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Pumpkin Oatmeal Bites, My Favorite Christmas Cookie

December 30th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Well, my co-contributor Chef Edwin is going to smack his forehead when he sees this post, but I can’t let that stand in my way, right? I’m still stuck on Christmas, and I have the leftover Christmas cookies and constantly expanding waistline to prove it!

It seemed to me like more people than ever were baking for Christmas this year, and I had no qualms about sampling everything that came my way. From leftover Bake-A-Thon 2008 treats, to sweet, melt-in-your-mouth Baklava from a friend at my mom’s office, to moist spice cake from a new significant other on my husband’s side of the family… my Christmas holiday consisted of enjoying delectable new desserts. Thank you, everyone!

I’d like to share with you a recipe that I brought to Bake-A-Thon 2008 this year, but I also made it again on Christmas Eve with my mom. It has been a favorite of mine for years. My mom originally found it in a Better Homes cookbook; I have adapted it to include more pumpkin and more chocolate chips which I think makes them even more moist.

Readers, I know you may be tempted to think that I’d love any recipe that includes pumpkin, regardless of how it tastes – and I can see why you would think that based on my history here. But truly, this recipe has everything you could want:

1)You only need two bowls to make these cookies.
2) You do not need any fancy tools, appliances or decorating devices.
3) They’re not overly sweet.
4) Because of the pumpkin, they stay incredibly moist after several days. They’re also great for mailing (which I tested this year).
5) If you use high quality chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli), the chocolate adds a perfect amount of sweetness.
6) It makes 120 cookies. 120! Let’s face it, when you’re baking Christmas cookies you’re probably looking to make more than one dozen.
7) They contain 3 cups of oats and pumpkin is a super food, so you can pretend that you’re eating healthy.

This is the last time I’ll say it for the rest of the year, I promise – give pumpkin a chance!

Edwin and I would love to know what kinds of Christmas cookies you baked this year, and which ones were well received. Please share your favorites with us!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bites
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, Cookies for Christmas (1985)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl with a mixer beat butter until softened. Beat in brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, then pumpkin.

Add flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips (use a thick, sturdy spoon. I’ve broken flimsy wooden spoons while stirring in all the oats before!).

Use a teaspoon measure to scoop onto parchment-lined cookie sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool for 1-2 minutes, then move to a wire rack. Cookies will cool quickly. Makes about 120.

4 Comments »

Holiday Bark, Play With Your Food

December 23rd, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Making Holiday Bark is almost more like making art and playing with your food than it is cooking or baking.

When I was younger I used to absolutely love sketching, painting, collaging, sculpting, or any other artsy activity that I could just spend hours completely focused on. I seem to have lost this hobby in the daily grind somewhere after high school, but I still miss it and have hopes and plans to pick it up again someday (though, no day like the present, right?). Making Holiday Bark helps me get my artistic fix, and in delicious, edible form!

Making any kind of bark candy can be as simple or as detailed as you make it. If you have kids, they will probably love attempting to help mix and swirl the chocolate (and get it all over their faces). If you’re setting out trays of food for a Christmas or New Year’s party or would just like something fun to bring to work, this is a very attractive option.

In its simplest form, you can get away with using only two kinds of chocolate and one kind of nut or flavor. No cooking or baking is required, though if you’re really looking to unlock the full flavor of the nuts then you may want to heat them in a shallow pan until warm and fragrant. You can even make bark while waiting for Christmas cookies to come out of the oven.

Basically, when you think you might explode if you have to make one more Christmas cookie – Holiday Bark to the rescue.

And, if I left this part out, it tastes and smells heavenly. Don’t forget to use ingredients that you enjoy and just have fun with it!

