New blog

Hey everyone. I have been so absent, there are no excuses, but I am starting fresh with a new blog. I will try and keep up with this one better. So if you want to take a peek, I hope you will, it is http://gatheredaroundthetable.blogspot.com.

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits- Have no Fear- No Yeast involved!!!

I am a huge fan of Cinnabon. Oh, come on you all know who they are. If you have ever been to a mall, you have probably walked by one or tried to walk by one, but inevitably you get sucked in by the smell and you give in and buy this humongous creation of butter and dough and cinnamon sugar and then curse yourself the rest of the day for having no willpower at all...I have done it, I am not ashamed to admit it. My sister and I have made cinnamon rolls with yeast and they were good, but they were time consuming and I don't have alot of time to spend waiting for dough to rise. These are more a biscuit type cinnamon roll. so easy and they are so gooey and soft, they are a great fake out to the all time consuming yeast cinnamon roll. The original recipe can be found here, at Ezrapoundcake. All you have to do is check out the recipe index and you will know why I visit there so often.

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

Filling:

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

Mix together in small bowl and set aside.

Biscuit Dough

2 1/2 cups flour

2tbsp packed, brown sugar

2 tsp baking powfer

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbso heavy cream

Icing:

6 tbsp powdered sugar

6 tsp heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

For the Dough:

In a large bowl, stir together the flour,brown sugar,baking powder and salt.

You do not need to use your stand mixer for this recipe, just a bowl and a good wooden spoon.

Add 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream( yes, this is fattening), and stir until dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. With your hands, fold dough over a few times in the bowl, until dough is smooth.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands, and pat the dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle, about 9x13 inches. Brush the surface of the dough with the remaining tbsp of heavy cream.

Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar topping.

Starting from the long side, roll dough into a cylinder.

Slice into 9 equal rounds.

Place the rounds, cut side down, into an ungreased 8 inch square baking dish or a pie plate.

Bake about 30 minutes, until biscuits are lightly browned.


For the Icing:

While the biscuits bake, mix together confectioner sugar with the heavy cream until smooth.
When you remove the biscuite from the oven,immediately drizzle with icing. Serve warm or I am sure they would be fine the next day or later on if you have to microwave them for a few seconds or do what I did and eat them cold.

These were so quick and easy and they really were good. A great treat to serve if you are having company stay for the holidays and what a great way for them to wake up, to a house that smells like Cinnabon.

I will eventually try a yeast recipe, but for now these cinnamon biscuits will do the trick.

Come on, who wouldn't want one of these with a nice cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate while you are decorating your tree this year? Or have a batch ready Xmas morning and enjoy them while the kids are tearing through their presents. I would, I'll have two, thanks....lol

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies-Week 7-Mini-Linzer Torte Cups

Week 7 of Christmas Cookies and do I have a treat for you, I have found a new favorite holiday cookie and it comes from Coleens Recipes. I love her blog and she posts new recipes 5 days a week. I am lucky if I get one on. I have made a few of her recipes and have a dozen more printed out and waiting for me but these are awesome. Everyone knows Linzer cookies, the cookies with the jelly in them, right, but Coleen did a little twist which I absolutely love, she made little linzer torte cups. They were so good, I say were because they are gone already and I am a little bit sad about it, but they will be front and center on my holiday tray this year and for years to come.



Mini Linzer Torte Cups


1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups plus 2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (ground finely in food processor)
red raspberry jam with seeds


Directions:

Finely grind/chop toasted pecans in your food processor. Please take a few minutes to toast them, it does make a difference. Beat butter and pecans on medium speed, in your mixer, until very soft and light, about 3 minutes.

Beat in confectioners sugar and vanilla until well combined. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and add dry ingredients. Beat about 30 seconds, or until well combined. (dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl)

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place in an UNgreased miniature cupcake pan. Find something in your kitchen that is the same diameter as the cupcake hole, and press gently down on each ball to make an indentation like this:

This is where I had a slight problem, I didn't have anything the same exact size, so I used the end of my rolling pin, so I felt my crust wasn't thin enough, but it turned out ok because the crust is sooooo good, anyway. Place a rounded half teaspoon of raspberry jam in each depression and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. The jam will melt and spread out evenly.


Before:

After:

Keep the baked cookies IN the pan, but on a cooling rack for 10 MINUTES. After 10 minutes, you will be able to VERY gently lift the cookies out of the pan. You can use the tip of a knife to help, but you shouldn'y have to...just lift with a steady, gentle pressure and they will pop out.


I sprinkled them with a bit of powdered sugar and they are so festive and pretty and honestly, the taste is out of this world. If you are going to try any new cookies this Christmas, this should be one of them.

My daughter, Justine, loved them.

The pictures don't do them justice, you really can't seee the jewel tone color of the jam. Trust me, you will impress people with these.

And don't be sad when they are gone, like I was. Just make more, like I will...lol

Please make sure you check out April,Kim,Megan,Barbara and Megan to see what they are offering up .

12 weeks of Christmas Cookies #6-Oatmeal Chocolate Fudge Bars

Ok, we are into Week # 6 of the 12 Cookies of Christmas and this is a new one for me. I found it over at Valerie's blog, Valerie's Attempt at Pondering. This is my second cookie recipe of hers that I have tried and she hasn't let me down yet. Even my sister, Donna, has tried one of her cookies and they looked awesome. You have to take a peek at her blog, there are so many good things on it. Just look at the desserts alone and you will bookmark quite a few, trust me. So, this is a bar cookie and it is easy and fudgy with a bit of a crunch from the oatmeal topping. If there is any drawback at all to this cookie it would be that when left out, the chocolate gets soft and they get a bit messy. I kept mine in the fridge and they were so good. I am not a big chocolate fan, but my husband, who is, loved them. And it is the holidays, a little bit of mess never hurt anyone, right?




