Sprinkle Cookies

My friend Little E came to visit me recently because he wanted to make some cookies. I am not too sure if he was visiting me or my sprinkle drawer, but we had a fun time regardless. He loves all colored sprinkles and sugars- but can you blame him? They come in so many pretty colors, sizes and shapes that the possibilities for creations are endless.

Obviously, from the size of my sprinkle drawer, I too have a thing for sprinkles, so I'm glad to have a friend who is willing to spend the entire afternoon playing in my sprinkle drawer with me. I knew we would need a cookie where sprinkles would be the star, and Mini Me's chewy sugar cookie   recipe was perfect. She got the recipe from her friend T many years ago when they were in grade school and has been making them for any and all occasions since 3rd grade. Although she is back at school and couldn't join our sprinkle party, I borrowed her recipe because I knew they would be the perfect to make with a three year old. 

These cookies are super fast to put together, and can be decorated for just about any holiday or theme you can imagine. They bake up soft and chewy in just a few minutes, which is especially important when you have an eager taste tester at the ready. 

Mini Me's  Sprinkle Cookies

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

sprinkles

1. Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2. In mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients.

3.Shape into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls. Moisten the top of the ball with either buttermilk or milk (this helps the sprinkle adhere to the cookie.  However, Little E and I skipped this step and went straight to the sprinkles) and dip in sprinkles. 

5.Place on cookie sheet lined with a slipat and bake. In a regular oven at 375 for 10 minutes or convection oven at 350 for about 8 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies
printable recipe

Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

Lemon Meringue Cake

The Improv Challenge for this month, hosted by Kristen at the Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, was to use lemon and sour cream in a recipe. There are so many ways to use these two ingredients, and there are several recipes that I love for cakes, frostings, and doughnuts using lemon and sour cream, but I wanted to make something new. I had a big bowl of egg whites that I needed to use, so I put together a few of our favorite things and ended up with this Lemon Meringue cake. I made discs of crispy meringue, layered them with a lemon curd filling, and finished the whole thing with whipped cream combined with sour cream. I do have to admit that the sour cream is an afterthought in this recipe. It gives the topping a nice tang, but honestly you could omit it. 

We liked that this dessert is easy to make ahead, either in its entirety, or just the components. Boy Mimi liked the crispy, just assembled version best, while Mimi Jr. liked it once it had been in the refrigerator for a few hours; it still had a slight meringue crunch, but the lemon filling had begun to soften the layers just a bit.If you are in a jam and you don't have time to make the meringue and lemon curd, you could easily make this with store bought lemon curd and meringue cookies. In that case, I would use a spring form pan to help hold the layers together. Once the cake has chilled for a few hours, release the sides of the pan and cover the the sides and top of the cake as directed in the recipe.

Lemon Meringue Cake

Meringue disks 

Lemon curd

2 cups heavy whipping cream 

1/4 cup sour cream 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

lemon zest 

Meringue disks

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

1 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease and flour 2 baking sheets or line with silpats. 

In a stand mixer whisk the egg white and cream of tarter until frothy. Continue beating and add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. When all the sugar is incorporated, add vanilla and beat for 1 –2 minutes more. When the beater is lifted out the whites should be very stiff with unbending peaks.

Using a pastry bag or spoon and spatula pipe or spread meringue onto prepared pans in three 8 inch circles (I put 2 on one pan and the third on the second pan).

Bake in a 250 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. Meringues should be white to pale amber when done. Turn off the heat and leave meringues in the closed oven for 3 to 4 hours. Store cooled disks airtight at room temperature as long as 5 days.

Lemon Curd

Via the Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum 

4 large egg yolks 

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar  

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 oz unsalted butter, softened 

pinch of salt 

2 teaspoons lemon zest

In a heavy (Non-corrodible) sauce pan beat egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Stir in the butter, lemon juice and salt. Cook over medium-low heat without bringing to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened and the mixture coats the back of a spoon (I cooked mine for a total of 10 minutes). The mixture will be opaque. When the curd has thickened, pour through a fine mesh strainer over a bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon until only coarse residue remains. Stir in the lemon zest and cool. Pour into an air tight container and refrigerate until cold. The curd will continue to thicken while it chills. 

To assemble: 

Beat 1 1/2 cups of the heavy whipping cream with 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. 

Fold 2/3 of the cream into the lemon curd. Set aside 1/2 cup of the lemon curd mixture.

