Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Mincemeat Cheesecake

Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone saw the new year in with style and dignity - unlike us (but more on that tomorrow - I am too damn tired to think about it now).

We kept things simple last night - while I normally cook a big meal, this year it was decided that we would order in Chinese food. YUM

I did make dessert, though. I decided upon this cheesecake because it did two things - it allowed me to use up the last of my mincemeat and also allowed me to use up some of the cream cheese that I bought before Christmas but never used. I first made this a few years ago and it got rave reviews . . . it is a delicious cheesecake with a hint of lemon then spicy mincemeat is marbled throughout making for a relatively easy but amazing dessert.

The only change I made to the recipe was to cook it for 40 minutes at 250 until it was set.

Now all I have to do is to use up 8 more bricks of cream cheese . . .

Enjoy!

Mincemeat Cheesecake

1 cup graham wafer crumbs
1/4 cup  brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine; melted
1 lb cream cheese; softened
2/3 cup  granulated sugar
2 tb all-purpose flour
2 tb lemon juice
1 tb grated lemon rind
1/2 ts vanilla
2    egg
1 c  mincemeat

Combine crumbs, brown sugar and butter. Press onto bottom of 9-inch spring form pan. Bake in 325F oven for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack.

In mixing bowl, cream together cheese, granulated sugar, flour, lemon juice, rind and vanilla. Beat until well blended and smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Pour mixture over crust. Spoon mincemeat over top. Draw spoon lightly through mixture for marble effect, making sure you don't cut through crumb crust.

Bake in 450F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 250F and bake for 20 minutes longer (note - I had to bake it for 20 minutes until it was set).

Transfer to wire rack. Carefully run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; let cool completely before removing sides of pan.

Chill before serving.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Season's Eatings - Malted Milk Date Bars

Have you voted in the photo contest? Only 4 days to go!

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 371 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

---

The wonderful Katie, owner of Thyme for Cooking, arranged a unique secret santa event for food bloggers. We e-mailed her our name and address. She paired people up and sent us an e-mail indicating to where and to whom we should mail our treat. We were encouraged to send some local delicacy or ingredient as well as a recipe that would assist the happy recipient in using it.

There you have it, secret santas for the digital age.

I received Barb, from Art n Barb Live in Italy, as the person i was to send to. Thank goodness she was in the US for a few weeks over Christmas and asked that her parcel be sent there. Whew - dodged a postal bullet there! LOL I sent her some maple syrup made by a friend from work, and some of our homemade fig jelly with balsamic and rosemary and some wild blueberry and grand marnier jam. She posted about her parcel here.

I was so wrapped up in the bustle of the holidays that I forgot about this until a package arrived at the door while I was in the basement wrapping gifts. When I opened it I had to laugh - my secret santa was my good friend Palma! Palma lives in the desert so I was curious to see what she had sent. Ever one to tackle a challenge with style - she sent some dates from the desert as well as a jar of prickly pear marmalade.

She also sent along a recipe for Malted Milk Date Bars which I made today. Palma is a talented cook so I had no reservations attempting the recipe, well except for one. I've never been a fan of dates! LOL However, as a dedicated food blogger I know it isn't about me and what i like it is about the event! I whipped these up this morning (and had to pick Paul up off of the floor when he discovered me doing more baking!), let them cool while I ran errands and iced them this afternoon. I am happy to say that these are delicious - a dense, almost brownie-like square with a delicious vanilla butter cream icing.

Even a confirmed date hater like myself LOVED them!

Thanks Palma.

Perhaps like so many things in life I have discovered that I actually LIKE dates . . . happily I have plenty more to explore with.

Malted Milk Date Bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/3 butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup sifted flour
• 3/4 cup chocolate or vanilla malted milk powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup finely chopped dates
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 square (1 ounce) semisweet chocolate, melted
• Butter Icing, recipe below

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°. In a saucepan, melt butter and add sugar; blend thoroughly. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs and vanilla; blend well. Add sifted dry ingredients, dates and nuts.

Turn mixture into greased 9-inch square pan or llx7x2-inch pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes; cool. Spread with butter frosting. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the icing and cut into bars. Note: Mix a little confectioners' sugar and water into the melted chocolate to make it easier to drizzle.

Butter Icing
Combine 1 cups confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Cream all ingredients together until of spreading consistency. Add more milk if necessary. Add a few drops of food coloring to this icing for special occasions.

Christmas with Jerry and Paul . . . and Victor and Beckett too!

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

---

Yesterday was a busy day here at casa Jerry, Paul, Victor, and Beckett too!

