Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Ah the Holiday season. How I love it! I love the smell in the air, the music, the traditions and the FOOD! Though I have to admit this time of year does tend to make me yearn for the days when I lived in Germany. Being an Army brat I was actually born in Germany, leaving when I was about three and then returning again when I was eight. Its that second tour that I recall most as I was older of course. Christmas time in Germany is something magical that is almost impossible to describe. The snow falling in heavy, lacy flakes, the smell in the air of pine and that bite of cold. My sisters and I would go downtown where there would be all these beautiful decorations and special treats that only came out during the holidays. Candied, roasted nuts; hot mango juice; hot Gluhwein, and my personal favorite, lebkuchen.

Most of these tasty treats can easily be found in stores around here this time of year. Its one of the benefits of both being in a city bordering a major military base, and being in Texas, which few may realize, was settled by a large populace of German immigrants. These tasty morsels, my beloved lebkuchen sadly included, have a tendency to come with a hefty price tag though. So I would have to limit my purchases of my favorite Christmas treat to only two or three packages, which contained about nine cookies each. Oh the sadness indeed. That is until last year. My sisters and I made a little shopping trip to Austin for fun, like we tend to do on weekends, and there were all these magazines around with holiday desserts and baking ideas. The line was a bit long, so I snatched one up and lo and behold! There was a recipe for lebkuchen! With a rather embarrassingly loud squeal I threw the magazine into my cart and the next day I made up a batch. They were wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong, totally wrong! These were not my lebkuchen! Were they tasty, sure. But were they were definitely not my lebkuchen. They were missing that tasty bite, and they were dense, not chewy. So I started to experiment. A little shift in the flour here, a bit of changing in spices there, and an omission here...aha! I perfected it! Now I can have my favorite treats whenever I want! *Cue evil mad scientist laugh!*

And you can too! All you need is:
1 1/4 cup hazelnuts
1 cup almonds
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each: allspice, ginger and nutmeg or use 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
(for glaze)
1 3/4 confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (for the bottoms)

 

First you need to toast the nuts, lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of lemon zest. The zest of two lemons should do the trick.

 

A good sized orange will yield the three tablespoons of orange zest you need.

 

In a food processor, combine the nuts, sugar and spices. Process until combined and the nuts begin to resemble a fine meal.

 

Add the zest and continue to process until all the nuts are processed into a meal.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cocoa, salt and flour, set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer cream together the light brown sugar and butter.

 

Add the eggs one at a time, letting each one fully incorporate before adding the next.

 

 Add the vanilla. I like to use Bourbon vanilla as it has such a nice flavor.

 

Slowly add in the flour mixture, adding it all at once will make quite a mess!

 



 

Add in the nut mixture. Be patient and scrape the sides frequently to make sure it mixes fully.

 



 

 

Here's a little tip. This is a kind of trial and error recipe. Sometimes it looks a bit too thick, or too thin. If too thick, add another egg. Too thin, 1/4 cup of flour. Its supposed to be very goopy though. Thick enough to hold a shape for a little bit, but thin enough that when left alone for five minutes it spreads out a bit.

 

Line baking sheets in parchment paper.

 



 Mound the batter onto the sheets about two inches apart. Usually I do two scoops per cookie, but I decided to make small ones this time and did one scoop with a cookie scooper.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 17 minutes and transfer to cooling wracks to cool. I usually put a new trash bag down on the table for the next part, it helps in clean up. Combine the confectioner's sugar and milk.



Dip the top of the cookie into the glaze. Let set on  cooling wracks.

Once the glaze has set, heat one cup of semi-sweet chocolate morsels in 30 second intervals in the microwave until fully melted. Dip the bottoms of the cookies, or use a silicone spatula to spread the chocolate over the bottoms of the cookies. Turn them glaze side down on wracks to set.

There you have it! Your own tasty German Christmas treats made at home! These have been a popular treat for me to make. I took them to our Yule vigil last year and I think the six dozen lasted twenty minutes before they were gobbled up. That was a proud moment. But not as proud as when I picked up an authentic German cookbook and discovered my tweaked lebkuchen was nearly to the letter identical to the one in the book. Looks like I know my flavors! Happy Holidays everyone!

 

Brightest Blessings!

 



Apples, 90's Pop, and Some Crazy Chicks



I have this horrible habit of being over prepared. I buy several sacks of flour at a time, ten pound bags of sugar, bulk spices and in this instance, 16 pounds of Gala apples. What would I do with 16 pounds of apples you might ask? Why can them of course! But what to can?

