By Marialisa Calta
Associated Press
December 09, 2006 08:20 pm
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“Clever food is not appreciated at Christmas,” wrote Jane Grigson, the British cookbook author. “It makes the little ones cry and the old ones nervous.”
“Don’t,” she intoned, “Be original.”
Now those are words to live by.
Christmas is a time of returning, if not physically -- as in going home to one’s parents or revisiting the old neighborhood -- then emotionally, in remembering Christmases past. It’s a time when grown men and women shed a secret tear while watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with their own kids and retell the tale of waking up to find the Lionel train set under the tree. They crave the turkey dinner and shortbread cookies that their own moms used to make.
Christmas, then, is not the time to make your first ceviche or to introduce the family to Mongolian barbecue (unless you grew up in a household in which ceviche or Mongolian barbecue was traditional Christmas fare). Christmas is the time to dust off the old recipe box -- the one with the filing cards filled with your grandmother’s perfect, Spencerian penmanship -- and get to work. If you don’t have an old recipe box, you can get the next best thing, the “Betty Crocker Christmas Book” (Wiley, 2006). There are a few culinary flights of fancy here -- Champagne Risotto and Chai-Spiced Bread, for example -- but the book is essentially grounded in the old favorites: cheese balls, dinner rolls, eggnog and fudge. The cookie recipes will send you back to your childhood -- or to a childhood you wish you had had: gingerbread men, thumbprint cookies and other goodies that have stood the test of time.
Making something familiar -- as opposed to trying an exotic new recipe -- is a way to reduce some of the stress that can overcome us around the holidays. The cookbook can help in other ways -- with straightforward decorating tips and gift ideas. But my favorite tip is on the very first page, “Look for the good in situations.” More words to live by.
COOKIE TIPS
-- Preheat the oven thoroughly. (It will take at least 10 minutes.)
-- Ovens have “hot spots.” To keep cookies from baking unevenly, rotate and switch the cookie sheets between racks (if baking more than one sheet) halfway through the baking time.
-- As a cookie sheet comes out of the oven, allow it to cool before refilling to prevent overbaking. If you are in a hurry, you can run the sheet, upside down, under cool tap water.
-- When a recipe calls for a greased cookie sheet, you can instead line it with baking parchment. I use baking parchment all the time - whether the recipe says to use a greased or ungreased pan -- to help prevent burning. Silicone baking mats are expensive, but many home bakers swear by them.
-- Use the best ingredients you can: Pure vanilla extract and butter (unsalted) -- not margarine or vegetable shortening -- unbleached flour and fresh spices and eggs will make your cookies taste their best.
-- Most cookie dough freezes beautifully if wrapped well. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
-- If you plan to make fudge or other candy, invest in a good candy thermometer.
GINGERBREAD COOKIES
For the cookies:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups dark molasses
2/3 cup cold water
7 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the icing (optional):
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons milk or half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
food coloring, if desired
small candies and powdered sugar, if desired
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water together; alternatively, mix with a spoon. Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and salt, beating to combine.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until firm.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. Remove one-quarter of the dough from the fridge (leave the rest to chill) and roll it out on a floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. While these cookies are baking, repeat with another quarter of the dough until you have used it all up. Gather and reroll scraps to make extra cookies. If you want to use these as ornaments, make sure you press a hole through the top of the cookie (for a hook or ribbon) before baking. (Press again right after baking to make sure the hole stays open.)
Bake 10 to 12 minutes; the cookies are done when, touching them gently, the dough springs back and no indentation is left. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and immediately remove the cookies from the sheet; transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
If using icing, combine the confectioner’s sugar, milk (or half-and-half) and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth and spreadable. Tint all or part of the icing with food coloring, if desired. Decorate cookies with icing and, if desired, colored sugars and candies. (For easy handling, spoon the icing into a disposable pastry bag fitted with a plain or decorative tip.)
Yield: About 2-1/2 dozen 2-1/2-inch cookies
Recipe from “Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook” (Wiley, 2006)
ESPRESSO THUMBPRINT COOKIES
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 -3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
2 teaspoons instant espresso-coffee crystals or powder
1 cup (6 ounces) milk-chocolate chips
1 tablespoon coffee-flavored liqueur (optional)
candy sprinkles or crushed hard peppermint candies (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the sugar, butter (or margarine), vanilla and egg; alternatively, mix with a spoon. Add the flour, cocoa and salt and mix well.
Shape the dough by rounding teaspoonfuls into 1-inch balls. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon into the center of each cookie to make an indentation, but do not press all the way to the cookie sheet.
Bake 7 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are firm. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and, if the indentation is not very distinct, quickly remake it with the end of a wooden spoon. (Don’t use your thumb; the cookies are hot.) Immediately remove the cookies from the sheet and transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a 1-quart saucepan, heat the whipping cream and instant coffee over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is steaming and the coffee is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in the chocolate chips until melted. Stir in the liqueur (if using). Cool about 10 minutes, or until thickened. Spoon rounded 1/2 teaspoon of filling into the indentation in each cookie. Top with candy sprinkles, if desired.
Variation: Substitute store-bought chocolate-hazelnut spread for the filling.
Yield: About 3-1/2 dozen cookies
Recipe from “Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook” (Wiley, 2006)
HIDDEN-TREASURE COOKIES
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 caramels, each cut into 4 pieces
Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the 1/2 cup powdered sugar, the butter and vanilla together; alternatively, stir with a spoon. Mix in the flour, nuts and salt until the dough holds together.
Mold portions of dough around pieces of caramels to form 1-inch balls. Place balls about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. In a small bowl, place additional powdered sugar. Roll warm cookies in the sugar. Cool completely on wire rack, about 30 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar again.
Variations: Instead of caramels, you can use candied cherries, malted milk balls or chocolate-covered raisins.
Yield: About 4 dozen cookies
Recipe from “Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook” (Wiley, 2006)
CREAMY CHOCOLATE MARBLE FUDGE
6 cups sugar
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 (7-ounce) jars marshmallow creme or 1 (10-1/2 ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups (12 ounces) white vanilla baking chips
1 cup (6 ounces) milk-chocolate chips
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet-chocolate chips
2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Butter the bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-inch pan.
In a 6-quart Dutch oven, heat the sugar, milk, butter (or margarine) and cream cheese to boiling over medium high heat; cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook about 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally. The mixture should read 225 F on a candy thermometer; cook until it does. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the marshmallow creme (or marshmallows) and the vanilla. Set the white baking chips in a bowl and pour 4 cups of the hot marshmallow mixture over them, stirring to melt and mix. Stir the milk-chocolate chips, semisweet chips, cocoa and nuts (if using) into the remaining marshmallow mixture. You now have one vanilla mixture and one chocolate.
Pour one-third of the white mixture into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Quickly pour one-third of the chocolate mixture over the top, spreading evenly. Repeat twice. Butter the blade of a table knife and swirl it through the fudge for a marbled effect. Cool until set.
Refrigerate, uncovered, about 3 hours or until set. Grease a knife with butter and cut the fudge into 96 pieces (12 rows by 8 rows). Store, covered, in the refrigerator.
Yield: 8 dozen candies
Recipe from “Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook” (Wiley, 2006)
Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.
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