Sippican Woman's Club Sugarplum Tea Cookies

 Almond-Topped Shortbread Cookies

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2-1/4 all-purpose flour
• 1 egg yolk
  
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 
  1 egg white
• 1/2 c. sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9-12" baking pan or line with parchment.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl on low speed until creamy.

Add flour and mix well.

Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla.

Spread the dough into the pan.

Beat the egg white until foamy and spread over the top of the dough.

Sprinkle almonds evenly over the top.

Bake for 25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Cool on a wire rack.

Cut into 1-1/2" squares, which should yield 48 pieces.

Sand Balls (AKA Snow Balls)

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
• 2 tsp. honey
• 2-1/4 cup sifted flour
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 t. vanilla

Blend together the butter, sugar, and honey.

Add and mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. Add to the butter mixture and add vanilla.

Form into 1" balls. Place on parchment on a cookie sheet and chill until firm, about an hour.

Bake at 375 degrees for 14-17 minutes, until lightly browned. Shake to coat in a small bag of confectioners' sugar until slightly warm and once again when cool.  (Two coats of sugar.)

Makes 5 dozen cookies. 

Thumbprint Cookies

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 c. superfine sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla + 1/2 tsp. almond extracts
• Jelly or jam for filling

In a medium bowl, sift the flour and salt together and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the extracts.

Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until just blended.

Chill the dough 1-2 hours.

While the oven is preheating to 325 degrees, shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Make a deep thumbprint in the center of each. Fill the imprint with deep colored jelly.

After baking, let cool and dust with confectioners' sugar. 

Makes 42 cookies. 

Peppermint Meltaways

• 2 sticks softened butter
• 1/2 c sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
• 
  1-1/4 .sifted flour with
• 1/2 c. corn starch

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, and extract. Beat at medium speed, scraping the bowl often, until creamy. Reduce the speed to low and add flour and sifted cornstarch. 

Beat until well-mixed. Cover and refrigerate until firm, 30-60 minutes.

Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1" balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. 

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.  Let stand 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet and cool completely. 

Drizzle glaze* over cooled cookies, and immediately sprinkle with bits of crushed candy canes. 

Makes about 48 cookies.

*Glaze: Combine 1-1/2 c. sifted confectioners' sugar with 2 T. softened butter, 1-2 T. milk, and 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract. Add 2-3 drops of red food coloring to get a pale pink color. 

Chicken Marsala with Roasted Potatoes and Fresh Green Beans

Gerry made this again for me. So good. What a comfort. Just what I needed! 

Last night we had a comfort food dinner. It was really delicious. Gerry roasted sliced potatoes with oil and Kinder butter seasoning for 20 minutes. We steamed green beans three minutes and add salted butter when done.

Prep:

• Cut 4 boneless chicken thighs into smaller pieces and dredge in flour, salt and pepper. 
• Peel and chop 1 shallot and chop finely. 
• Peel and mince 2-4 garlic cloves.
• Chop a handful of fresh parsley leaves and chop fine.
• Chop thyme (leaves and can include very soft stems) and rosemary needles and use about 2-4 tsps of the chopped herbs. 
• Slice 12-16 ounces of a combination of mushrooms (Bella, white, shitake)
• Measure 1/2 c. stock or prepare bouillon.
• Measure 3/4 c. heavy cream.
• Cut 3 T. butter.

Add 2 T butter and 1 T olive oil to a hot pan and cook the chicken with the thyme and rosemary. Transfer to a hot plate when cooked golden. 

Add 2 T. butter to that hot pan and add the mushrooms and cook 1minutes. Add the garlic and toss. Do not salt the mushrooms until they are cooked. 

Deglaze the pan with 3/4 c. Marsala wine (we use the cooking version). Add the shallots and 1/2 cup of chicken stock or Better than Bouillon equivalent. Reduce sauce and add 6 oz. of heavy cream, cooking until thick.

Return chicken to the pan and heat. Transfer chicken to plates with roasted potatoes and green beans and pour over the sauce. Sprinkle with the parsley. 

Lemon-Blueberry Cream Cheese Loaf with Almonds and Lemon

I had all the ingredients for this bread/cake when I saw a recipe for this cream cheese loaf on 12tomatoesdotcom. I figured I would try it, but I added lemon and almonds. I had a partial bag of blueberries someone left in our freezer and we are always trying (not successfully) to empty out the freezer before leaving for Florida for the winter. Of course, this never works in either home, but this year we are REALLY trying.