Its the holiday season! And a staple that is an American classic is of course apple pie! So I put a post up on the canning group I started inviting the girls to come and can with me. Danyale and Sayrah were the only ones not otherwise engaged and so we made a day of canning apple pie filling while listening to Pandora's 90's pop station. I honestly had forgotten that actually knew the words to some Backstreet Boys songs, and that is rather sad. I also realized that I knew some of the dance to "Scrubs" by TLC, and made everyone laugh as I grooved a bit in the kitchen. Truly a lot of fun! 

Canned apple pie filling is so much better than store bought because you can adjust your spices to make it taste as original as you like! The only difference is that if you are home preserving it, you cannot use cornstarch as a thickener like you would if you were just making the filling and then making the pie. The only USDA approved thickening agent for home processed pie filling is called ClearJel, which is a modified starch that will not break down during cooking, processing and recooking. It guarantees that nothing odd goes on with what you've canned that could cause any bacterial growth which can lead to spoilage or just making you sick. So always, always, always, follows USDA guidelines when it comes to home canning. Luckily, ClearJel is easily purchased in some major stores with the usual canning supplies, or ordered from Amazon rather cheaply. One regular sized bag will can about 15 quart sized jars of filling.

Now due to the amount of apples I had, and the amount of ClearJel, I actually made a triple batch of pie filling, but the recipe I am posting will get you about three quarts of pie filling, a quart being perfect for a nice big pie.

This recipe is from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

12 cups sliced, peeled, cored apples treated to prevent browning

2 3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup ClearJel

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

(or 2 teaspoons apple pie spice, which is what I used)

1 1/4 cup cold water

2 1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice

1/2 cup lemon juice



As usual, sterilize all your jars and equipment using either boiling water or your dishwasher. Place all caps in a saucepan of water on low and get your canning pot filled with water and heating.

Peel, core and slice the apples, and let them sit in a bath of water and ascorbic acid, following the directions on the jar.

While peeling and coring, we found one really wonky looking apple, and had to share it for posterity.

 LOTS of apples. And lots of gossip and singing and dancing went along with getting this big ol' bowl full. I did mention my weird TLC dance right?

Once the apples are all sliced and treated, they need to be blanched. This is easily done in batches. Dunk them in boiling water for a bout a minute, then ice water to stop the cooking, then plop them back into a bowl until they are needed.

Next, in a large pot, combine the water, juice, sugar, spice and ClearJel. Over medium low heat, heat the mixture until it starts to thicken and bubble. By now we had heard about three Backstreet Boys songs. I didn't realize they were THAT big in the 90's. (Of course I was more of an alternative music lover back then).

A whisk works best to get the ClearJel fully dissolved into the liquids, and friends holding the pot while another takes the photo is great too!

Add the lemon juice and return to a boil, stirring constantly. Once at a boil, let it boil for 1 minute.

Add the apples and stir them into the mixture until they are heated through and well combined. At this point we were all singing the 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air', the full version, not just the one they played on the show. Sing-along canning is the best! And just a warning, this will give you one heck of a work out in the arm department. That stuff gets thick fast!

Ladle the hot apple pie filling into jars leaving about 1 inch of headspace. Use a plastic utensil to remove air bubbles by running it along the sides of the jar. Cap and screw on bands to finger tightness.

Process in a boiling water canner for 25 minutes, ensuring the jars are covered with at least one inch of water. Do not start timing until the water has reached a full boil. When the processing time has elapsed, remove from the water and let cool undisturbed for 24 hours.

 It was so much fun to hang out with Sayrah and Danyale making something we knew so many people would be able to love and enjoy. Now, we have pie filling for whenever we get the wild notion to bake an apple pie! We actually still had apples to spare! So after Sayrah had to leave, Danyale and I made the rest into about nine half pints of caramel apple jam, the favorite of so many! I love canning with my friends. We get to chat, laugh, sing, dance and just enjoy each other's company all around. Not to mention the rewarding feeling of making something homemade from the heart!

Brightest Blessings!

Tastes of the Season

I am still alive! I promise! I know its been a loooong while since I've posted a blog but I've honestly been a bit busy and just haven't been able to sit down and write for a bit. Mainly it involved finishing school so yay me on that part! Yay! And there was that whole Thanksgiving thing which was followed by the madness of Black Friday shopping! Yes I was out in the crowds and I got great deals!

