Sandra's Kitchen Studio

Merry Christmas Cookies: A Family Tradition

Photo Copyright Sandra A. Gutierrez 2012. All Rights Reserved.

 

If I were to count the number of cookies I've baked for Christmas over the years, I'd be counting for a very long time. I started baking cookies when I was twelve years old and haven't stopped since.

When my husband and I got married, my Christmas cookie production really exploded. Partly, this was due to the fact that he had come to love an abundance of baked goods that reminded him of his childhood. Partly, it came out of a desire of mine to build new and palpable edible traditions to pass on to our young children.

I began baking them just for our family but gradually, it became a yearly obsession. Soon, every Christmas became an opportunity to give baked gifts to friends and family. When my children were little, we would lovingly wrap dozens of cookies to give away. We loved nothing more than to deliver them door to door until they were all gone. At one point, we were delivering more than 120 dozen cookies.

When it comes to Christmas cookies, variety rules in my kitchen. I relish on presenting platters filled with different shaped cookies of varying textures and flavors. Every year, I make sure to offer an assortment that includes as many categories as I can: chewy, crispy, nutty, chocolatey, lacey, sugary, sticky, bar, sliced, dropped, filled, rolled--you name it.

Years later, my family members each have their favorite cookies. Those are the ones that I must include. I can always digress and add more but only after I've made the ones they can't go without. They've come to look forward to the days when I crank both ovens, lay parchment paper-lined sheets all over the kitchen counters, and do nothing but bake, bake, and bake,while the stereo plays our favorite carols of the season. This cookie-baking marathon is what signals the start of the Christmas season in our home.

The manger is set, the tree decorated, the house dressed for the holidays, and the bushes covered in lights. However, our Christmas is not complete without our cookies. I wouldn't have it any other way.

In the spirit of giving, I offer you one of my favorite recipes for sugar cookies. I've been baking these for my girls for over two decades. I hope you'll include them in your repertoire too. As you can see from the photo, we have fun with the shapes of cookies we make each year. Our tradition for sugar cookies always includes angels and trees. We also throw in fun shapes such as jalapeno peppers as our way of spicing up our Christmas and keep things fun and witty.

Well, here is the recipe. Feliz Navidad, y'all!

Sandra's Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it's creamy and fluffy, about 1 minute (use a hand-held or standing mixer). Add the egg, vanilla, and cream and beat until combined. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; add this to the butter mixture, while beating on low speed until the dough comes together. Roll the dough into a ball; chill for 3-6 hours. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut out shapes. Knead scraps together and chill for 20 minutes before re-rolling and cutting more shapes. Bake cookies for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Cool for 2 minutes on the sheets; transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. Decorate with store bought icing, royal icing, or candies.

Makes 30-36 cookies (depending on the size of your cutters).

Recipe Copyright Sandra A. Gutierrez, 2012. All Rights Reserved. No part of this post, photograph or recipe may be used without the author's permission.

The New Southern-Latino Table Dinner Party, Part 3!

What a ride it's been--and it's only just beginning! We had a fabulous book launch event last week in Cary, NC, and celebrated the publication of The New Southern-Latino Table with friends and family from the Triangle and beyond. You can see some photos at the book's Facebook page. Glad to see so many of our dinner party food bloggers there!

Thank you for dining along with us. We hope you've been inspired to try some of these dishes in your kitchen. And maybe you've discovered a new food blogger or two whose blogs you'll continue to visit. We thank all our fabulous foodies for helping make this dinner party series a success. Today's roundup post is crossposted at uncpressblog.com.

Our final menu is filled with these scrumptious dishes:

Chile-Cheese Biscuits, from Cheryl Sternman Rule of 5 Second Rule
Carrot Escabeche and Jalapeño Deviled Eggs prepared by Domenica Marchetti of Domenica Cooks
Pumpkin Seed Brittle, from Johanna Kramer of Durhamfoodie

In case you missed our last 2 dinner parties, you're in luck--we saved you some leftovers! Here's what we enjoyed last week:

Spiced Pepitas, prepared by Meghan Prichard of nestMeg
Layered Potato and Egg Salad (Causa Vegetariana), from Robin Asbell of The New Vegetarian
Chile-Chocolate Brownies, prepared by Dean McCord of VarmintBites.

