It's or should I say tis' the holiday season which means there are a lot of people to make fat in the tummy. Sometimes I think I have an old Italian woman trapped inside of me because of my insatiable need to cook for and feed people. If I had a captive audience, the money, endless ingredients and the time I would relish being in the kitchen making yummy foods. Until that day comes I will have to savor the moments that I do have to cook for others.
This Christmas has been a slew of baking and great recipe finding and I have stumbled upon some great cookie recipes. The Salted White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are the perfect mix of sugary salty goodness. Think the same yummy that comes with a good kettle corn. The delicious Homemade Oreo Cookies are a great shout out to a classic! I was a little worried making them as they seemed hard to make but they were actually very easy. The difficult part came in not eating the icing as there was a lot left over.
I do need to clarify however, that these recipes are not my own and I have been shamelessly stealing recipes off of a wonderful website called smittenkitchen.com. If you have the time check it out, it's beautifully written and has amazing photographs. My only caution is to avoid it when you have hunger pains.
Salted White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Cook’s IllustratedThe original recipe didn’t have white chocolate in it, but it really works wonderfully in here. Even if you’re a dark chocolate fan. Watch out, use the good stuff and this may even convert you.
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
6 ounces good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped (not “white chocolate” chips; they’re almost always artificial. I am adamant about this.)
1/2 teapoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) (for sprinkling on top)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.
2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.
3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about ¾-inch thickness.
4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie
5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.
Homemade Oreo Cookies
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg
For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375 degrees.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.
Enjoy!
Twas the week before Christmas and Paul and me hadn't yet gotten our first Christmas tree.
So we went hunting for our perfect tree...one that would be love by all 4 of us equally. 
We saw lighted reindeer and flocked Christmas trees...It was a cold wintry night we worried we may freeze.
Paul found a tree but it wasn't just right...we continued to search even if it took all the night. 
Paul searched and searched but his quest wouldn't end...money was no object for the right tree, we would spend!
We looked for signs to lead us to a tree...we needed to sniff one out, too bad we didn't bring Jack and Charlie.
I found a tree I thought was the perfect choice...but then I heard a small little voice. 
It told me to keep searching the perfect tree was yet to be found...we hadn't yet covered quite enough ground.
There were so many it was like a needle in a haystack...once we made our choice there was no turning back.
I could feel it in my bones our search was coming to a close...and luckily it happened before we both froze!
It was our Christmas Tree in all it's glory...so this is the end of our Christmas tree story...
Our search was worth it to Paul and me...because we finally found our perfect tree.
Our hearts are so filled I'm sure that they've grown because we are taking our tree to it's new home!
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