Christmas Cookies

Tannenbaum "Christmas Tree" Cookies.

Easy Sugar Cookies & Buttercream

1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups of sifted flour
½ teaspoons salt

Sift together flour and salt, set aside. Cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix in flour mixture. Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours before you roll it out. Bake @ 350 F for 8 - 9 minutes.

Mix one stick of softened butter and 1/4 cup milk with 1 lb powdered sugar. Add vanilla to taste.

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Zimtsterne: Swiss Cinnamon Stars

My boyfriend's Swiss mom taught me to make these this year.

Rum Balls

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

1 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup gold rum*
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers
1 cup finely chopped, toasted walnuts
1/2 cup dried fruit**

In a large bowl sift together the sugar, cocoa powder and allspice. Stir in the rum and corn syrup. Stir in wafers, nuts and fruit. Place in the refrigerator for around 30 minutes so the mixture can firm up a bit.

Scoop up the dough and form into 1 inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator over night. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*The original recipe called for dark rum, but I used what I had. These balls are really strong, so if you're not a big rum fan use light colored rum.

** I used Zante currants in mine. Craisins or dried cherries would be awesome as well.

Holly cupcakes

Holly cupcakes, originally uploaded by thesmartcookiebaker.

Inspired by a recipe of Nigella Lawson's, I made these delightful cupcakes for a holiday party. The cake is my favorite devil's food recipe with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice added. The result was an intense chocolate cake with a likewise intense spiciness. The cupcakes are topped off with a simple American vanilla butter cream. The sweetness complements the spice nicely.

Happy Hanukkah!

Hanukkah Donuts, originally uploaded by thesmartcookiebaker.

I guess it's the last night of Hanukkah today but I celebrated with some friends last weekend. In addition to latkes, matzo ball soup and brisket, I fried up a big batch of cinnamon-sugar sour cream donuts.

3 1/2 cups AP flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Zest from 1 large orange
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter, cooled briefly
1 cup sour cream
Canola oil for frying

Whisk together dry ingredients in medium bowl. In a stand mixture, beat sugar and eggs until very thick. Beat in orange zest and vanilla. Gradually beat in butter, then beat in sour cream in 2 additions. Gently fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions. Cover and set aside for 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, press out dough to 1/2" - 2/3" thickness. cut out dough rounds with cutter. Gather scraps and repeat.

Pour oil into a deep pan to a depth of 1 1/2". Heat oil to 365 - 370 degrees. Fry donuts, 3 - 4 at a time, until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels and allow to cool slightly. Quickly roll in granulated sugar and serve.

Mini Fruitcakes

Mini Fruitcakes, originally uploaded by thesmartcookiebaker.

Cranberry Orange Martini

So it's not actually a baked good but it still was delicious! Although, a little strong. Enjoy!

1 oz Patron Citronge Liqueur
1 1/2 oz Patron Silver Tequila
Juice of 1/2 an orange
Splash of cranberry juice
1 fresh cranberry

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Drop in one fresh cranberry.

Beer Bread

Beer Bread, originally uploaded by thesmartcookiebaker.

Beer Bread is the easiest thing you can bake! All you have to remember is 3,2,1.

3 cups Self-Rising Flour *
2 tablespoons sugar
1 bottle (or can) of beer **

It's that easy. Mix together the flour and sugar and then slowly add the beer. Put in a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 to 60 minutes.

The bread gives off a lovely yeast smell and tastes great dipped in soup or slathered with soft butter.

The loaf is easily customizable as well. I added some garlic powder and cheddar cheese in my loaf.

*1 cup of plain AP flour + 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder + 1/2 tsp of salt = 1 cup self raising flour

*12 ounces. I used Fat Tire beer (my favorite). I recommend either using some cheap american beer or an ale. I would not recommend using Guinness.

Hot Chocolate Cupcake

When the weather outside is frightful it's great to curl up with a mug of hot cocoa. Here is that mug in cupcake form. I took my trusted buttermilk cake recipe and added some cocoa. After they cooled, I piped on a swirl of meringue and returned them to the oven to be toasted. The cupcake was delicious warm from the oven. Milky, chocolatey, and steamy....just like a mug of hot cocoa!

