Chantilly Raspberry Cookies Post, the 2nd

I complained a long time ago about the loss of the Chantilly Raspberry cookies that Pepperidge Farms stopped making for some reason.  I missed them dreadfully and my one attempt to make a linzer cookie similar came out too nutty and not at all like the smooth crisp white cookies I love so much. 

I have good news, though!  Right before Christmas I was in the Target holiday food aisle and found that Pepperidge Farms made a Linzer cookie!  It looked the same, but I've been fooled before by a softer cookie with a raspberry filling so I wasn't too sure.  I bought one package and low and behold!!!  It was the same cookie!!!  YUM!  I only saw them the once and they may only be at the holidays - it says Linzer cookies - not Chantilly.  Be sure to check your own local stores and see if they have them.  I'm hoping they stick around outside the holidays.  I so miss those crispy raspberry filled cookies.  My only complaint is they really skimped on the powdered sugar dusting(they don't look like the image on the front really), but I can always add a little extra myself.  ;)



Just wanted to share that bit of info with you for all the other people who have expressed their own disappointment in losing those cookies in my comments on my original post found HERE.  I really do think they are a seasonal cookie, but so long as they are available sometimes I'll be happy!

And here is where you can find them online!!

Thanksgiving Tarts and Mincemeat Traditions

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it) and a great weekend.  I tried to post these pictures a few days ago, but had problems uploading them.  I just wanted to share some pics of my tarts.  I only just managed to take a picture of the last few before family members grabbed them up and finished them off!

 

 

I made my usual mincemeat tarts and then experimented with a few pecan tarts since I made extra pecan pie filling. They aren't quite as cute as the mincemeat ones, but they were really tasty!  Also, by making little tart versions we were able to eat one apiece the night before instead of staring longingly at our pecan pie and telling ourselves we had to wait.  Mmm!

 

Aren't the squirrel silhouettes cute??  They are my favorite little cookie cutters.  We also gave the traditional weaving top a try, but it was so much more effort we stopped after one.  LOL  Also used my acorn, maple leaf and turkey mini cookie cutters. 

 

The mincemeat tarts are a Thanksgiving Tradition in our house, I learned how to make them from my grandmother - if you are interested in trying an old fashioned (and VERY yummy) treat - just buy a jar of mincemeat at the grocery store - should be in the baking and/or holiay section - can be hard to find, but well worth the effort.  I then put it in a sauce pan and finely dice 1 or 2 apples and chop up about a half cup raisins and add to the mix, cook for about 15 min. or so, let cool slightly as you prepare crusts.  I just use ready made crusts normally and cut them to fit the little tart pans, then cut out fun shapes for the tops, brush with milk and sprinkle sugar (you can add some sugar to the mincemeat mixture, too, if you like it extra sweet), and bake at 350F until golden brown on top.  They are great as dessert or for breakfast! 

 

I also use mincemeat at Christmas, but as filled cookies!  I have a post somewhere in here with the cookie recipe - they are the sweetest, yummiest cookies ever and they go SUPER fast so I end up making tons so I can get a chance to eat one myself.  :)  Give it a try if you'd like to be a little Olde England this year.  I promise that these taste really good and not like meat at all.  I always find it funny when someone won't try it because of the name - they are so missing out on a good thing, but that's okay because it means More for Me!  LOL

 

If you have any questions about making mincemeat feel free to ask here.  I think it is a shame that it has fallen out of style and we need to fight to keep it in our Christmas tradition along with other older treats. 

 

Fun Fact - Puritans in England and the American colonies tried to outlaw mincemeat in the 1600's!  There were people called 'mince sniffers' whose job it was to patrol the town seeking out people who baked traditional mincemeat pies!  I'm glad they don't come around anymore - I'd be in trouble.  Check out more here. 

 

Back I go to Christmas decorating - I'm rather ambitious this year despite a really bad back and hip.  I'm not going to let it get me down!

Chantilly Raspberry Cookies

I like most of Pepperidge Farm's cookies, but my favorite one seems to be discontinued. Does anyone else miss the Chantilly Raspberry cookie?

They were crisp cookies with raspberry filling, a pie like crisscross on top and sprinkled with powdered sugar. They were divine. I miss them so much. I tried to make something similar last Christmas - I thought maybe they were linzer tart cookies, but alas - close, but no cigar. I found them not crisp enough and too spicy. Too much texture, too.