Holiday Bark

8 oz white chocolate, chopped
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2.25 oz (or ½ cup) hazelnuts, chopped
2.25 oz (or ½ cup) pecans, chopped

Place chopped white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Place semi-sweet and bittersweet together in another microwave safe bowl. Microwave bowls separately for 10-15 second intervals, stirring thoroughly after each interval until melted. Do this until both bowls contain melted chocolate. (I’ve been told that if I don’t use a double boiler to melt chocolate that I’ll burn it, but I haven’t burned it yet! Don’t worry.)

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Stir in nuts to the bowl containing semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate. Spread the chocolate and nut mixture on the parchment paper using a rubber spatula. Drop spoonfuls of white chocolate over this, and swirl the chocolates using a fork or skewer (I used a fork because the nuts make it a little tougher to swirl).

Refrigerate for approximately 1 hour until hard. Break bark into large chunks and store in your refrigerator until serving.

5 Comments »

Stuffed Shells with Beef, Shedding New Light on a Old Classic

December 19th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Unlike Edwin, I am not a flexitarian. However, my husband Morgan and I try to limit ourselves to lean meats such as chicken or fish. We rarely eat a strictly vegetarian dinner and once every few months, we break down and cook with beef.

I was inspired by a recipe I found on blogchef.net – these stuffed shells are a little different than the kind you might typically find. Aside from the addition of beef, the blogchef recipe replaces ricotta cheese with mozzarella. It also removes the usual spinach and adds dry red wine.

But because I’m not a flexitarian, I need to get my vegetables wherever I can. I added half a bag of fresh spinach leaves, more garlic, and a can of Hunt’s diced tomatoes with green peppers, onions, and celery. I also left out the red wine and parsley.

This recipe isn’t very difficult, but stuffing the shells gets a little time consuming. It’s very filling and makes an enjoyable and attractive winter meal for both the holidays as well as the weekly dinner rotation!

Stuffed Shells with Beef
inspired by Blogchef.net

1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 (8oz) bag shredded mozzarella cheese (fresh is always better, if you don’t mind grating)
1 bag fresh spinach leaves
½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 egg (beaten)
1 (26 oz) jar of spaghetti sauce (I use Paul Newman sauces)
1 (15 oz) can Hunt’s diced tomatoes with green peppers, celery and onion
Grated parmesan cheese, as desired
24 jumbo pasta shells (cooked according to package directions and drained)
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook shells according to package directions. In a large skillet, brown ground beef, garlic and onion. Drain off excess grease (if you really want to cut down on even more fat, you can actually quickly rinse the ground beef, but you risk losing flavor). Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a large bowl, combine meat, shredded mozzarella, beaten egg, breadcrumbs, fresh spinach leaves, salt and pepper.

In a 13×9 inch oven safe dish, add half the spaghetti sauce and half the canned diced tomatoes.

Stuff the cooked and drained shells with the meat/cheese/spinach mixture and place on top of the sauce in the oven safe dish. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes over the stuffed shells. Sprinkle with parmesan as desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes and serve.

9 Comments »

Blackberry & Apricot Thumbprint Cookies, a White Elephant Gift Surprise

December 16th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

On Monday my office had a white elephant gift exchange, something like Secret Santa except the gifts are meant to be inexpensive and sometimes humorous. I’ve never participated in one of these before, so I was pretty excited and a little nervous. I heard that in our office the gifts were usually a mix of gags and real gifts, so I opted for a something in the middle.

I acquired a wonderfully tacky Christmas cookie jar from my mother-in-law. Imagine a very shiny and bright red, green and gold round Christmas tree ornament, except enlarged about five times. I thought this would be a perfect white elephant gift, remembering the quote, “One man’s trash is another’s treasure.” But I was nervous that maybe this was TOO silly.

So to “sweeten” the deal, I scoured my cookbooks for a Christmas cookie recipe to fill the cookie jar with, something classic that would appeal to multiple people, but something that I wasn’t already planning on baking. I settled on a great, versatile recipe found in one of my old Kraft Food magazines.

