Gingerbread Cookie Gift Tags

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." 

~Peg Bracken

Hey everyone! Look I have a shiny new blog! Thanks to Rekita from A Lovely Army Wife, her business is called Designed Lovely Studio where she does awesome things with blogs like she did with mine! I highly reccomend her, if you need a new look like I did.

I'm loving these gingerbread cookie tags! They taste great, full of ginger and spice, and who doesn't want a little cookie with their gift?

These cookies have a good amount of spice, if you are making them for children, you may want to reduce the amounts a little.

These can be used as a gift tag with an initial like I've done, or you can write out names on them with the icing. These can even be used as Christmas tree ornaments. (I wouldn't eat them after that, since I've made these prior to Thanksgiving, but if it was a week before Christmas, I might eat them, even if they are slightly stale from sitting out.)




Spray the measuring cup with nonstick spray before pouring in the molasses so it slides right out. This recipe calls for 3/4 a cup plus 2 Tablespoons of molasses, I just eyeballed it in this one cup measure.

But yes, these are totally edible. Keep them in an airtight container until you wrap the gift.



Adding the flour

The dough is easy to work with. Just use two sheets of parchment to roll out the dough, so it doesn't stick. You can't use too much flour when rolling these out, since you don't want them to turn out white.





The dough is sort of stiff, not too bad. It's easy to work with. Here I'm dividing the dough into thirds to wrap in plastic and let chill for an hour.

Cut a hole out to put a ribbon through, with either a straw or the end of a pastry tip.

 Roll the dough out quite thin, 1/8th of an inch. This isn't super easy to do, especially between parchment. Some of mine are sort of thick. No problem, if yours are thicker you need to just make sure your hole is big enough, so when they bake the hole doesn't close up.





Rolling out the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper

Put the cookies on a parchment paper (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Then place a second piece of parchment on the unbaked cookies with another baking sheet on top of that before going in the oven so cookies stay flat while baking.



Cut out whatever shapes you want, initials, here I did a star with an initial inside. My alphabet cookie cutters are sort of big, so to do a cutout like this, I needed to make the outside shape pretty large.

These cookies are crisp, they are meant to be. I tried to under cook my cookies slightly to make them soft. Why not? What could be the problem with that, you say? Well, with my softer cookies I had a hard time stringing a ribbon through them, I had a few break. The softer cookies are just more delicate. So crispy are better and easier to work with.

If you are using thick ribbon for wrapping, it's so much easier to attach the cookies with a small piece of wire, or a small ribbon attached to the thick ribbon. It's a chore to get thick ribbon through the hole and not have a break.





Cut a hole for stringing on top with a straw or a pastry tip if you have one. A number 12 worked the best for me, some of these have a smaller hole. Ready for the oven.

Wrap up the gift, attach the gingerbread to ribbon, and watch everyone smile when they receive their special gift.

Happy Holidays!  I wish you a beautiful and joy filled season!



Right out of the oven



Sprinkling the frosted cookies with edible glitter. Use a toothpick to keep the hole clear.



Frosted and decorated, waiting to dry

Gingerbread Gift Tags


adapted from Martha Stewart Living

makes 30-40 gift tags, you can easily halve the recipe if you want to make less


Gingerbread Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) (228 g.) unsalted butter

1 cup (200 g.) dark brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 Tablespoons Ground Ginger

1 1/2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. allspice

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup (177 ml) plus 2 Tablespoons molasses - I used a 1 cup measure and eyeballed it

6 cups (900 g.) all purpose flour


Frosting Ingredients

2 cups (200 g.) sifted powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk (adding in more if needed for proper spreading consistency)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract - use clear vanilla (or omit it) if you want the icing to be totally white, regular vanilla will make it beige, or you can use lemon juice to give it a little lemon flavor.

sprinkles or other decorations for topping

Directions for cookies

In the bowl of an electric mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Mix in the spices and salt. Beat in the eggs and molasses, making sure to scrape down the bowl as needed.

Add flour and mix on low speed to combine. Divide dough into thirds, press to flatten and wrap in plastic. Place in fridge and let chill for an hour.