And here's what we served at our first dinner party:

Peach Salsa, prepared by Tara Mataraza Desmond of Crumbs on My Keyboard
Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce, prepared by Jill Warren Lucas of Eating My Words
Pecan Rum Cake with Figs, prepared by Amy Lewis of The Practical Cook

Fall Harvest: Pumpkin Muffins

 
Color. That is the first thing that comes into mind when one thinks of autumn. Hues of vibrant oranges, brilliant reds, and earthy browns blend with the yellow shades of the season. The culinary weathervane shifts accordingly as the chill in the air signals a succession of changes in the way we eat.

I love this change of seasons. It's what dictates what I will cook. I think of it pretty much in the same way I think of fashion. On warm days I opt for lighter clothing and thus, lighter food. Not now. These days, as the temperature begins to dip, I crave for warmer, richer dishes. It's this symbiotic relationship between food and temperature that inspires me the most.

All this to say that autumn is the season that makes me yearn for warm soups and deliciously tender stews, for fruit pies embellised with sweet spices, and for freshly baked goods. Here, I offer you a recipe for fragrant muffins that will help you change gears this season. Come on...bake a batch, close your eyes, and let yourself step into fall.

Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 large egg

1 cup cooked pumpkin puree

1/4 cup milk

 1/4 cup granulated white sugar

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 10 muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. In another bowl, whisk together egg, pumpkin puree, milk, white sugar, brown sugar, and oil, until smooth. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and, using a spatula, stir until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter into prepared muffin cups; top with pumpkin seeds,  and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of muffins comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from tins. Makes 10 muffins.

©Copyright Sandra A. Gutierrez, 2010; All Rights Reserved. No part of this article or any of the photographs on this blog can be copied or published without express written consent of the author.

Blueberry Crisp

It's a hot summer. Crazy hot. Yet, the blueberries have been absolutely delicious this year. So when my CSA offered a  box filled entirely with berries, I jumped on the opportunity to purchase my share.

If you recall, last year I gave you my method for freezing peaches (peeling them with a serrated peeler, slicing, and freezing in one layer). I tell you, freezing blueberries is even easier: just wash them, lay them down to dry and freeze them in one layer on baking sheets. Once solid, transfer them back into their containers and freeze them, until solid (just make sure they're dry, or they will stick together).

Many of my blueberries never make it to the freezer. Instead, they are popped firectly onto hungry mouths one at a time, where they explode with juicy sweetness. 

Which is why, my friends, I purchase them with lusty abandon.  You see, few fruits are more versatile to bake with than blueberries and mine will make cameo appearances all year round, stirred into muffins, pancake batters and quick breads; transformed into coulis (sweet puree) or savory warm sauces; and of course, stuffed between layers of pastry in pies. Cobblers, crisps, pound cakes, ice creams, and blintzes will feature local blueberries, even in the depths of winter.

It is a hot summer, indeed. I still had a small batch of frozen berries left from last year that became the perfect canvas on which to build this easy crisp, so perfect to bake on a whim, after a cooling summer rain.

Now, my freezer is once more bulging with plump and sweet fruit to keep us satisfied long after the season is over.

Blueberry Crisp

6 cups blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon lemon zest

For topping:

1 cup flour

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and well chilled

1/3 cup oats

1/4 cup  white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400. Butter a 13x9x2 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, toss together blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and zest together; pour into prepared dish. In a large bowl, combine flour and butter. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, cut butter into the flour until mixture resembles small peas. Stir in oats, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Top berry mixture with prepared topping. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until topping is a golden color and filling is bubbly.

