Fruity Thumbprint Cookies

14 May, 201413 May, 2014Marissa

Really wanted a filled cookie the other day, so I compared several recipes online and came up with this. The previous recipe I’d been using made fewer cookies with the same amount of butter, so this is definitely an improvement. We used black raspberry jelly from a local Amish store and they were delicious.

Fruity Thumbprint Cookies

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Fruity Thumbprint Cookie recipe by marissabaker.wordpress.com — all ready for dipping

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts

3/4 cup fruit jam or jelly

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on high speed until smooth (about 2-3 minutes).

Beat egg yolks and vanilla into the butter mixture. Reserve egg whites. Add flour and salt and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat egg whites in a small bowl until bubbly and frothy.

Form dough into 1-inch balls and dip in the egg whites, then roll in chopped nuts. Place on the cookie sheets. Flatten balls slightly, then press with your thumb or a small spoon to make a well in the center. If dough cracks, reshape with fingers. Fill each indentation with 1/2 teaspoon jam.

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until slightly firm and barely golden on the edges. Let cookies cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.

Glaze (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon cream or milk

1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Stir glaze ingredients together until smooth, adding sugar or milk to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies and allow a couple hours for glaze to set.

Peanut Noodle Stir-Fry

7 May, 20146 May, 2014Marissa

When stir-frying with rice noodles for the first time, the obvious thing to do is not start with a recipe. Right? Even though I did just that, the result was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. I made it twice in less than a week. There’s just something about the rice noodles and peanut butter together that tastes really good.

Peanut Noodle Stir-fry

Marinade

1 pound chicken breast

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon rice wine

Peanut Noodle Stir-fry recipe by marissabaker.wordpress.com — ingredients ready

Sauce

1 Tablespoon peanut butter

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Cooking

2 nests Thai rice noodles

2 teaspoons sesame oil

4-5 carrots, thinly sliced

1-2 heads broccoli cut small

Slice chicken thinly. Marinade for 20 minutes in the baking soda, soy sauce, and rice wine. Meanwhile, mix sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan and prepare vegetables.

Heat 2 teaspoons sesame oil in wok over medium heat. Cook chicken in oil until no longer pink.

Prepare rice noodles according to package directions. Begin cooking sauce by heating over medium-high heat until bubbling. Simmer 1-2 minutes.

While sauce and noodles are cooking, add vegetables to the wok with the chicken and stir-fry until crisp-tender. Add cooked noodles to the wok, and pour sauce over everything. Stir-fry an additional 2-3 minutes, then serve.

Fudgy Buttons

30 April, 201415 November, 2014Marissa

Do you ever have a craving for fudge, but don’t want to pay the exorbitant prices per pound and don’t have the time to make a batch yourself (or don’t think it’s a good idea to have a 9-inch by 13-inch sheet of fudge lying around the house)? Here’s the solution — fudgy buttons! I think they came from a Taste of Home magazine. This size batch will make an even dozen, but you could halve it if you like.

Fudgy Buttons

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon baking cocoa

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon milk

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Melt butter in a small saucepan and remove from heat. Add cocoa and mix well. Stir in sugar. Add milk and stir until smooth, add peanut butter and mix well. Divide into 12 parts, form into patties, and place on wax paper. Refrigerate until firm.

Tuna and Pasta Cheddar Melt

23 April, 201422 April, 2014Marissa

I think I found the original for this recipe on a site for Campbell’s soup, but I changed its ingredients to add carrots and use this cream soup substitute from Center Cut Cook instead of canned soup. Haven’t tried the soup yet in any of my other recipes that call for cream of chicken, but I plan to. The texture is perfect, though the color and taste is a bit different.

Tuna and Pasta Cheddar Melt

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2 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups uncooked rotini pasta

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup milk

2, 5-ounce cans of tuna

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

2 teaspoons butter, melted

Heat the broth and water in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat to a boil. Stir in the pasta. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the pasta is tender, stirring often. Do not drain.

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Tuna and Pasta Cheddar Melt recipe. marissabaker.wordpress.com — cream of soup substitute

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and let cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly stir in 1/2 cup chicken broth, then 1/2 cup milk. Whisk until it begins to thicken. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir the thickened soup, 1 cup milk and tuna into the skillet with the pasta. Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese, then sprinkle the rest over the top. Stir the bread crumbs and butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the tuna mixture and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Almond Raspberry Cheesecake

16 April, 201414 April, 2014Marissa

I usually make a cheesecake when we’re heading anywhere that needs desert, so for the last potluck I went to I decided to try something new. I thought raspberries sounded good, and I needed an unleavened crust so I settled on a modified version of this Scottish shortbread. Then I thought almonds might be a good idea, so I threw some of those in as well. It tasted good, but as you can see from the photos it cracked while baking. I have an idea that just might take care of that problem, so I’ll probably be posting a “take two” after my next baking attempt.

Almond Raspberry Cheesecake

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Crust

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup ground almonds

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325° F. Line a 9-inch spring-form pan with aluminum foil. Cream butter and sugar. Add ground almonds and 1/2 cup of flour, and mix well. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, adding flour to make a soft dough. Press into the spring-form pan, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Filling

3 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring

3 eggs

1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, raspberry preserves

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing at low speed after each addition.

Mix 3/4 cup of batter with 1/4 cup raspberry preserves. Spoon 1/3 of the raspberry mixture over the crust.

Pour the remainder of the cheesecake batter into the pan. Drop the remaining raspberry/cream cheese mixture by spoon fulls over the top of the cheesecake and smooth into the batter. Dot the top of the cheesecake with extra raspberry preserves, then use a knife to swirl the batter.

Bake cheesecake for 1 hour at 325° F or until center is almost set. Run a knife along the inside edge of the pan ring when it comes out of the oven. Cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Oatmeal Cookies

9 April, 20148 April, 2014Marissa

My younger brother just tested up from his junior black belt to adult-level black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and these are the cookies he wanted to celebrate with. This recipe makes a huge batch of cookies — between 5 and 6 dozen — so there’s more than enough to enjoy here and to send with him to Tae Kwon Do class tomorrow.

Oatmeal Cookies

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Oatmeal Cookie recipe. marissabaker.wordpress.com — cookie dough

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

3 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups flour (half whole-wheat, half unbleached)

4 1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats

Mix sugar and butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Add water and vanilla, then stir to thoroughly combine.

Stir in salt, baking powder, and soda. Mix in flour, then add oats. Dough can be refrigerated, or baked immediately. Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes.