Drop Cookies/Tropical Snow Cookies Recipe

I love drop cookies. Once the dough is prepared, the rest of the preparation is quick and simple. Many of our all time favorite cookies are drop cookies; chocolate chip and oatmeal are two that immediately come to mind.

Drop cookie dough is somewhat softer than other cookie doughs, enabling them to be easily dropped from a spoon onto the cookie sheet, or first rolled into balls. The heat of the oven spreads the dough out so that we are generally left with a rounded flatter cookie.

Since I live in South Florida, and the holidays will be here before we are ready, here is a recipe that evokes both the tropics and northern winters...

Tropical Snow Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup pure butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. dark rum, or pure rum extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup tropical-blend mixed dried fruit bits (may substitute other dried fruit bits such as those used for fruit cakes)
1 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening on high speed.
3. Add sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined.
4. Beat in eggs, vanilla extract, and rum or rum extract until combined.
5. Slowly beat in the flour, the fruit bits, the coconut, and the nuts.
6. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
7. Lightly press additional coconut onto the tops of the cookies.
8. Bake for 9 to 11 min., or until the edges are light brown.
9. Gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Makes approximately 60 cookies.

Happy Baking!

Next Week: Rolled Cookies

Refrigerator Cookies and Brown Sugar Refrigerator Cookies Recipe

Refrigerator cookies are made from a dough that is, as the name suggests, refrigerated and then sliced. Another name for these are icebox cookies. Back in the day, well, actually my mother's day, refrigerators were still known as iceboxes. For you young folk of the computer age, well before even my time refrigerators were not powered by electricity, but by large blocks of ice delivered by the ice man and his truck. Just my historical trivia for the week. Now back to the cookies:

Many of you are already familiar with this type of cookie - they can be purchased in the grocery stores as already prepared logs of cookie dough, of various brands, and sliced and baked. The advantage of refrigerator cookies is that the dough can be made in advance, refrigerated, and sliced and baked as needed, just as in the case of the store bought logs of dough.

Brown Sugar Refrigerator Cookies

Ingredients:

3 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped pecans

1. Sift flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In large bowl of electric mixer, at medium speed, beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and continuing beating.
3. At low speed, beat in half the flour mixture until smooth. Mix in the rest, with hands, to form a stiff dough. Add nuts and mix well.
4. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface. Divide dough in thirds. With hands, shape each third into a roll about 8 inches long.
5. Wrap each in wax paper. Refrigerate until firm, about 8 hours. Note: The rolls may be stored in the refrigerator for about 10 days.
6. Preheat oven to 375 F. With sharp knife, cut 1/8-inch slices for baking. Rewrap rest of roll if not baking all of the dough that day and refrigerate.
7. Place slices, 2 inches apart, on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 7 to 10 min., or until lightly browned. Remove to wire rack and let cool.

Makes about 16 dozen.

General note about making any type of cookie: Cookies will harden while cooling. For that reason, if the color is right but they seem soft, remove them anyway. Otherwise you will overcook them.

About cookie sheets: Purchase the largest cookie sheets that will fit in your oven. I recommend the ones that are "double layered" for best results. They are more expensive, but worth the cost if you will be making cookies often. They can be found in better cookware shops like Williams Sonoma, or online.

Happy Baking!

Next Week: Drop Cookies

Cookies

For many people, making homemade cookies is the first baking project attempted. Everyone loves cookies, especially warm out of the oven. Cookies can evoke happy memories of our childhood or of those of our children growing up. They also can be part of holiday memories and traditions. Then, too, there are cookie jars some people collect because they come in many fanciful shapes and sizes.

You moms or grandmothers may have fond memories of your children reaching up to get at a cookie jar filled with the tasty treats. My daughter, at age 1 1/2, climbed on a chair to reach the table she then stood on by tippie toe, reaching the cookie jar resting on a shelf just behind the table! If you have children, take some time to make cookies with them.

Most varieties of cookies keep well in the refrigerator for weeks, or even in the freezer for months. They also ship well. For that reason, years ago I started the tradition of making cookies, starting months ahead, for Christmas Day. Each time I would make one type of cookie, then the next time a different type, and so on, freezing each batch. I would leave out one cookie for each of my children from each batch as they were baked, placing one cookie on a plate individually. Come Christmas Eve, I would thaw out all the different varieties and arrange them on a pretty cookie platter for serving the next day.

Another tradition I have is that each year I buy and save the new cookie magazines that can be found in the grocery stores. Usually these are annually put out by Better Homes and Gardens, but there are others too. Currently I have a large stack of the magazines, dating back to the 1970's. I pick out one recipe from several of them each year to try and include on my Christmas platter. I am sure you will come up with your own traditions and memories when it comes to cookies.

One thing that people like about cookies is that there are hundreds of recipes of cookies, so there is always a flavor or type to choose from. Cookie varieties are divided into groups, depending upon how they are made or where they come from. There are refrigerator cookies, drop cookies, rolled cookies, molded cookies, and bar cookies. In addition, there are ethnic cookies, such as Italian Biscotti or French Madeleines. Ethnic cookies really are a traditional cookie from whatever country they come from, but fall into one of the above mentioned categories.