©Copyright, 2010; All Photos and Recipes on this site Sandra A. Gutierrez; All Rights Reserved. Do not copy or use any material in this site without express, written permission from the author.

Tomatoes Transformed

Tomato Cobbler

Photo Copyright, Sandra Gutierrez 2009; All Rights Reserved.

Tomatoes spell summer in my neck of the woods. Plump, ripe, juicy, and red tomatoes are everywhere. Every year I come up with new ideas to cook with surplus tomatoes, whether it is a new raw sauce (sugo crudo) for pasta, or a fresh new gazpacho recipe; my mind is always playing with new possibilities.

This year my herb garden is giving me a bounty of luscious, tender herbs. I wake up every day eager to visit my herb garden, scissors in hand, and I trim them, collecting those I will use in my cooking and setting them in a glass of fresh water near my kitchen window. Luckily for me, tomatoes go well with almost every herb imaginable. Today my thyme and oregano were particularly beautiful and became part of my master plan.

Then I remembered a cobbler recipe I created for my weekly column in The Cary News in the nineties. It was a simple tomato cobbler. And I remembered the response. Surprised palates, pleased with unexpected flavors. Tastes they recognized, served in a new way.

In the South, cobblers are traditional sumer fare. Blueberry and Peach cobblers are favorites. Back then I wondered what would happen if I used tomatoes instead. It was not a far reach, considering that tomatoes are fruits and not vegetables. I could have gone for a sweet flavor but opted for something to serve as a side dish to the main meal instead. Thus, I made up my mind and baked a savory cobbler instead of a sweet one, for a change.

I learned that traditional is wonderful but that there is always room for experimentation in the kitchen. It hasn't stopped since. Throughout the years, I have played with my original recipe to make it less watery, adding a touch of sweetness, playing with the varieties of cheese. This is my latest version and I made it for friends this weekend. 

Tasters were delighted with the flavors. This was popular with both adults and children too, who found its taste similar to pizza. I invite you to try this new recipe with your garden-grown tomatoes, or local tomatoes from your farmers' market stall.

I add tomato paste, as a thickener, in the same manner one would use cornstarch or flour in sweet cobblers. Instead of chopping the tomatoes finely, which when baked turns them into sauce, I prefer to leave them whole. This is a simple recipe; most cobblers are. Homey, bubbly and warm, it is summer's comfort food. Enjoy the flavors of summer. It's not a traditional cobbler. Then, neither am I. If you feel adventurous, try this.

I use lard in my cobbler topping. Breathe. It's okay, really. For an explanation of why I prefer lard read my previous post on Baking Biscuits (Baking Category). It's healthier and packs a lot of flavor. Breathe again...you may substitute with butter if you must. Only unsalted, only the freshest. That's my attempt to compromise. I still prefer lard. It tastes better; period.

And if like me, you love a touch of creaminess with your cobblers, try a dollop of creme fraiche or mascarpone cheese (in lieu of the ice cream reserved for sweet cobblers). This cobbler may please you. It will definitely surprise your palate.

Good. I like surprises. Hope you do too.

 

Tomato Cobbler with Farmers Cheese and Herbs

10 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)

1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup farmers cheese (or fresh mozarella) cubed into 1/2 in. pieces

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup lard, chilled (or butter)

1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

1/2 cup half and half

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes, thyme, oregano, tomato paste, brown sugar, salt, and pepper; mix to combine. Place the tomatoes, tightly and cut side up, in a 9 by 9 inch baking pan; brush any remaining herb mixture over the tomatoes (use every bit). dot tomatoes with the farmers cheese and set aside while you make the topping. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut in the lard into the flour, until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Stir in the shredded Monterrey-Jack cheese and combine; add the half and half and using a spatula, stir until the mixture comes together (it will be lumpy). Scoop the topping over the tomatoes (I use a 2-inch ice cream scoop). Bake the cobbler for 30-35 minutes, or until the topping is a golden color. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings.

