HANDCRAFTED MACARON RECIPE

When I think of macarons, I think Ladurée. The French luxury bakery best-known for baking and selling the double-decker macaron, fifteen thousand of which are sold every day! However, the Macaron cookie was born in Italy. It was first introduced by the chef of Catherine de Medicis in 1533 at the time of her marriage to the Duc d'Orleans who became king of France in 1547. The term "macaron" has the same origin as that the word "macaroni" -- both mean "fine dough".

Triple Peanut & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here's how you take the basic Chocolate Chip Cookie up a notch! Meet the coolest cookie in town, featuring mini peanut butter cups, honey-roasted peanuts, peanut butter and, of course, chocolate chips. These loaded cookies will be gone before you know it, so you might want to bake two batches! If you love the chocolate and peanut butter flavor combo, this cookie is for you!  ENJOY!

Cookies and Cream Icebox Cake

What makes a cake? Flour, sugar, greasing and lining pans, whipping and beating and spending all afternoon in the kitchen? I'll admit, I have a few cake recipes that are labor and time intensive — but this wouldn't be one of them. Containing all of four ingredients, and no bake time, this is the quickest and easiest cake I've ever made. Not to mention one of the best!

Successfully Mailing Christmas Cookies

Nothing says MERRY CHRISTMAS like a batch of freshly baked cookies. Follow these simple steps for a successful delivery every time.

Pick the right kind of cookie.

Cookies that have a crunchy or hard texture such as biscotti, spritz and Mexican wedding cakes are excellent choices for mail delivery. They tend to be sturdy, so breakage is less of an issue. Cookies that have a slightly chewy texture, like Snickerdoodles and chocolate chip also ship well. However, cookies having ingredients like baking bits or caramel should not be sent to warm climates as they may melt.

EVERYTHING Christmas Cookies

I do believe cookies must have been invented JUST for Christmas - they are the perfect bite-size gift for friends, neighbors and teachers! They can put a smile on the face of  the 'Scrooge-iest' of Christmas comers & goers and brighten up the day of many a harried holiday shopper. 

This recipe comes to you via Southern Living, but somewhere it took a few turns in my own personal kitchen. I like to add dried cherries and Dove dark chocolate chunks to my cookies - which make the most decadent Christmas cookie of all time. Another of my favorite combos is white chocolate chunks, chopped apricots, macadamia nuts with an added teaspoon or two of grated orange peel - it's wondrous too! 

These jewels package well and hold up beautifully in the mail, making shipping to friends from afar an added plus. With all this in mind, add what ya like, leave out the rest and come up with your own made-to-order Christmas cookie! ENJOY!

EVERYTHING Christmas Cookies

This recipe yields a huge batch of cookies giving you the opportunity to make a variety of flavors - so get inventive! These are the best cookies you'll make OR eat this holiday season! 

Makes 8 Dozen

INGREDIENTS 

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
• 2 cups chopped pecans
• 2 cups dried fruit of your choice, optional; cherries, cranberries, golden raisins, currant

WHAT TO DO

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• In a second bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. 
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. 
• Stir in the flour mixture, blending until just combined. 
• Add the chips, oats, coconut, and pecans and stir until fully incorporated.
• Drop by rounded tablespoon onto an baking sheet covered with Silpat or parchment paper, making sure to allow plenty of room between cookies. 
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are set and golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.

Once, as I was in the frenzied days of holiday baking, I cooked my toffee a tad bit too long - it wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best either. Ever the saver, I broke it up into small pieces and threw a couple of cupfuls into this cookie batter along with my dark chocolate, cherries and other yummy ingredients. They were SO good! Mr. P asks yearly when will I be making such a repeat 'mistake'! Happy Holiday Baking My Friends - make a few of your own mistakes, they just may turn out to be the best thing to come from your kitchen!

ENJOY!

 ~THE DOMESTIC CURATOR~

RONDA

Versatile Chocolate Chip Cookies, Baking Tips and Ideas

Last night Mr.P and I were ALONE! It was sheer heaven. What did we do? We baked cookies by candle and twinkle lights. With our favorite Christmas tunes playing on the stereo and just the right lighting we had an absolutely wonderful time in the kitchen. I would highly recommend this to anyone in need of a little Christmastime romance with your sweetie.

I keep this cookie dough in the freezer, most of the time.

Meet my trusty 'cookie' scoop. 

It makes perfectly-sized cookies, consistent every time!

Decadent Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am on a mission. A mission to find the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe. MY ULTIMATE COOKIE. I am aware that everyone has different ideals and tastes when it comes to their own personal palette, but my goal here is to create THE best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Seriously, EVER. For my personal palette, not only does my cookie need to be chewy in the center and crisp around the edges, it also needs that additively toffee-like quality that only the very best CCC's offer. So here it is....recipe #1. How did they fair? Did they meet my criteria as the ULTIMATE CCC? Did I reach my own personal cookie nirvana?

Sadly, no. While this recipe ticked most of my cookie boxes, it was lacking in one area....not enough 'chew-y'. The three different chocolates are quite heavenly for my liking and they have a nice crisp exterior, but not enough chewy center. I will take a few cues from this recipe though, I DO like the variety of chocolate. Now to look for a more chewy center......I'll keep you posted.

However, if you are a fan of a crispy, chocolate-y cookie....THESE ARE FOR YOU! If anyone out their has a favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe they would like to share with the rest of the class, please don't keep us in suspense. We would love to try your recipe!

Decadent Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

MAKES 7 to 8 DOZEN COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chip
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

WHAT TO DO

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. 
• Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt.
• Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts.
• Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans. I use non-stick foil!
• Flatten out the top a bit so your cookies will cook more evenly.
• Bake for 10 minutes in your preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Give these cookies a try......you'll be glad ya did!

