Cheese Pennies

 A wonderfully easy appetizer for parties or a light snack with drinks. 

Ingredients:

2 cups grated sharp cheddar (227g) (or other cheese such as pepper jack for added "BAM")

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

1½ cups (180mg) of all-purpose flour

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp dry mustard

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

water as needed a little at a time

Directions:

1. In a medium-size mixing bowl or electric mixer, combine all ingredients to make a cohesive dough. Sprinkle in water as needed to make it all bind together. Once it comes together divide it into two balls.

2. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll each into a log about 1 inch in diameter.

3. Wrap each in wax paper and/or plastic wrap and place in the freezer for thirty minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 4ooF.

5. Removing one log at a time from the freezer, cut into ⅛ inch rounds. Arrange rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They don't spread much so half an inch spacing will be enough.

6. Bake pennies for 11-12 minutes until they start to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for several minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week - if they last that long....

**Recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking

Enjoy!

Nana's Raisin Bread

This is a family traditional Christmas-time recipe that just the smell of this bread baking stirs so many wonderful memories to fill my heart.  Great memories of sitting in the picture window of 34 Graystone Lane, Levittown, Pennsylvania as my Nana sliced and buttered raisin bread to eat with our hot tea.  Also the memories of my mother’s kitchen with her mother-in-law supervising the kneading and baking of the bread.  These two women were extreme influences of who I am today because of the love they showed me. (If it weren’t for that great love they’d killed me long ago!)  

This raisin bread recipe was always used at some point during the Christmas season.  My cousins in the north know this bread as "kern bread" shortened from "currant bread" that it was originally made with. We didn’t leave milk and cookies for Santa when I was growing up; we plated raisin bread with eggnog! Christmas breakfast almost always included sliced kern bread around the tree while opening gifts. 

The aroma this bread distributes while baking in the house is absolutely heavenly.  This bread recipe is an ALL-DAY work of love, maybe which is why it tastes so wonderful! 

The ingredients:

5lb bag all purpose flour

½ lb light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar + 1 tsp for yeast mixture

1 Tbsp salt

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

1 heaping tsp allspice

1 heaping tsp ground cloves

½ cup of molasses

½ cup of milk

2 Tbs instant coffee

3 packs dry yeast (rapid rise)

1½ lbs raisins

3 eggs

4 cups water, divided  (1½ for yeast, 2½ for dough)

1 cup of Crisco shortening

The Directions:

1.     Soak raisins in a large bowl with hot tap water for 30 minutes then drain.

2.    In a small bowl put yeast a teaspoon of sugar and 1½ cup of water (check yeast instructions for water temp - usually 110-120) Let this sit for about five minutes.  It should begin foaming if the yeast is active.

3.    In large mixing bowl pour half of the flour, and mix in other dry ingredients making a hole in the middle of the flour.

4.    Add 2½ cups water, eggs, milk, shortening and yeast mixture.

 

5.    Add flour and raisins a little at a time. (an extra set of hands will reduce the mess) Mix by hand- squeezing, turning, folding, swirling - until it won’t stick to fingers.  At this point I move it to a lightly floured surface and continue to work the dough folding, and pushing away, then quarter turn and repeat until the dough is springy to touch. Form into a ball and place in a grease bowl

6.    Cover bowl and keep warm until doubles in size (about 2½ to 3 hours).  This seems a long rise for bread, but due to all the fruit, and other ingredients the yeast needs more time to work. I use my oven on PROOF setting, but sometimes use my laundry room when washing with hot water and drying towels. The small room stays warm.

7.   When the dough has doubled, punch it down in the bowl to flatten out the air.  Pour out onto a lightly floured surface.  It's important to NOT knead at this point, but to press the dough down. It's okay to fold it once or twice, and press down, not the kneading motion as earlier.  Now, cut into separate loaf sizes, then roll into loaves and place into greased and floured pans.