Oatmeal Chocolate Fudge Bars


Dough:

3/4 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup quick cooking oats


Filling:

1 cup semi sweet choc chips
1 (14) oz can sweetened condensed milk



Directions:


Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter,sugar and salt in a mixer.

Add flour and oatmeal, blend until it holds together. Heat milk in saucepan and add chocolate chips.

Use low heat and stir until chips are melted and you have a smooth chocolate cream.

Using a 9x13 pan, press 3/4 of the dough mixture in the greased pan, spreading and patting it to cover the whole surface.

Pour chocolate cream over crust. Crumble last bit of the dough over the chocolate, creating a third spotty layer.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool a long time before cutting or do what I did and refrigerate overnight. Made it much easier to cut.

Here they are. They look good, they taste good and would be a great addition to a holiday tray or great as a hostess gift.

The crust is so good, it is like an oatmeal shortbread with a layer of chocolate fudge on top. As my girl, Ina, would say, How bad could that be?

Take a look at what the other elves have made:

April @ Abbey Sweets
Kim @ My Kentucky Home
Megan @ Megan's Cookin
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
Megan @ My Baking Adventures

12 Cookies of Christmas Cookie #5 :Sparkling Toffee Butter Cookies

I am telling you right now before you go any further, these are addicting, and rich and buttery and so pretty and festive to look at. So if you are not looking for something like that, please move on to someone else, but if they sound good to you then pull up and read all about these sparkly little gems. I originally found this recipe on Recipe Girl, then my sister Donna made them here. It has come full circle, I have made them numerous times and they are fantastic. So easy to make and they just make you happy just looking at them.




Sparkling Toffee Butter Cookies





1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup toffee bits, I used milk chocolate toffee bits

sugar





Directions:



Preheat oven to 350.

Put some sugar in a bowl and set aside for later.

Combine butter,1 cup sugar,egg and vanilla in a large bowl.



Beat at medium speed,scraping down the sides often, until creamy. Add flour,baking powder and baking soda. Reduce speed to low. Beat until well mixed. Stir toffee bits in by hand.

Should look something like this:

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll into sugar you have set aside.

Place 2 inches apart on parchmant lined baking sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes. I take mine out at 10 and they are perfect. DO NOT OVERBAKE!!!! Sprinkle with some more sugar while they are still warm. Let cool a minute or two before removing to cooling rack.

See that sparkle. This makes about 36 cookies. Store in airtight container.

I am warning you, these are rich and buttery and oh so good. They will add some shine to any holiday tray.

Happy Cookie Making!!!!




Let's see what the other girls are up to, shall we:

April, Kim, Megan, Barbara and Megan

Zucchini Pie

I love this recipe. It is easy and so, so flavorful. It is good for a brunch or if you cut it into small enough pieces, it would work as an appetizer. It is great for vegetarians and just if you are looking for something lighter to eat. This recipe comes from Amy over at Dinners for a year and beyond, her food is incredible looking and tastes just as good. If you use store bought pie crust, which I did, this can be ready in about 45 minutes. It comes together very quickly.



Zucchini Pie

1 pie crust, unbaked
Dijon mustard
1/4 cup butter
4 cups slice zucchini
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup fresh parsley, choppes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano, dried
1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 cups shredded mozzarella, or a combo of sharp cheddar and mozzarella works great
2 extra large eggs, beaten


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Line a pie plate with the pie crust.

I lined nothing, this is a thawed out frozen pie crust. Brush the crust with Dijon mustard.

Melt butter in large saute pan and add Zucchini and onion.

Saute for about 8 minutes. Add parsley,salt,pepper,oregano, and garlic salt. Toss to coat.

Cool slightly and then add cheese and eggs and mix. Pour into pie crust.

Bale 25-30 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

This is super yummy and the mustard gives it such a nice tang. It will make everyone wonder what is in there.

So, please give this a try and you won't be disappointed. It is so delicious and so perfect for many occasions.

Come on, it is waiting for you !!!!

Christmas Orange and Cinnamon Cookie-Cookie # 4 of 12 weeks of cookies

Ok, this is going to be a short one, just because honestly I'm tired and have been fighting with my 5 year old and it has upset me. If it is like this now, what the hell am I going to do when she is 12???? UGH!! Anyway on to this weeks cookie. This is my fourth cookie of the 12 cookies of Christmas and it is pretty simple but the aroma it gives off is extraordinary. It smells like Christmas Potpurri in your house, like one of those Yankee candles we all buy this time of year...the cinnamon and the orange make this an irresistable cookie. The recipe comes from Canary Girl, I'm not sure how much she still blogs, but it is worth a trip to check out her older posts, they look so good. On to the recipe:

Christmas Cinnamon and Orange Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla

zest from 1 orange

1/4 cup orange juice ( from the orange I zested)

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Line baking sheets with parchmant paper.

Baet 1 cup sugar with the shortening,egg,vanilla and orange zest.

Add Orange juice, flour,salt and baking soda. It will look like this. Can you see the zest?

Shape dough into walnut sized balls.
Roll into reserved cinnamon sugar and press onto prepared cookie sheets with a glass dipped in cinnamon sugar.

Bake 10-15 minutes- until lightly golden.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

I wish you all could smell these. They smell like the holidays and it is something a little different from the regular Cookie tray cookie.

So if you are looking for something new, something a little out of the ordinary, look no further, they are right here. Make them and take deep breaths, and smell the holidays.....

Please check out April, Barbara, Megan,Kim and Megan to see what they have in store for you....