Serves 6
You can make a few hours a head of time and bake 30 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

• 4 cups or 3 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled and diced ½ inch cubes
• 3 cups or 2 pears, peeled and diced ½ inch cubes
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ¾ cup dried cranberries
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• ¾ teaspoon powdered ginger
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons flour
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Mix all of the ingredients together and place into a 11×7 or 6, 2 cup baking dishes.

Topping

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• ¼ cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6 Tablespoons butter melted

Directions:

1. Mix the oats, flour, cinnamon and ginger together in a small bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Crumble the topping evenly over the fruit.
2. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 8
You will need eight 1 ½ cup ramekins (preferably short and wide). I like to serve them with a sliced strawberry on top.

Ingredients

• 4 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6 egg yolks
• ½ cup sugar, plus 2/3 cup for sugar topping
• 3 teaspoons cocoa powder
• ¼ cup dark chocolate bar, shaved

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. Pour cream into a medium sauce pot over medium/high heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds out, place the seeds and pod into the cream and bring to a simmer and then remove from the heat.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together egg yolks and ½ cup sugar until the egg yolks become lighter and pale yellow (about 2-3 min). In a separate medium bowl add the cocoa and chocolate and set aside.
4. While the cream is still hot but not simmering, remove the vanilla bean and discard it. Slowly pour the hot cream into the egg mixture a half-cup at a time and whisk rapidly until the cream and eggs are fully incorporated. (If you add the hot cream too fast the eggs could scramble and the custard would need to be remade).
5. Pour half of the custard mix into the bowl with the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and the cocoa is fully incorporated.
6. Place the ramekins into a roasting dish or baking dish, evenly pour the custard mix into the ramekins. Place the custard into the oven and pour water into the roasting dish so that it comes half way up the side of the ramekins, creating a water bath.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Place in the fridge until chilled or up to 2 days.
8. When ready to serve, sprinkle about 1- 1 1/2 Tablespoons over each custard and with a blow torch about 3-4 inches always brulee the sugar until golden.

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

• 2 cups fat free half & half
• 2 cups 1 % milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 Tablespoons vanilla instant fat-free pudding
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg
• 3-4 Tablespoons rum or brandy

Directions

1. Pour half & half and milk into a medium saucepan and bring to a light simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl, pour 1 Tablespoon of hot milk and whisk, add another Tablespoon and whisk, repeat with 4 more tablespoons, this brings the eggs slowly up to temperature so they don’t scramble.
3. Whisk egg yolks and milk into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Whisk on low heat until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. Pour into a bowl and cool completely in the fridge.
4. Whisk vanilla pudding, cinnamon and nutmeg into the cold milk/egg mixture, keep in the fridge.
5. When ready to serve stir in the liquor.

It’s that time of year again, Christmas cookie time! I like to break it up into a few days, so I don’t get overwhelmed.  Today I made the doughs and will put them in the freezer until I am ready to shape and bake sometime next week.  I made a basic vanilla sugar cookie dough to be rolled and cut with cookie cutters, a gingerbread dough for a Christmas favorite, a lemon sugar dough for spritz cookies that will get a lemon icing and finally a cocoa dough to be sliced into discs and dipped half in dark chocolate half in white and topped with crushed candy cane.

A delectable variety for my cookie gift giving!

I used the basic sugar cookie recipe found in this months Martha Stewart Living magazine.

• Peppermint Cookies Dipped in Dark Chocolate
• Star Tree Sugar Cookies
• Pumpkin Cream Ginger Cookies
• Smore Tree Bars

]]> http://www.thelakekitchen.com/2009/12/22/merry-christmas-and-happy-holidays-fox-q13-visitors/feed/ 0 http://www.thelakekitchen.com/2009/12/22/star-tree-sugar-cookies/ http://www.thelakekitchen.com/2009/12/22/star-tree-sugar-cookies/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:42:29 +0000 Jill http://www.thelakekitchen.com/?p=210

Sometimes you find a recipe that simply can’t be topped! In this case, I like to use a sugar cookie recipe by Alton Brown of the Food Network. You can use your favorite cookie recipe or in a pinch use the pre-made dough from the store. I like to give these cookies as a gift to co-workers or my UPS driver, and they are a perfect party favor or place card holder on your holiday table.

