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Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Mincemeat Cookies

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Mincemeat Cookies! When my friend, Ray, “gifted” me with a batch of his time-honored traditional homemade mincemeat, I felt as though I had received a portion of the Holy Grail. Could this secret from the past hold special powers? Would one bite provide happiness, eternal youth, and food in infinite abundance? You tell me. Ray carefully coached me on how to “season” the mixture by adding flavored brandy (I chose apricot) over a three-week period, stirring it occasionally in a covered clay crock. I was an awestruck student following his instructions to the letter. The results were phenomenal and elegant. Don’t let anyone tell you mincemeat is awful. When prepared correctly, some things are worth the wait. 
MINCEMEAT COOKIES
Ingredients for Cookies:

2/3 cup butter, softened 

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup mincemeat* 

2 cups flour

1 cup pecans, chopped 

Pecan halves for garnish
Ingredients for Icing:

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons butter, softened 

1 tablespoon apricot brandy

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1-2 tablespoons warm milk, as needed
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add eggs and mincemeat. Gradually stir in the flour. Fold in chopped pecans. Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until tops of cookies are dry and set. Bottoms will be slightly golden. Remove from oven. Transfer to a wired rack. Frost while slightly warm. Top each cookie with a pecan half before frosting sets. 
Instructions for Icing:

In a medium bowl gently mix powdered sugar and butter until smooth. Add brandy and vanilla. Stir well. As needed, add warm milk to create a thick consistency. Place a dollop of icing on each cookie. Garnish with pecan half. 
*The “Elegant Homemade Mincemeat” recipe can be found in the 1972 Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook, page 371.

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Pumpkin Roll

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Pumpkin Roll! Announcing a festive cake that looks as though you stopped by the bakery. Anyone can feel like a professional pastry chef with this holiday specialty. In a few simple steps, the rich pumpkin flavor is enhanced by the velvety cream filling. Afterwards all you have to do is sit back and bask in the accolades. 
PUMPKIN ROLL 
Ingredients for Pumpkin Roll:

3 eggs

2/3 cup pumpkin purée 

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

3/4 cup flour 

1/3 cup chopped pecans 
Ingredients for Filling:

8 ounces Neufchâtel cheese

3/4 teaspoon vanilla 

2 tablespoons butter, softened 

1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease and line a 10″x15″ jelly roll pan with waxed paper. For pumpkin roll combine eggs, pumpkin purée, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and flour. Mix until well blended. Pour into jelly roll pan and spread evenly to edges. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Bake 12-15 minutes. Watch carefully. Remove from oven. Sprinkle powdered sugar on a tea towel, turn cake onto towel, and remove the waxed paper. Starting at one end, roll the cake up, and refrigerate for one hour. Meanwhile, combine Neufchâtel cheese, vanilla, butter, and powdered sugar. Mix together until smooth and velvety. After one hour, unroll cake and spread the filling all the way to the edges. Reroll cake and refrigerate two hours longer. Dust with powdered sugar. Slice and serve. 

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Figgy Honey-Baked Cheese 

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Figgy Honey-Baked Cheese! Looking for an appetizer that brings in the cheer? It’s easy to create your own version of elegance when you use quality ingredients that begin with cheese. To awaken the taste buds, sprinkle in a few red pepper flakes which compliment the natural sweetness of honey. The crunch of walnuts satisfies those earthy snack-seekers. Bake it all together for the most captivating sweet holiday aroma. Deck the Halls with boughs of Holly. Fa-la-la-la-la…la-la-la-lah!
FIGGY HONEY-BAKED CHEESE
Ingredients: 

8-ounce wheel Normandy Style Camembert cheese, double crème 

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons natural honey

2 tablespoons fig jam

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoon walnuts, chopped
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Place cheese wheel in an oven-proof dish. Score the cheese in a criss-cross pattern. Pour melted butter over cheese. Drizzle natural honey over cheese. Spread fig jam over cheese. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Top with chopped walnuts. Bake 20-25 minutes until cheese is soft and bubbly. Serve warm with sliced apples, assorted crackers, and baguette slices.  

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Chocolate Chip Candied Cheese Ball

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Chocolate Chip Candied Cheese Ball! The most amazing surprise appears at first bite. Dark chocolate blended with sweetened cream cheese presents itself as a first class cheeseball that leaves everyone smacking their lips in satisfaction. The fun of swiping a cinnamon graham cracker cookie transforms this dessert in a mouth-watering finger food. Make this holiday surprise the happiest one yet. 
CHOCOLATE CHIP CANDIED CHEESE BALL
Ingredients:

1 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened 

1/2 cup butter, softened 

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1 cup sugared pecans, crushed

Graham cracker sticks
Instructions:

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar. Mix until smooth and completely incorporated. Fold in mini chocolate chips. Chill two hours. On a sheet of waxed paper, sprinkle crushed sugared pecans. Form chilled mixture into a ball. Roll in pecan coating. Chill overnight. Serve with honey graham cracker sticks or cinnamon graham cracker sticks. 

Eating My Way Through the Alphabet; Letter O

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food for Sharing: Outrageous Oatmeal Fudgies! Who doesn’t love No-Bake cookies? Forget about spending hours in the kitchen. This kid-friendly favorite can be ready in a flash. The toughest part is deciding if you want to top them off with a piece of candy corn, a walnut half, a maraschino cherry, or leave them plain. Either way, they won’t hang around long because…..(repeat after me)…Everyone loves peanut butter and chocolate!
OUTRAGEOUS OATMEAL FUDGIES 
Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons cocoa powder 

Dash sea salt

1/2 cup natural peanut butter, crunchy

2 cups whole grain oats

1 teaspoon vanilla

Candy corn
Instructions:

Combine butter, sugar, milk, cocoa powder, and dash of salt in a 4-quart pan. Bring to boil over medium-high temperature. Stirring occasionally, boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Quickly add crunchy peanut butter, whole grain oats, and vanilla. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Top with one piece of candy corn. Let stand until cool. Store in a covered container. 

