Thursday, December 6, 2007

Christmas Baking for Dec. 6.

Well, Rosie's been a busy girl today.


In top middle, I have the Ultimate Lemon Butter Squares
and Triangles.

On the right, I have Caramel Rocky Road Bars.
On the left, I have Jo's Sugar Cookies.


Ultimate Lemon Butter Bars

Here are my ingredients for the shortbread base:










1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter
2 TB confectioners' sugar
2 TB granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups flour



Whisk together sugars.
Add butter and cream until light and fluffy.
Mix in flour.


Prepare 8 inch square pan by lining bottom and 2 sides with foil for easy removal.

Pat dough into pan and fork it to pierce dough all over.

Oops. Apparently I forgot to fork it.








Bake at 325 degrees in middle of oven for 50 or until edges are lightly browned and top is pale golden (Do not brown.).









Here are the ingredients for the lemon curd topping:

(And no, my lemon curd doesn't come out of a jar.)

4 aig yolks
3/4 cup sugar
lemon juice, freshly squeezed,
( about 2/ 1/2 lemons)
dash salt
2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 TB confectioners' sugar





Here's my lemon juice.

















Beat aig yolks and sugar in saucepan until well blended. Stir in lemon juice, butter, and salt. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Candy thermometer should register about 196 degrees. Do not allow to boil or it will curdle.




















When shortbread is baked, remove from oven and reduce temperature to 300. Pour lemon curd on top of shortbread and bake 10 minutes longer.






Here's the baked shortbread
and lemon curd.















I got Mr. Hawthorne to sprinkle confectioners' sugar all over my
Lemon Butter squares and triangles.















More sprinkling from higher up.














And here are my Ultimate Lemon Butter Squares and Triangles.





Next up:
Caramel Rocky Road Bars.

Here's the mise en place
for the crumb mixture:








1 cup flour
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped peanuts.



Heat oven to 350.
Combine all crumb mixture ingredients except nuts in small bowl.
Beat at low speed, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in peanuts.

Reserve 3/4 cup of crumb mixture.

Press remaining crumb mixTure ONto greased and cocoa-ed 8-inch square pan.

Bake 12-17 minutes until lightly browned.



Here are the ingredients for the toppings:












1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 cup peanuts
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips


Now, I didn't have any caramel ice cream topping in my pantry, so I had to MAKE MY OWN!




Rosie's Caramel Topping:

1 cup sugar
6 TB buttah
1/2 cup cream









Put sugar INto a heavy pan on high heat.
When it starts melting, start whisking.










Constantly whisk.











And, wallah, beeyouteeful
caramel sauce.











Plop in the butter, and continue to whisk.














Isn't this pretty?











Remove sugar and butter from heat.
Pour in cream.
























Stir to incorporate.










And, Wallah!
Caramel Sauce.









Here's everything for the topping again:
1/2 cup caramel
1/2 cup peanuts
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips








First, pour the caramel on top of the crumb base.











Next, pour peanuts over top.

























Now, the marshmallows.












And the chocolate chips.














Finally, crumble the leftover, reserved crumb mixture over top of the chips.



Bake 20-25 minutes or until crumb mixture is lightly browned.

Refrigerate until firm. Then cut.



Here's the baked product.

Gosh darn it. I didn't refrigerate before I cut. So I got a gooey mess. But goooood!










Here are my lovely Caramel Rocky Road Bars.
They're quite good.
This is a new arrrrrusssippppeeee.






Next, I'm making my ex-neighbor-Jo's Sugar Cookies.

Here's the list:
1 cup buttah
1 cup sugah
1 cup powdered sugah
2 well-beaten aigs
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanella
4 cups flour + 4 TB (Sift before measuring.)
And no, I don't know what the extra 4 TB have to do with anything.
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

Cream buttah and both sugahs together.
Beat aigs with salt and add to creamed mixture.
Add oil and vanella.
Add dry ingredients and mix well.
Regrigerate dough until very cold
Rolll INto small balls.
Place on cookie sheet.
Press balls down with bottom of glass dipped in mixture of sugah and nutmeg.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.



Here are all my little sugery balls.

(Oh somebody please send me an email or comment so I can link to Alex Baldwin's Shweaty Balls on SNL.)

Anyhows, this brought up recollections of Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory.

Good times!






Now, here are 2 bowls with
red sprinkles and green sprinkles, with NUTMEG!











Here are the squished cookies with the bottom of the glass you see there, in the middle, dipped INto red and green sprinklies with NUTMEG.

Now, SOME people, would go, "Hmmmm, what is that flavor?", "What IS that je ne sais quoi?" when they taste NUTMEG. YES, RAYRAY, I'm alookin' at YOU!

Other, NORMAL, people, taste it and go, "Oh, yeah, that's nutmeg. Tastes good."




Here are the red sprinkly sugar cookies.













Here are the green sprinkly sugar cookies.














I'm lovin' this oven.
Two cookie sheets
fit side by side on one shelf.












The final product. RED and GREEN
Sugar Cookies!


Thanks to Spoonie for the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8-pCbQnSC4

Alex's Schweaty Balls.






1 comment:

Marilyn said...

Dang, Rosie. Now Immona lose my daughter to the siren lure of your convection oven.