Place one meringue disk on a plate and cover with 1/2 of the lemon curd and cream mixture. Top with a second meringue layer and cover with remaining lemon mixture. Top with the third meringue layer. 

Add the reserved lemon curd/cream mixture to the remaining whipped cream. Fold together until fully incorporated. Use this to lightly cover the sides and top of the cake.

Beat together the remaining 1/2 cup of cream with 1/4 cup sour cream and 2 tablespoon sugar until soft to firm peaks form. Cover the top of the cake with this and sprinkle with lemon zest.

Refrigerate cake for 3 hours or overnight to mellow for easy cutting, or serve soon for a crispier (and slightly messier) cake. 

printable recipe

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Homemade Ricotta Cheese

 Every year we do a New Year's Eve dinner with a small group of friends. The evening is full of good food, great wine, and lots of laughs. My friend Mrs. C and I get together a few days before the party to flip through cookbooks for recipe inspiration, and when we came across this homemade ricotta, I knew that I had to make it for an appetizer. It looked so simple, but also creamy, rich, and smooth. The cheese was so good that I've made it three times since our party, and every time I get a batch mixed up, it disappears rather quickly.   We used the herb mixture listed below, but you can easily adapt it to use any of you favorite herb combinations, or just serve it with a heavy drizzle of olive oil and lots of salt and cracked black pepper. 

The ricotta has a fine curd and is easy to spread, and is not grainy like the types you buy in the grocery store. I think it would be perfect for cannoli filling, but it has never lasted long enough for me to give it a try. I haven't baked with it yet so I can't say how it reacts to heat after it is made, but next time I make lasagna I will definitely take the time to make this first and try it out.

Ricotta Cheese
makes about 2 cups
adapted from Ina Garten's How Easy Is That

4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Set a large sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of  cheese cloth with water and line the sieve with the cheesecloth.
Pour the milk and cream into a stainless-steel or enameled pot. Stir in salt. Bring to a full boil *Many recipes for ricotta require you to heat the milk only  to 180 degrees. Because I did not want my ricotta to taste like cooked milk I did not bring the milk mixture to a full boil, but heated it to about 190 degrees, where you could see the boil was just about to start*. Turn off heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).
Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl.  The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days
printable recipe

Herbed Ricotta Bruschettas
adapted from Ina Garten's How Easy Is That
2 cups ricotta
3 tablespoon minced scallions
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 baguette
olive oil
garlic

Combine the ricotta, scallions, dill, chives and 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper Mix well.
Slice the baguette and drizzle with olive oil,and toast in a 375 degree oven until just beginning to turn golden brown, turning the bread slices over after about 5 minutes (about 10 minutes total). Remove from oven and rub the bread with garlic clove. Serve with the herbed ricotta cheese
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Champagne Cupcakes

Christmas was a wonderful whirl of activities and we were blessed to have all our children at home for the holiday. I really hadn't planned on taking a month long vacation from Mimi's Kitchen, but somehow it happened. Believe me, I was in the kitchen, but I didn't seem to be able to find my way to the computer.  We were having a lot of fun baking, eating and laughing with our friends and family.

 To make up for our absence, we have these beautiful champagne cupcakes to ring in the New Year. Mimi Jr. made these  (she found the recipe on The Curvy Carrot) and they really delivered on the champagne taste. They are a nice moist white cupcake, and the mellow wine taste lingers without being overpowering. These would be a great make ahead New Year's Eve dessert to have with that midnight champagne toast, or if you find you have a little left over champagne the next morning, these are the perfect way to use it up.

Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream

Makes 22-24

Line muffin tin with liners.

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup champagne *you can use any kind you like, even flat champagne works*

6 egg whites

Mix dry ingredient together, set aside

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Blend the in dry ingredients alternately with champagne.

In a clean bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Fold 1/3 of egg white into batter to lighten it, then fold in remaining egg whites.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cool before frosting.

Champagne Buttercream:

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

3 Tablespoons champagne.(If frosting is to stiff add additional champagne one tablespoon at a time)

With an electric mixer beat together sugar, butter and salt. Add champagne and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy. (I beat my buttercream for 5-8 minutes)

printable recipe

Wishing you the peace of God in the coming year.