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4. Lightly flour 2 pieces of parchment paper. Roll out the first piece of dough to 1/8 an inch between the two pieces of parchment. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes. Initials, or a large cookie with an initial cut out of the middle. Or any shape you want! Cut a hole for hanging with a straw, or a size 10 or 12 pastry tip. Using a spatula, carefully transfer cookies to parchment lined, or Silpat lined, baking sheet. Cover cookies with parchment paper then top it with a second baking sheet to keep cookies flat while baking. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Keep the baking sheet on top for about 20 minutes while cooling. Let the cookies cool completely before frosting. Frost with the frosting recipe provided if desired. Keep cooled cookies (if frosted make sure they are totally dry, overnight is good) in an airtight container before using.

Frosting Directions

In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar with milk (start with 1-2 tablespoons, you will likely need more milk for the perfect spreading consistency). If you are adding sprinkles or other decorations, put them on right after frosting the cookies. Then let dry completely before using.

If you want to write names on the cookies, tint the frosting to desired color, use a pastry bag and writing tip, or put frosting into a small baggie and cut a small hole in the corner for writing. If you are writing on a cookie that has been frosted already, make sure that frosting has dried first.
 

Blue Ribbon Snickerdoodles

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap."

-Robert Fulghum

These Snickerdoodles earned me the coveted title "Best Cookie Baker of Thurston County." Here's how it went. 

The night before we decided to go to the fair, at approximately 9 pm, I looked at their website to see what was going on that day. Turns out they were having a different baking contest each day (apart from the entries displayed at the fair.) The day in question was cookies, the day after chocolate cake and so on. The cookie contest stated that the winner will be named "The Best Cookie Baker of Thurston County." It also mentioned that if you bring a plate of cookies to enter you get into the fair for free. I like free stuff, so I went to the kitchen, revved up the oven and got to work.

It was all so last minute, that's why no pictures of cookies, only fair animals. The one picture of cookies (above) I took after the fact with the remaining cookies at home.

What type of cookies should I bake? I thought. I went through a list of possibilities in my head. Chocolate chip? Too boring. Chocolate chocolate chip? Too rich, not everyone likes rich. Lemon? Not everyone likes lemon. And so on.

Snickerdoodles were it. Most people like cinnamon, sugar and butter. Remember when they did the study where they found out that men prefer the scent of cinnamon rolls baking over any other scent? I rest my case.

Not to mention I've heard these cookies described as "crack cookies." Due to their addictive qualities.

What a bunch of lazy pigs

As you already know, I won! First place! I not only got into the fair for free, I won this lovely blue ribbon, a $25.00 dollar gift certificate to a local restaurant and of course the title of The Best Cookie Baker of Thurston County.

This is a recipe I've tweaked over the years to adapt to my taste, and not to mention blue ribbon status. Crisp on the outside and chewy and soft on the inside. I like to use half butter and half butter flavored Crisco because Crisco gives them a more crisp exterior than using all butter. (Butter has 14%-18% water, Crisco is pretty much solid fat) If you prefer, you may substitute more butter for the Crisco but they won't be as crisp.

 

Blue Ribbon Snickerdoodles

this recipe was created by me, Melissa Graham aka The Alchemist

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) (113 g.), softened

1/2 cup (113 g.) Butter Flavored Crisco
1 1/2 cups (300 g.) white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter flavored extract-optional-I have this ingredient in the house so I use it to boost the butter flavor, but if I didn't already have it I don't think I'd buy it just for this. (But I did use it in the winning cookies. FYI.)
3 1/2 cups (525 g.) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon and sugar mixed together for rolling cookies

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, 200 degrees Celsius, or Gas Mark 6.

Cream together the butter and butter flavored Crisco till fluffy. Add the sugar and beat again for about 2 minutes until really light and fluffy. Now add the eggs, vanilla and butter extract (if using) and beat well for about a minute. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber scraper/spatula and then beat again for another minute.

In a separate bowl add the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar. Whisk together to blend.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat till all is incorporated.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out dough using a 2 teaspoon size disher. Roll cookies in cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake on prepared sheet for about 9 minutes. In my oven after exactly 9 minutes they are perfect. This is 2 teaspoon (or slightly larger) size. Don't over bake! If you eat a hot cookie (I mean who doesn't want to eat a hot cookie?) when it's warm, it might seem doughy or under baked. But if you take that same cookie and put it in the fridge (or wait till it's cooled at room temperature) it will harden a bit and be a delightfully soft cookie. So don't determine the baking time by eating a hot cookie. The cookies should be soft on the inside and crisp on the outside.