So does anyone have any ideas for what I could try as a recipe? I'd like to make my favorite cookie for the holidays.

No pictures of my Christmas decorations yet as I'm only half way there- so many boxes to go through! I'm donating and tossing out as much as I can as we've got way too much for one family! LOL I have enough for the whole neighborhood, I think.

Happy December!

Bigger Better Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Now don't get me wrong - I love Tollhouse cookies - they taste great. But the cookies always come out thin and a bit crunchy whereas I like a chewy moist chocolate chip cookie. So I've been looking for a new recipe or ideas to make my chocolate chip cookies a bit better and finally found a great recipe in a free cookbook pamphlet my local grocery store hands out. It's a large recipe and I was a little worried at first, but they made some of the plumpest, moist cookies ever and I loved them!!


Here's the picture to illustrate the difference in Tollhouse looking cookies to new cookies:
They really deliver...

I've altered the recipe just a smidge.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:

4 1/2 cups Flour
1 t Baking Powder
1 t Baking Soda
1 1/2 t Salt
1 3/4 cups Brown Sugar (firmly packed)
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Veg. Shortening
1/2 cup Butter (one stick)
3 Large Eggs
3 t Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 pkgs. (12 oz. size) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (more or less, depends on personal taste)
1 cup Chopped Pecans or Walnuts


Prepare as you do in usual chocolate chip cookie recipes like Tollhouse. Mix Dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ones in mixer bowl, combine slowly.

Bake at 375 degrees.

The results are fantastic - this is about half the cookies...

I'm sure they will go fast!

And Smokey wanted me to remind you that it is getting colder! And he let me know that if I get out of bed for something I can't expect to have my place when I come back.

Have a Great Weekend!

Easter Preparations and Tornado Damage!

I've been super busy cooking, cleaning and baking to get ready for an Easter lunch tomorrow. Two of my cousins from out of town were coming in for the holiday, but wouldn't you know it - a tornado ripped through our airport yesterday!! Yes, really.

One cousin got diverted to Kansas City and had to take a bus here at midnight - ugh! The other one was flying in today, but now she can't as the airport is shut down still. Oh well, I'm just glad neither was hurt!

I made some kourambiedes for Easter since this is both American and Greek Easter together this year (often they are at different times due to differing calendars). Kourambiedes (or as I often call them, white cookies) are a buttery cookie with crushed walnuts and a hint of brandy in them. They are covered in powdered sugar and rather messy, but oh-so-delicious! We make them around Christmas and Easter or Weddings - they are a special occasion kind of cookie.

Here they are just after baking...

You then sift powdered sugar all over and then serve them in little baking cups for easy eating...
If anyone is interested in the recipe please comment on this post and I will post the recipe. They are VERY good, delicate cookies.

For lunch we will have ham, pineapple-orange-mustard sauce, scalloped potatoes, spinakopita (a cheese/spinach dish with filo), a green bean-tomato-potato dish my Yiayia makes, and my mother's delicious carrot cake (with pineapple, raisins and walnuts in it - mmm!) and maybe even a key lime pie. Yummy! We dyed our eggs the American way with multi colors, but my Yiayia always makes traditional Greek red-only eggs.

I'll try to remember to take pictures. Hope everyone else is safe and sound and enjoying their weekend. The tornados have hit us hard in Missouri, but so far my family has been okay. I hope that doesn't change as there is plenty of rain and bad weather in the forecast. There have been reports of up to softball sized hail!! Cross your fingers for us as we've had many close calls and had to cower in our basement quite a few times this week. We've been lucky so far, but how long can that hold out?

Happy Easter!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweets to the sweet!

A giant M&M cookie for you...

Wishing you all a great Valentine's Day filled with love and a sweet or two.

Baking Cookies...

The house smells so yummy today. I'm making my super tasty Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies. They are the best, the hint of lemon in them makes them stand out. I love rolling the dough and using my favorite cookie cutters (old and new - I have a HUGE collection and can't stop buying them). Here's a pic of my cookies as I start the process. The dough makes tons of cookies so it is a lot of hours on my feet, but so worth it.

And last night I made my Mincemeat cookies. This cookie is everyone's favorite in my family. The slightly spicy mincemeat and apple coupled with quite possibly the world's best cookie dough makes for a big treat. These require two different cookie cutters per cookie as a smaller one is cut out for the top to vent.