This cake is really adding flour and baking powder to cream cheese frosting and baking it into a cake. I kid you not, but it makes a yummy light and creamy loaf for breakfast or with a cup of coffee or tea. I imagine you could grill or toast slices for more deliciousness.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then take 2 cups of frozen or fresh blueberries out of the fridge and toss them with two T flour. I wouldn't take them out and defrost them entirely from frozen. They are pretty slushy when totally defrosted and it worked really well with them frozen.

Mix 1 cup of softened butter,1-1/2 cup butter and 8 oz. cream cheese and beat it all well into, well, a frosting that is very well mixed and beaten. Add 1 tsp. of vanilla or other flavoring - I added 1 T of lemon emulsion. I think I will add almond extract another time along with the lemon. Add 4 eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is creamy and somewhat lighter.

Place 2 cups flour and 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder with 1/2 tsp. salt in a dish or bowl and mix them together. Gradually add these dry ingredients to the creamy ingredients. Fold in the blueberries and zest from one lemon. Add 1 cup of sliced almonds either into the batter or top your loaves with them. 

Pour the batter into prepared pans (I always line rectangle loaf pans of any size with a long piece of parchment, which makes the loaf so easy to remove.)  In this first try of this recipe, I used six small paper loaves suitable for giving away (3-1/2" by 6").

Whatever size you use, bake until a toothpick or cake pick comes out clean in the center. I baked my loaves for about 30 minutes, but a bigger loaf will take about 45 minutes.

Chicken Thighs with Onions

Trader Joe’s has sous vide chicken thighs in a box in their fresh meat or deli section. There are seasonings in the chicken in the vacuum pack. 

Cut 2 small onions in slices and sauté them until golden. Add the chicken to the pan with white wine, some oregano or thyme leaves, black Kalamata olives, and some Roasted Chicken Better Than Bouillon mushrooms with 1 T honey and  1/4 c white wine. If you have a good flavored balsamic vinegar, add 1-2 T. 
 

Reuben Bake

 

1 can crescent roll dough

1/2 lb sliced corned beef

1/2 lb sliced Swiss cheese

1 cup drained and squeezed dry sauerkraut

1/2 c Russian or Thousand Island dressing or homemade recipe from Reuben Bowls

2 T Dijon mustard

1 T butter, melted

1 tsp caraway seeds

Fresh parsley and chives for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a baking dish or deep pie dish (or line with parchment

Unroll the dough and press it into the dish.

Layer the ingredients in this order: Dijon mustard, corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut. Drizzle with dressing. Make one or two layers and then top with the dough, sealing the edges.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden.

Slice when cooled a bit, garnish with fresh parsley and chopped chives and serve warm.

Adapted from Olivia's Mediterranean Kitchen

Autumn Salad: Orso, Butternut Squash and Fruit

Orzo salad:

1 pound orzo

20 oz. butternut squash, chopped

1/2 lb bacon, chopped

2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

I honey crisp apple, chopped

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. pecans

Dressing:

1/2 c. olive oil

1/8 c. apple cider vinegar

1/8 c. red apple balsamic vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 T. dijon mustard

1 T. honey

Salt and pepper

Add butternut squash and bacon to parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss to coat and roast in a 425 oven for 25-30 minutes.

Cook the orzo to al dente in salted water. Do not overcook. Drain.

Combine all ingredients for the dressing and whisk vigorously.

In a large bowl, add the orzo, squash and bacon, apple, cranberries and pecans. 

Add all together with dressing, toss and combine.

Serve warm or cold. 

 From Daniela Dish dot com.

Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Cheese, Cranberries and Nuts

2 medium sweet potatoes sliced into rounds about 1/2 inch and brushed with oil and seasoning
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

A 6-8 ounce log or round of brie or goat cheese, sliced

1/2 cup whole and chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2-3 T hot honey for drizzle

Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish

Roast the sweet potato rounds in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes on parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Place a round of cheese on each round and return to the oven for 2-3 min. until the cheese is soft. Top with dried cranberries, chopped nuts. Garnish with rosemary and a whole nut, drizzle each with hot honey, and serve warm.