Enjoy!

The Domestic Curator

Ronda

One Crazy Weekend: A Cat, A Concert and A Cookie Party!

A crazy, hectic weekend was had by all in the Porter Family! It was exceedingly busy and physically tiring. Packed full of  wonderful new memories that will be filed away in our minds to enjoy another day. We hit the ground running this past Friday and barely looked up until yesterday afternoon.

 

Elizabeth hosted her annual Christmas Cookie Decorating Party. This was E's 5th year to host this particular party. We all have our assignments. I am the baker and general overseer at this sugar loaded shindig.  Greg is the chauffeur and sanitation duty officer, he takes out the trash, and if Jared  happens to be home he eats what has been left behind. Ha! Yeah right! Like that never happens! I love listening to the girls laughing and talking about their teachers, boys.."Oh man did you see that awesome-looking new guy on the Fear Factor?", talk of the latest fashions, the top forty and the latest drama  unfolding at school, "did you hear about ___and___? They broke up again. That's like the 3rd time", "well I knew it wouldn't last", "they fought all of the time".  They do all of this while decorating their cookies and singing along with the Christmas music that's playing on the stereo. They are fantastic at multi-tasking!! In years past the girls have gone out caroling in our neighborhood.

On occasion they have been given money {which they LOVE}, hot cocoa, candy and more cookies. The girls have even played Santa's Helpers for the little old man around the corner who dresses up like Santa Claus. Our neighborhood really does Christmas proud.  Ninety percent of the houses here in our little corner of the world are covered in Christmas lights, from the chimney tops all the way down to the side walks. We actually have "traffic" in the neighborhood every weekend in December. Cars, limos and even buses, it's really insane! The girls enjoy walking around looking at lights, singing and generally being silly. Do you remember being 16? This year they dressed up and went to the all night Walmart to find some amusement. Don't ask. 

Saturday was a joy....E had a Deb event. The girls were asked to meet and greet people that were coming in for the Symphony's Christmas Concert. If you have a daughter you already know these kinds of events are a family effort. It is not just an evenings obligation to be met by E. It was more like mom and dad putting on a full scale Broadway musical! I spent the majority of the day sewing flowers on her formal. Then she had to get the big hair to go along with the big make-up, mani-pedi and then  we helped her in to her formal.

By the time we left for the symphony hall I was warm. I'm a mother, Elizabeth's mom, she is a sweet and giving young lady who just happens to be a Debutante this year. We have enjoyed her Deb year so far. Looking forward to the Cotillion and presentation of all these beautiful young ladies. All of our efforts with the Deb program have been well worth our time. The girls looked beautiful and the music was a much needed boost of Christmas Spirit. The evening was magical and we all had a wonderful time. 

Sunday is ALWAYS busy around here, church, lunch and of course a Sunday nap. Jared happened to be home...cookies were ALL gone at this point. He had to work from 12 am to 8 am on Monday so he headed back to Denton in the middle of the night. To our surprise he decided to come back home after work instead of  going to his apartment. He was home by the time E left for school Monday morning. I love it when he is home.



 We finally found ourselves settled back into our usual routine. It's raining this morning and that's no fun. There are pies to bake and candy to make, gifts to be bought and wrapped, stockings to be stuffed and not a lot of time left. Greg and I are SO ready to sit back and enjoy just being...you know what I mean? Being with each other, being with our kids, being with our family and friends. Just enjoy being still for awhile. How do you type the sound of a sigh? Christmas. Visiting. Laughing. Reminiscing. Playing. Loving. Being. So bring it on I say....the P's are ready!

CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES

Here is the cookie recipe I use for E's Cookie Parties. It's Martha's. They make THE best base for royal icing. I have tried many recipes over the years and I find this one to be sturdy, crisp on the outside and tender in the middle, and not too sweet. You really don't want a sweet cookie, 
Royal icing is  sweet enough on it's own. This cookie makes the perfect pairing for icing.

MAKES 7 to 8 DOZEN COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Royal Icing, assorted candies, sprinkles, or colored sugars for decorating

WHAT TO DO

• In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. 
• With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; mix until combined.
• Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic; place in fridge until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Line baking sheets with parchment. 
• Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 minutes. 
• Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets.  
• Re-roll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes (depending on size). You do not want them brown.
• Cool completely on wire racks. 
• Ice cookies. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes, before stacking.

To make icing Royal Icing: Sift 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons milk, water, or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar; if too thick, add more liquid. Divide into small bowls and add food coloring. I use Wilton's cake icing color.       

TIPS

• I use Betty Crocker's Cookie Icing for the basic colors. NOT cake icing..there is a difference. Cookie icing hardens, cake icing does not. I do however make the icing for the colors you won't find in the store.....orange, hot pink, turquoise and so on. It saves me huge amounts of time and stress. BC's icing actually tastes as good or better than Martha's and less messy! I don't skip the cookies though. Using a roll of store bought sugar cookie dough will lead to disappointment. They do not hold their defined shapes. Just my opinion, do as you wish and ENJOY!
• Best if you pop your cut cookie dough  straight into the oven from the fridge. 
• I usually always triple this recipe, freezing the dough not used. I pull it out to make Cookie Hearts for Valentine's Day. One less thing to take care of in February!! 

YUMMILICIOUS!

Here they are on their way to the all-night Walmart, with Mr.P in tow. I blissfully took a hot shower and went to bed! Girls Just Want To Have Fun!!!

 MERRY, MERRY!!

~THE DOMESTIC CURATOR~

RONDA