To package as a gift, I sprinkle shredded coconut in the bottom of a cello bag or clear box to dust your tree in a coconut snow!. Place assembled tree on top of the coconut and secure the package with a decorative ribbon.

You will need 5 metal star cookie cutters from small to large, 6 inch wooden skewers, frosting and cookie decoration.

Pre-heat your oven according to your recipe. After your dough has chilled, on a lightly powdered sugared board roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut out the stars and place on a sil-pat or greased cookie sheet. With a skewer make a hole in the middle of each star big enough for the skewer to fit through. Make two of the smallest star for each tree so you have one for the tree topper!

Run a skewer up into 1/2 of the smallest stars and place the skewed cookie on the cookie sheet. Bake according to your recipe.

1. Once cookies are baked and cooled. Frost each star leaving room around each hole in the center of the cookie. Decorate the outer points of the star. Frost and decorate the skewed top star. Allow to dry for at least 2 hours.
2. Skew the rest of the stars from smallest to largest on each skewer with a star topper. Cut down the skewer if it is too long.
3. Package, Serve or Enjoy.

If you are making your cookie dough, add 1/2-3/4 (depending on how minty you like it) teaspoon peppermint extract in place of the vanilla extract in your recipe. Continue to follow your recipe.
If you are in a pinch you can place store bought dough in a bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract and kneed well.

Pre-heat your oven according to your recipe.

Once dough is chilled, roll out on a lightly powdered sugared board.

Cut out your cookies and bake according to Alton’s recipe.

Allow the cookies to fully cool.

Add dark chocolate to a medium microwave safe mixing bowl. Microwave for 2-2 1/2 minutes, stopping and stirring the chocolate every 20 seconds or so, until the chocolate has fully melted.

Have a cookie sheet lined with a sil-pat or parchment ready.

Dip one half of each cookie in the melted chocolate. Allow the extra to drizzle off back into the bowl. Place the dipped cookie on to the cookie sheet, dip remaining cookies and allow the chocolate to set for at least 2 hours.

Serve and Enjoy.

These Smore Tree Bars are a fun twist on rice crispy treats, make great gifts and can be made 5 days ahead.
If you want to display them before serving I like to sprinkle shredded coconut around the base to look like snow.
Makes 6-8

Ingredients

• 13 cups golden grahams
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 5 Tablespoons butter
• 80 marshmallows
• hand full of red hots

Directions

1. In a large bowl add golden grahams and chocolate chips.
2. Cover a cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan with a sil pat or parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. Set aside
3. Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and stir occasionally. Once the marshmallows are pretty well melted stir constantly to get any lumps out.
4. Pour the melted marshmallows over the golden grahams and mix well.
5. Scrape all of the mixture out onto the greased cookie sheet.
6. Spray your hands with non-stick spray and press the mixture down until it is evenly1 inch thick.
7. Allow sit for 1 hour before cutting out the trees.
8. Once cooled, use large to small star cookies cutters to cut out each layer of the trees.
9. Place the largest star on the bottom and the smallest star on the top.
10. Decorate the tips with red hots.

I make the frosting up to 5 days ahead. Since the cookies are store bought I keep them on hand throughout the holidays so I always have a quick dessert on hand.
Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup or 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
• a scant 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 24 ginger thins or gingersnaps

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl whisk together cream cheese, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar until well incorporated.
2. Spread 1 teaspoon of frosting on the back of 12 cookies.
3. Place the bottom of a un-iced cookie on top of an iced one. Repeat with remaining cookies.
4. Decorate cookies with the remaining icing.