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Christmas Cookies

Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti

By Denise Pare-Watson

Going into an Italian store is always an adventure for me.  One of the many things that I am always fascinated by is the huge glass container filled with tall biscotti sitting upright in the jar.  They are typically large enough to feed a family!  As much as I like these huge cookies, they are just too big! I wanted a smaller biscotti that would be more suitable for a coffee gathering.  I adapted a recipe that uses a filling in the biscotti dough to make them more distinctive.   Biscotti are always a hit during the holiday season given their ease of storage and long shelf life, not to mention wonderful in texture and flavour.  

A Stack of Biscotti with pinwheel filling | urbnspice.com
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti | urbnspice.com

I had a little leftover cranberry sauce from my Dairy-Free White Chocolate Eggnog with Cranberry Coulis, so it was a great opportunity to utilise it as a filling in the biscotti.  These Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti are a tender, not hard biscotti and they are much smaller in size than traditional biscotti – you’re going to love them!  They also make excellent edible gifts.

Edible Gifts by Urbnspice
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti make excellent edible gifts
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Original content here is published under these license terms: X 
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Filed Under: Cookies, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Holiday and Special Occasion Dishes, My Recipes, Nut Free Recipes Tagged With: Biscotti, Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes

Citrus Sand Cookies

By Denise Pare-Watson

Citrus Sand Cookies are one of my favourite cookies as they have an interesting sandy and crunchy texture. They are a sable type of cookie and are made with only a few ingredients:  butter, sugar, flour and flavourings.  I love these cookies because when time is limited, it only takes a few minutes to prepare the dough and chill it in logs until you are ready to bake them (this is an icebox style cookie).  Once baked, they can be kept in an airtight tin and served with tea and coffee or as a compliment to a number of desserts such as crème brulée, panna cotta or ice cream. You must try these little cookies – they can be enjoyed for any number of occasions.  They made great edible gifts, too.

Citrus Sand Cookies | urbnspice.com

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2018 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms: X 
License Type:Commercial
License Abstract:You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Beverages, Cookies, Desserts and Sweets, Gluten Free Recipes, Holiday Baking, My Recipes, Nut Free Recipes Tagged With: Christmas Cookies, Citrus, Cookies, Gluten Free Recipes, Refrigerator Cookies

Vanilla Bean Poppers – Holiday Food Fun Variation

By Denise Pare-Watson

VANILLA BEAN POPPERS – HOLIDAY FOOD FUN VARIATION:  Recently, I was thrilled to win a prize for the delightful little cookies in this post.  Urb’n’Spice is proud to be one of the Grand Prize Winners of an Edible Christmas Gifts Contest.  Since then, I have made this recipe several times and have had quite a bit of fun with it.  (See Rainbow Poppers for my grandson’s third birthday rainbow themed party).

That same little boy helped me make another variation today:  Christmas Vanilla Bean Poppers!  He and his older sister often ask if they can make more vanilla bean poppers.  Young children enjoy making the ‘snakes’ and ‘ropes’ and cutting the little cookies with a plastic pastry scraper.  Separate the dough (recipe below) into three parts.  Reserve one part, colour one part with a few drops of red food colouring, and the remaining part with a few drops of green food colouring.

Vanilla Bean Poppers - Holiday Food Fun Variation | urbnspice.com

Vanilla Bean Poppers - Holiday Food Fun Variation | urbnspice.com

The Vanilla Bean Popper dough is coloured separately and twisted together to make a coloured rope.  Cut the small logs into small slices.

Vanilla Bean Poppers - Christmas version | urbnspice.com

Lay the cut Vanilla Bean Poppers on their side on a parchment lined tray and bake according to the directions given in the recipe below.

These vanilla poppers make a Delightful Hostess Gift.  Here is the original recipe for your reference – have fun with these!

Vanilla Bean Poppers

I make these teeny, tiny cookies for hostess gifts and put them in pretty jars during the holiday season. I call them poppers because they are delightful delicate little cookies that are so irresistible you will keep popping them in your mouth. These cookies are lots of fun to make with children. They can help you roll the dough into long rope-like snakes before you cut them into small pillows or balls. They will love giving these cookies to their teacher.

As you can see in the photos below, the cookie dough is very easy to mix up and it is great fun to make the ropes, cut into tiny pillows and roll into balls. They can be left as little pillows as well. They bake up in a few minutes. Cool before dredging them in icing sugar. They are irresistible treats. The little bowl of baked poppers used in the photograph quickly disappeared before my eyes.