As the weeks go on I will be posting recipes so that all the categories are eventually covered. One of the recipes I will share is for my French Madeleines. However, making Italian Biscotti is not within the realm of my expertise. That expertise and honors belongs to my Aunt Tess, who makes the best biscotti I have ever tasted, and believe me I have tried biscotti from numerous Italian bakeries. Perhaps she will type up a little discussion on biscotti making, and share one of her recipes, for me to post on this blog that you may all enjoy (hint, hint, Aunt Tess ; ) )

Next Week: Refrigerator Cookies/Recipe

Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe

The first time I tasted a New York style cheesecake was at my aunt's house, many years ago at Christmas time. Hers had a blueberry topping, and I was hooked on New York style cheesecakes ever since. I guess you could say I keep up the tradition by making a cheesecake every year at Christmas.

For this recipe, have on hand a 9" springform pan. Also, plan on making this cake one before it is to be served. Kelly, this one's for you...

Strawberry Cheesecake

For the Graham Cracker Crust:

2 cups boxed graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
9 tbs. melted butter

1. Mix thoroughly together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar, mixing the ingredients right inside a 9"springform pan.
2. Pour into the crumb mixture the melted butter and mix thoroughly, pressing the mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan and up the sides.
3. Refrigerate while making the cheesecake filling.

For the Cheesecake Filling:

5 8-oz packages of Philadelphia brand cream cheese, softened to room temperature.
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tbs. flour
1 1/2 tsp. grated dried lemon peel
1 1/2 tsp. grated dried orange peel
5 whole large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 500 F.
2. In large bowl of electric mixer, combine cheese, sugar, flour, lemon peel, orange peel, and vanilla extract. Beat at high speed just to blend.
3. Beat in eggs and egg yolks, one at a time. Add heavy cream, beating just until well combined. Pour mixture into crust filled springform pan.
4. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature immediately to 350 F., and bake 1 hour longer. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven 1 hour with the door slightly ajar.
5. Remove cheesecake from oven and continue cooling to room temperature an additional hour.
6. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, pour Strawberry Topping on top.

For the Strawberry Topping:

1 qt. fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half. If strawberries are large, cut into fourths. Sprinkled strawberries with granulated sugar, and let sit for at least hour to produce its own "syrup".
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs. cornstarch
2 tbs. lemon juice
4 drops red food color

1. Drain strawberries, reserving 1/2 cup liquid. If needed, add enough water to bring the liquid to 1/2 cup.
2. In small saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Add reserved strawberry liquid, stirring until mixture is smooth. Heat at high temperature, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat.
3. Add lemon juice and red food color, and stir to mix. Add strawberries and mix again.
4. Mix strawberries into the finished glaze.
5. Pour topping over the top of the cheesecake, spreading mixture evenly.
6. Refrigerate cheesecake with the topping on it for 1 hour.

You will want to cut this cheesecake into thin slices as it is very rich and heavenly, but oh so wonderful! Your family may like this cheesecake so much that you might start your own tradition! Happy Baking!

Next Week: Cookies

Cheesecakes

I thought I was done with the "Cake Unit" of my Baking Blog, but then I realized that I neglected my favorite dessert, Cheesecakes. July 30Th is National Cheesecake Day in the United States. Since that day just passed, I thought it appropriate to discuss cheesecakes at this time.

There are three basic types of cheesecakes that we are familiar with in the United States. There is, first of all, the very creamy type that is not very tall or heavy, the type that is made with cream cheese, and closely resembles that which can also be made out of a box from a popular brand. This type is quick to make, and also relatively affordable in ingredients. I have seen this type in the traditional round pie shape, as well as in small squares. I have heard of this type of cheese cake referred to as Philadelphia style, but I feel that might be misleading to my readers as I recommend using Philadelphia Brand cream cheese in New York Style Cheesecake.

There is a European style of cheesecake. This type is typically made with either Ricotta Cheese, or with Farmer's Dry Cheese, depending upon whether the recipe is from Western Europe such as Italy, or from Eastern Europe, such as Poland. This type can be slightly heavier than the first type mentioned due to the different cheese used. Many Americans are not familiar with this type of cheesecake, and I find that it is an acquired taste once one is already used to the familiar cream cheese versions.

The third type of cheesecake is the New York Style Cheesecake. This type is my favorite. It is heavy, and relatively expensive to make, however. One of its ingredients is cream cheese, like the first type, but also includes many more eggs, heavy cream, etc. It also requires more time to prepare, although it is not difficult to make. Because of the cost and time involved, I typically make this type of cheesecake on holidays, particularly in the winter. If you plan on making this type of cheesecake, I recommend stocking up on the cream cheese (it takes five 8 oz. packages) when they are on sale. Cream cheese keeps for quite a while in the refrigerator, but be sure to check the expiration dates on the packages first to make sure it will be still good when you plan to bake the cake.

Cheesecakes have a bottom crust that is either made of ground graham crackers (either freshly ground yourself or from a package) or a dough like crust. Cheesecakes may be served plain, or with a fruit topping. There are also numerous variations of cheesecakes such as Key Lime Cheesecake, Marble Cheesecake, etc. As you may have noticed from my blogs each week, I tend to be a traditionalist. Most of the time, therefore, I make a New York Cheesecake, plain in that it does not incorporate other flavors within the cheesecake itself, with a simple fruit topping and glaze. However, since there are so many wonderful flavors out there made from great recipes, I encourage you to make whichever type and flavor that make your stomach sing with joy.

If you would like additional information regarding the history and types of cheesecakes from around the world, I highly recommend you visit the Wikipedia website on Cheesecakes. There is a lot of information and photos regarding the subject.

Cheesecakes are not for the faint of heart in terms of calories. Yet, cheesecake is a wonderful comfort food/dessert. At least once a year throw caution to the wind and enjoy a slice!

Next Week: Cheesecake Recipe