It started quietly - just me and the cats enjoying breakfast (the cats) and loads of coffee (me) while awaiting the entrance of sleeping beauty (Paul). Finally, at 9, he made his long awaited appearance!

We started off by opening stockings in the family room.

The cats got stoned on catnip treats.

 

Victor 'suggested' that I cease with the pictures and hurry up with the unwrapping of his gifts!

Finally the stockings were done and the cats wondered 'if this it?"

Then we moved into the living room where we opened the gifts under the tree. Santa was VERY good to us this year!

After the presents were opened it was time for breakfast. We enjoyed champagne and pomegranate juice, eggs benedict on savoury waffles, hashed brown casserole, and peameal bacon (what we Canadians call Canadian bacon - not that nasty stuff sold in the US as Canadian Bacon).

After breakfast it was time to get ready for the arrival of our guests. I had a baking crisis - we were low on cookies! Oh, the inhumanity! I took some logs of dough I had made out of the freezer and in an hour this was done.

Paul cleaned, tidied, and set the table. We were serving dinner for 8. Our dining room table was stretched almost to its full length - really, we need a larger house for such events!

We went with a predominate red and white theme this year.

 

Mom arrived (late, of course) and we enjoyed some white chocolate mint martinis.

 

It was time to take a break from cooking and open some more gifts. Woo hoo!

 

Mom had more catnip toys for the cats and they became quite crazed. At one point Beckett tried to eat his cat mat.

Paul's mom and step-dad arrived and it was time to open more gifts. Hmmmmm I can really get used to this!

Once all our guests had arrived we enjoyed a simple assortment of snacks - olives, cheese, and sausage rolls, while I finished dinner.

The first course was the delicious pumpkin soup with thyme and two cheeses selected for the Sunday Slow Soupers by Nancy. Everyone RAVED about this soup.

The main course consisted of Standing Rib Roast with Porcini and Bacon Sauce, Creamy Horseradish Sauce, Green Onion Popovers, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans with Pancetta and Shallots. I served Palma's famous cippoline onions at the table - these were a HUGE hit!

 

We took a wee break before dessert. We served some of our baking . . .

 . . . our fruitcake . . .

 . . . and because it would NOT be Christmas without mincemeat . . . mincemeat tarts!

Now, these weren't dessert, merely the accompaniment! For dessert we had a small wedge of Gina de Palma's incredible Cranberry Tarte. This turned put perfect - much better than when I first made it. Happily, I discovered that my oven runs 10 degrees cool. Baking has been much more successful since then (thank you Sunday Slow Bakers!).

Everyone left by about 9:30. By 10:15 we had finished cleaning up and were relaxing in the living room amidst the glow of the tree and the happy thoughts of the day. The best word to describe the day is full. Full of delicious food, wonderful gifts, laughter, wonderful company, good times, and festive cheer.

It was indulgent, but it happens but once a year . . .

I hope that y'all had a full day too!

Merry Christmas

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

---

It is 7:30 on Christmas morning. The cats have allowed me to sleep in a bit this year. It is a Christmas miracle!

They likely have not gotten over the shock of donning their Christmas outfits for the festive photo shoot last night . . .

The presents are all wrapped and under the tree . . .

The stockings filled . . . even for the cats!

We have most of the morning for ourselves to open gifts and enjoy a slow breakfast. Then the fun begins! *smile*

Have a wonderful Christmas!

I'm off to make muffins to munch on while we open presents!

OBD

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

---

My pal Palma tells me that I have a disorder! ACK ACK ACK

Happily it won't kill me, at least not directly.

She claims that I have OBD, also known as obsessive baking disorder. Those of you who know Palma will smile at the thought of her calling anyone obsessive . . . hello pot . . .! Anyone who can host a sit down dinner for 48 at her house is the queen of obsessions, but I digress.

What does this disorder look like? What are the symptons?

Well, I imagine that it is different for everyone but this is a good sign that you have OBD:

32 containers of cookies, squares, and candies. All of them homemade in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

In addition, you panic that you might run out of baked treats so you have this in your freezer:

Logs of frozen cookie dough just waiting to be thawed, sliced, baked, and enjoyed. These are far tastier than any Pillsbury cookie logs, Sandi!

There you have it, two very strong indicators that you minght have OBD.

There is a third and final sympton though. This one closes the deal, in my opinion. If your Christmas cookie tray looks like this:

and you have made everything yourself, run and get help! It isn't too late.

Seriously though, there has been a lot of baking taking place in our household. We don't eat all of these cookies ourselves, instead we give most of them away. Nothing says I like you like a tin full of delicious Xmas baking!

Have a happy Christmas!