Vanilla Bean Poppers | urbnspice.com

Making Snakes: Vanilla Bean Popper Dough

VANILLA BEAN POPPERS

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 8 oz. brick plain Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 2/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or substitute Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour)
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1 dash fine salt
  • 2 cups icing sugar, for coating the cookies

METHOD:

  1. In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese and 2/3 cup icing sugar until light and fluffy.
  2. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix to combine
  3. Combine the flour, cornstarch and salt together. With your mixer on low speed, add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until combined well.
  4. Remove small handfuls of dough from the mixer at a time and roll into ‘snakes’ about 1/2 inch in diameter. (Remember, these are tiny cookies). With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/2 inch pieces.
  5. At this point, you can leave them in the pillow shapes as they are, or you can roll them into tiny balls. Either way, place these tiny pieces of dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (The cookies do not spread, so you can place them fairly close together).
  6. Bake in 325oF oven for 12 – 15 minutes, depending on the size of your tiny pillows or balls. The bottoms of the cookies should just start to turn a very light golden.
  7. Let the cookies cool slightly. In a medium-size bowl, place the 2 cups of icing sugar. Place the cooled cookies in the bowl and toss them to coat thoroughly with the icing sugar. Tip:  Place the cookies in a sieve to shake the excess icing sugar off.
  8. Place the cookies in a decorative container or jar, label and decorate with ribbon and give to your favourite someone.

LEARNING TIPS:  

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

  • Parchment Paper
  • Oven Temperature Accuracy
  • Vanilla Extract
    __________

OTHER GIFT IDEAS:

Variation to Vanilla Bean Poppers:  Urb’n’Spice Rainbow Poppers

Dee’s Old Fashioned Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Cherry Rhubarb Compote

Chocolate Desserts Cookbook Series

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2016-2018 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms:  X 
License Type: Commercial
License Abstract: You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Cookies, Desserts and Sweets, Food Fun, My Recipes Tagged With: Baking with Children, Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Desserts, Edible Gifts, Food Fun, Food Gifts, Gifts, Gluten Free Christmas Cookies, Hostess Gifts

An Ode to Tasty Men

By "Kid of a Chef"

Written by ‘Kid of a Chef”

I like Men.

Lots of them.

Some days I just want one man; others days, I want to be pleased many times a day by many different men.

Specifically, I like a Man who has a golden tan and smooth body clothed with adornments so fine that it makes my mouth drool and eyes widen at the very site.

I want my Man to be warm, comforting and have a scent that is unlike any other.

And I want him to taste like Ginger.

He may be a mere cookie, but my Man made of Gingerbread makes me feel as if I am being rescued from a world of flavourless food by a succulent saviour. My senses fill with his aroma, my body tingles at the thought of having one little taste, and my mind lingers on thoughts of the satisfaction he will bring me when we meet. He is the hero of my taste buds; the dessert and main course all-in-one.

Although my Gingerbread Man does not come with a noble steed (unless I find a cookie cutter in that shape…) or rescue Damsel’s in distress, I feel as if I could love him forever; or at least until I lick the last delectable crumbs from my lips and I cozy up to his friend who is lounging supine on the cookie sheet.

I am not the only one who lusts after cookies. I share my love of Gingerbread with many other people (although I admit that I am hesitant to literally SHARE my cookies with them…we are all selfish in our own ways), and I have a good idea why: Gingerbread People are a perfect synonym for creating our ideal mate or ultimate self. Each little cookie starts out looking the same: two arms, two legs, one head and endless possibilities.

Testy Men: Annual Gingerbread Cookie Decorating Day Fun with Family | urbnspice.com

Annual Gingerbread Cookie Decorating Day Fun with Family 

I always decorate my Cookie-Men to be handsome and brilliantly clothed in the finest icing money can buy, with flowing locks of liquorice hair and bright jujube eyes. My Cookie-Women wear M&M jewels and model the latest in designer gum-drop shoes. Through my cookies, I create my Utopia. In a perfect world, I too would emit the scent of freshly baked cookies and would be adorned with extravagant fashions and edible jewellery…and my real-life man would always wear what I tell him to (plaid-shirts and faded jeans are out of the question!).

I feel as if I journey with my Gingerbread Cookies from conception to consumption, and the personal attachment I feel for my creations makes their taste all-the-more sweet. Oh sure, I have tried to make Men-Cookies out of peanut butter or chocolate-chip dough, but it is just not the same. The marriage between the fragrance of Gingerbread and the perfection of the dough that can be formed into shapes is a beautiful union indeed. Just as beautiful as that first bite of Gingerbread heaven.

Tasty Men: Gingerbread Cookie Fun with Family | urbnspice.com

Gingerbread Cookie Fun with Family 

Perhaps I will never be a faithful consort in my love affair with the Gingerbread Man, for I will always be searching for yet another Man to satisfy my desires, but my love will never diminish. I will remember each-and-every Man I consume, I will savour every moment we spend in each other’s company, and I will never stop craving his sweet flavour.

Tasty Men: A simple Gingerbread House made by grandchildren | urbnspice.com

A simple Gingerbread House made by grandchildren 

More Cookies:

Vanilla Bean Poppers – Holiday Variation

Vanilla Bean Poppers

You can find me on social media (see links below) – be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy! 

Denise Pare-Watson - The Urb'n'Spice Chef | urbnspice.com

 

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms:  X 
License Type: Commercial
License Abstract: You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Cookies, Food Fun, Kid of a Chef Series Tagged With: Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Gingerbread

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Meet Denise – The Urbnspice Chef

Welcome to Urbnspice - A Taste of Heart and Home. Inspiration in my kitchen is often a trip to the market or an experimental coincidence! Come and join me on this culinary journey where I share my passion for the creative, technical and teaching components of the profession and unravel culinary quandaries for you with fun and easy to follow user-friendly recipes, tips & techniques.
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