Eating My Way Through the Alphabet; Letter K

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food for Sharing: Kulfi with Pistachios and Lavender Buds! Kulfi is a type of homemade ice cream popular in Southeast Asia and India. This “instant” version can be made in your very own kitchen without the cost or hassle of an ice cream maker. Flavored with pistachio nuts and a hint of lavender make it a delectable frozen dessert worth crowing about. 
KULFI WITH PISTACHIOS AND LAVENDER BUDS
Ingredients:

10 ounces evaporated milk

1 cup heavy cream

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons cardamom 

1/2 cup pistachios, chopped

1 teaspoon lavender buds, crushed

1 teaspoon lavender extract
Instructions:

Combine evaporated milk, heavy cream, and sweetened condensed milk. Blend until smooth. Add cardamom, pistachios, lavender buds, and lavender extract. Stir. Pour into bouchon molds, fluted pan, or popsicle molds. Freeze overnight. Before serving, dip the molds in warm water. Invert kulfi onto a dessert plate. Garnish with crushed pistachios. 

Eating My Way Through the Alphabet; Letter C

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food for Sharing: Chef’s Plate! Pull together a party-friendly charcuterie platter where finger foods rule. Make it as elaborate as you choose, depending on the size of the guest list. Obviously for an intimate dinner for two, something like this is a perfect balance of contrasting flavors. Keep the bread crunchy and the jam or jelly sweet. It offsets the fatty, salty meat by cutting through the richness of the buttery cheese. The tartness of gherkins is a classic choice for nibbling in between. Be creative. Anything goes. 
CHEF’S PLATE
Ingredients:

Jalapeño Pepper Jelly

Cornichons Gherkins 

Red Onion 

Baguette Toast

Mixed Nuts

Summer Sausage Sticks

Aged Bleu Cheese

Bite-size Dry Salami
Instructions:

Fill small condiment bowls with pepper jelly, baby gherkins, and assorted mixed nuts. Slice baguette. Rub with olive oil and bake in a 350° oven for 10 minutes. Turn over and bake 5 minutes longer. Place on a chef’s board or in a bread basket. Arrange cured hard sausages around the wedge of Bleu cheese. Slices red onion and “fan” near the bread. Once the food is arranged, open a bottle of wine, and enjoy the experience of grazing. 

Eating My Way Through the Alphabet; Letter A

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food for Sharing: Acorn Squash with Wild Rice! When you talk about love at first bite, or rather, first sight, acorn squash sets the bar in the gourd family. With its rich jewel tones of Autumn, it looks as majestic on a dinner plate as it tastes. The sweet mellow flavor needs little or no seasoning. The biggest challenge I found was cutting the acorn squash in half. It is not for the weak-hearted. The rind to so hard, it is necessary to use a serrated knife and forcefully cut lengthwise in small slits until you have circled the entire squash. At that point you can connect the cuts to slice the squash until it splits. Go slow and take your time, lest you suffer from impatience with a minor injury. With that being said, go forth and partake in this gorgeous vegetable off-the-vine.
ACORN SQUASH WITH WILD RICE
Ingredients:

1/2 cup pecans, chopped 

2 acorn squash, halved and seeded

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons onion, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup wild rice

1/2 cup brown rice

1 3/4 cups water

1/8 teaspoon sage

1/4 teaspoon thyme

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

2-4 strips smoked bacon, crispy and crumbled 

2 green onions, snipped
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer. Toast for 5 minutes until brown. Remove from oven to cool. Carefully cut each squash in half crosswise. Scoop out seeds. Brush flesh sides of squash with olive oil. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Place flesh side down on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick oil. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Flesh will be soft when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, sauté onions in olive oil a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until tender. Add wild rice and brown rice. Cook one minute. Do not burn. Add water, sage, thyme, parsley flakes, and dried cranberries. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 40-45 minutes until tender. Add pecans and crumbled bacon. Toss gently. Fill each squash cavity with wild rice mixture. Garnish with green onion snips and serve immediately. 

Eating My Way Through the Alphabet; Letter Y

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Be Our Guest: Yogurt Frozen Fruit Pops! Take a look in the freezer and choose the berries you love the most. You are about to make a delicious fruit popsicle without high fructose corn syrup. By using only natural ingredients, with honey as a sweetener, the berry flavors are intensified with guilt-free results that make your heart swoon. The hardest part is waiting overnight for the pops to become firm. As a special indulgence, sprinkle them with mini chocolate chips and crushed nuts. 
YOGURT FROZEN FRUIT POPS
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups strawberries, frozen

1 cup raspberries, frozen

1 tablespoon pomegranate arils, frozen

1/2 cup all natural Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons natural honey

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Mini chocolate chips, for garnish

Crushed pecan pieces, for garnish
Instructions:

Arrange 8 treat cups in the bottom of a loaf pan. Have 8 craft sticks set aside. Combine frozen strawberries, raspberries, and pomegranate arils in a food processor. Add Greek yogurt, natural honey, and lemon juice. Mix on HIGH until smooth and blended, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Pulse until smooth and creamy. Spoon frozen fruit yogurt into the treat cups. Insert one craft stick into each cup. Sprinkle tops with mini chocolate chips and nut mixture. Place in freezer overnight. Remove yogurt frozen fruit pops by tearing the paper cup and serve. Enjoy!