Christmas Brunch at the Ancaster Old Mill

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

---

For the past few years mom has taken Paul and I to the Ancaster Old Mill for a Christmas brunch. Ancaster is a lovely town (well, it has been sucked into the large, gross city of Hamilton but it retains its small town feel) about 20 minutes west of us. The mill was originally built in the 1850s and is nestled into the escarpment. The creek runs right through the restaurant.

The restaurant buildings have been beautifully restored and were decorated with fresh greenery. Of course, the snow we received last Friday and Saturday made look complete!

The restaurant is divided into a number of rooms and we were happy to be seated in our favourite room. It is smaller, tucked away from the kitchen and hustle and bustle of the buffets, but the crowning feature is that the walls are all glass and you look out over the waterfall - stunning! We were also close to the piano and we enjoyed the jazz Christmas music that was preformed.

The buffet is set up in a number of different rooms. The busiest room is always the one where you can get omelets, waffles, and crepes made to order. There is also a juice bar where they will make you one of about 6 different types of smoothies. In the centre of this room is a huge table set with salads and beside it another table groaning with seafood. Mom spends most of her time here!

Outside this room wa a long table filled with different breads, all made on the premises. You can also get yoghurt with berries and granola.

The main buffet is HUGE! On Sunday it featured: steamed vegetables, roasted potatoes, perogies, tortellini, eggs benedict, a whole steamed salmon, roast pork, roast turkey, and  roast beef. Enough food for an army!

  Then at the end of all of this, if you had room, there was the dessert table:

The selection was varied: bread pudding, blueberry cheesecake, fresh fruit, assorted cookies, cupcakes, trifle, apple pie, pecan pie, and a chocolate banana cake. Literally something for everyone!

Wow - were we ever stuffed by the end of all of this.

Our server was excellent and she kept us well supplied with both coffee and champagne and cassis or champagne and freshly squeezed OJ. Sadly I was driving or I might have indulged more!

All in all it was a wonderful way to spend some quality time with family enjoying the best of the season.

Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Sauce

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

---

Does anything whisper Christmas in your head as much as gingerbread? I don't know what it is but the smells of warm gingerbread, redolent with spices and molasses is just one of those smells I associate with Christmas. Some pay thousands of bucks on therapy to deal with their association issues - not me, I find a recipe, bake, and eat!

Our pal Elise was over for dinner last night and we debated the dessert . . . finally I found this recipe on one of my favourite blogs: Serious Eats and we were good to go. It was an easy recipe to follow and pull together. I think it took less than 45 minutes form start to finish - my idea of a good dessert. The flavour was amazing - the cake was wonderful and the addition of the lemon sauce was inspired. I hadn't thought of lemon as an accompaniment with gingerbread but whoa - it worked!

 In fact, it worked extremely well!

I served our cakes with a shaving of good quality crystallized ginger on top of the whipped cream to tie it all together.

I followed the recipe as printed with two changes - I only had an Easter mini-bunt cake tin and I didn't think that Easter egg cake shapes would work for Christmas so I used a large muffin tin. This worked perfectly - the resulting cakes weren't as fancy as a mini-bunt cake pan would have made but they were fine (and the pans a whole lot easier to clean as well! :-)

Additionally, there seemed to be a mis-print in the original recipe as it called for 3/4 cup molasses (9oz) and 3/4 cup of water (6 oz). Clearly a liquid measurement couldn't be both. I had a dilemma - increase the water or the molasses. I decided that if I went with more molasses (as the recipe seemed to indicate) I'd have more flavourful cakes so that is what I did and it worked.

This would make a great finale for your holiday meal!

Enjoy!

Gingerbread Cakes with Lemon Sauce

- makes 6 individual mini Bundt cakes or one 9-inch square cake -
Adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread

Ingredients

For the gingerbread cakes:
2 cups (290 g/10.23 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (71 g/2.5 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup (50 g/1.76 oz) sugar
1 large egg
1 cup (255 g/9 oz) molasses, dark
3/4 cup (170 g/6 oz) water, hot

For the lemon sauce:
5/8 cup (125 g/4.4 oz) sugar
1 large egg
Juice of one large lemon
3 tablespoons (42 g/1.5 oz) boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup (1 stick/113 g/4 oz) unsalted butter, cold

For the whipped cream:
1/2 cup (116 g/4.09 oz) heavy cream, cold
2 teaspoons sugar

Procedure

Prepare the gingerbread cakes: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease the pans with softened butter, or spray with nonstick spray.

Sift the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt onto a sheet of parchment paper.