I’ve mentioned before that Kraft has some very useful recipes, especially for people strapped for time or those trying to get into cooking and baking but aren’t sure how. This particular cookie recipe can make four variations of cookies, all using the same basic dough recipe but with minor variations. I chose to only make one kind this time – Thumbprints Cookies.

Because I still fear the scale, I substituted fat free cream cheese in place of regular. This probably wasn’t the best decision because, well, fat tastes good! If you’re making food for others you want it to shine, and I broke one of my cardinal rules by substituting. To make up for this and sweeten the dough a bit without adding more sugar, I added a teaspoon of ground anise seed. Anise seed is expensive, but I’m always willing to blow my budget a bit when holiday food is involved. The anise seed was very aromatic and added a distinctive, but not overpowering, sweetness.

For future confections, I need to make a rule that I will never post about baked goods the same day I make them – I always enjoy them more the next day! I’m glad I reserved judgment on these cookies. My husband really loved them right out of the oven, but I think they got even better after they set. It’s rare when I find a cookie my husband really gets excited about; these are a keeper!

Blackberry & Apricot Thumbprint Cookies
adapted from Kraft Foods Magazine

1 package cream cheese (8 0z, I used fat free)
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened (3/4 cup)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 tsp. anise seed, ground
blackberry and apricot jam (or jam of your choice, but the apricot is excellent)

Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add flour and baking soda gradually. Mix well. Stir in pecans and anise seed (you can grind the anise seed by putting it in a bag and hitting it with a tenderizer). Make sure it’s well-blended. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes (make sure you do this so that the butter doesn’t get to soft; you don’t want your cookies to fall flat in the oven).

Preheat oven to 350 F. Using a 1/2 tablespoon measure, scoop dough in 1 inch balls, rounding dough into balls. Place on parchment lined baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Indent the dough using your thumb. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven. The indentations may have risen in the oven, just push it down as needed and carefully fill eat cookie with jam. Continue baking for 8-10 minutes.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

3 Comments »

Butternut Squash and Onion Soup (That Won't Ruin Your Diet)

December 12th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

A friend recently sent me a recipe for roasted butternut squash and shallot soup she found from Cooking Light. I love butternut squash soup, but I love it the way you should never have it – with heavy cream and sherry.

Cooking Light outlines a healthier way to enjoy this soup, but unfortunately the recipe was a little expensive and called for ingredients that I don’t usually keep on hand, such as shallots, fresh ginger root and fresh chives. Ginger root is not expensive but I don’t love an overpowering ginger taste, shallots may be a little sweeter than regular onions but they’re also more expensive, and fresh chives are also expensive, especially if they’re only acting as a garnish.

I tried to minimize the cost of this recipe and make it a little more manageable for the average pantry. I found the onion taste to be a tad strong, but my husband had no complaints. Yet you do have to like onions to enjoy this recipe. There are other milder versions of this soup, as well as versions that incorporate nuts and apples. These sound absolutely delicious, and I’m excited to try them, but for this particular recipe I was trying to keep it simple.

I served this as the main course for dinner for my husband and I, so we had two full bowls with a little bit leftover. This would also be great as a side to have with a grilled cheese sandwich; I had a piece of bread with my soup and I enjoyed dipping the bread into the soup. If you have other vegetables in your kitchen that you would like to use, such as carrots, that would make an excellent addition as well.

Butternut Squash and Onion Soup
inspired by Cooking Light

4 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons (1-inch) slices fresh chives
black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine butternut squash cubes, oil, salt, minced ginger, minced garlic, chopped onion and minced ginger in a jelly-roll pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Cool 10 minutes.

Pour half the squash mixture and half the broth into a blender. Remove the center piece of the blender’s lid to allow heat to escape; lay a folded paper towel over the opening. Blend mixture until smooth, then pour into a large saucepan. Pour the remaining squash mixture and broth into the blender and repeat previous process. Cook over medium heat for five minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with scallions and pepper as desired.

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