I used my brand new snowflake cookie cutters and I'm rather happy with them. They are even cuter in the sugar cookies. I also made my meringue snowflake cookies a few days ago, but they got gobbled up and given away before I could take a single picture! I'm making more tonight. ;)

Fall Cheesecake

Now that it is September and the weather is cooling down it is inevitable that we turn to Fall for inspiration.

Today we celebrated my grandpa's birthday so my grandmother decorate a small cheesecake for him with strawberry topping, fresh strawberries and a chocolate bow as well as a sprinkling of chocolate fall leaves she made herself.
She told me she made the chocolate modeling clay herself with melted chocolate chips and corn starch - the yellow and rust colored leaves were from white chocolate.

Happy Labor Day Weekend and so long summer - I'll miss you...

Cookie, anyone?

There's nothing quite like the taste and smell of fresh baked cookies...
They aren't super special cookies - just regular old chocolate chip cookies...except I add a little extra vanilla - oh and I use Ghirardelli chocolate chips...and pecans - plenty of pecans. Yummmm... They're going fast! ;)

Mmm...smell the fresh baked treats!!

Blogs can be great for sharing stories and pictures and even videos, but the one thing they can't do - let you smell how wonderful my house smells right now. The heat index may be in the 100's, but I baked today. Why? For the upcoming tea party of course!! I'm making lovely cookies, cupcakes and other wonderful things to share - if only in pictures. My house smells like a bakery after a fresh batch of cookies and now chocolate cupcakes are done - mmmmmmm!!!

Too bad you can't scratch and sniff your computer screen or have a slot come out of your computer so I could hand out samples. LOL It's gonna be hard enough of to keep certain hands in this house off the goodies until I get things set up and take pictures. I'm planning to take my party outside this year. Last year was positively deadly in heat and even the few moments I did manage outside turned me into a puddle so I had to stay indoors for the party. I think it turned out okay, I had fun, though my camera broke on me. But this year - even though it's only slightly cooler and we've had sudden rainstorms nearly every day - I'm hoping to get outside for just long enough. I'm making my preparations and I can't wait to share the pics. Be sure to tune in on the 26th.

I'm hoping to be ready a little early since my blog is usually at or near the top of the list and many people like to start partying early. And why not? The more partying the better!! :)

Back I go to get ready - can't wait for the party to start!

Baking: Mincemeat Cookies - Give 'em a try!!

Isn't that a pretty cookie?? I think using new bigger cookie cutters was fun, makes for more calories per cookie and they'll go faster and use up the dough so I made only half of them like this, but I just think it's lovely - to make these cookies you need a fair sized cookie cutter and a smaller one that either is identically small version or I think one that just compliments it myself. The inside is a Dogwood flower - my fave.

Since it is after Christmas I didn't feel chained to making the traditional heart, star, and holly leaf. Never mind I couldn't find the little cookie cutters anyway and no holly leaf, got lost in the two kitchens I suppose. So that is why you will see my other cookies later - rabbits! A new attempt - not quite such a great one, but we love rabbits in our family so I thought it was worth a try. Also I had identical small rabbit cutter so why not?

Now don't go running from the word mincemeat - it isn't gross at all like it sounds. It tastes wonderful...especially when you 'improve' on the recipe. My grandmother taught me to make them and we have a strict regime: mincemeat tarts are for Thanksgiving and only the mincemeat cookies are for Christmas. Well, I don't always follow that rule because the mincemeat cookies rock - the dough is what really does it, but the filling is necessary, too.

The recipe comes from my old (okay my mother's) old Betty Crocker Cookbook which photographed so nicely here it looks new - in person it is yellowed, beat up and vintagey looking. Odd what a camera can do...it's also held together with tape on the binding. LOL I have no idea if the new Betty Crocker cookbook has this recipe. I guess I could go look, but I'm lazy - I always use this one.

