Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Chocolate Russian Tea Cookies

These are an easy but addictive cookie.  Really rich and chocolately and perfect with a glass of milk or hot cocoa (or a nice heavy sweet drink like a berry dessert wine or Port).  Bite sized and cute, they're good for parties.

You'll need (for several dozen small cookies):

  • 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • powdered sugar for garnish
The steps:

  • Cream butter and sugar until fluffy
  • Add dry ingredients and combine.  Will end up a pretty stiff dough.
  • Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour
  • Remove from fridge & preheat oven to 350
  • Roll dough into small balls in your hand (about an inch in diameter) and place on a lightly greased baking sheet
  • Bake for 20 minutes
  • When cooled you can roll them in powdered sugar or (my favorite) place powdered sugar in a mesh screen and sprinkle it over top.  
Delish!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Ginger Cranberry Relish

I love this recipe for cranberry relish because it's unique and tart and goes well with everything.  Serve over turkey, sweet potatoes, rolls, cottage cheese, yogurt, sandwiches.  Soo yummy and much much fancier than what comes in a can (though, I must admit, that stuff is delicious).

For this simple recipe you'll need (for 6 servings):
  • 1 standard bag of whole fresh cranberries
  • 3/4-1 cup sugar
  • 1-1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1-1 1/2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
  • water
The steps
  • Grate your ginger.  If using a fresh piece of ginger (which I've recently learned is a rhizoid not a root, thank you, Alton Brown), peel with a paring knife and cut into small pieces with knife, cheese grater or food processor.  You can use jarred or tube ginger, but will need to use more.
  • Measure out your other ingredients and set aside.
  • Pour all your cranberries into a thick-bottomed pot with just enough water to cover them about halfway and turn stove to medium high heat.  Stir berries until skin begins to split.
  • When the skin has split on the majority of the berries reduce heat to medium low and add sugar, vinegar, and ginger.  
  • Stir constantly until all of the cranberries have popped and the sauce has thickened.  A lot of steam will come off and it may become bubbly.  Taste it (very carefully) to see if you need to adjust any ingredients for your taste.  
  • Continue stirring for about 5-7 minutes until enough of the water has evaporated so that it is truly a relish but not a thick jello.
Transfer to another dish, place in the refrigerator to cool, and serve.  Freezes well too, but cool in the fridge first.  Yum!