Elle's New England Kitchen

 

Time for the monthly Royal Foodie Joust!  What’s the Joust, you ask?  It’s a monthly contest started by Jenn, The Leftover Queen.  Who also runs The Foodie BlogRoll.  And if you have a food blog and haven’t joined yet, what are you waiting for?  They have giveaways happening all the time, and all you need to do to enter is join the BlogRoll.  Plus, there are forums that are a great way to network, meet other bloggers, and find lots of great information.  So get on over there and check it all out!

Last month’s Joust was won by Peter and Christey at http://fotocuisine.com/, and they won with their entry for Almond Crusted Asparagus Rolls with Lemongrass Hollandaise.  How amazing does that look?   Well, everything they have posted does, right? 

 

The winner of each Joust gets to choose the three ingredients for the next Joust.  And this time, instead of choosing specific ingredients, Peter and Christey chose Red, White, and Green.  I loved this idea, because it leaves the Joust wide open to interpretation.  Feeling sweet, savory, traditional or daring?  Doesn’t matter—as long as you use some red, white and green.

This past Saturday, I was having a short chat with Michele, at Life, Lightly Salted.  She’s a real sweetheart and has an outstanding blog, so please go and say hello to her.  We were talking about ice cream, and she was saying she was going to try making some avocado ice cream.  I swear, I almost saw the light bulb go off over my head.   I love guacamole, and what if I could make avocado ice cream, but make it look like the dip I love so much? 

It all fell into place.  Since I’d always wanted to try avocado ice cream, I knew this would be fun—plus my ice cream maker was growing far too lazy.  I decided to use diced strawberries instead of tomatoes, shredded coconut in place of diced white onion, and mint would stand in for cilantro.

I used a basic recipe for the ice cream from Alton Brown.  You just can’t go wrong with his recipes.  I didn’t let the mixture chill for 4-6 hours, though.  More like 30-40 minutes, and I had no problems.  Damn my lack of patience!  And toward the end of the cycle, I tossed in a few small handfuls of coconut, and about 6 large diced strawberries.  I almost forgot the mint until my husband reminded me.  Whew!  I’d have hated to have forgotten that.  I just folded that in myself and them tossed it all in the freezer to set better.

I should have taken a photo before scooping some out, though, because when it was in the container, it looked just like guacamole!  My daughter came in and said, “gross, mom, that ice cream looks like guacamole!”  Good!  that’s what I was going for!  ;)

My “tortilla chips” would be played by shortbread cookies.  This recipe is from my grandmother, and we made it almost every year for Christmas.  The cookies are so pretty with red and green sugar on them.  We usually make them into individual cookies, but since I was trying to get the tortilla chip thing going, I split the dough into two portions, and patted it out into two circles on a parchment lined sheet.  Lightly score the dough into wedges, then bake.  After baking, you can separate the wedges.  (They take a little longer to bake this way—about 10 extra minutes.  they should feel set on the top.)  I know, most shortbread recipes don’t use any eggs, but I adore this recipe.  They seem lighter, and not so heavy.

Mom's Shortbread Cookies

To print this recipe, click here.

This is my mom's tried and true shortbread recipe. She got it from my grandmother. These are great any time of year, but especially nice for Christmas gifts. You can sprinkle them with green or red sugar before baking. The flavor of these cookies improves with age, so make them a few days before you plan to give them away.

2 cups    flour  
1 cup    butter, softened  
1/2 tsp    baking powder  
1/2 cup    sugar  
1    egg  
1    fresh lemon rind, of grated 

 

 
Sift flour and baking powder together in a small bowl. 
Cream butter, add sugar slowly, mixing well. 
Mix in egg and lemon rind. 
Add flour/baking powder mixture, mix in well. 
Shape into balls about the size of a golf ball, place on pan, flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass. 
Bake at 300° for 15 to 20 minutes, just until a bit golden on the edges. 
These last well if kept in a tightly covered container, and actually taste even better after a day or two as the flavors develop.

Yield: 48-60 cookies
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes

 

And that’s it—that’s my entry for this month’s Royal foodie Joust.   Wish me luck!  And avocado ice cream?  Let’s just say it’ll be in regular rotation this summer.   Because, yum!       

 

Mmmmm, mint and chocolate. As good as, maybe even a little better than peanut butter and chocolate? I don't know, that's a tough one. Given a choice with chocolate--I'll almost always go with mint.

I was grocery shopping and saw that they had Andes Mints on sale. Pass those up? No way. I knew I wanted to bake something with them. It was either that, or be faced with eating all of them. Cookies immediately came to mind. I did a search and found that there was pretty much one Andes cookie recipe. The one where you place a whole candy over the hot cookies and let it melt there, which looks good. Then there's this one, from Erin. That looks great too, right?

But I wanted to do something different. I started with a basic chocolate cookie, but instead of chocolate chips, I chopped up the mints, coarsely, so you get chunks, and added those to the batter. The result? Delicious cookies! You can immediately taste the mint in them, which is good. Some of the chocolate melted directly into the cookies. They are a cakey cookie, which isn't my first choice, but still, they're very good--almost like little brownie bites. Everyone still loves them--I can see right now that our supply of them is almost gone, so that's a good indication of yummy cookies.



Next Time:

I'd definitely leave larger chunks of the mints. I cut each one into roughly three pieces, so maybe just cut them in half next time.

I'll probably search out a chocolate cookie base that'll be chewier, since that's my favorite kind of cookie.

All in all, I'd make these again for sure, just tweaking the cookie part. But if you like soft, cake-like cookies, you'll love these!