Cranberry and Pear Cake

This creation came from the last ever issue of Gourmet magazine. It's a spice cake made with fresh Bosc pears, fresh cranberries, and glazed with a cinnamon-caramel sauce. It was a unique dessert among the other Thanksgiving pies.

Cranberry Blondies

Pow! Sweet, Tart and Buttery all at the same time! I was thinking about making chocolate chip cookies when I looked in my fridge and inspiration struck. Half a bag of cranberries were begging to be used. I didn't feel like making a cake or cookies so I thought "how about a Blondie." Blondies, in case you don't know, are a mix between a brownie and a cookie. They are made in the way of a brownie but feel like eating a chocolate chip cookie in bar form. For mine I added dark brown sugar, a half cup of fresh cranberries and a little bit of chocolate chips.

Cranberry Orange Bread

Cranberry Orange Bread is my favorite thing to bake during the holidays and it's usually the first thing I'll bake come December. As soon as I see those bags of fresh Ocean Spray cranberries in the store I stock up and rush home to bake this wonderful loaf. I've been using the same recipe since 2002 when I stumbled upon it in college. Simply made with fresh orange juice, orange zest and fresh cranberries, it's a wonderful holiday tradition.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for my KitchenAid Mixer, canned pumpkin and all my loved ones. I wish you all a wonderful holiday!

A cake Carrie Bradshaw would approve of:

For my 25th birthday I decided to have a cocktail party with a small group of friends. As I planned the party, I couldn't stop thinking about the Sex and the City gals and their obsession with cosmopolitans. So I decided to make my own version of a cosmopolitan....cake!
Layers of pink vanilla buttermilk cake surround a sweet, yet tart, cranberry cream filling made with fresh cranberry puree, lime, and Sky vodka. Perhaps a slice of cake can be the new cocktail?

Zucchini and Chickpea Filo Pie

I had wanted to make this recipe since I got "How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking" for my birthday in 2005. Finally this weekend I decided that the time had come. I had never worked with filo dough before. It was a little difficult to get out of the package (I didn't make my own...even Nigella Lawson encourages using the store bought stuff) without tearing but everything worked out great.

First gently fry diced onion and cumin seeds in olive oil until the onion is soft. Then add turmeric and ground coriander. I used ground coriander seed.

I then diced the zucchini and added them to the onion and cooked until the zucchini was soft but still held its shape.

In goes the basmati rice and stock is slowly added. When all the liquid was absorbed I added chickpeas and took it off the heat.











Meanwhile, while the rice was cooking, I prepared a springform pan with layers of filo dough and melted butter. Then I added the slightly cooled filling and scrunched layers of filo on top as a covering.











After 15 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, out came a golden pie which both looked and tasted delicious.

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love pumpkin and every autumn I love adding pumpkin to every type of dessert imaginable. This week I chose one of my favorites, cheesecake. I started with a ginger cookie crust and then made a basic cheesecake base. I then took out a few cups of the base and added pumpkin puree and some spices. After pouring the plain cheesecake into the pan and then the pumpkin, I baked it for an hour and then after letting it chill overnight added the chocolate leaves.

Napa Cake

Chocolate wine cake with raspberry buttercream and ganache filling.

Purple and White Wedding Cake

Made during wedding cake week in my pastry class.

Yarn Cupcakes

Llama Llama Knit is a wonderful yarn shop located in downtown Novato. The owners are friends of mine and recently celebrated the store's first anniversary! To celebrate, 3 dozen cupcakes with mini yarn balls were served! The cupcakes were devil's food with chocolate butter cream (made with Ghirardelli chocolate), vanilla-buttermilk with vanilla butter cream and red velvet with cream cheese frosting. Each cupcake was topped with a yarn ball made out of homemade marshmallow fondant (both cute and edible!). I also included a special box of the extra baker's dozen with little "knitted" scarves.