Bacon and Cherry Shortbread Cookies

Tis the season for all things red and the Crazy Ingredient Challenge is celebrating accordingly with bacon and maraschino cherries.

I decided to make some mini shortbread cookies. They look unassuming and when you bite in, you get that sweet flavour that you expect from a cookie and then it hits you - little bits salty bacon. I've wanted to put bacon in dessert for a long time now. I thought I would have made some cupcakes for this challenge but settled on my nemesis - cookies.  They were quick to make (chilling time excluded) so it was a lot easier than making cupcakes.

Visit the linkup below for other bacon and maraschino cherry treats!

Bacon and Cherry Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice
2 cups flour
8 maraschino cherries, finely chopped, drained
1/4 cup cooked bacon, finely chopped

Directions 
Cream butter for 1 minute and then add sugar, vanilla, and almond. Beat for another minute then add in the maraschino cherry juice. Scrape down and beat together then slowly add the flour. Mix until it just forms a dough then stir in the chopped maraschino cherries and bacon.

Chill dough for at least four hours then preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Form the dough into tablespoon sized balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies have spread only slightly and have only just started to brown.Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing.

Notes

• Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
• I used a little less cherry juice but I think I'd have preferred it with the full tablespoon so I left that in the recipe.

An InLinkz Link-up

Lentil Molasses Cookies - Crazy Ingredient Challenge

Some months the winning combination for the Crazy Ingredient Challenge is not only easy, but far from crazy. Other months, I am left scratching my head until the 19th of the month. This month's winning combination is lentils and molasses. It sounds simple enough but I had absolutely no clue what to make. It didn't help that I had a busy few weeks and not much time to research. Finally, on Thursday night, I started brainstorming with a friend. Fortunately and unfortunately, he is a chef. He had amazing drool-worthy ideas. But some were way beyond my skill set. While for others, I just did not think that I would have time to pull it off.

I got cookies stuck in my head and decided to go with that. As is, this is not the complete dish that I had envisioned. But since I literally just pulled these cookies out of the oven, and need to publish this post within the next thirty minutes, the remaining components will have to wait. Hint: There will be ice cream and bourbon. Yes, I know. I'll get around to it tomorrow. I promise. Well, I hope.

So here I go again stuffing beans where they don't belong. I assure you once again, you do not taste the lentils at all. The molasses and spices overpower any subtle taste that the lentils would impart. All you are left with is a cookie that has a bit more fibre and protein than normal. Note that I did not say healthy. There is still a lot of sugar to go around. But if you want to tell yourself that they are healthy, go ahead. I'll eat them for breakfast with you.

I have no idea what the other Crazy Ingredient Challenge bloggers made this month and I am really looking forward to it. I am crossing my fingers that someone made some form of lentil balls in a molasses-barbecue sauce because I need a recipe! Be sure to scroll down to check out those links in the link-up below. Also, we are always looking for members to join us on this crazy journey so please, join us!


Lentil Molasses Cookies (adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod)
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
1/2 cup lentil puree (see notes)
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Cream together butter and the sugars until smooth. Add the lentil puree, molasses and egg and mix until well combined.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt then add to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined.
Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour. It's a very sticky dough.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Roll tablespoon sized balls into sugar then place at least two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are set. Allow to cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Notes

The lentil puree should be the consistency of canned pumpkin puree. A good ratio is to 1 cup of cooked lentils to 4 tablespoons of water. Blend thoroughly but it is OK if there a a few pieces of whole lentil still visible. Add water by the teaspoon if necessary to adjust the consistency.
Since the dough is sticky, it helps to spray your hands with cooking spray or drop the tablespoon into the sugar and use the sugar to prevent it from sticking to your hands.

An InLinkz Link-up

Ginger Coconut Macaroons - Foodie Extravaganza

Lately, I've been trying to make more things that remind me of home. It's, however, not that easy to find something that fits into each group's theme. For Foodie Extravaganza this month, we're celebrating eggs. That should be easy, right? Not quite.I wanted a dish that used eggs as an integral part. But I couldn't think of anything Jamaican that did. I thought I'd have to go with our neighbour to the north (Cuba) and make a flan. I was ready to start being when I came across a macaroons recipe. Flan went out the window.

Let's be clear. There's nothing remotely Jamaican about macaroons. Nothing. But macaroons are my mother's favourite cookie and a cookie that I need to master before I see her next. She loves all things coconut so I could always distract her with another coconut item (it was a coconut cheesecake the last time). But I really want to get better at cookies, in general. I added ginger because my favourite coconut treat is a simple mixture of ginger, coconut and caramelized brown sugar (drops). If I were stranded on a deserted island, I'd probably figure out how to make coconut sugar and so I could make drops.

Be sure to scroll down to see how others are celebrating National Egg Month.

Ginger Coconut Macaroons

Yield: ~ 12 cookies

Ingredients
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups shredded coconut
2 teaspoons grated ginger

Directions
Heat oven to 325 F. Line a cookie sheet Ruth parchment or a baking mat.

