Wally"s Cheesy Biscuits

Our dog Wally (2 years old)

I know he will eat anything- yes- any - thing. He loves napkins, particularly paper napkins to eat and cloth ones to steal off your lap....but the best are oven mitts...all full of flavours...so yummy!

If Wally hears a slight gesture toward his biscuit jar, he rises from a deep sleep and runs as fast as he can to get his cookie.  This cheese biscuit is one of his favourites!

These are also great to give as gifts to dog owners!!!! Package them in a little cellophane bag with a ribbon:)

Dig n cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons softened margarine

One and a half cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup milk 

1. Preheat oven to 375°. 
2. Cream together cheese and margarine. 
3. Add milk and flour. 
4. Combine  mixture into a ball
5. Roll to a quarter inch thickness. 
6. Cut dough with cookie cutter and place on un-greased cookie sheet.
7. bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until edges start to brown. Makes one and a half dozen. 

From the treat book the doggy bone by Michele Bledsoe 

Check out the video for the demo!

Until we bake again
Penny ....and Wally my sous chef!
xxx

The Neiman Marcus Scandal - The Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie and it's Urban Myth

This is the recipe, except halved, for Neiman Marcus cookies, which was passed around via email for years. The company disputed the story about how a woman paid 250.00 for the recipe she thought was 2.50. She was so angry she emailed it out for everyone to have.   They later went on to make a similar cookie to cash in on the popularity of it!

Here is the link to the story....

http://www.snopes.com/business/consumer/cookie.asp

This one is nut free and makes about 55-60 cookies. If you have a lot of cookie monsters at home double it, as they fly out of the cookie jar!

Ingredients:

2.5 cups rolled oats (measure first then blitz with the blender)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
4 ounces milk chocolate, grated or finely chopped
optional- sprinkling of maldon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Measure the oats first, then blend them in a food processor or blender to a fine powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together the blended oats with all the dry ingredients -  the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. With a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and grated chocolate.

4. Roll the dough into 2-oz balls and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges are set but the centre still looks undone, about 10 minutes. Cool the cookies completely on the baking sheets.

5. A sprinkling of maldon salt is loved by my family!

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days (they can also be frozen for up to 2 months).

Until we bake again...

Penny
xxx

I would love to hear your comments, so please feel free to leave one below!

Aunt Katherine's Calico Fruit Refrigerator Cookies...a good old one!

I know it is February and Christmas was a while ago, but these cookies are great anytime!

This past Christmas  I was looking for some traditional family recipes, so I sent a message to Dan's Aunt Katherine who I knew was an avid baker!

I received this back:  "As you can imagine,   I have hundreds of recipes.   In the olden days,   I tried two or three new recipes a week  plus baking all Harold's favourites."  She has cut down now because of Harold's health, but she consulted with her sister in MB  who suggested this  good old one that makes a lot of cookies.
When she wrote me, she was baking fruitcakes and enjoying the smell through the house...

Calico Fruit Refrigerator Cookies

1cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
1T. grated lemon rind
1/2 t. vanilla

4 1/2 cups flour
3 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 cup chopped candied cherries
1 cup raisins   
1 cup chopped walnuts.

1 - Cream shortening and sugar. 

2 - Beat in eggs, lemon juice, grated lemon rind and vanilla.

3 - In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt

4 - Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture
5 - Add cherries,  raisins and walnuts

6 - Cover with saran and chill thoroughly

7- Form into 1 1/2" cylinders.    Wrap and store.

Cut into 1/2" slices;  place on greased baking sheets;    375 degrees for about 10 minutes.  

  

I had to leave out the raisins in mine as Dan is not fond of them but they were sooo good!
Thanks Aunt Katherine! 

Until we bake again
Penny
xxx

Making Time for Friends, Family and Me...

This year was a bit of a blur.  So much went on...walking, running, baking...working.  I travelled a lot....to some amazing places, like my vacation in southern France with Camera Guy  (my baking classes in Paris), time in Prague with Sheila and Judy (I haven't blogged about it yet) and a Danube River Cruise.   I also travelled within Canada - coast to coast.  I visited Calgary where I spent some time with my son, Elliot and his girlfriend Leah. To Vegas for meetings, Buffalo shopping with Leslie and the list goes on.  I did not get to Montreal enough, to see my family...and I miss them.  One of my sisters, Arlene came for Christmas and so did my dad, my son Elliot and Dan's son Zac, which was so much fun.  Well, my sister Lorna felt a little left out, so I have included the pic of the three of us...

I  also had my 5th Annual christmas cookie exchange!  It was great getting together with the gang and sharing stories and swapping cookies.  I appreciate the time everyone takes, not only to come to the cookie exchange but to bake seven dozen cookies!
Here is a pic!  I will post some of the Christmas cookie recipes shortly.  They were so pretty and of course delicious!

