What's on your cookie tray?

A million years ago I got the baking urge, now at any given moment I might just go into the kitchen and bake, hence the junk in my trunk. Anyway, this Christmas as always I baked cookies. I'll be posting some of the recipes on my "kitchen blog" throughout the week, just so I can enjoy them a little longer. This recipe is one I got from my friend Karen McGilvary- Scapone. I was a new bride when Karen and I met at the Robert Simpson Company, after we were on Maternity leave together we baked Christmas cookies other than what our mother's baked, we shared the pans for this recipe, because they were quite pricey, ( a whole $10.00 each, we were economical) I now own 3pans myself, since the urge to bake is unpredictable and Karen has moved to a distant community (no longer with in walking distance for me.) Anyway, these are a nice cake type cookie and I really like them, (but that says little, since it only has to be called a cookie and I like it.) If you need to store these for any length of time it's a good idea to put a wedge of lemon in the container and they will stay moist. (any length of time is more than one week, longer than that I would freeze them). Enjoy.

Chocolate dipped Almond Madeleine Cookies

Beat together
3 eggs
2/3 c. white sugar
1/4 tsp. almond extract
Gradually add
¾.c butter or margarine melted
Fold in
1c. flour
1/3 c. almonds

Spoon batter into well greased Madeleine pans.
Bake at 400 degree for 6-9 min. Remove from pan
and dip in choc. glaze as follows.

Chocolate Glaze
6oz. – 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp. shortening, melt together and dip
cookies partially into the choc. I sprinkle a
plate with icing sugar and sort of stand them up
since they really stick when they are freshly
removed from the pans.

Delicious Popcorn Hermina Makes

Pop 1 cup popcorn set aside

In a medium size saucepan, with a heavy bottom if possible.

Melt: 1 cup butter
Add: 2cups Brown Sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
Bring to a boil, keep at a gentle boil for 5 min. approx.
Remove from heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp baking soda.
Mix Well.

Pour pop corn in a low sided baking dish and pour butter mixture over it.Mix it up.
Bake in oven of 250 degree for 1 hr. stiring every 15 min.

I think Hermina also added some almonds to this mixture, and it was great.

Impossibly Easy chicken 'N Brococoli Quiche

A number of years ago, my friend Karen invited me to lunch, I walked with my baby Daniel to her home which was not so close, By the time I got there I could hardly move. She of coarse had this wonderful quiche ready. I've never made any other kind since. It puffs up beautifully, I've changed the "kind" to suit my leftovers or my fridge contents. Like, making it a crab quiche. All I do is mix up the portion *** starting there over the desired "kind" always use the cheese of your choice or visit Marie and make her Bacon Leek Quiche.

Impossibly Easy Chicken’N Broccoli Quiche

10oz. cooked and chopped broccoli, (you can use frozen (thawed or leftover)
1 1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 c. cooked chicken chopped
1 1/3 c. milk
***
3eggs
¾ c. Bisquick*
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp pepper

Heat oven to 400degree F. or 200degree C.. Grease 10” pie plate, or quiche pan. Mix Broccoli, cheese, chicken in pie plate. Beat milk, eggs Bisquick baking mix, salt and pepper 15 seconds in blender. Pour on top of Chicken mixture. Bake 30 – 35 min. or until knife inserted in centre come out clean. Cool 5 minutes. 6 servings.

Corn Meal Muffins

Cornmeal Muffins

¾ c. cornmeal
1 ¼ c. milk
Mix together set aside

Sift together

1 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 c. sugar
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Stir into cornmeal mixture and add 1 slightly beaten
egg and ¼ c. melted shortening. Stir in blueberries.
Do not defrost frozen blueberries. Fill muffin tins ¾ full.

Bake in muffin pan lined with paper cups, @ 400 degrees, for
20- 25 min.

