‘Tis the
season…to put on a few extra pounds!!
After all, you need them to keep warm, right? We thought we would help the cause with these
wonderful recipes:
Peppermint Meltaways
Ingredients
·
Cookie
·
1 cup Land O Lakes® Butter, softened
·
½ cup powdered sugar
·
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
·
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
·
½ cup Argo® Cornstarch
·
Glaze
·
1½ cups powdered sugar
·
2 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Butter,
softened
·
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
·
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
·
2 to 3 drops red food color, if desired
·
Candy canes or hard peppermint candy,
crushed
Instructions
·
1
Combine butter, powdered sugar and ½
teaspoon peppermint extract in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl
often, until creamy. Add flour and cornstarch; beat at low speed until well
mixed. Cover; refrigerate until firm (30 to 60 minutes).
·
2
Heat oven to 350°F. Shape rounded
teaspoonfuls of dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased
cookie sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1
minute on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.
·
3
Meanwhile,
combine 1½ cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, ¼ teaspoon peppermint
extract and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in small bowl. Stir in
food color, if desired. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Immediately sprinkle with
crushed candy.
Maple Butter Tarts
Author: Julia
Frey of Vikalinka
Recipe
type: Dessert
Cuisine: Canadian
Serves: 24
The recipe makes 24
tarts. You can either make them at the same time if you have 2 muffin tins and
your oven is big enough to bake both. Alternatively, you can bake them one
after another.
Ingredients
·
Pie Crust, pre-made-500 gr
·
Brown Sugar, packed- ¾ cup
·
Maple syrup- ½ cup
·
Butter, melted- ⅓ cup
·
Eggs- 2
·
Cider Vinegar- 1 tbsp.
·
Salt- ½ tsp.
·
Raisins- ½ cup
·
Walnuts (optional)- ½ cup
Instructions
1.
Preheat your oven to 350F/180C.
2.
In a medium bowl combine melted butter, brown
sugar, maple syrup, eggs, vinegar and salt and whisk until combined.
3.
Add raisins and chopped walnuts.
4.
Roll out the pastry to a ⅛” thickness and cut out
rounds with a 4″ pastry cutter or use a glass. (My glass was 3.5″ in diameter)
5.
Line muffin tin cups with pastry rounds.
6.
Fill the muffin cups with the maple/nut mixture
until ⅔ full.
7.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the custard is set and
the pastry is golden.
8.
Run a knife around the edges of the tarts as soon
as you remove them from the oven to release them from the tin.
Candy Cane
Buttercream Cookies
Ingredients:
CHOCOLATE COOKIES
·
1 cup + 1 Tablespoon (133g) all-purpose flour
·
1/4 cup (32g) unsweetened cocoa powder
·
1 teaspoon baking powder
·
1/4 teaspoon salt
·
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I use 1
package Baker's Semi Sweet chocolate)
·
2 large eggs
·
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
·
5 Tablespoons (75g) unsalted butter, softened to room
temperature
·
3/4 cup (150g) light brown sugar
·
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
·
1 cup (180g) mini chocolate chips
CANDY CANE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
·
3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
·
2.5 - 3 cups (300-360g) confectioners sugar, sifted
·
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
·
1-2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) heavy cream or milk
·
1/2 cup candy cane dust, sifted (about
8-10 candy canes pulverized in a food processor)
·
crushed candy canes for rolling, optional
Directions:
Begin with the cookies. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking
powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate in the
microwave for about 1 minute. Stir. Continue to melt in 30 second increments
until fully melted and smooth. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and
vanilla. Set aside. With an electric or stand mixer with paddle attachment,
beat the butter until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Beat in the sugars,
scraping down the sides every 10 seconds or so. The mixture will be granular.
Mix in the beaten egg/vanilla
until incorporated. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until
combined. Add the dry ingredients on slow speed. Fold in the mini chocolate
chips. Do not overmix at any point in this process.
Chill dough for at least 30
minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of dough and
roll into a slightly flattened ball. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the
cookies have just begun to set with the centers still appearing very soft. They
will firm up as they cool.
As the cookies cool, make the
buttercream. Beat the
butter for 1 minute with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add 2.5 cups of
sifted powdered sugar and slowly mix on low speed. Increase mixer speed to
medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 1 Tablespoon of cream/milk. Beat for
about 1 minute. Manually stir in candy cane dust. If your buttercream needs to
be thicker, add more powdered sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out,
add remaining milk/cream. If frosting is too sweet, add a pinch of salt.
Frost the bottom end of a cooled
cookie and top with another to make a sandwich. Store in an airtight container
in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
