Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas and the best for 2012!.....and the last Christmas Cookies!!




A glass of homemade Eggnog

Today, I come to celebrate!!....with a nice glass of Eggnog!!......Celebrate what we have lost, what we have,  and what we will have!!....there is nothing like a good food and friends to celebrate, thanks, and enjoy life!!

Christmas has always been a great time for me, and since I am living in Canada with a "White Christmas" it has been better......This is a special time for me .....now more than ever!!

To each of you.....THANK YOU!!.....for reading, enjoying, and tasting, this little kitchen......

These days are to remember what we are, what we have achieved, and how we can be better to ourselves and others.....let's hope for a better and bright future for everybody......!!.....

Have a Merry Christmas and the best for 2012!!

I will close for few days because I have friends visiting us......

For me, the best cookies I have made this Christmas (I have done it 4 times!!) are Cuccidati....I just love them. The first three times, I did it with orange syrup; however, I have a friend that can't eat oranges; therefore, I have made them again with lemon syrup....delicious!!....ENJOY!!


Cuccidati


Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk (if needed)

Filling
1/2 cup dried figs
1/2  cup dates pitted 
1/2   cup walnuts
1/2  cup of sliced almonds1/4  cup honey1/4  cup orange or lemon syrup 

Icing at your desire
Icing sugar
Water
Colored sprinkles

Orange (or lemon) syrup

Mix the juice of 2 oranges, the zest of 1 orange, and 1/4 cup of sugar. Simmer at low heat until you have the consistency of a syrup.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. With a mixer, mix butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla essence. Beat until it is creamy. Add the dry ingredients slowly. Add milk if needed. You need to have a dough that is soft, and not sticky.
Knead the dough by hand for 3 minutes. Divide it in two, and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it refrigerate for 1 hour.

Prepare the filling. In a food processor, mix nuts, figs, dates, and walnuts. Chop them until they are fine and homogeneous. Put this mix in a bowl, incorporate the honey and orange syrup. Mix it well. The mixture has to be thick.

With a roll pin, make a rectangle of  1/2 cm of thickness. Make a roll with half of the filling, and put it in the middle.  Fold the edges to the middle and seal it (with water). Turn upside down (with the edges down), cut it in pieces, and place it on a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Place them in a preheated oven at 375F for 15 minutes. They need to be light golden.

When they are cool, place icing on top, and decorate with sprinkles......

ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY........ENJOY!!!!



Also, I wanted to try Melomakarona....a Greek cookie for Christmas. I adapted the recipe fro the following link   http://www.ultimate-guide-to-greek-food.com/melomakarona.html 

They were really good without syrup; therefore, I did not make the syrup.


Melomakarona

2 cups of olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice
¼ cup of cognac
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
orange peel ( I used 2 oranges)
600 grams of flour,
Walnuts
Cloves

SYRUP (I did not make it, but this is the original recipe)
3/4 cups honey
3/4 cups sugar
1 to 1 ½ cups of water
Orange peel
Cinnamon stick

In a mixing bowl add 1 cup of olive oil, and 1 cup of oil that has been warmed. Add the orange juice, cognac, and baking soda. With an electric mixer, beat it for 15 minutes. Add the sugar, and orange peel. Add the flour and baking powder. Mix it with your hands. You can add more flour if needed. In my case, I needed extra flour. The dough has to be firm.

Take a piece of dough (size of a pinpon ball), and make a ball. With your thumb, press the ball and incorporate a piece of walnut. Shape it again in an oval form.

Slightly, flatten the cookies and make a draw with a fork. Bake it in a preheated oven at 375F for 20-30 minutes. Cook them until they are golden brown.

Let it cool, and prepare the syrup. When the cookies are cold, place them in a syrup (I did not did this part). ENJOY!!!



7 comments:

  1. ¡¡Feliz Navidad Marcela!!

    Un besazo.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No conocía estas galletas greigas pero tienen una pinta muy apetitosa!

    Saludos y feliz 2012!!!
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  3. Que buena pinta tienen Marcela, que dedicación que le pones a tus post, me gusta mucho leerte.
    Un besazo y FELIZ AÑO!!
    Claudia

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  4. Me arece que me van a guatar las dos, pero las primeras me tientan!!! Eres estupenda repostera, Manuela. Tus galletas siempre me encantan. Mis mismos deseos para ti y los tuyos. Te invito a un trozo de mi roscón de fin de año, para que todos tus deseos se cumplan. Besinos.

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  5. Marcela feliz año!!!!!! para ti y los tuyos, las galletas suenan genial y por cierto que es el eggnog?, supongo que un ponche de huevo o similar.
    Bueno que me lio, un besazo y que lo esteis pasando genial por las fiestas, que todo este año vaya a mejor y mejor y mejor. Muac.

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  6. Marcela querida, os deseo todo lo mejor para 2012.
    Un abrazo.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Marcela querida, os deseo todo lo mejor para 2012.
    Un abrazo.

    ReplyDelete