Beat egg whites, sugar and salt until foamy and the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the coconut and grated ginger.

Drop rounded tablespoons onto the cookie sheet.

Bake 17-20 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

Notes
I like a lot of ginger and two teaspoons was not enough for me. It was just mild. Feel free to use more!

:

• Baked Eggs and Candied Bacon by Our Good Life
• Egg Drop Soup by Food Lust People Love
• Eggs in a Cloud by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Eggs in Purgatory by Cooking with Carlee
• Ginger Coconut Macaroons by Passion Kneaded
• Gyeran Bbang (Korean Egg Bread) by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole by Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Ham, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Braid by Making Miracles
• Southwestern Breakfast Bowl by The Freshman Cook
• Tiramisu Gelato by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake with Malted Chocolate Cloud Frosting by Baking in Pyjamas

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. This month we celebrate National Egg Day on June 3rd by serving up egg dishes of all kinds.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to participate in the next Foodie Extravaganza, just go to our Facebook page to join. We would love to have you!

Follow our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest board for past events and more deliciousness!

Jam-Filled Mandelbrot & A Baby Shower

Today's a very special day! A group of bloggers, led by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook have joined together to celebrate a very special lady. Tara just had baby number two! And we are celebrating with twice baked cookies. Have you been to her blog - Tara's Multicultural Table? Beautiful pics. Amazing food. It's a great resource if you're planning an international menu or just want to learn about dishes from across the world..

For this event, I made some guava mandelbrot. Mandelbrot ("almond bread") is an Eastern European version of the Italian biscotti. Like the name suggests, they are typically made with almonds. Now, the history of the mandelbrot is a bit murky to me. The difference between the biscotti and the mandelbrot is even murkier. It seems that Italian Jews introduced their cookies to Eastern European Jews. In Eastern Europe, they were called mandelbrot. If you poll ten different persons, you will probably hear ten completely different explanations about the difference. Mandelbrot is softer. No, it's harder. Mandelbrot has more fat. No it doesn't. Mandelbrot uses oil to account for dietary restrictions. I found a recipe that used butter. The ratio of flour to eggs is different. One is sweeter. Etc.

I really have no idea. I think both recipes evolved so much over time that's it's hard to tell a difference. What I do know is that this is one delicious twice baked cookie. I opted for a mandelbrot with a filling - specifically, guava jam. I'm currently riding a guava jam craving and depending on my mood, there could be another guava jam recipe coming next week. Anyway, I came across this recipe on Sarabeth Levine's blog and she got the recipe from her mother-in-law.

The cookies are DELICIOUS. They were definitely a wee bit softer than traditional biscotti. But if left in the oven longer, they would harden more. However, I love them as is.  I am not a cookie-baker and I could do this. I encourage you to try this recipe with your favourite jam (GUAVA, use GUAVA). The only thing that I'd do differently next time is to roll the cookies a bit of cinnamon sugar before their second bake. I meant to do it this time, but I put them in the oven and forgot the cinnamon sugar sitting on the counter. It's probably for the best though. They were sweet enough as is. Plus, I am still pretending to give up refined sugar for Lent. When you're finished making these, leave your oven on so you can make the other delicious biscottis that you'll find listed below.

Congrats, Tara! And thanks for hosting, Lauren!

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Guava Mandelbrot

Recipe by: Kelly  Adapted from: slightly from Sarabeth's

Yield: ~14 cookies

Ingredients 6 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg, beaten 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 8 teaspoons orange juice 1/4 cup guava jam (or thinly sliced guava jam)

Directions Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stop and scrape the bowl when necessary. Gradually add the egg and vanilla then beat in the baking powder and salt.  Slowly add in the flour in three additions alternating with the orange juice. Mix until it just comes together. Remove the dough from the bowl and pat into a thick rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.  On a lightly floured parchment, knead the dough a few times until smooth. Sprinkle the top lightly with flour then roll out to a 1/4" thick rectangle measuring about 16" x 8". Spread the jam over the dough leaving a 1/2" border around the edges.If using guava paste, lay the slices evenly across the dough. Fold the shorter sides over one inch. With a longer edge facing you, fold the top third down and the bottom third up (a letter fold). Lift the parchment with the dough and place the dough seam side down on the prepared half sheet pan. Remove the paper that's now on top. Bake 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes.  Slice at an angle into 3/4"-1" pieces. Put the cookies (non-jam side down) back on the sheet pan. Return to oven for 8-10 minutes until lightly toasted

Notes You could also bake them cut-side down as is down with biscotti. You'll a little jam stuck to your parchment - not a big deal.  Try rolling in some cinnamon sugar before the second bake.

