Red, White and Blue Tart

Red, White and Blue Tart
With ready-to-roll sugar cookie dough, fresh fruits, and lemon-cream filling, this dessert is quick to make.

Ingredients
- 1 20-roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough Coarse sugar
- 1 14-ounce can (1-1/3 cups) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup dairy sour cream or light dairy sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon or lime peel
- 1/3 cup lemon or lime juice
- 1 cup fresh blueberries or blackberries
-  2 cups fresh red raspberries or 3 cups fresh strawberry halves

Instructions
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degree F. For crust, generously grease the bottom of an 11x8x1-1/2-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom or an 11- to 12-inch pizza pan; lightly grease sides. With floured hands, pat half of the dough onto bottom and up the side of the pan.
2.  For cookies, on a lightly floured surface roll out the remaining half of the dough to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Using small star cutters, cut into shapes. Place cutouts on an ungreased baking sheet. Re roll trimmings and cut. Sprinkle half with coarse sugar.
3.  Bake crust and cookies until golden, allowing 4 to 5 minutes for small cookies and 12 minutes for crust. Cool on a wire rack.
4.  For filling, in a mixing bowl combine condensed milk, sour cream, lemon or lime peel, and juice. Stir about 3 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Cover and chill until ready to assemble tart.
5.  To assemble tart, loosen and remove sides of pan from crust, if desired. Transfer crust to a platter, leaving bottom of pan under crust. Before serving, spread filling onto crust. Top with berries and cookies. Cut into squares. Makes 12 servings.
6. Tip: Decorate cookies that don't fit on the tart with canned frosting tinted red or blue.

Source: Recipe.com

Delicious Irish Soda Bread

Delicious Irish Soda Bread
Very easy and very tasty... perfect to make for St. Patricks Day!

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned Beef and Cabbage

This recipe takes a bit of time but you will not be disappointed. Give yourself a little luck o' the Irish with this Americanized version of an Irish Feast. Serve with butter and Irish soda bread.

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 pounds corned beef brisket
• 5 black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 onion, peeled and left whole
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 small head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
• 6 large potatoes, quartered
• 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

• In a 6 quart Dutch oven, Place the beef brisket, peppercorns, garlic powder, onion, bay leaves and salt. Fill pan with water to cover everything plus one inch. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Skim off any residue that floats to the top. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 to 3 hours, until meat can be pulled apart with a fork.
• Once the meat is done, add the cabbage, potatoes and carrots, pressing them down into the liquid. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Skim off any oil that comes to the surface. Stir in the butter and parsley. Remove the pot from the heat.
• Remove meat from the pot and place onto a serving dish and let rest for 15 minutes. Also remove vegetables to a bowl and keep warm. Slice meat on the diagonal against the grain. Serve meat on a platter and spoon juices over meat and vegetables.

Source http://allrecipes.com/

Three Kings Day Bread: Rosca de Reyes

Three Kings Day Bread:  Rosca de Reyes

Ingredients
1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup dried figs, cut into strips, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup candied orange peel, cut into strips, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup candied lemon peel, cut into strips, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup chopped candied cherries, plus more whole for garnish
2 tablespoons light rum
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, divided
Water

Preparation
In a small bowl, combine the yeast and warm water; stir to blend. Let stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Put all of the candied fruit in small bowl and drizzle the rum on top. Let stand for 15 minutes to 1 hour to infuse the flavor.

In a small pot, warm the milk over medium heat. Add the sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.

In a large bowl, mix 3 1/2 cups flour, 2 eggs, yeast mixture, milk mixture, and the rum soaked candied fruits, mixing very well until the dough gathers into a ball. If the dough is too wet, Add additional flour, a little at a time, if needed to form a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it's smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Put the ball of dough back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured surface. Using your palms, roll the dough into a long rope. Shape the coil into a ring, sealing the ends together. Insert a little doll or coin into the bread from the bottom, if desired. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray. Carefully transfer the dough ring to the prepared baking pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash, and brush the top of the bread. Decoratively garnish the top of the bread with more candied fruit and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is golden.

Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Cook's Note: Let your guests know there is a little doll or coin inserted inside.

Recipe for Christmas Sugar Cookies

Recipe for Christmas Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies are the best to make for Christmas, you can have lots of fun with them making different shapes of cookies and then decorating them with your favorite icing.


Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine (at room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
multicolored sugar sprinkles (optional) For icing:
2 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water
assorted food colors.

Instructions
Step 1:
Onto a piece of waxed paper, sift 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high, cream the butter and sugar until light yellow and fluffy.

Step 2:
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and lemon rind. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture. Divide into three equal pieces, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled.


Step 3:
Preheat the oven to 350° butter three baking sheets. On a surface lightly floured with about 1/3 of the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, roll out 1 piece of dough, 1/4 inch thick, and cut into shapes with cookie cutters.

Step 4:
With a spatula, transfer to the baking sheets, sprinkle with the sugar if you wish, and bake for 8 minutes or just until edge starts to brown. Let cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough. Decorate as desired using the icing. Store in an airtight container, but do not freeze frosted cookies.

Step 5: Making the Icing
In a small bowl, stir the sugar with the vanilla, then add enough water to make a stiff icing. Divide into small cups and color as you wish. When the cookies are cold, pipe out designs, such as smiling faces, zigzags, bow ties for men and aprons for women. If using different colors of icing, let one color dry before piping the next.

Recipe for Real Eggnog

Recipe for Real Eggnog
A Holiday Classic Drink... !!! My kids LOVE IT!

Ingredients
12 eggs separated
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups bourbon
1/2 cup brandy
6 cups milk
ground nutmeg
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions
1. In large bowl with mixer at low speed, beat egg yolks with sugar. At high speed, beat until thick and lemon colored, about 15 minutes, frequently scraping bowl.

2. Beat in bourbon and brandy, one tablespoon at a time to prevent curdling. Cover and chill.

3. About 20 minutes before serving, in chilled 5-6 qt. punch bowl, stir yolk mixture, milk and 1 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg.

4. In large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

5. In small bowl, using same beaters, beat cream until stiff peaks form.

6. With wire whisk, gently fold egg whites and cream into yolk mixture until just blended and serve.

The Elves Snickerdoodles

The Elves Snickerdoodles.  Being one of Santa's elves requires a lot of qualities we admire: industriousness, cooperation, attention to detail, and perhaps most of all, a sense of humor. Says one elf we spoke to: "We work hard all year long. The hours are long, so morale is important. The baker elves (the ones assigned to kitchen duty) know that one sure way to keep their crew happy throughout the holiday season is by serving plenty of these sparkly sugar-topped Snickerdoodles. The name alone just gives us the giggles."

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons soft butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Colored sugar or edible glitter

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the shortening and butter. Gradually mix in the sugar. Beat in the egg until blended, then the sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.

With a wooden spoon, stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture half at a time, until evenly mixed. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 to 60 minutes.

Shortly before baking heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease one or two large cookie sheets, or line them with parchment paper. Put the decorative sugar into small bowls.

With lightly floured hands, shape the dough into 1-1/2-inch-thick balls. Roll the balls in the colored sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets spaced about 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies on the center oven rack for 15 to 18 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. Cool the cookies on the sheet for 2 to 3 minutes. Then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes about 24 cookies.