Santa's Whiskers

I'm always on the lookout for new or unusual cookies to make around the holidays. The recipe I'm about to present is most definitely a unique one but by no means is it new (at least to my family). Santa's Whiskers is a very old recipe, but made with many classic ingredients. The base is a regular butter cookie dough but has additions of sweetened coconut, chopped pecans and the fancy red and green candied cherries. The preparation is very simple and baking is even easier. These are 'slice and bake' cookies, meaning you form the dough into logs, then slice evenly and bake. If you are not a fan of coconut, then you will have to stay away from these, because coconut goes in the dough and also on the outside of the cookies, too. You want these cookies to be soft and chewy, so place a piece of bread in the cookie tin to help keep them that way. However, if you like them crisp, by all means, store them normally or in cold storage; the cookies will soften by themselves over time but initially they will be crisper.

Santa's Whiskers

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2½ cups flour

¾ cup finely chopped red and green candied cherries

½ cup chopped pecans

¾ cup flaked sweetened coconut, plus more for rolling

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in the milk and vanilla.

Add the pecans, cherries and flour. Blend just until all the flour disappears.

Form the dough into two 8" rolls. Roll them in flaked coconut; you may have to press a little to make the coconut adhere. 

Wrap both rolls in plastic wrap. Chill the dough well - at least a minimum of 4 - 8 hours, or better yet, overnight. 

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice the dough into ¼" slices. Place the slices on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove the cookies to racks and let cool completely. Store in a cookie tin with a tight fitting lid. Make sure to put a piece of bread in the tin to help soften them. These cookies, like many butter cookies, taste infinitely better after they've 'aged.' For best taste, let these sit in a cool or cold place for at least a week before serving.

Makes around 5 dozen

Boursin

When one hears the word 'boursin,' chances are he does not even know what it is. Sure, it's the brand name of an herbed, spreadable cheese product found at your local grocer. Sure, it sounds fancy, ultra-gourmet and probably difficult to reproduce at home. I have to inform you that you would be dead wrong. 'Boursin' is pretty much a catch-all term for a delectable, rich herbed cheese blend that spreads excellently on table crackers or on small slices of bread for tea sandwiches. Homemade boursin recipes are actually quite elusive, so for your enjoyment, I'm providing my recipe. Do be aware that if you are serving this for guests that may not enjoy the flavor of garlic, cut the amount of garlic down from two cloves to one. However, don't get crazy with the garlic if serving to people who adore it - two cloves is the perfect amount. Serve this as part of your Christmas buffets or as an appetizer for any party or family get-together. Happy holidays, everyone!

Boursin

6 oz. reduced fat or fat free cream cheese, at room temperature

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 medium cloves garlic

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp. fresh chives, finely chopped

1 tbsp. fresh dill, finely chopped

¼ tsp. fresh sage, finely chopped

¼ tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. dried basil

¼ tsp. freshly cracked pepper

In a bowl of a food processor, blend the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. You can also do this in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Grate in the garlic using a very fine grater or microplane and add to the cheese mixture. 

Stir in the lemon juice, herbs and pepper by hand; you don't want to pulverize the herbs down into nothing. Taste, and add more lemon juice, garlic or pepper, if desired.

To shape the cheese, line a small round bowl with plastic wrap and spoon the cheese mixture in. Smooth the surface and make sure there are no air bubbles. Fold the plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate until firm, at least four hours.

To serve, remove the cheese from the bowl, peel off the plastic and place on a decorative serving dish. Allow the boursin to sit at room temperature 10 to 15 minutes before serving with crackers or a sliced baguette.

Good beverage pairings would be a dry to medium bodied white wine (nothing fruity) or a good sparkling wine, such as prosecco or a high quality champagne.

Makes about 2 cups

Snickerdoodles

The origin of snickerdoodles is a bit murky, but the general consensus is that these buttery, spicy little cookies are darn delicious. They're easy to make, although a little time consuming. Make sure you have the freshest spices at your disposal - if you have old spices in the cabinet, chuck them out and start anew; your baked goods will always taste superior. My version of snickerdoodle seasoning is slightly different from modern recipes; instead of just using cinnamon and sugar, mine use delicious, warm nutmeg. Yes, it does make a difference in the overall flavor and if I do say so myself, they taste much better than most versions. Hey, it's the holidays...I can be egotistical for once, can't I?

Snickerdoodles

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1¼ cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cream of tartar

½ tsp. kosher salt

2¾ cups flour

SPICE BLEND:

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well.

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, then add to the wet ingredients, mixing only until the flour just disappears.

Using a level teaspoonful of dough, roll the dough into balls. Roll the balls in the spice blend, then place about 2 inches apart on slightly greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the cookies to racks and let cool completely before packing in airtight containers or in cookie tins.

Makes about 4 - 5 dozen

Gingerbread

Gingerbread is a most classic holiday cookie. Rich with spices, especially the wonderful warm flavor of ground cloves, gingerbread is a delightfully soft, chewy cookie that is delicious on its own, but when made into cookies, you can frost them using an icing derived from confectioner's sugar. Feel free to decorate these with colored sugars or any way you choose. My favorite cutters to use when making these are a pine tree, snowman, and a small Santa. My mother likes to use the large gingerbread boy cutter, but keep in mind your yield will vary based on what size of cutter you use.