After they come out of the oven place the baking sheet on a wire rack for just 2 minutes, then remove cookies from the baking sheet with a spatula to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Triple Chocolate Zucchini Bread

"I believe that the energy of humans who touched those beans goes into the beans as well. They become vibrant because of the handling. This vibrancy is something that a machine or harvester doesn't have. From my standpoint ... I believe that if food is grown and prepared with love ... infused with love ... well, it can be the humblest of food, but because it's prepared with love, it's special."

- Valerie Phipps, Pescadero, California

It's been awhile since I've been here. Since July 6th to be exact. I remember it well. I had just found out that my beloved dog, Romeo's kidneys were failing. Just a few days later, on the advice of our vet who informed us that he was suffering, we put him down. It was one of the hardest things I've ever been through. Not the putting him down part, of course I didn't want him to suffer, just the realization that he won't be a part of our lives anymore. He was my first dog. I guess our family had a dog growing up, but Romeo was my dog. That dog went with me everywhere. He made up 1/3 of our family for goodness sake. We never had children, but we had him.

Romeo- In Loving Memory 1998-2011

So I guess I've been in mourning. I didn't intend to stop blogging for this long, or at all, I just felt like I couldn't. I took pictures of food, but I couldn't get myself to download the pictures. Maybe because I'd have to look at the last pictures I took of him. Today is the first time I've downloaded pictures in 2 + months. And there it is. The last photo of that sweet face. It's hard to look at. Loss and grieving is a difficult process and my heart goes out to you if you've gone through it.

My husband built me a windmill for our garden

Life goes on. I have a garden that's full of it, life that is. I grow stuff I like to eat as long as it's easy to grow. Zucchini's might be my favorite, it seems like you turn your back and they've grown the length of a football. Gotta love a plant that makes food for you in such an easy, nonchalant manner, it's like the plant is saying, "Oh this? This is nothing. I've got 10 more where that came from." And it does. Pumpkins are another favorite. Mine are just starting to turn orange.

The door to the garden

Zucchini is so versatile too, and I've been eating my share. One of my favorite breakfasts that I've been eating almost everyday has been a scramble made of diced zucchini, red bell peppers, onions, fresh basil and scrambled eggs. Sometimes I use fresh rosemary instead of fresh basil. It's delicious, I highly recommend it.

Zucchini Terrific! Like Bunnies, Prolific!
-Author Unknown

Zucchini, especially those big ones, are so perfect for breads. This happens to be my favorite zucchini bread of all time, I've been making it for years. Mid way through this post I realized I had blogged about this bread before, back in 2009. Oh well. This is so good, it deserves another go. Since then I've actually improved it, so it's not the same recipe exactly. I developed this bread (actually more of a cake) as a delicious, moist, and decadent vehicle to hold my home grown zucchini. You should trust me on this. I am famous for my fabulous quick breads. It features 3 types of chocolate, hence the name. Unsweetened squares, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. I believe this gives it a multi dimension of rich chocolate flavor.

If you are using a huge, homegrown torpedo sized zucchini, you need to scoop out the big seeds inside.

Using a parchment paper sling allows you to remove the bread from the pan easily. Sometimes chocolate chips fall to the bottom of this bread and stick to the bottom of the pan no matter how well you grease it.  the sling makes lifting the bread from the pan a cinch, and sticking to the bottom a non issue. So you get a perfectly intact loaf every time.

If you have a zucchini hater in your family they won't even know the zucchini is there. You can't see it and you can't taste it. But it does add moisture, fiber and nutrition. Just tell them it's their lucky day and you've made them a rich and decadent chocolate cake.

