I spent Tuesday afternoon making Martha Stewart's Glitter Ball Cookies to try for a party we are giving in December. I am so glad everyone liked them They are so pretty, and I think they will make a great dessert for our party!
- 1 cup (2sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Sanding sugar, in assorted colors
- Creamy Ginger Filling (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, confectioners' sugar and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add flour, and mix just until combined. Shape into 3/4 inch balls (chill dough if too sticky). Place sanding sugar in shallow bowls. Roll each ball in sanding sugar and place on parchment lined baking sheets spacing 1 inch apart.
Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are lightly golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on a wire rack. Spread 2 cookies with just enough filling to allow them to stick together. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Creamy Ginger Filling
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger (I used ginger in the bottle)
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
Beat all ingredients by hand or with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Filling can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Wednesday morning was spent cooking for our Thanksgiving meal at the farm. My mom, stepdad, grandfather, one aunt and uncle all joined the King Family for Thanksgiving! It was so nice to have everyone together. I made green bean roll-ups, squash casserole, Pumpkin Cupcakes, and Martha Stewart's Chocolate Caramel Sandwich cookies. You can find the recipes for green bean rolls ups here and the pumpkin cupcakes here.
Squash Casserole (adapted from A Standing Invitation cookbook)
- 2 cups chopped squash (I added a little bit more)
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 stick margarine (melted or put in hot squash)
- 1 cup saltine crackers, crushed
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons grated, or chopped onion
- 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
- 2 tablespoons water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounces grated cheese (optional)
Cook squash until tender (I add chopped onions to the squash). Drain well and mash. Add beaten eggs and margarine. Mix crushed crackers, onion (I separated the onion from the squash once it was cooked), and milk. Let crackers soften, and add to squash. Mix chicken soup with 2 tablespoons water until smooth and add to squash. Add grated cheese if desired. Pour in casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees or until slightly brown (I cooked for close to an hour). I crushed a sleeve of Ritz crackers with a stick of melted butter and cooked some more until the Ritz are browned.
Chocolate-Caramel Sandwich Cookies (from Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies magazine)
Here is one of Martha's pictures:
- 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (2 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 cup Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Preheat oven to 375. Beat 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes; beat in egg yolk. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir flour mixture into butter mixture until a dough forms. Drop dough by level teaspoons, 1 inch apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are puffed and cracked, about 8 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven and tap firmly on a counter to flatten cookies. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool completely. (To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 3 days.). Make frosting: In a bowl, beat together caramel and butter with a wooden spoon until smooth; gradually beat in confectioners sugar until smooth. Spread frosting on flat sides of half the cookies and top with remaining cookies.
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
In a medium saucepan, heat sugar over medium-high until melted and brown at edges, 3 minutes. With a heat-resistant spatula, pull melted sugar toward center until all sugar is melted and caramel is deep amber in color, 3 minutes more. Immediately whisk in butter, coarse salt, and pure vanilla extract (take care as mixture is extremely hot and will bubble). Whisk in heavy cream. Pour into a heatproof container and let cool. (To store, refrigerate, up to 3 weeks.)
No comments:
Post a Comment