Gift Card Cookies

One of our most cherished Christmas traditions at Mimi's Kitchen is our Christmas Eve festivities. We are invited to Boy Mimi's God Parents house for an evening of feasting and fun. The evening always starts with an incredible meal, featuring Mrs. A's famous meatballs. It's a secret recipe, which even I don't have, but I do know that the meatballs are browned and then simmered in cream, making them the most delicious meatballs I have ever had. Boy Mimi loves these meatballs and has been known to consume massive quantities, so he has become the official meatball assistant. He heads over the day before the party to help Mrs A. with the meatball production. I always quiz him on what is in the recipe when he gets home, but all he ever says is, "Meat, of course!" So it still remains a secret, but even if we do discover the recipe, they will never be as good as they are at Mrs. A's on Christmas Eve. 

Besides our meal, we sing carols, play Christmas trivia games, and have a gift exchange. The evening ends with everyone heading off to church for the midnight Christmas Eve service. As our families have grown and kids have married, our group has expanded to include in-laws, boyfriends and girlfriends, and assorted relatives. We wanted everyone to be able to participate in gift giving, and since it is pretty hard to buy thoughtful gifts for people you don't know all that well, we have modified our gift exchange into a gift card exchange. What makes this a little more special than just handing out cards is the way we "wrap" our gift cards. So not only do you get a gift card, but a fun little gift as well. The packaging is a clue to the store; sometimes the clues are easy to guess, while others leave us stumped, but intrigued as to what is under the exterior.  Mrs. A's family is crafty as they come (check out her daughter's own blog in words and pictures if you want proof!)  in the past we have had all of these things under the tree: a picture frame with Prince William PhotoShopped into some vineyards, (Williams-Sonoma), a Michael Buble CD (Michael's craft store), an eye patch with a tuning fork (iTunes), a jigsaw puzzle of a barn (Barnes and Noble), and a barrel of monkeys inside a crate (Crate and Barrel).

 As soon as we walk in the door, we begin checking out the wrapped cards, trying to figure it out while we eat and sing, waiting for the exchange so we can see if we guessed the gift cards correctly. 

Since we express our creativity in the form of baking here at Mimi's Kitchen, we decided to make gift card cookie clues. We have done red glittery stars for Macy's, red and white bull's eyes for Target, Hibiscus flowers for Trader Joe's and biscotti for Starbucks. These make good hints as to what is in the package, and the recipient gets a tasty snack. We haven't decided what gift cards we will be bringing this year, but we do know that our clues will be edible!

sugar cookies

Links: Foodie Friday

Pumpkin Parfait with Brown Sugar Crumble and Bourbon Cream

Hard to believe, but it's already time for the November Improv cooking challenge. Sheryl at The Lady Behind The Curtain is no longer able to organize this group so Kristen at Frugal Antic of a Harried Homemaker has taken over hosting the challenge. The November ingredients were cream cheese and pumpkin. We choose to make a parfait using pumpkin pie as our inspiration. It has the same flavors as pie, but is super easy to make and there is no pie crust to roll out. A light and creamy pumpkin cream cheese filling is layered with a brown sugar crumble and topped with a bourbon spiked whipped cream. We layered it in small individual serving dishes, starting with some crumble on the bottom of the dish followed by a layer of pumpkin filling, then a spoonful of bourbon cream on top, and more brown sugar crumble sprinkled over the whipped cream. We liked that this dessert was a new twist on a classic, but still had the familiar flavors that everyone expects at a Thanksgiving dinner. 

We used both individual small dishes and mini two-bite sized serving dishes but you could easily make it as one big dessert in a pie dish or a small trifle dish. The individual parts can all be made several days ahead, but save assembly for the day before serving so the crumble stays crunchy.

Pumpkin Parfait with Brown Sugar Crumble and Bourbon Whipped Cream

Brown Sugar crumble

1/2 cup flour

 3  tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup melted butter

In a medium bowl mix together dry ingredients. Add melted butter and stir with a fork or your fingers until well mixed.
Crumble mixture on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes total. After the initial 8 minutes stir the mixture to break up clumps and continue baking until golden brown. Remove from oven and stir to break up any big clumps. Let cool.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz cream cheese
½ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 cup whipping cream

Whip cream with 2  tablespoon of the sugar. Set aside Whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining sugar, pumpkin, molasses, cinnamon, ginger and allspice. Beat with paddle for about five minutes, scraping down the side as needed, until light and fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream.

Bourbon Whipped Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
2-3 tablespoons bourbon or brandy (or omit and add 1 teaspoon vanilla)

In a chilled bowl beat the cream, sugar and flavoring until semi firm peaks form.