Copyright Sandra A. Gutierrez, 2009; All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

 

Biscuit Time!

Here in the South, we know our biscuits. However, if you ask a Southerner to define the ideal biscuit you'll get all sorts of answers. Some biscuits are flaky, others are light; some are beaten, others have yeast. I have come across many variations: sweet potato, pecan, angel, beaten, cheese and too many others to mention. I've tried dense biscuits, small biscuits, tall biscuits, flaky biscuits and pull-apart, moist biscuits. Want to know something? I've loved each and every one whether they were draped in butter, molasses, honey, sausage gravy, or better still--plain.

I have never met a biscuit I didn't like. As long as it was piping hot, freshly baked and always hand made, I was happy. Still am. Having said this, every biscuit may be good but not every biscuit is necessarily great. Like most personal recipes, biscuits are as good as the ones you grew up with, if you were lucky to have grown up in the South. Now I didn't grow up here. I'm one of those relocated Yankees, via Latin America (oh, we are a special breed of Southerners and there are not many of us here yet but we are just as proud), who happen to love everything about Southern food. I did not learn to bake biscuits from my mother. Does it count, I wonder, if I learned from somebody else's mother? Good. And she didn't teach me to reach out for a can, but instead, to feel the dough with my hands and to never, ever twist the biscuit cutter when I cut (they won't rise properly if you do).

Recently, some of you have complained that you are not having good results with your biscuits. After some informal polling, I think I have an answer to your connundrum. Most of your recipes use shortening. Frankly, I am a lard aficionado--it's better for you in the long run and gives biscuits the best flavor--and in a pinch, prefer to use butter, but many of you love your shortening. The problem is not in your head, my friends. New formulas and "newer and improved" versions of shortening with less artery-clogging matters are being lauded as equal to the old standby we used to buy in the blue can. ( I kid you not, I once met a man who bought a whole box of shortening, thinking that it was fried chicken in a can! ). Today, it might as well be anything but shortening, because the new kind is just not the same, I'm afraid. Biscuits don't rise as well as they did before, they are not as flaky, and those that should be light, are actually heavy.

Okay, so most of you still cringe in class when I make mine with lard--fresh lard, found in Latin tiendas and if you're lucky, the dark, nutty kind that renders from frying chicharron--but admit it...you become believers after your first taste of flaky, moist and flavorful biscuits, every time. That's okay. It will be our little secret. I won't tell anyone I noticed when you reached for a second and even third biscuit from our communal basket. But I see you and I love to see you love them! So for those of you who asked me for the recipe after class, here it is (don't worry, no one can trace you back here). Just remember to hide the lard in the fridge, if you're using the dark kind (some of you, because you want to remain incognito; the rest of us should do it so that it can solidify and stay cold when we cut it into the flour). Oh yes...I almost forgot...share the guilty pleasure with others. They'll love you for it. At least they'll love your biscuits!

Note: If you are lucky, your Latin tienda will offer you two kinds of lard: white and solid lard, and the dark, loose kind I mention above. You may use either. It is not necessary to chill the first, but it will help the latter remain solid. If using lard goes completely against your grain, use butter instead  Just please, please, PLEASE, veer off the fried chicken in the can!

My Lard Biscuits

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1/3 cup lard or butter (chilled)

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place  flour and lard in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut the lard into the flour until it resembles small peas. Add the buttermilk to the mixture and using your hands (or a wooden spoon) combine it until the dough almost comes together. Dust a clean surface with flour; dump the dough and knead lightly, three or four times or just until it comes together. Use a rolling pin and roll dough to 3/4 inch to 1 inch thick (depending how high you like them). Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, and careful not to twist, cut out 8 biscuits (you may re-roll the dough but be gentle, so that the biscuits can be tender). Place biscuits in an ungreased pan (close together if you want them to be moist; at separate intervals if you want them to be crusty all over). Brush tops with melted butter and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 biscuits.

Copyright©Sandra Gutierrez, 2009; All Rights Reserved.