In a small bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, and beat again for 1 minute or until light in color. Add the egg and beat for another minute until it's well combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Pour the molasses into the bowl slowly, beating all the while.

Add half of the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula. Add the remaining dry ingredients and fold together again. Pour in the hot water and fold gently just until the water is well incorporated and there are no more thick lumps of batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the pans. A heaping 1/2-cup measure will fill each mold almost to the top. Bake for about 16 to 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the individual cakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then tip out on a wire rack to finish cooling. The cakes are delicious served slightly warm from the oven.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the Lemon Sauce: In a small bowl add the sugar, egg, lemon juice, the boiling water, and the zest, and whisk together. Cook the mixture over a pan of simmering water at medium-low heat for 15 minutes, or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, whisking often. Strain the sauce to remove the lemon zest. After the sauce has cooled slightly, whisk in pieces of the diced cold butter to thicken it. If you make the sauce before you are ready to use it, place the plastic wrap directly on the surface to keep a skin from forming. Leftovers can be chilled and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Prepare the whipped cream: In a medium bowl combine the cold cream and 2 teaspoons of sugar. With an electric mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Do not overwhip. Keep the cream chilled until ready to serve.

To serve, place a little gingerbread Bundt cake on a dessert plate. Spoon the lemon sauce over the top of the cake so it drips down both sides of the ring and onto the plate. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and serve. This makes a great winter dessert. Store any leftover cake at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic.

Rainbow Cookies

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

---

My grandmother used to make these cookies when I was younger - although she stopped as I got older - likely because they were too fiddly for her arthritic hands. Ever since I found the recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook I've wanted to try them but I was afraid of the recipe - it just seems intimidating!

This week, in my frenzy of festive baking, I decided to throw caution to the wind and revisit my childhood. I discovered that these cookies aren't hard to make - as long as you work through each of the steps carefully.

Paul gave them the 'sampler' test tonight and decided that they were wonderful! When I tried my first one I closed my eyes and was immediately transported back to my childhood Christmases at my grandmother's house.

Enjoy!

Rainbow Cookies

1 can (8 ounces) almond paste
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 to 8 drops red food coloring
6 to 8 drops green food coloring
1/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam
1/4 cup apricot jam
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Grease the bottoms of three matching 13-in. x 9-in. baking pans (or reuse one pan). Line the pans with waxed paper; grease the paper. 

Place almond paste in a large mixing bowl; break up with a fork. Cream with butter, sugar and egg yolks until light, fluffy and smooth. Stir in flour. In another mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into dough, mixing until thoroughly blended. 

Divide dough into three portions (about 1-1/3 cups each). Color one portion with red food coloring and one with green; leave the remaining portion uncolored. Spread each portion into the prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. 

Invert onto wire racks; remove waxed paper. Place another wire rack on top and turn over. Cool completely. 

Place green layer on a large piece of plastic wrap. Spread evenly with raspberry jam. Top with uncolored layer and spread with apricot jam. Top with pink layer. Bring plastic wrap over layers. Slide onto a baking sheet and set a cutting board or heavy, flat pan on top to compress layers. Refrigerate overnight. 

The next day, melt chocolate in a double boiler. Spread over top layer; allow to harden. With a sharp knife, trim edges. Cut into 1/2-in. strips across the width; then cut each strip into 4-5 pieces. Store in airtight containers. 

Yield: about 8 dozen.

The Crooner Meets Ziggy Stardust

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

---

This has got ot be one of the oddest musical duos EVER! You have to wonder who it was that thought David Bowie - at the heights of his oddness and Bing Crosby - aging into obscurity, would pair well together. Strangely, it works - once you get past the horrid patter between the two. Every time I watch this I want to scream - just sing already! ARGH

Things have been crazy with Christmas prep. My antidote  is to sit and listen to some Christmas music . . . save the egg nog and rum for others!

Enjoy!

Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

---

Wow - what a day!

Once I receovered, it was back to the baking. Note to self - don't be so foolish as to donate 16 dozen cookies to the silent auction at work. Double ARGH!

I like this recipe because it makes a soft oatmeal cookie - my favourite. You might be wondering about oatmeal cookies for Christmas but the tart dried cranberries give these oatmeal cookies a festive touch and balance decadent chunks of white chocolate. I particularly like the hint of cinnamon in these treats.

Enjoy!

Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant)
3/4 cup dried cranberries
6 ounces white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer combine the sugar, brown sugar and butter; mix well to cream together.

Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Add the cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour and mix well.

Fold in the oatmeal, dried cranberries and white chocolate chips- making sure that all ingredients are uniformly distributed.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden.

Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer cookies to cooling rack.