On the Ninth Day of Christmas

On the night day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing
Eight maids a-milking
Seven swans a-swimming
Six geese a-laying
Five golden rings
Four calling birds
Three French Hens
Two turtle doves
And the Best Ever Rum Ball Recipe

Greek Honey-Walnut Balls

1/3 cup honey
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup orange juice
1 2" cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
1 cup ground walnuts
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
1 cup butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brandy
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Combine honey, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup orange juice, cinnamon stick and whole cloves in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, uncovered.

Strain syrup, discarding spices. Remove 1/4 cup syrup. Set aside remaining syrup.

Combine ground walnuts and orange peel in a medium bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup syrup; set aside

. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds or until softened. Add half the flour. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1/4 cup orange juice, brandy, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground nutmeg. Beat until well blended. Beat or stir in remaining flour.

Form dough into 1-1/4" balls and using your finger, press hole in center of ball of dough. Place about 1/2 teaspoon ground nut filling in hole. Bring dough up around filling, enclosing completely. Place seam side down on greased baking sheet. With knife, crisscross top, forming an "x," scoring surface only. Repeat with remaining dough and filling

. Bake at 350 for 18 to 20 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven; let stand on baking sheet 1 minute. Meanwhile, warm the reserved syrup gently over low heat. Brush tops of hot cookies with warm syrup, or dip tops into syrup. Sprinkle with finely chopped walnuts. Place on wire rack to cool completely.

Turkish Honey-Dipped Cookies

Yield about 8 dozen

Ingredients:

Dough:

· 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened

· 1 cup sugar

· 1 cup canola oil

· 3 egg yolks

· 1 teaspoon vanilla

· 1/2 cup orange juice

· 2 teaspoons baking powder

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 6 cups all-purpose flour

· 3/4 cup chopped walnuts plus additional 1 cup ground walnuts for garnish

· .

Syrup:

· 2 cups honey

· 1/2 cup water

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add oil and beat again. Beat in yolks and vanilla until well mixed. Mix 1/4 cup orange juice with baking powder and baking soda. Add to batter, mixing well. Beat in flour and remaining orange juice and stir in the walnuts. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate until well chilled.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on baking sheets or coat lightly with cooking spray. Shape dough into small oval cookies and place on prepared pans. Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cookies cool completely.
3. To make the syrup, combine honey and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Dip cold cookies in hot syrup. Sprinkle cookies with ground walnuts and place in decorative paper cups.

Kourambiedes (Greek Shortcake)
makes about 4 dozen

1 lb. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 shot ouzo, brandy, or cognac
3 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup roasted and crushed almonds
additional confectioners sugar, for rolling

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Beat the butter until very creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.. Beat in the egg yolks, one a time, until well incorporated and finally, mix in the vanilla and the ouzo.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture slowly, until incorporated and a relatively stiff dough forms. Add more flour, if necessary. Knead in the almonds, and knead the dough 5 or 6 times.

Using tablespoon sized portions, roll the dough into crescents or rounds; and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for about 24 minutes. Cookies should be slightly browned, but not too dark.

Let the cookies cool for ten minutes or so before rolling in powdered sugar.

On the Eight Day of Christmas

On the Eight Day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking
Seven swans a-swimming.
Six Geese a-laying
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens
Two turtle doves
and the Best Ever Rum Balls Recipe

Amish Ginger Cookies

Traditional cookies from Amish Country

Makes about 48

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup unsulfured molasses

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Extra granulated sugar

• Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and 1 cup sugar until creamy.
• Add egg and molasses; beat until combined. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.
• Roll dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the extra granulated sugar. Place balls on ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake for 5 - 7 minutes until barely turning brown.
• Cool for 1 minute on baking sheet and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE & MINT COOKIES (Biscotti Choco-menta)

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup miniature chocolate chips or 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat butter, powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and vanilla until well blended.
Beat in egg whites until incorporated.
Reduce speed and mix in flour, salt, and chocolate chips.
Spread two tablespoons of mixture in the cookie molds anointed and floured (or on a cookie sheet, space them of at least 5 cm).
Bake in a 300°F/150°C oven until cookies feel firm to touch and are barely beginning to turn golden on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
If baking more than one sheet at a time in one oven, switch positions halfway through baking.
Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

Chräbeli (Switzerland)

2 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons crushed aniseed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon Kirsch
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat well after each addition.

It is essential to beat for a long time (about 15 min. with an electric beater at medium speed).

Stir in the aniseed, the lemon rind and the Kirsch.

Add the flour to make a stiff dough and knead well. Cut the dough into four pieces. Roll out each piece into 1-inch strips. Cut the strips into 3-inch lengths.
Nick each strip 3 times to the depth of 1/2 inch.

Bend the strips slightly into a U-shape, keeping the nicked side on the outside. Place on buttered and floured cookie sheets. Let them stand overnight at room temperature to dry out. Preheat oven to 300 F. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a very pale yellow.

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Seven Swans a-swimming
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And the Best Ever Rum Balls Recipe.

Cherry Snowballs

• 1 cup unsalted butter (no substitutes), softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 36 maraschino cherries, well drained
• 
  

COATING:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups flaked coconut, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, water and vanilla.
2. Combine flour, oats and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.
3. Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each cherry, forming a ball. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until bottoms are browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
5. Combine confectioners’ sugar and enough milk to achieve smooth dipping consistency. Dip cookies, and then roll in coconut.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Balls

Yield approx 30 Balls

1 (18 ounce size) jar of peanut butter
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extracts
1 cup chocolate chips

In a double boiler over low heat, melt chocolate and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine all other ingredients. Blend well until mixture forms dough. Roll into 1-inch balls. Using a toothpick or fork, dip the balls into the chocolate until well coated. Place onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Yugoslavian Christmas Cookies

Are they Croatian or Bosnian? We don't know! But they're good.