More incredible quick breads

Melissa's Famous Banana Bread

Rhubarb Nut Bread

Triple Chocolate Zucchini Bread

created by Melissa aka The Alchemist

This recipe makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate (3- one ounce squares)
3 eggs
2 cups (400 g.) white sugar
1 cup (240 ml.) neutral oil (I used grape seed oil, use whatever neutral oil you wish)
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream or yogurt (full fat is best, but use what you wish)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups (380 g.) grated zucchini, lightly packed
2 cups (300 g.) flour
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (163 g.) semi sweet or dark chocolate chips, plus a small handful more for topping (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, or Gas Mark 4.

Prepare 2 loaf pans. You need to grease the pan and use parchment paper to make a "sling" to lift the loaf out when finished. Grease the parchment too. (Some of the chocolate chips may sink to the bottom, and if they do, it's almost impossible to get the loaf out in perfect shape without the sling, trust me.)

Melt the squares of unsweetened chocolate in a small saucepan on medium high heat, or place in a microwave safe bowl and cook on 50% power for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until melted, set aside.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the oil and the warm melted chocolate and whisk together. Now add the sour cream and whisk. Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla and whisk well, (or if using an electric mixer, use that and beat well.)

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Measure out the one cup of chocolate chips and place in another bowl. Take a few Tablespoons of the flour/cocoa mixture and mix it in the chocolate chips (this prevents them from falling to the bottom of the pan.) Take the bowl off the stand mixer (if using) and mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by hand (not literally with your hand, with a spoon, not a mixer.) Now add the zucchini breaking up any large chunks if there are any, and mix. Once that is all incorporated dump the chocolate chips and the little bit of flour mixture into the bowl. Mix them in till they are incorporated, but only until then (don't over mix.)

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake for about 50-60 minutes. Half way through cooking time (after 30 minutes of baking), sprinkle the extra handful of chocolate chips (if using) on top of loaves, and rotate the loaves in the oven from front to back. Loaves will be done when they pass a toothpick test.

Cool on wire racks for 30 minutes in pan, then remove sling from pan and let it sit on the parchment paper until cool. Wrap in plastic or place in an airtight container when totally cooled. Loaves will stay fresh for 3-4 days or so. If you want them to last longer, they freeze extraordinarily well. Just double (or triple) (the secret to them staying fresh in the freezer is to be totally air tight.) wrap them in plastic wrap and place in a large Ziploc bag. They will keep in the freezer for 6 months, easy. If wrapped really well, they will keep for a year.

Hawaiian Bread and Strawberry Butter

"Bread is the warmest, kindest of all words. Write it always with a capital letter, like your own name."

-from a cafe sign

Oh how I love fresh homemade bread. I confess, I often let the bread machine do the heavy lifting. I like to bake it in the oven, though. It may be because my bread machine isn't the greatest, I'm not sure. But I prefer the results from baking it in the oven.

I was craving some good bread as a vehicle for spreading some strawberry butter, something I have blogged about before a very long time ago, (before I paired it with strawberry bread, so if you want to be in a strawberry coma check that out.)

I love strawberry butter. Just a compound butter that is sweet and a bit salty if you used salted butter, which I usually do in this recipe. But it is oh so decadent. A wonderful Spring treat if you ask me.

Purchasing yeast this way is only 3 bucks and change and lasts over 2 years

I buy yeast in this big 2 lb bag. It's only 3 bucks and change at Costco. I recently had to throw out my last bag purchased about 2 1/2 years ago it had finally lost it's potency, but I hadn't even used half the bag. If you bake bread frequently, even if you don't plan on using all of this, it's certainly a better deal than buying those little packets for about 1.50 for 3. That means if you bake more than 6  loaves over a 2 year period than it's worth the purchase.

Better still, split it with another bread making friend or 2.

Store it in an airtight container in the fridge, lasts longer there.

I've always loved Hawaiian Bread. This version isn't too sweet. Just a touch so.

Hawaiian Bread and Strawberry Butter

This recipe is for a bread machine. I personally use a bread machine for the dough, then bake it in the oven.

Ingredients for bread

1 cup (250 ml.) warm milk
1/4 cup (55 g.) soft butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup (77 g.) sugar
3 1/2 cups (550 g.) flour
2 1/2 tsp yeast, or 1 packet
1 tsp salt

Directions

Place all ingredients in bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer. Mine is liquids first, then dry ingredients. The order the ingredients are listed is how I add them to mine.