Squash Bisque, Country Style,

Squash Bisque, Country Style
(Jamaica)

1 large winter squash, or a combo of several small ones.
It should be about 2c. of squash meat(I used butternut, acorn or even spaghetti squash)
Peeled and cut into chunks.
1 clove of garlic
1 pinch each marjoram, thyme and allspice
1 small onion finely chopped sautéed
½ tsp. sugar ( I use brown)
1/3c. sherry
1 slice lean bacon, fried crisp, crumbled
1 c. tomatoes
1 carrot
2 stalks celery
1 small potato (or 1 sweet potato)
2 tbsp. pearl barley/or rice
1 bay leaf
Tsp. Tabasco
6. c. stock/ beef/ chicken or vegetable

In a large sauce pan, fry bacon, when the bacon is crisp remove it and set aside to crumble for topping. Using the grease from the bacon, sauté onions, garlic which has been grated, celery chopped up, add marjoram, thyme and allspice. When the onions are translucent the mixture is done. I place all of this in a blender and crush it, that way my boys are not picking out the onions. Return to saucepan, add the stock, and potato, carrot, squash, bay leaf. Let cook until vegetables are tender, I like to use a potato masher to break things up, then I add the pearl barley and crushed tomatoes and bay leaf. Cook until all the flavours have a chance to mingle, approx. 30 min. (on med. Heat) add sugar and sherry and Tabasco. Serve with bacon crumbled on top of each bowl, with saltines or croutons. I also cut my bacon just ½ inch off the end of the lb. instead of fussing with a slice and then trying to crumble it up. Enjoy.

This recipe was given to my by Lois, my painting pal. I’m sure I’ve made personal adjustments so. .. I often leave the bay leaf out, just because my mother never cared for bay leaves and she was often at the table when I served this , and I have added a red pepper to my sauté and left out the Tabasco, I like the sweet potato as well and I like to mix up all different squashes. If I use the spaghetti squash alone I don’t use the potatoe masher to break up the vegtables, or I add the spaghetti squash after I mash.

Kopitka

Kopitka are Potato Dumplings.

3 cups of mashed potatoes, (I make extra amount of potatoes when I make them for supper and just use the leftovers for this dish.)They should be cold.
I put the potatoes which have been salted according to your taste into a bowl.
I draw a cross across the bowl dividing the potatoes into 4 equal parts. Scoop out one of the quarters, fill this void with all purpose flour, add 2 eggs to this and mix together, including the scooped out potatoes, with your hand. Keep adding flour until the dough comes away from your hand and you can roll it into a long sausage like roll.
I knead and roll this out on a floured surface and then cut into one- two inch chunks.

Boil a 4quart saucepan of water, I add about 1 tbsp. of oil just so they don't stick together. When water comes to a boil toss each chunk in, do not over fill the pot with too many chunks the above portion was done in two stages. When the chunks boil for awhile, and rise to the top they are done, drain, rinse and toss with melted butter.

My family likes to top these with farmers cottage cheese. But they are great with stew, or spaghetti sauce.

Apricot Peach Pie

Apricot Peach Pie

1 unbaked 9” pie shell
1 cup packed dried apricots, cut in halves
19 oz. sliced peaches canned*
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch

Streusel topping:
1/2c. sliced almonds
¼ cup sugar
1/4cup flour
2 tbsp. butter

Cover apricots with boiling water in small saucepan and let stand one hour. Meanwhile prick pasty shell all over with a fork. Line with parchment or foil, fill with weights or dry rice. Bake in pre heated oven 425F. oven for 8 minutes. Remove liner and weights, bake 7 minutes longer or until bottom is dry and firm. Let cool on rack while you prepare filling. Drain apricots, well and discard liquid. Pour liquid from peaches over apricots* and set peaches aside. Add lemon juice and rind to apricots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until apricots are very tender and liquid is reduced by about a third. About 20 minutes. Stir together gently over medium heat until liquid is thickened and translucent. Gently stir in peaches. Cool 5 minutes then spoon into prebaked pie shell. Sprinkle with Streusel Topping. Bake in preheated oven 425F oven for 15 -20 min. or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Streusel topping:

Stir together almonds, sugar and flour. Blend in butter with a fork until mixture is crumbly.

Serves 6-8

*The recipe called for canned peaches, I do use fresh if I have them. I then use apple juice to steam the peaches.