling, combine 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the raisins, walnuts, and apricots.

On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filling lightly into the dough. Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges—cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge. Place the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

Makes 4 dozen.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Instead of dried apricots, the dough can be spread with apricot preserves before adding the filling.

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• Zest from 1 lemon

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of Giada DeLaurentiis.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup coarsely ground pistachios
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

In a bowl,  cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in vanilla. Add the flour, salt, and pistachios and mix until well blended. Cover and chill for 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Shape dough into balls or crescents. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from pan to cool on wire racks. Dust cookies with confectioners’ sugar.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Scoop dough into balls before refrigerating (much easier to handle).

Recipe courtesy of Baking Delights.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring (about 10 to 15 drops)
• 1/2 cup peppermint candy, crushed
• 1/2 cup white sugar, for decoration

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and confectioners’ sugar. Beat in the egg, vanilla and peppermint extracts. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. Cover or wrap dough and chill for at least one hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough into halves. Color one half red by mixing in the food color. Roll a small amount of each dough into a 2 inch long worm. Roll them together in a twisted rope and curve the end like a cane. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. In a small bowl, mix together the crushed candy cane and remaining white sugar. Roll hot cookies in the sugar mixture.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Mix the food coloring into the dough before chilling (a lot easier). The dough gets sticky pretty quickly, so it may need to be refrigerated again half way through. The cookies fell apart when I tried rolling them in the candy/sugar mixture, so I just sprinkled it over top while the cookies were warm. I used 25 peppermint candies and had a lot of topping leftover.

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 pound dates, chopped
• 1 pound walnuts, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained and cut in halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until ingredients are combined. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tarter together. Slowly add to the creamed mixture. Stir in dates and walnuts. Batter will be stiff. Drop from teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Top each with cherry halves. Bake 10-12 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Makes about 10 dozen small cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of Christmas Cookies.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 3 1/2 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 11 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 7 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Place 4 ounces of the bittersweet chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Add the butter and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Add the flour and mix gently. Fold in the remaining bittersweet chocolate, along with the white chocolate, milk chocolate, and nuts. Spoon heaping teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet anb bake for 8 to 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of The Cookie Book