8.    Cover with plastic wrap (spray the bread side with non-stick spray) and let rise to double in size again. (about an hour)

9.    Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes.  Remove from pans and spread tops with Crisco or Margarine.  Make sure you have an oven thermometer to set or hang inside the oven.  (Every make and model heats differently and changes over time.  I have over cooked one batch due to the control setting and actual heat not matching by about 40 degrees!)

10. Allow to cool completely on wire racks before slicing.

    

Enjoy!

Welsh Cakes

    As a child and on into adulthood, these simple, not very sweet, yet tasty treats were often in our home.  They were almost always in the cookie jar at Nana's when we went to visit too.  At home, my mom usually cooked them around Christmas to go to neighbors along with other treats such as, lemon bars, Michigan Rocks, peanut butter kiss cookies and raisin bread.  In my youthful days, I despised the welsh cakes with raisins!  I once thought they were chocolate chips in the cake, and it ruined those for me until well into adulthood.  I'm glad my mom taught me to make these before her stroke.  I can't make a batch without thinking of her now, and even as I prepare this post.  Miss you mom!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of shortening 
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1¾ cups granulated sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg, room temp and beaten with the milk below
• 1½ cup milk (room temp)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients with your hands as if making a pie crust.  Next add the beaten egg and milk combination.  Stir with a spoon, don't beat.  Once blended, drop from a teaspoon onto greased cookie sheets.

My cousin, Kathy Peter, recently taught me to try a few cookies as a trial run to make sure the oven temp is right.  If it's right, you will bake the batches for about 13-15 minutes.  Browned, crisp bottoms are what you're looking for.

** after I cook half the batch, I add raisins to the batter and fold in.  Cook the same, but the teaspoon drops are a little bigger for these.

Enjoy!

Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snaps

One of my dad's favorite cookies was a ginger snap.  Although it took me many years to appreciate the flavor of a good ginger snap, my eldest son had affinity to these baked goods at a very young age.  This recipe is one that my father would have enjoyed immensely.  

Ingredients:

• ⅔ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup molasses (No moles are harmed in the making of these cookies)
• 1 egg, room temp
• 2 tsp. fresh gingerroot, peeled, minced
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• 3⅓ tsp ground ginger 
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream brown sugar with butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in molasses, egg and fresh ginger. 
2. In another bowl, combine flours, ground ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves; gradually add to the creamed butter bowl and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate until easy to handle (1 to 1½ hours) 
3. Preheat oven to 350◦F.  In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls; roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Place dough balls 3in apart on parchment lined baking sheets
4. Bake until set, 10-12 minutes.  Cool for a couple of minutes before removing from the pans to wire racks to finish cooling.  Store in airtight containers.

Enjoy!

Welsh Tea Biscuits

 The tea wafers are perfect for a holiday confection, or an anytime treat!  

Welshies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 2 Tbsp cognac, brandy, or apple juice (I prefer Hennessey's cognac!)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 
• 1¼ cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2½ tsp ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ⅓ cup (approximately) sliced almonds (I just stick a two or three into the top of each cookie prior to baking)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven - 375*F.   In a medium bowl combine cognac (or choice of liquid) with raisins to soak for about ten minutes.  Stir every couple minutes to soak up the "juice".

2. In a medium bowl add dry ingredients of- flour, 1½ teaspoons cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cloves.  Stir to combine.

3. In a large bowl add 1 cup of sugar and butter.  Beat until light and fluffy, then beat in egg.  Gradually add the flour mixture a little at a time until well blended.  Stir/fold in fruit and cognac mixture with a spoon using a spoon - not the beaters! 

4. In a small bowl or saucer combine the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and teaspoon of cinnamon.  Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into 1 inch balls; roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture to coat.  Place balls on ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart.

5. Using a smooth bottomed glass dipped into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, press each ball to ¼ inch thickness.  Press almond slices into the flattened cookie dough. 

6. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely, then store in air tight containers.  These treats can be frozen for up to three months.

Enjoy!