Gingerbread

¼ cup boiling water

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup Brer Rabbit molasses (not blackstrap)

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, pour the boiling water over the butter and cream until smooth. Add the sugar and molasses and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients and mix just until the flour disappears. Chill the dough until firm. If you want a bit of an easier time when it comes time to roll the dough, divide the dough into quarters before you chill it. Flatten the quarters out a bit, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Chill them, then roll as normal.

Flour a board or use a pastry cloth; flour the cloth well. If you have a sock for your rolling pin, use that and flour it well.

Roll out the dough out to about ¼" thick. Cut with desire cookie cutters and transfer to lightly greased cookie sheets. 

Bake for about 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to racks and cool completely. Frost using a confectioner's sugar icing, decorate with colored sugars and let sit until the icing firms up.

Makes about 4 dozen, based on the size of the cutters

Best Ever Skippy Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe is an oldie but a goodie. Seemingly ordinary peanut butter cookies get a treatment of oats and M & Ms - the Christmas ones are best, but you can make these year round with regular M & Ms, too. These cookies are crisp, intensely flavorful and are sure to be a big hit at upcoming Christmas parties and other miscellaneous holiday gatherings. If you have a stand mixer, I highly recommend using it, because once you get all the ingredients together in the bowl, it gets very hard to stir by hand.

Best Ever Skippy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup Smuckers Natural chunky peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1¼ cups flour

2 cups quick oats

1 (12 oz.) bag plain holiday M & Ms (red, green & white ones)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and peanut butter until smooth and uniformly blended. Add the sugars and blend well.

Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients until everything is well-blended. 

You can choose to make these immediately or you can chill the dough (overnight is best) and make them the next day. I prefer to make them after the dough has chilled.

Drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a small cookie scooper) about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove the cookies immediately to racks and let cool completely.

Makes around 6 dozen

Lemon Mexican Wedding Cakes

Mexican Wedding Cakes, or pastelitos de boda (Bride's Cookies), tend to be a popular holiday cookie for many people. These rich little butterballs are typically accented with pure vanilla extract and covered with a dusting of confectioner's sugar. Lemon accented Mexican Wedding Cakes were developed by my mother long ago and they remain a firm family favorite. They are light, delicately flaky and possess a rich lemon flavor. Try this unique twist when making these cookies for your friends and family - it's a great little surprise and supremely tasty.

Lemon Mexican Wedding Cakes

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

 ½ cup confectioner's sugar
2 cups flour
¼ tsp. kosher salt
1¼ tsp. pure lemon extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar and cream until smooth. Add the lemon extract, salt and flour and mix just until the flour disappears.

Using a teaspoonful of dough (or a small cookie scoop), form small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. Roll the cakes in confectioner's sugar immediately after removing from the oven (watch your fingers!). Put the cakes on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely. Carefully pack into a cookie tin making sure to put a layer of plastic wrap over each layer. For an extended shelf life, store in a cold environment (a garage is a perfect place). However, do serve these at room temperature, since the flavor will be muted if you serve them straight out of cold storage.

Makes about 4 dozen

NOTE:  If you can't get pure lemon extract, you can use 1 tsp. of freshly grated lemon zest instead.

Chicken Fried Steak

Chicken fried steak is a classic Southern dish and isn't oft seen outside of that region. However, it's so easy to make and uses a minimal amount of ingredients that anybody, regardless of where he lives, can make this dish. As long as you keep flour, spices and canola oil on hand at all times, the only thing you will need to buy are cube steaks and buttermilk. Make sure to blot the steaks well when they come out of the pan - no need to ingest all that extra fat! Serve hot with buttermilk biscuits hot from the oven and if desired, make a white gravy with the leftover frying oil; spoon the gravy over your biscuits and steak.

Chicken Fried Steak (Recipe Adapted from Paula Deen)

4 small cube steaks

1 pint buttermilk

Flour, for dredging

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder, or more, to taste

1 tsp. chili powder, or more, to taste

Pour the buttermilk into a shallow dish. In a separate shallow dish, combine flour (use at least a cup), 1 - 2 tsp. kosher salt, about 1 tsp. black pepper and the garlic and chili powders. Mix well so the spices are well-incorporated.

In a large skillet with steep sides, pour in canola oil so there's about ¼" in the bottom. Heat the oil over medium-high heat but do not let it get so hot that it smokes.

Dredge the cube steaks in the buttermilk until they are completely coated; let the excess drip off, then put into the flour mixture and coat completely. Put the cube steaks into the pan (I recommend cooking two at a time) and cook until the steaks are golden brown and crisp on the outside; cooking times will vary, so you must keep an eye on these or they will burn in an instant.

When the steaks are done, put them on a plate lined with paper toweling so some of the oil can be absorbed. Blot the tops of the steaks with more paper toweling, then plate immediately and serve with sides of your choice.

Serves 4