The pitter patter of feet in our house is now gone.  It is quiet again. My resolution this year  is to have a better work life balance...more time for my family, friends and me.  These are the important things in life.

My friend Ivonne, over at Cream Puffs in Venice, started me on this blogging journey back when we were in baking classes together at George Brown.  She mentioned in her blog today that this is the year she blogged the least, and that is the same for me.  Somehow, for me there just wasn't enough time and energy for baking.  And it is something that I truly love to do.  I suggest you head over to her blog and try making her pasta.   I feel the same about bread...flour, salt, water and maybe some eggs.  Simple...yet very special.  Bread may take a little longer but spend some time on  a weekend afternoon and try this one...an egg bread (challah).  It is very relaxing and rewarding.

I have lots to look forward to this year.  On January 6th  I start my new exciting job with an exceptional team.  I will have a little more time with Camera Guy,  friends and family.

To all my friends, family, readers and bloggers, I wish you a year full of love, laughter and all sweet things.
Until we bake again...
Penny
xxx

St.Patrick's Day Cookies - The Luck of the Icing to you!

Lately I have been working on my cookie decorating...in fact I think I am driving Camera Guy a little crazy- icing everywhere-food coloring stains on my fingers, face etc., and cookies cooling everywhere. Then I look at cookie blogs like Sweetopia and Sugarbelle, just to name a few, and I realize I have a long way to go. I keep trying over and over. I finally have Camera Guy trained to eat only the ugly cookies! As I am writing, I just caught him taking one that isn't filled in yet...our first cookie argument! One day they all will be beautiful, but right now - not so good.

I decided to make St. Patrick's Day cookies. It starts with a good sugar cookie recipe- one that doesn't spread a lot and maintains its shape. That is pretty easy. The trick is to roll the dough when it is cool and cut out the cookies when the dough is cool also. Once the cookies are baked, they need to cool completely. That is a lot of cools , but anyhooooo.

Without icing, these cookies are like chips- you can just keep eating them!

Now for the Royal Icing. the recipe is pretty straight forward and everywhere I turn, cookie people talk about the 10 second rule....I watch them move a knife (about an inch deep) through the icing and it makes a line, then you are supposed to count until 10 and only then, not before, the icing should disolve together.

I think this is used to outline because when you fill in or "flood" a cookie with this consistency I can't get it smooth - even with shaking it! Flood consistency should make a very smooth surface. I think I need the 5 second rule for my flooding!

First I outlined them with a disposable pastry bag and a number 2 tip, then I filled them in.

On some I used a squeeze bottle to flood them. I liked it.

Check out the little tag on the sidebar for the University of Cookie! Maybe one day I will be a cookie professor:)

I had fun doing these. I will keep you posted on my cookie developments. In the meantime here is the recipe I used for the sugar cookies and for the Royal Icing.

Get away from the cookies Camera Guy until I take pictures of them all! I would also like to clear up something. Camera Guy doesn't take my baking photos...I do! He may take the occasional one, but this kind of photography is just not his thing. He bought me a camera so I don't grab his professional cameras and lenses with my floury, buttery hands...that's ok...I understand....I still love him.

Happy St. Patick's Day Everyone!

Until we bake again....
Penny

 

Sadie's Rugelach Filled with Lumps of Delight!

For me, these cookies are full of sweet memories...

Of my mom making them for special occasions...(she didn't really need a special occasion because they were a favorite with the family)... and of her teaching Elliot how to make them ...and finally memories of our most dear and gentle dog, Boomer, complimenting his grandmother, by eating the entire batch that she brought to us on one of her visits to Toronto, before any of us even got to taste one. (He was a Lab! and no - I haven't built up the courage to go to see the movie "Marley and Me" yet)

I found the recipe on a scrap of paper and I don't know what they are called but I would say that they are Rugelachs, because they are rolled like them. I made them and filled in some of the missing details...maybe Elliot will add some when he reads this. After all, this recipe was a favorite of his and he did have a private lesson.
They are quite simple to make, so don't hesitate to try them.

Here is the recipe (makes 64 small cookies) :

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

• 1/2 pound butter
• 1/2 pound cream cheese
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 5 or 6 cubes of Turkish Delight
• Powdered sugar for rolling the dough

Mix butter, cream cheese, and flour in food processor just until mixed and gathers together. Do not overmix.

Divide into 8 balls and wrap individually in plastic. Place in the refridgerator overnight.

Roll each ball into a circle on area dusted with powdered sugar (not flour).

Using a pizza cutter, if you have one, divide each circle into 8.
Place a very small piece of Turkish delight in the center and roll from the wide end towards the point.


Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I needed 2 cookie sheets for this recipe- 32 cookies on each sheet.



Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Keep checking them as they burn very easily and remove from oven when slightly golden.

Cool completely, then roll in powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

By the way, Dan liked them too!

Until we bake again...

Penny