If you want to bake the bread in the machine, then choose the appropriate cycle. If you want to bake it in the oven, then select the dough cycle.

If you have selected the dough cycle, when the dough is finished, remove it from the machine, and place it in a greased loaf pan. Let it rise until doubled in size. Then bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, or Gas Mark 4 for 40 minutes. When it's finished brush the top with melted butter if desired.


For Strawberry Butter

Ingredients

1 cup (155 g.) sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup (230 g.) butter, softened and cut into tablespoon sized pieces
1/2 cup (90 g.) sugar

Place the strawberries and sugar in a bowl and stir. Let sit for 5 minutes. Place all ingredients in the food processor and let er rip. After a few minutes scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all has been incorporated. Start again if needed.

Place butter in a jar or container and place in the fridge. This is best served at room temperature so if you are making it ahead of time, then make sure to give it time to set on the counter before serving.

This made me 2, 8 oz. jars. This butter freezes well, just bring to room temperature before serving.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Meyer Lemon Marmalade with Irish Soda Bread

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons."

-Alfred E. Neuman

I love making jam. I feel such a sense of accomplishment whenever I do any canning or preserving. I love the idea of being able to enjoy fruit, even in a jelly, at it's peak, from a jar. What a great feeling to enjoy the bright spring flavor of Meyer lemon marmalade in the depths of winter.

 When I got these wonderful Meyer lemons I knew I was going to preserve them somehow since I love them so. I've made 2 batches so far of this delicious marmalade.  This stuff really retains the bright flavor of these delicious lemons. It is wonderfully both tart and sweet.

Meyer lemons have enough pectin in them so no commercial pectin is needed. The only ingredients are lemons and sugar. The sugar helps it set, so it is a crucial ingredient.

I like to juice the lemons and then cut up the peels. I find this much easier than thinly slicing the lemons themselves. Whenever I try to thinly slice a Meyer lemon (no matter how sharp my knife is) it just squishes. There is so much juice inside, I lose juice on the cutting board. I tried using a mandoline, loss of juice with that method too.

When making any type of jam that doesn't use commercial pectin it can be tricky determining when it's done. The reason is there are many variables. When fruit is over ripe, it has less pectin. When it is under ripe, more.

But once you get the hang of it, it will come easy to you. Don't let this discourage you from making homemade jam.

Looking for more jam recipes? 

Satsuma Mandarin Marmalade

 Pepper Jelly 

Wine Jelly

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

This recipe only works for Meyer lemons due to their sweetness and thin skins, don't replace regular lemons in this recipe, better to find a recipe made for regular lemons.

This recipe makes about 4 -half pint jars

Ingredients

1.5 lbs (597 g.) Meyer Lemons (about 6 lemons)

4 cups (1 liter) water

4 cups (778 g.) sugar

Directions

Halve the lemons and juice them, reserving the peel and discarding the seeds and white pith inside the lemon. Pile up some of the peels, and very thinly slice them. I mean slice them as thin as you can get them. Then cut them in small, about 2 inch, pieces.

Place the juice, water, and peels in a large non reactive (not aluminum) pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium high, simmer and reduce until it has reduced to 5 cups. This takes 20-30 minutes.

Now add the sugar, stir and bring it back to a boil. Place a small plate in the freezer. Cook on medium high heat for about 10 minutes until it has reached the gelling point. This is going to be a little over 200 Fahrenheit, degrees Fahrenheit, 93 degrees Celsius. I have read that the gelling point should be reached at 220 degrees Fahrenheit, 104 degrees Celsius, in my opinion that's too high. At that point I've had marmalade's be much too thick. Better to test it on the frozen plate. Place a spoonful of marmalade on the cold plate then place in the freezer. When it's cold, if you run your finger through it and it stays in place, it's done. If it's still liquid and runny, then it needs to be cooked longer. While doing the freezer test take it off the heat for a few minutes.

If it still hasn't gelled, cook it for 5 minutes longer, then test again.

This will keep many months in the refrigerator.

To keep it for years, to preserve it, ladle into hot jars, and process using the hot water method used for high acid foods for 10 minutes.

Or you may freeze it.

