Christmas cookies, part 2

Okay, I had to wait a while to write this post as some of my cookies were Christmas gifts and some didn't get finished until later (right now, in fact).  So, here are my last three Christmas "cookies" recipes.

Biscotti from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

Biscotti after the first baking

After the second baking

Notes: makes 3-4 dozen

Time: about 1 1/4 hours

Ingredients: 
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the baking sheets
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract (I used almond)
2 1/4 cups AP flour, plus more for dusting the baking sheets
2 tsp baking powder 
Pinch salt

Procedure:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy; beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla or almond extract.
2) Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, and add it to the batter a little at a time.
3) Butter two baking sheets (or use parchment paper if you are like me) and dust them with flour; invert the sheets and tap them to remove excess flour.  Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a 2-inch-wide log.  Place each log onto one of the baking sheets.
4) Bake until the loaves are golden and beginning to crack on top, about 30 minutes; remove the logs from the oven.  Lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees.
5) When the loaves are cool enough to handle, cut each on the diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices, using a serrated knife.  Place the slices on the sheets, return to the oven, and leave them until they dry out, about 15 to 20 minutes; turn once.  Cool on wire racks.  These will keep in an airtight container for several days.

Variations: 

Add one cup chopped nuts into dough before baking
Mix one tsp minced lemon or orange zest into dry ingredients
Dip baked biscotti in melted chocolate
Mix about 1/2 cup dried fruit into dough before baking
Mix about 3/4 cup chocolate chips into dough before baking

I made these quite a while ago, but didn't want to blog about them as they were one of my Christmas gifts to people this year.  Because the biscotti were going to travel a long way, I didn't want to put any dried fruits or nuts into them that could have gone bad.  Some of my shipments took a looonnng time to arrive, but, from what I understand, they still came out delicious.  When I made the recipe, I used parchment paper so didn't have to worry about that whole greasing and flouring step.  I love parchment paper!  God bless whoever invented the stuff.  Also, I don't know if it was the way I shaped the dough or what, but it made way less than 3-4 dozen.  I made two batches and don't feel like I got that much out of it.  But, what I did get was delicious!

Homemade marshmallows from Alton Brown's Good Eats
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html

How the marshmallows looked right as I was cutting them.
This was taken after I let them dry overnight.

I just love the light and shadows on this picture.

Homemade marshmallows

Total Time:

4 hr 45 min

Prep

35 min

Inactive

4 hr 0 min

Cook

10 min

Yield:

approximately 9 dozen marshmallows or 1 1/2 pounds miniature

Level:

Intermediate

Ingredients:

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray

Directions:

1) Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

2) In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

3) Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Check out the website.  Alton Brown has a clip of him making the marshmallows which is really helpful to watch. Another thing to note is that you have to have a standing mixer to make this recipe.  A hand mixer just isn't powerful enough (plus, who would want to sit there holding the silly mixer for 15 minutes anyways?).  The marshmallows came out delicious.  I used a coconut spray as my nonstick spray so the marshmallows have a slight hint of coconut.  Mmmm...  Now I have a whole container of them and am trying to decide how to use all of their deliciousness.  I would definitely like to make this recipe again with, say, a mint extract or some other extract.  How fun!

Christmas Sugar Cookies from Cooking Club of America http://www.cookingclub.com/Recipes/ArticleType/ArticleView/ArticleID/9740

My cookies before decorating

I decided to go with the frosting option

With sprinkles!

I really thought the center star cookie came out beautifully

BY: Lisa Saltzman

Transform classic sugar cookies into holiday superstars. These cutout cookies can be decorated in an endless variety of ways. Using simple egg yolk paint, decorating is easy for young and old, or get creative with a delicious butter frosting and an assortment of sprinkles and sparkles.

COOKIES
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

GLAZE, if desired
2 egg yolks
Assortment of food coloring

FROSTING, if desired
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Assorted sprinkles

1. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Beat 1 cup butter and sugar in large bowl at medium speed 3 to 4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla until blended and smooth. At low speed, beat in flour mixture, just until combined. Shape into 2 flat rounds. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight, until firm.

2. Heat oven to 350°F. On lightly floured surface, roll 1 dough round to 1/4-inch thickness. (Let dough stand 15 minutes at room temperature to soften before rolling, if necessary.) With cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Place 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate while making glaze.

3. To paint cookies, whisk egg yolks in small bowl until smooth. Divide into 4 or 5 small cups. Stir 1/8 teaspoon food coloring into each cup to tint yolks to desired color. With small paint brushes, paint cookies with glaze before baking.

4. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Cool completely on wire rack.

5. Meanwhile, to make frosting, beat 3 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar and 1/2 cup butter in large bowl at medium speed 2 to 3 minutes or until fluffy. Beat in milk and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla until blended, adding additional powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time to desired frosting consistency. Divide into 4 small cups. Add small drops of food coloring to each cup to tint to desired color. Frost cookies; decorate with sprinkles. Let stand until frosting is set.

3 dozen (3-inch) cookies

PER COOKIE: 180 calories, 8 g total fat (5 g saturated fat), 1.5 g protein, 25.5 g carbohydrate, 35 mg cholesterol, 30 mg sodium, .5 g fiber

These were cookies I meant to make before/around Christmas time but for some reason never got around to it.  Finally, on my last day (New Year's day) of house-sitting at my friends Lynnelle and Derek's house (yes, the same people we house-sat for on Thanksgiving), I decided to bake a batch of these Christmas cookies and another batch of gingerbread men.  Of course, after we moved out, we were too busy unpacking here at home for me to decorate the cookies I had just baked.  So, two days later (today), I finally got the chance to decorate 45(!) cookies as a reward for cleaning and unpacking everything.  I decided to go with the frosting decoration item and used sprinkles I had bought for this occasion.  I don't usually like to use food dye, but I thought I could make an exception for Christmas cookies.  They just look so much more colorful that way!  I had fun decorating all those cookies, but I will say that I got really sick of eating all that frosting.  I never thought I would get sick of frosting, but oh boy does it get tiresome when you're constantly sampling it (how can one resist?).  Now I'm so sick of frosting that I don't want to eat it for quite a while.  Which is rather ironic with 24 fully-frosted Christmas cookies waiting for me to eat.  Anyways, the Christmas cookies came out like a super good version of Christmas cookies that I have bought in the store.  

All the cookies I decorated today

My much more nicely decorated gingerbread men.  In the lower
right corner is Robin Hood (see the arrow).  In the upper left
is an upside-down Ginger bread man.  To the left of Robin
Hood is a flower growing towards the sun.

Gingerbread men coming together for world peace.  Or maybe
they're all in a hot tub.

Update on gingerbread men: As you can see from the above decorations, I tried making the gingerbread men again.  This time, I refrigerated the dough overnight and baked them the next day.  What a difference that made!  I actually had to let the dough sit out for a little while (about 5-10 minutes or so) until it was pliable enough to roll.  I also bought an icing decorating kit (and made sure my icing was at the right consistency) so the decorations were much more controlled.  Of course, I let the cookies cool down completely before decorating (two days is enough, right?).