To print this recipe, click here!

makes approx 60 cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 (28 piece) boxes Andes Mints, coarsely chopped



Heat oven to 375.
Beat the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in mixing bowl until fluffy.
Combine the flour, cocoa, soda and salt, then add alternately with the milk--blend well.
Stir in the mints.
Drop by teaspoons on parchment covered baking sheets.
Bake 8-10 minutes--don't over bake!
Cool for a minute on the sheets and remove to cooling racks.

And oh my gosh, are they good! I have been thinking about mixing pretzels in a peanut butter cookie for about a month now, and I just got around to making them yesterday. I'm also behind a week in my holiday baking series! Stupid cold/flu/knock-you-on-your-butt thing I had. But I'm slowly emerging from my cocoon of tissues and my (nearly) drunken stupor of cold meds, and feeling more like my old self. (Is that a good thing, I wonder? hehe!)



The idea for these came from...well, I don't remember where it came from, but I think it was from one of those candy bars with the chocolate/pb/pretzel combo--my daughter had one a while back. I have a little list I keep near my laptop with ideas for stuff, and this has been on there for a while. I wrote "pb cookies with pretzel pieces and chocolate." I also have a few lime and coconut ideas kicking around on the list. Why lime and coconut in October/November? I have no clue. Cravings, I guess.

These are so easy--just a regular peanut butter cookie, but you add in broken pretzel pieces. I also put a few chocolate chips on top of each one before baking, along with a nice sprinkling of kosher salt. Does it sound funny? Because they taste so good! the kids love them, too. This makes a nice chewy cookie, with some crunch from the pretzels, and a little salt and chocolate action happening on top. And a little bit of peanuts, from the crunchy peanut butter.



The cookie recipe is based on a pb cookie recipe by Sheila Lukins, from her USA cookbook. It makes a nice chewy cookie, with crispier edges. It has 1/2 cup shortening in it, and if you'd rather use all butter, feel free to change that. I find that in these, the shortening gives me the crispy edges and chewy centers.



Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies
Adapted from Sheila Lukins USA Cookbook Makes 5 dozen good sized cookies.


2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup solid shortening, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup chunky peanut butter (I used an organic pb from Trader Joe's)
1 cup salted pretzel pieces
chocolate chips (I always use Ghirardelli Bittersweet ) and kosher salt for toppings




Heat oven to 350°.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
Cream the butter, shortening, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then mix in the peanut butter.
Add the flour mixture a cup at a time and beat at low speed to mix well.
Add pretzel pieces, and turn mixer on low to mix them in and break up any pieces that are too large.
Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
Press each cookie twice in each direction with a fork to make the classic pb cookie criss-cross design.
Press about 3 chocolate chips gently into each cookie--no need to squish, be gentle.
Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch or two of kosher salt.
Bake 10 minutes. Let cool on sheets for about 2 minutes and transfer to cooling racks.
***Do not over bake! They'll be pale when you take them out of the oven, and will continue to cook
on the sheets for a couple minutes. If you over bake them, they won't be chewy anymore.

I love holiday baking! And I start to plan what to make way before Christmas--just like I start dreaming of snow in July. (Really, I do! I know, I'm a freak.) So I thought I'd start a weekly series of the things I'm planning to make, along with some of the things I make every year.


This is one that I've had filed away for a few years, but I never got around to trying it. I don't know what I've been waiting for! These are so easy. Even easier if you use a food processor. They're a basic shortbread, so if you're looking for a sweet cookie, these aren't going to do it for you. But if you love shortbread or know someone that does, give these a try! You make the dough right in the food processor, knead it a few times to get it all together, pat it out on your baking sheet and cut them into little squares. So easy! The only problem is that they're teeny, and so easy to pop in your mouth...so watch out, hehe. You could also change the colors of the sprinkles for different occasions.

I also had some chocolate calling to me from my (not so) secret stash of goodies, so I figured I'd melt some and dip a few of the cookies--give them a bit of chilling time in the fridge. Mmmmm, those were good, too! But if you decide to do that and give them away, they need to be chilled or in a cool place. Next time, I think I'd add some mint extract to the chocolate.



Elfin Shortbread Bites
from Simply Homemade Food Gifts

1 1/4 cups flour
3 TB sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 TB red and green sprinkles

If using a food processor, pulse the flour and sugar until blended.
Add in the butter until it all resembles fine crumbs.
Add the sprinkles and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. (Don't overdo it, or the dough will turn pink from the red sprinkles. Trust me on this one.)
Remove to a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until the dough forms a ball.
Pat the dough out into an 8x5 inch rectangle on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares, and separate them on the baking sheet. (A bench scraper works really well for cutting them.)

If you're not using a food processor, mix the flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until you get fine crumbs, stir in the sprinkles and knead until smooth. Continue with cutting and baking the cookies...

Bake at 325 for 12-14 minutes, and then transfer the cookies on the parchment to a cooling rack.
Store in a tightly covered container at room temp for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.

This is supposed to make about 160 little cookies. Huh? In what universe, I'd like to know. Maybe I made mine gigantic at about one inch each, but I got about 90, both times.

As with any shortbread, these get better every day. If they manage to last three days, they'll be even better!

Edit on Tuesday to add: I just chowed down about 10 of these (I told you, they're dangerous.) and they have improved, like shortbread always does. The flavor of the butter is more pronounced as is the small amount of sugar in these. I love shortbread!


Next week's holiday recipe? Well, I'm not sure yet, but it'll be good. :)