Savory Rosemary Shortbread

" First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." - Epictetus

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This post is part of a series, Handmade Holiday Gifts

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I'm on a savory shortbread kick. These I served with cheese and olives at a dinner last night. They are exceptional. I couldn't believe how much I liked them. Next year I will be sure to include them with other sweet cookies in baskets.

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The rosemary flavor is prominent, they are a touch sweet, but not too much, with a finish of salt. They are just right. I grow rosemary, so the fresh herb flavor is welcome in Winter. If you don't grow the herb, you can of course, use dried. Oh, and if it's too fussy to roll them into shapes, then don't. Go ahead and shape them into logs and refrigerate till firm and slice. Easy peasy.

ready for the oven

Rosemary Shortbread

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adapted from this recipe

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1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter -room temperature

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup powdered sugar (if you don't have powdered, go ahead and use granulated)

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped finely, (or use 3 tsp dried rosemary, chopped)

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Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat butter, honey and sugar until light and fluffy. In another bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and rosemary. Beat together flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended.

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On a lightly floured surface roll out dough, cut into shapes and bake on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Or instead of rolling them out, form them into 2 logs, refrigerate until firm, (about an hour) then slice with a sharp knife into cookies. Then proceed as instructed.

Savory Aged Cheddar Shortbread

"One kind word can warm 3 winter months." - Japanese Proverb

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This post is part of a series, Handmade Holiday Gifts

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I'm done with all of my holiday food gift giving. The verdict is in. These savory aged cheddar shortbreads are the thing that people raved over most. Maybe because something savory is
different but welcome among all of the sweets, or because they are delicious, (because they are really tasty.) Or because it is unexpected to have a savory shortbread. Either way, these are super easy, and very yummy.

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They make a great as a gift with a bottle of wine, or with other sweets. They would be fantastic with some wine jelly. Or serve them as an appetizer on a tray with salami and olives.




I sliced these from a log, but you can make them more festive by rolling them out and cutting them into Christmas shapes. You can also dress them up by brushing on an egg wash before baking and sprinkling them with sesame seeds, or poppy seeds, or some flaky salt.

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This recipe calls for a dry aged cheddar. You can also use Parmesan, or any dry aged cheese.

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Savory Aged Cheddar Shortbread

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adapted from this recipe

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1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
8 oz. aged cheddar (white, and dry) finely shredded (mine is an aged cheddar from Costco)
1 cup flour
pinch of cayenne pepper (or a little more if you like things spicy)
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

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Using an electric mixer beat together butter, salt, black pepper and cayenne until blended. Add cheddar and flour and mix just until incorporated. Don't overmix. Shape dough into two logs, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for an hour, or freeze for a half hour until firm.

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Or if you want to cut them into shapes, at this point form dough into a disc and refrigerate or freeze until firm, then roll out dough, cut into shapes, then continue directions below.

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When dough is firm, preheat oven to 350. Slice dough into thin slices, with a sharp knife, about 1/4 inch, or even thinner. The thinner they are the crispier they will be. If they are on the thick side, they will be more like a traditional shortbread cookie. Bake on a parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet for 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Baking time depends on how thick the slices are, so if they are really thin, check the cookies at 12 or 13 minutes.

White Walnut Fudge

that's the white fudge on the left, all packed up in a basket ready for giving

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" May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility."

-Mary Anne Radmacher

This post is part of a series, Handmade Holiday Gifts

I really enjoy white chocolate. If you do as well, or know someone who does, this is for you. It's creamy, soft and rich. I think the quality of the white chocolate is important, I used Guittard Choc Au lait vanilla chips, I love those things, I eat them out of the bag if they are around.

This recipe actually comes off of the back of the package, with a few modifications.

It's really easy to make too!

White Walnut Fudge

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons butter cut in 1 inch pieces
2 cups white chocolate chips, or one 12 oz bag
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts


Line an 8x8 square pan with parchment paper and grease it.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, heavy cream and salt in a large heavy pot.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, and boil until the temperature reaches 225 on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.

When it reaches 225, remove from heat and add butter and chips stirring vigorously until melted and smooth. Mix in vanilla and walnuts. Pour into prepared pan. Cool in refrigerator for an hour before cutting into small squares.