The recipe in my book is in the cookie section and is under 'filled cookies' - you can be lazy and just make turnovers, but we cut out two identical cookie cutter shapes, the top one with the little cut out and filling in between. It can take practice and the dough will need constant chilling to handle and plenty of flower - sticky!! It is a very easy batter to make and you don't need to use the heavy cream, I never have that on hand, only 2% milk and it works just fine. Heck, cuts back on calories, too. Practically fat free and diet like, right? lol


Now here's a not too attractive picture of the filling after I 'fixed' it. I add an apple or two, granny smith is my favorite for more bite and plenty of raisins, all of this chopped very, very finely. Diced til you couldn't make it smaller without it being apple sauce. This year I ran out of raisins and had already begun so I added dried cranberries, worked just as well. Add as much as you like. I even add a touch of sugar so the filling is sweet and not too clove-y for me. Weird how a shiney metal bowl can really ruin a pic. Ick. Too much reflection. The little white squares are the apple.



Now, after you are done, hopefully you end up with something like this: a pretty cookie with the filling peeking out.
When you break it open it looks like this - yum!! You should smell my house right now - wow, do those cookies smell good. I need to make an air freshner can of that smell. Mmmm.... Oh, one last tip, just a spoonful of filling in the cookies, make sure you can form a seal around the edges or they are messy. Sometimes, if it's just for your immediate family and they demand more mincemeat filling I don't mind if they don't seal perfectly.



This is my first year's attempt at bunny cookies...not quite as pretty, huh? Also the little bunny was just a little too big and kept breaking the bigger cookie and well, they ended up not too cute, but they taste just as good, trust me...

And that's the end of my little tutorial. I have a confession to make - even if no one will ever see them or I have plenty of good cookies, I make my family eat the ugly cookies first. Does anyone else do that?? LOL I'm a control freak and I want the pretty ones to last longer and you never know someone might stop by and you want to give them a pretty cookie or two, right? :) I also made a few star cookies, but they are too ugly even to show. Those go first tonight.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!!

58 Gingerbread Lane

No one yet has joined me in Gingerbread House decorating show offs - how sad.

Doesn't anyone do Gingerbread houses anymore?? Well, I do. I'm ready to show you my smaller (different kit, too) and less extravagant house this year. Perhaps the residents of 58 Gingerbread Lane are feeling the economy, too. Anyway, without further to do:



The Front with candy lights, peppermint wreath, mint lifesaver path to the door, gumdrop shrubs, doublemint gum door and shutters, etc.:



The back view, you can't see, but I used red icing for the back door and behind the window (pretzel window) for stained glass effect:

And side view, gumdrop ridge of roof, plenty of snow, little (uglier kit peppermint) wreaths between the windows:

The BEAUTIFUL and HEAVY glass pedestal is a remarkable find and a tremendously gracious gift of my Fairy (Vintage) Godmother, of course. It has a history, but I'll keep it quiet, suffice to say this is a really nice vintage find and SO sweet of a gift to me while I was awaiting my operation. I can barely heft it around empty, lol. Now, I don't have piles of cookies to show you, I have dough and filling waiting, but first want to make one other dough to chill while I bake and then I have my snowflake cookies, etc. Mmm...the house will smell so good.

Happy Holidays

and if you made a gingerbread house or a graham cracker house share a pic/link, will you, please?? Better Luck next year, I guess....

By the way - just to make it easier to see last year's gingerbread house here's the link (I added a gingerbread house label as I plan to do it every year I can):

http://58cherries.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-new-home-on-gingerbread-lane.html

Not too different as you can see except the sweet tart roof took AGES to do. I'd love to do something really different next year. Go wild and create something different like these guys did in the post I had here:

http://58cherries.blogspot.com/2008/12/mmmsmell-gingerbread.html

Gingerbread House on its way...

Just finished my Gingerbread House. Hope someone else did, too and is willing to leave a link to their pics. I will take a picture when the light is good AND I have a camera AND a clean surface at the same time. No easy thing when it is the Holidays.

This house is much smaller and simpler - at least easier - no sweet tart roof, sad to say, but 'lights' and shrubs and special windows. :) My family turned the house upside down and totally changed all the rooms of two floors (yep, right before Christmas and then skip back to work with it all laying around undone) so I'm trying to keep my sanity and clean the kitchen at least and keep some space for myself and my baking. A hopeless cause, but one I fight nonetheless.

58Cherries

Special Post - second of the day, too!! Etsy Update

My Pink ornaments made it up at last. Silly me for forgetting to do so for so long. Might've had to do with wanting to keep them. lol



Take a peek:





And to see the special backs of the ornaments - oh so pretty and also the ornaments displayed on my white tree you must go to the shop.