Assembly:

In the bottom of your serving dish(s) sprinkle a layer of brown sugar crumble, follow with a layer of pumpkin filling, and top with whipped cream and sprinkle the top with crumble. You can also make several thinner layers alternating the crumble and filling if you would like. Chill until serving time.

printable recipe

Link: Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

Bourbon Balls and Cookbook Review

When I was a child, Bourbon Balls were the Adults Only dessert craze. We children were not allowed to eat them.  My mom would make them just after Thanksgiving and let them age until Christmas. When I did finally taste one, the alcohol flavor was so strong that I spit out my first bite and haven't given them much thought since. When I received the Little Old Lady Recipes-Comfort Food and Kitchen Table Wisdom cookbook to review, I found the recipe for bourbon balls, so I thought this was my opportunity to give them another chance.

The recipe is slightly different that my mom's. It uses honey instead of Karo syrup for the sweetener and I think this is a delicious change. Also, I didn't add the full 1/4 cup of bourbon. I just used enough to make a moist dough and used bourbon that had had a vanilla bean soaking in it. Our balls turned out to be a little drier than the ones Mr. Mimi remembered, but he still liked the flavor and ate several for the sake of an accurate review.  If you like a softer cookie, use the entire amount of bourbon.

Little Old Lady Recipes, written by Meg Faverau and published by Quirk Books (quirkbooks.com, available at Amazon.com), is full of comfort food recipes, along with photos and kitchen wisdom of the ladies who contributed recipes to the book. There are plenty of comfort food recipes, including Irish soda bread, chicken and dumplings, meat loaf, fried chicken and rhubarb pie. The recipes are written just as if your grandmother scribbled it on a recipe card, direct and to the point, often assuming that you have some kitchen knowledge (or have watched her make the recipe hundreds of times). Sprinkled in among the recipes are tips from the cooks, ladies with lots of life experience and even more advice. One of our favorites was "There isn't much a good cake won't fix". You can't go wrong with a motto like that! 

Bourbon Balls

1 cup toasted chopped pecans

1 1/2 cup crushed vanilla wafer cookies

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup Bourbon

additional powdered sugar for rolling.

1. Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl and then add honey and bourbon; stir. Form into balls with your hands and roll in powdered sugar. Refrigerate before serving. Makes approximately 48 balls. (I got closer to 36 balls)

links: Foodie Fridays at Designs by Gollum

Thanksgiving Bread

Traditions abound here at Mimi's Kitchen throughout the year, but some of our favorites come during the fall holidays, and this beautiful braided bread is one of them. Years ago I went to a bread baking class just for fun at a local adult school and the teacher gave us her Thanksgiving bread recipe. It's a lovely golden color, which it gets from either winter squash or pumpkin. The pumpkin/squash keeps it moist, but doesn't impart too much flavor. What I like about the recipe is that it makes one very large loaf for a crowd, or you can make 2 smaller loaves, which would be perfect for sharing with friends or neighbors for their Thanksgiving table.

If you have leftovers this makes excellent french toast, turkey sandwiches or even bread pudding. It is a perfect way to infuse some fall flavor and color into your meal throughout the season.

Squash Bread

makes 2 loaves

2 tablespoons yeast

3/4 cup warm water

1 1/4 cup pumpkin or orange squash puree

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup milk

1/3 cup soft butter

1 egg

5 1/2 cups flour

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add a pinch of sugar and let stand until bubbly.

2. Combine pumpkin, milk, sugar, butter, egg and salt in a large bowl.  Add the yeast mixture and stir to incorporate.You can use your stand mixer for this.

3. Add add 4 3/4 cup flour and stir to make a smooth dough.

4.  Turn dough on a lightly floured surface and knead(about 10 minutes by hand or 5-7 minutes in mixer with a dough hook), adding remaining flour as necessary to create a dough that is smooth and silky. Dough should not be tacky. 

 5. Place dough in a greased bowl (I spray them with PAM) cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size about 1  1/2 hours.

6. Punch dough down and shape.

If making two loaves divide the dough in half. Each half is then divided into thirds. Shape each third into a 14 inch rope.  On a baking sheet lined with a silpat braid your 3 ropes into one loaf (I cross them in the center of the ropes and braid to the ends)
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size.
Bake in a 375 degree oven until golden (about 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your loaf.
When bread comes out of the oven and is still warm, brush the crust with soft butter. 
Cool completely on a wire rack.
printable recipe

links: Foodie Fridays at Designs by Gollum