Christmas Dogs

I cannot think of anything more traditional than Spritz cookies at Christmas. My grandmother was German. So, she made these cookies every year. A few years before she died, the women in our family started making cookies together at Christmas time with her and included myself and my cousin. According to my mother, it was my grandmother’s dying wish that the cookie day tradition be maintained to keep the family together at least once a year doing something together. And so it goes.

Every year, my mother, my sister, my aunt, my cousin and my cousin’s wife get together for a no-nonsense, grind-them-out, cookie day. There are no children. We make cookies with the children separately for fun. This is about producing lots of cookies! We make Russian Tea Cakes and Spritz. Over the years we have perfected our production techniques. We now make batter at home and each bring it with us to my aunt’s house. It took too much time making it as we went along.

Bad picture alert….

The day begins around 9AM and does not end until we are finished with all of the dough. This year, in our first snow, we finished close to 7PM! We allow very little deviation from the traditional shapes and decorations. It could get ugly for anyone that comes to the table with a new idea. Although, oddly enough, there were new sprinkles introduced this year…..I think that slipped by under the radar…hmmm.

We make trees, wreaths, chocolate decorated flowers and the Jackson Family Christmas Dogs. That’s correct, dogs! These dogs are the most coveted of all the Christmas cookies served each year. Think about it, do you know anyone else that makes Christmas Spritz Dog Cookies? Probably not.  But, here’s the thing, they are a pain in the ass to make. Why? Because of the little collar, that’s why. Very annoying.

The collar is made from a candied cherry. The cherries must be cut in half and then sliced thin. It takes a lot of cherries to decorate these dogs. They are so sticky. A mess. So, we decided that we would make the newest member of the group cut the cherries. My cousin’s wife. We weren’t fans anyway, if you know what I mean. But then, they split up!! Not to worry, he re-married! Thank god! We like this one though, but she’s still stuck with those cherries! But, I digress…….

Spritz

Decorated Spritz Cookies

1 cup butter softened (original recipe calls for margarine but I refuse)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Cream together butter and sugar; blend in egg and almond extract. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture. Mix well. Either use right away, or if you need to refrigerate, plan time to allow dough to warm to room temperature. Press and decorate. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

I always double.

You need a cookie press to make Spritz cookies the authentic way. Those new fangled cookie shooters don’t cut it, sorry. You need the old fashioned, break-your-arm, get-calluses-on-your-hands, cookie press!

Exhibit A – the Cookie Press

I had planned my standard, “good luck with that” answer, but actually, you are in luck!  I found just want you need on Ebay!

We decorate our cookies with the standard sugars and use a silver ball for the “star” on our trees. We also cook some of the cookies plain and then drizzle chocolate sauce over them and press them into crushed nuts.

Spritz with Chocolate and Pecans

Make sure you have plenty of cookie tins on hand for storage. Line the tins with wax paper and use wax paper to tighten the seal of the tin to keep the cookies fresh for several weeks.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s that time of year again! Cookie baking time. Our first recipe is a classic chocolate chip meets oatmeal cookie. This cookie as well as regular chocolate chips are not only favorites, but they are so easy to make. Because of their large size, they make a nice foundation for your cookie tins this holiday season! I always double my recipes because I need many, many cookies! Enjoy.

Marsha’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chips

1 cup of butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter and the sugars. Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix.

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Mix the 3 dry ingredients together. Add slowly to creamed mixture.

3 cups of old fashioned oatmeal (not instant)

2 cups chocolate chips

Mix oats and chocolate chips into batter and blend.

Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes.

For new bakers: loosen cookies within 2 minutes of removing from oven and then let cool on a cooling rack or single layer on kitchen towels will work.

Perhaps I should stop using my red plates for photography!

I don’t care what they say, omelets are hard to make! ( I have no idea who they are! I have a friend who is always quoting “they.”) In this case, “they” may refer to chefs. Did you know that many chef/restaurant owners, when hiring prospective chefs for their restaurants, will ask them to cook  an omelet to test their skills as part of the interviewing process? True.

It is really difficult to make an omelet and turn out a finished product that is both delicious and beautiful. So many things can go wrong. The eggs can stick to the pan, and once that happens,  it’s impossible to flip over without tearing. Then it falls apart, and before you know it, you need to scramble everything together to salvage the mess. Now you are left with some odd looking version of scrabbled eggs instead of an actual omelet. There may have been one of those  “skillet” dishes at one of the breakfast chain restaurants accidentally developed this way!

It can end up overcooked, and brown on the outside. You’ve seen what I’m talking about. The edges are all dried out and flaky. The outside has a sheen of hard, brown crust on it. I have news for you, if the outside of the omelet  no longer has any sign of yellow showing, it is overcooked. Slightly browned is fine, but  there is a big difference between browned and brown. The only good news about the hard exterior on an overcooked omelet is that the cheese is usually completely melted on the inside! Now all you have to do is to cut off the crust. That’s pretty!

So, how is it done?

I was actually fortunate enough to have been taught how to make a perfect omelet when I worked at The Spring Mill Cafe when I was young. It is the ability to maintain the discipline required to follow the very simple steps,  instead of rushing through the process, that is the difference between success and failure! The disadvantage  for the home cook verses the chef in a  French restaurant is that most of us at home do not have a pot of clarified butter on hand at all times and we may not have restaurant quality pans.  But, lets play perfect world….

A 7 1/2 inch saute pan is ideal. This is a  stainless steel  All-Clad 7 1/2 inch Saute pan. At the cafe, as with many professional kitchens I have had the honor of spending time in, the cookware is not a sparkling brand name, but instead wonderfully worn from years of seasoning over hot flames.

Speaking of hot flames, that is the key to the process. It is essential that you have a hot pan from the start. As I stated previously, in many restaurants they will add clarified butter to a hot pan. At home, I add a large scoop as illustrated in the below picture. The amount is not measured and is, gulp, far less than would be used in most restaurants, however, I also use 2 eggs instead of 3. The reason for this is that it also makes the process easier! Yes, I am still a chicken! No pun intended!

It is important to note that when cooking almost anything, you should prepare all of your ingredients before you begin. When you are preparing an omelet everything moves very quickly, so have your eggs beaten in your bowl, add salt and pepper to taste. I did not add milk or cream, although you certainly can if you prefer.

For a simple cheese omelet, I suggest grating your own cheese. It is very easy to do, however bagged shredded cheese is faster.

Once your ingredients are all set to go and your pan is hot, add your butter to the pan. The butter needs to melt and start to bubble, but not brown before adding your eggs.

Then pour your eggs into the pan. The eggs will cook rapidly at the edges.

The eggs begin to bubble at the edges because of the high heat. The edges will cook immediately leaving uncooked eggs in the center. Take a rubber spatula and lift the edges lightly to allow the uncooked eggs in the center to seep under the cooked eggs at the edges.

The center will begin to look scrunched up as above. Allow to cook a few seconds and repeat. Once the egg liquid is 75% cooked, take a metal spatula and carefully flip over completely. Take your cheese and add to the center. Fold your omelet in half and slide off of the plate. The cheese will melt in a minute while it rests.

Voila!