What do I love best about ALL my ornaments? They really do look great any day. You can store them away for great delight of reopening them once a year as I do with some favorite ornaments, but some I want around year round just to make me smile. Two posts in one day - aren't you all spoiled? LOL Just kidding.

Off I go to freshen up and then get messy with my gingerbread house. And somewhere after or in the middle I have to make deviled eggs for a Christmas party. And then the dough for some really scrumptuous Christmas cookies to be refridgerated until the day before Christmas Eve. (Or they'll all be gone!!)

New Items - more than ever before at shop!!!

I can hardly believe it, but I have more than 30 items in the shop. Wow. And it isn't all full of prints. That's a lot of work represented there. I don't think I have all my individual ornaments up, but I do have the pairs and a trio and quite a few individual ones and even a new never seen before medieval rabbit pendant up just this morning.

I'm happy to have even this progress just because I haven't wanted to admit it, but I've been in a great deal of pain, but today I think I've conquered it for at least awhile. I'm ignoring it and I'm also watching the end of Impromptu which every Hugh Grant fan should see at least once. Oh the youth!

Also Emma Thompson is great! Hilarious scenes - great passion. And more hilarity. It cheered me up immensely.

Anyway, Happy Holiday decorating and baking and all that. I made a batch of cookies and they vanished!! Santa either came early or my family just loves those cookies. They are an old traditional family recipe - Grandma Peter's Snowflake cookies. They are too good to let sit out. I had planned to at least take a pic and give most of them away to my Yiayia, but they vanished over two days! Oh no! Good thing I can make many more. LOL

Pumpkin Goodness

The days have grown much shorter, the air has a chill that's undeniable and the pumpkins and mums are springing up on every doorstep - it simply must be time to bake for the fall!! I've never been much of a pumpkin pie person, but I do so love pumpkin muffins!! I posted about my muffin recipe last year here.

And here are some fresh pictures of my lovely pumpkin muffins to share before they get gobbled up by family and friends...

They have chocolate chips in them as the recipe says from last year, but I just couldn't find the walnuts so I substituted pecans and they are just as lovely - yum!

You could add just about anything to these muffins or nothing at all and they taste lovely, even to people who aren't too fond of Cinnamon, like me. I've made pumpking chocolate chip bundt cake before, too, and that is just DIVINE with a light glaze on top. Sadly I've never been able to duplicate it successfully as bundt pans and I are not friends - they always stick and ruin - drat it!

And while we are on the subject of fall recipes I also recommend the orange cranberry I muffins I made last year - check out the post here. I really must make those again, too, they were a big hit.

Life is Sweet

After seeing cinnamon rolls on just about everyone's blog, I finally caved and had a few of my own last weekend:


Mmm...the smell drives me crazy.

And of course this weekend was Valentine's day so we had a few more sweets:

An extra large cookie in my new heart shaped pan. So big I couldn't fit it on a plate. Next time I'll add walnuts or pecans.

And then a prezzie came in the post from my Fairy Godmother:

A vintage coin purse, homemade valentine and three sugary cookies - isn't she sweet?

Hope everyone else had a great weekend. I'm heading over to my store to add a few things. More later!

My New Home on Gingerbread Lane

Welcome to my new house - just finished and oh so tasty! There's a fresh coat of powdered sugar snow and the winterberry seen next to it is from my grandmother's garden.

It's a two bedroom, one bath with a new sweet tart roof and large pretzel windows.

The gumdrop and peppermint fence adds to its charm...and no need to paint it every year!

I put up some christmas lights and a wreath on the door - all ready to move in now. If only I can resist nibbling on the fresh baked walls.

***

And in other news - Danita's having a doll giveaway!! Check out her blog for the details. Her dolls are super cute. I especially love her Alice in Wonderland and Snow White.

Mmm...smell the gingerbread

It's that time of year that I start dreaming of gingerbread houses. I just love searching the web for cool pictures and dream of making my own little house someday. So I bought a little kit this year to take a crack at and decided to look up a few pictures to get inspired. Check these out:



A Better Homes and Garden house - oh so cute - the little sled is such a cute touch. I love the peppermint hedge.

This has lots of details!

And if you really wanted to rock out - this first place winner looks fantastic!!

Who wouldn't want to live there?? How did they get it so realistic?? Beautiful. Now I'll go to sleep with visions of sugar plum fairies, gum drop roofs and pretzel fences dancing in my head...