Biscotti Bites from Nicole at I am a Honey Bee

Blueberry Pecan Biscotti from Renee at Magnolia Days

Cinnamon Biscotti from Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti from Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti from Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures

Green Tea Biscotti Cookies from Rebekah at Making Miracles

Jam-Filled Mandelbrot from Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Maple Walnut Biscotti from Sally at Bewitching Kitchen

Nut-Free Anise Biscotti with Chocolate Chips from Susan at The Wimpy Vegetarian

Orange and Dark Chocolate Biscotti from Lynsey at Lynsey Lou's

Parmesan-Peppercorn Biscotti from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Tangelo, Date, and Almond Biscotti from Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories

Spa Water from of Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious

Cranberry Spice Biscotti - Crazy Ingredients Challenge

I am the worst cookie baker in the world. Yet knowing this, I forwent my initial plan to make biscotti for this month's Crazy Ingredients Challenge and tried my hand at shortbread. Big mistake. I know what you're thinking. Biscottis are cookies and shortbreads are the easiest cookies to make. Right on both counts. But you see, biscotti, doesn't mind being in the oven a little long. It doesn't need to come out before it's done. It's OK for biscotti to be hard. This is my kinda cookie. As for the shortbread being easy? I don't want to talk about that. There was a cupcake plan too but to be honest, after eating half a cake in fewer days than anyone should eat half of an 18000 calorie cake, making cupcakes just seemed like a bad (but oh so delicious) idea.

But let's rewind a bit. I have not actually introduced you to the ingredients for this month. This month cranberries and gingerbread spice won the poll. Festive! And so much easier than last year's gingerbread spice and onions. That one had me scratching my head and ready to quit. I didn't even know what gingerbread spice was. But thanks to our then host - Jutta - and Google, I learned. The mix really varies a lot but I decided to keep it simple. I went with 2 parts cinnamon, 2 parts ginger, 1 part nutmeg, 1 part allspice, 1 part cloves. Other mixes include other spices such as anise, cardamom and even black pepper.

I really enjoyed this biscotti and hope you do too. Within hours of baking and cooling, I had already eaten a significant number. I still have those cupcakes on my mind and think I may try to fit them into my schedule in the upcoming week.  Scroll down to see what festive dishes others came up with for this month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge!

Cranberry Spice Biscotti

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup - 1 cup of chopped dried cranberries

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line one large or two small baking sheets with parchment, non-stick foil or baking mats. 
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. 
Whisk spices and brown sugar into melted butter then whisk in egg and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix just until the flour streaks disappear. Stir in chopped cranberries. Don't over mix. Dough will be very sticky.
Divide the dough into two. With floured or wet hands, pat each piece into an 11" x 2.5" smooth rectangle.
Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for another 25 minutes then slice at 1/2 inch intervals on a slight diagonal.
Place the slices cut side up and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the cookies and bake for another 5 minutes or until both sides are golden.
Cool completely.

Notes
You'll note that my ratio of cinnamon/ ginger to other spices is a bit more than 2 parts. I thought the biscotti could do with an extra cinnamon and ginger kick so I added an extra half teaspoon of each but didn't increase the other spices.

An InLinkz Link-up

Mint Chocolate Cookies

A few years ago, I thought I would surprise a friend with baked goods for her birthday. I prefer to bake cakes but all my googling told me that cookies would be better to mail. I decided on something chocolate plus Nutella since she loves chocolate and has been known to eat a jar of Nutella in a short amount of time. Ha. As I searched for recipes, I also realised that she shared her birthday with World Nutella Day. Perfect, really.

I made her three things - Nutella Lava cookies, Nutella Biscotti and Whattalottachoca Cookies. Of the three, I loved the Nutella Lava Cookies the most and made them several times since, with and without the Nutella. I don't know which my friend (would have) liked the most because the package never made it to her. Over a month later, it was returned to me. She never got the notification to pick it up and it just sat there and languished in the post office until they decided to send it back.

When I first saw this Chocolate Party over on Roxana's Home Baking, I knew immediately that I wanted to make these cookies. But I didn't want to fill them with Nutella. Caramel? Dulce de leche? I had been using that a lot lately. And then it hit me - mint chocolate!

I LOVE these little mint chocolate cookies and I hope you will too. So do you have a favourite chocolate recipe? Bring your favorite chocolate dessert to Roxana’s home baking #chocolateparty and win amazing prizes from OXO, Calphalon, Keurig, Imperial Sugar, Honey Ridge Farmsand Land O Lakes® Butter

MINT CHOCOLATE COOKIES                                               Print

Recipe by:  Kelster  Adapted from: Cookie Madness

Yield: approximately 16 cookies

Ingredients 3 T Butter 2/3 C Semisweet Chocolate Chips 1/3 C Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips 1 Egg, large 1/3 C Sugar 1 t vanilla ¾ C  Flour ½ t Salt ¼ t Baking Powder

Directions Melt butter over low heat then stir in chocolate and mint chips until melted. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Whisk egg, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl for two minutes then slowly incorporate into cooled chocolate mixture. Be sure to whisk constantly so as not to curdle egg. Combine flour, baking powder and salt then fold into chocolate mixture. Chill for at least one hour. Preheat oven to 375 F Scoop 1 tablespoon balls and place on baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes. Emjoy!

Notes You can make these cookies as large as you want! I went with small bites this time. Just adjust the baking time accordingly.