Tres Leche Cookies

Tres leches cookies for Margie

If you want to make these for children, omit the liquor and substitute caramel syrup.  For best results, allow them to mature before serving.   They need to be made ahead of time, like rum balls.  Store in freezer until ready to serve.

cookie

4 tablespoons butter

½ cup dulce de leche (Nestle)

1 tablespoon vanilla

5 ml (less that ¼ cup) tres leches triple cream liquor

3 cups Vanilla Wafer crumbs (11 ounce box of cookies)

1 ¾ cup (6 ounce bag) pecan pieces

Form into 1-inch balls and flatten to cookie shape, then ice.

Icing

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon dulce de leche

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 tablespoons cream

Drizzle over cookies, top with:

Edible glitter

Butterscotch Gingermen Cookies

If ginger is not your favorite flavor, try this delicious butterscotch version of the traditional holiday treat.

butterscotch gingermen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup brown sugar
(2) 3.4 ounce packages instant butterscotch pudding
Cream butter, sugar and pudding.  Add:
2 eggs
Beat until combined.  Than add:
3 cups flour
1  teaspoon ginger (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

I had no trouble rolling this dough, but if it seems sticky, just chill for 30 minutes.  Sprinkle the counter with confectioners' sugar.  Divide the dough into thirds and roll to 1/4-inch thickness, using more confectioner's sugar to keep from sticking.

  I used a 3 1/2 -inch gingerbread man cookie cutter.  It made 55 cookies.

I inverted butterscotch chips to serve as buttons after I saw how menacing the upright chips looked.

Bake the cookies on parchment paper at 350 degrees for 9 minutes.  Cool on cookie sheet and gently peel away from parchment.

Yummy, chewy goodness.  If you like your cookies on the crisp side, let them bake for about another 1 1/2 minutes.

I realize that I have failed to include the Barbie Nation in the last few posts. I'm chalking it up to the holidays. Betty is loving her new job as the weather girl.  Today she is headed out on a PR mission to judge a gingerbread house competition.  She looks as cute as any gingerman I've ever seen.

Recipe for Brownie Ornaments

I made a few with other decorations.

If you are a fan of Pinterest, you have probably seen the "brownie" ornament picture that seems to be all over the Internet.  How the photo was erroneously labeled brownie, I don't know.  It is taken from a Betty Crocker site and is in fact, a fudge filled ornament.  Not to be dissuaded by this, I decided to figure out how to make these ornaments with actual brownies inside. I will warn you that they will not look as smooth as fudge as brownies tend to rise and then fall, forming a lightly flakey crust and tend to sink in the middle.  These shortcomings are well concealed by the addition of icing.

Brownie ornaments

19.8 ounce Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies (9x13-inch size)

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon mocha powder

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup water

1 egg

Combine ingredients and mix until smooth.  Add:

½ cup Ghiradelli semi-sweet mini chips.

Place 16 (2½-inch ) ornament cookie cutters on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Put 3 slightly rounded cookie scoopfuls of batter in each ornament.  Use a spoon to spread the batter evenly throughout the ornament.  Bake at 350° for 19 minutes.  Cool on baking sheet and iced and decorate as desired.

unbaked brownies

may sink in center

baked brownies

I used the following icing:

1/4 stick butter

4 cups confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 tablespoons heavy cream

After icing I sprinkled with chocolate jimmies.

Then I wrapped them in this cute packaging I found at WalMart.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

sticky toffee pudding

This recipe was part of my quest to bake all the delicious goodies that seem to be in all the mail order catalogs during the holidays.

Pudding (cake)

8 ounces SunMaid chopped dates

2 cups boiling water

Pour water over dates and set aside to absorb the liquid.

In the mixer combine:

½ cup (one stick) butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time.

2 eggs

Add:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Add dates and any residual water.   Bake in a greased 9x13 glass pan at 350° for 35 minutes.

Sauce

While the pudding is baking, prepare the sauce.

1¼ cups brown sugar

½ cup whipping cream

¼ cup (1/2  stick) butter

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook for an additional 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in:

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Poke holes in top of cake and pour about half the sauce over the cake, a little bit at a time.   Reserve the other half for serving.  Reheat sauce for serving, if necessary. Serve top with whipped cream, if desired. This is really best served warm, but it holds up to a quick reheat in the microwave, too.