Makes about 36

For the base:
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam

For the topping:
4 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup ground walnuts
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan. To prepare cookie base, combine flour, nuts, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Stir in flour mixture; blend well. Turn into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Evenly spread jam over dough; set aside.

To prepare topping, beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl at medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase speed to medium-high; add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until egg whites form very stiff glossy peaks. Gently fold in ground nuts and melted chocolate. Spoon dollops of meringue over jam, spread evenly than. Sprinkle meringue with chopped nuts.

Bake 5 minutes, remove pan from oven. Using a very sharp or serrated knife, lightly score surface of meringue into 2-inch squares (8 x 5). Continue baking 20 to 30 minutes or until meringue is firm to the touch. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into squares. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Triple- Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Chunks of fresh cranberries and dark, milk and white chocolate chips dress up oatmeal cookies for the holidays...

1 cup all-purpose flour ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp salt 10 Tbs (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature ½ cup granulated sugar ½ cup (packed) light brown sugar 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup old-fashioned oats ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips ½ cup milk chocolate chips ½ cup white chocolate chips ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries 2 ounces milk chocolate or white chocolate, chopped (for drizzling)

1 Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. 2 In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Set aside. 3 In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and oats and blend just until incorporated. Stir in all chocolate chips and cranberries. 4 Drop batter by rounded Tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, 2 inches apart (they will spread a bit). Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are light brown, about 16 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. 5 Place chopped milk or white chocolate in small glass Pyrex bowl. Melt in microwave, stirring after 30 second intervals, until melted and smooth. Carefully pour chocolate into a small Ziploc baggie. Snip a tiny piece off of the corner of the baggie and drizzle a zigzag pattern over baked cookies. Let stand until chocolate sets, about 1 hour.

Yield: About 30 Sugar Plums Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup whole almonds 1/2 cup dried apricots (chopped) 1/2 cup pitted dates (chopped) 1/2 cup dried figs (chopped) 2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon grated orange zest 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 2 tablespoons icing sugar Directions: 1. Toast the almonds in a preheated 400F oven for 10 minutes. 2. Chop the almonds when they cool down a bit. 3. Mix the almonds, apricots, dates, figs, honey, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg in a bowl. 4. Form small balls out of the mixture. 5. Dust with icing sugar. Shortbread Bars with Mango Jam Filling 3 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter 4 egg yolks 1 cups sugar 4 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 to 1 1/2 C mango jam (recipe below) or your favorite jam or preserves Powdered sugar for dusting Cream the butter with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and egg yolks and beat (originally wrote cream but that was confusing) until evenly mixed. In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add this to the butter and mix until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in half then in half again for 4 equal portions. Shape these pieces into a log shape for easy grating (and if you're using a food processor, make sure it can fit into the feed tube). Freeze the dough for at least 3 hours and it will keep in the freezer for up to a month. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Working with 1 bar of dough at a time, grate 2 portions of the dough onto the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan. I like to use a Pyrex pan so I can monitor the color of the bottom of the shortbread. You can line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper for easy removal of the cookies after baking but you won't be able to monitor the color of the bottom. Make sure the pan is evenly covered with pieces of the dough. Using a spatula or the back of the spoon, spread jam evenly over the dough leaving a 1/2 in border around the edges then grate the remaining half of the dough on top of the jam. Bake on the middle rack until golden brown 30 to 40 minutes but I've had to bake longer sometimes. After baking, cool the cookie completely. Then dust with powdered sugar and cut into bars. Mango Jam 2 cups fresh mango cut into 1/2 inch cubes 2 Tbsp to 1/4 C sugar (or more depending on the sweetness of your mango) 1 Tbsp lime juice In a nonreactive saucepan, sprinkle the sugar over the mango cubes and let the fruit macerate for about 20 - 30 minutes. Add the lime juice and cook the mangoes until the liquid has evaporated and the fruit is thick and chunky. You can mash some of the mangoes if you prefer. Rice Krispies Treats Makes 20-50 treats Adapted from the Kellogg's original recipe Surprisingly, white chocolate marries perfectly with Rice Krispies and marshmallows and I never make a batch without melting in a few squares. Using salted butter adds a slight dose of salt, as do the salt-flecked candied peanuts. If you want you can substitute dry-roasted peanuts, preferably salted, for the candied nuts, or another toasted or candied nut. I also find snipping the marshmallows in two helps them melt quicker. Or use mini-marshmallows, if you have them. 3 tablespoons (45g) salted butter 3 1/2 ounces (100g) white chocolate, finely chopped 1 cup (100g) candied peanuts 10 ounce (300gr) bag marshmallows, snipped in half 6 cups (200g) Rice Krispies 1. Spray or lightly-oil a 13 x 9-inch (approx 30 x 22cm) rectangular pan. 2. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the white chocolate and stir until melted. 3. Add the marshmallows and stir constantly over the heat until completely melted. (If they start to scorch on the bottom, remove from heat and continue to stir, placing the pan back on the heat occasionally, stirring until smooth. 4. Remove from heat and add the candied peanuts and Rick Krispies until well combined. A rubber spatula or flexible pastry scraper works best. 5. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Let cool. Serving and storage: Cut into neat bars or squares with a sharp knife. These are best enjoyed the day they're made, although they can be covered snugly with a sheet of aluminum foil and stored at room temperature for 2 to 3 days longer.