So then, it is officially the holiday season! Hurray! My favorite time of year! I love the smell in the air, the bite of the cold (when it actually gets cold, which happens a bit later in the season for us Texans!), the pretty lights and decorations and most of all...THE FOOD! I love cooking for the holidays! Cookies, pies, cakes, snacks, dips, bread, main courses and side dishes. It doesn't matter! If it puts me in the kitchen I am happy! So hopefully, I shall be blogging more often with a lot of tasty treats that you can make for your loved ones over the holidays.

And what better way to start than with a traditional favorite for the holiday dinner table? You know what I'm talking about. Cranberry sauce! Last year I made a whole berry cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving that my family went nuts over. So of course this year I wanted to make it again. But then I remembered something my mother had said. She had mentioned she always bought canned jellied cranberry sauce because she liked to have it for after the holiday. Well...I like to can, and I know how to make jelly...why couldn't I surprise my mother with homemade and CANNED cranberry sauce? And so I set to work.

Homemade cranberry sauce is actually really, really easy to make, and the recipe is the same whether you like whole berry or jellied, just some of the steps change.

You will need:

2 12 ounce bags of cranberries
1/3 cup of water, cranberry juice, or orange juice (I opted for orange juice)
2 cups of sugar or honey
(Optional for sugar free: omit the sugar and instead add 1 packet of no sugar needed pectin)

Same procedures as always with your jars. Wash and sterilize them in boiling water or a dishwasher. Place all caps in a pot of water that was boiled and then the burner turned off and fill your canning pot with water and get it boiling, making sure to also sterilize all your tools.

Now I am actually tripling this recipe so I have plenty to share, but the basic recipe should make about three half pint jars of jellied cranberry sauce.

First, get a bowl of water big enough to hold the cranberries. As you can see I have a lot of them! Now you want to give them a good rinse as well as feel for any really, really hard, or really mushy berries. Discard any that are a pale pink, and any that are mush. They are not ripe enough and too ripe. 

Now you can drain the cranberries, and if you're dealing with a small batch, that's the way to go. However since I'm doing a triple batch I let them hang out in the water and just scooped them out with a big straining spoon and plunked them in the pot. More on that in a moment. Add whatever liquid you are using to a large, non reactive pot. Let this come to just about a boil over medium high heat.



Now add your berries. Cook the berries, stirring occasionally, until they start to pop. This is a lot of fun because it sounds really neat to hear those berries pop! Like cartoon soap bubbles! Once about half the berries have popped, they are done with this phase of cooking. If you want whole berry sauce, you can use a potato masher to give em a bit of a squish to get a bit of a better consistency.

If you're going for jellied, its time to strain them either using a food mill, strainer attachment for the Kitchenaid, or in a pinch you can just puree the whole mess in a blender, food processor or an immersion blender works well too.

With the Kitchenaid strainer you want to position two bowls. One to catch the strained jelly.



And one to catch what is affectionately known as fruit poop. I know juvenile and gross but can you think of a better name for it? This is essentially all the skin and seeds from the berries.

Using a ladle, load the hopper, putting the mixer at about a level two, and the machine does all the rest. Be careful though, this stuff is hot!



Next, transfer the hot berry sauce back into its pot. Again, be careful! I learned that the hard way!

Bring this back to a boil and add the sugar, honey or if going sugar free, pectin. Boil for one minute.

Ladle the jelly into hot jars, run a plastic utensil around the sides to eliminate air and cap. Process in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes let them cool undisturbed for 24 hours to allow the jelly to set.

There you have it! Homemade cranberry sauce that will keep all year and for all your holiday meals! You can also change up your flavor profiles by adding marmalade or preserves when you add the sugar. Citrus, cherry and raspberry work well and help tame the tartness of the cranberries. Experiment! Try some fresh herbs too! I should note if you change things up, use a recipe that calls for it if you are canning this so you don't mess up your acidity. If its going to be served and not preserved though, you're good to go!  And you don't have to can it either. Instead of canning, pour the hot sauce into a festively shaped pan or mold. Turn it out onto a pretty plate and you have a side dish that is also a centerpiece! I used a heart shaped cake pan this year, and plan to find something Christmasy for Christmas dinner. You can even use muffin tins and make individual sauces for each attendee at your next dinner! Have fun with it!

Brightest blessings.