Holiday Dessert

OATMEAL CHERRY COOKIES

December 19, 2019 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

We are in full cookie exchange season and I am loving it! This week I participated in an exchange at work and we ended up with seven varieties of cookies (and recipes). SEVEN!!! It had been several years since I last participated in a cookie exchange and I had kind of forgotten how great it is. I love seeing what people bring in and the stories behind the recipes. This is such a great way of using food to create community. With each story that is told about a recipe, we get to know each other a little bit better.

I am a huge fan of any category of dessert – cakes, pastries, tarts, etc. But let’s be real here, cookies are awesome for several reasons. They are typically easy to make. Most recipes make at least a couple dozen cookies which means you have more to share. If you aren’t needing a few dozen cookies to share, you can always freeze them for later. Actually, you can freeze the dough into individual cookie dough balls and then bake them when the craving strikes. OR, you can bake them all from the get go and just thaw them out when you’re ready for a treat. Cookies really do have a flexibility that most other desserts just don’t have.

For this year’s cookie exchange, I reached into my grandmother’s recipe box. To be fair, I chose this Oatmeal Cherry Cookie recipe partly because I already had all but one ingredient in the house and partly because it sounded like a fun twist on the more traditional oatmeal cookie. The maraschino cherries add a different sweetness than the raisins you would typically find in an oatmeal cookie but they also give a festive pop of color. These cookies are a bit smaller than what most recipes seem to make but I actually really love the size. It gives you that sweet treat that you’re looking for without over indulging. This recipe is also perfect for a cookie exchange because it makes FIVE dozen cookies. That’s right, no need to double the recipe. You’ll get five dozen little cookies out of the recipe as it is. You’re welcome.

Print Recipe

OATMEAL CHERRY COOKIES

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Oatmeal Cherry Cookies, Oatmeal Cookies

Servings: 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup red maraschino cherries, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and cloves. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla extract.
Stir dry ingredients into sugar mixture.
Stir in oats and cherries.
Drop dough by the teaspoonfuls, two inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes.

Notes

Tip: Wear food safe gloves when chopping the cherries so the food dye doesn’t stain your hands.

*Original recipe source unknown. Recipe has been modified from this version for the purpose of this blog.*

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like:

Peanut Butter Cut-Out Cookies

Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Potato Chip Cookies

Lemon Iced Ginger Cookies

Vegan Shortbread Cookies with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Stir-N-Drop Sugar Cookies

Strawberry Float

July 1, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Happy Independence Day!!! I have celebrated this holiday from all over the country – Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Alabama… I’ve watched fireworks lakeside, mountainside and from my own driveway. However, my favorite memories of this holiday are from my grandparents’ backyard. As a kid, we would drive down from Kansas to Texas to visit my grandparents. They would have what seemed like an endless supply of sparklers and popper for us to light up after it got dark. All of us kids would line up out in the yard, a few feet in front of Grandpa’s giant vegetable garden, and write our names in the night sky with the sparklers. Aside from summer camp, this has got to be one of my all-time favorite summer memories.

This year, I’m keeping the holiday low-key. My little one is too little to play with sparklers and I won’t be staying up late since I’ll need to be at work the next day. But I still want a festive treat. Making the ice cream ahead of time means all I have to do is scoop and pour some soda for this one. I opted for fresh strawberries since they are readily available this time of year. And in the continued effort to keep things simple, this is a no-churn ice cream. You’re welcome!

Tips:

Make sure the strawberry syrup has completely cooled before you add it to the cream mixture.
The homemade syrup is really delicious – it would also be fantastic poured over any vanilla ice cream for a sundae.

Strawberry Float

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

16oz fresh strawberries, de-stemmed and finely chopped

16oz heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

14oz sweetened condensed milk

Strawberry soda (I used a passion fruit & strawberry Italian soda)

Directions:

Place sugar, balsamic vinegar and half of the strawberries in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid has reduced by half. Set aside to let cool.

In a large, cold bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Stir in vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, cooled syrup and remaining fresh strawberries. Pour ice cream into a 9×5 loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Place 2 scoops of the strawberry ice cream into a glass. Fill glass with strawberry soda until ice cream is covered and starts to foam. Serve with a straw or spoon.

Boozy Truffles

February 7, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Let’s talk Valentine’s Day. Whether you love it or hate it, this holiday is great for making and eating sweet treats! It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but food is definitely my favorite way to celebrate a holiday. My typical go-to is cake or cookies but I wanted to change it up this year. One of the things I love about these truffles is that you can customize them just by changing up the flavor of liqueur. I know we just finished up Christmas and all of its peppermint glory but who says we can’t use that flavor all year round? I absolutely love peppermint with dark chocolate so I went for it! I also wanted to do something more unique for a white chocolate flavor which brought me to horchata. You could make these truffles as a gift for your valentine but you could also just treat yourself – you deserve it!

Tips:

If you aren’t much of a drinker, don’t invest in a full-size bottle of liqueur. Just skim the section of single serving bottles (you know, like the tiny bottles they have on airplanes or in hotel minibars).
The white chocolate filling is a bit sticky and challenging to work with. Do yourself a favor and leave them in the freezer right up until you are ready to dip them in the dark chocolate coating. You could even pull just a few out at a time as you go. Trust me, they are worth the extra effort though!

Boozy Truffles

Dark Chocolate Filling:

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons liqueur – I used a peppermint coffee flavor

White Chocolate Filling:

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons liqueur – I used an horchata flavor

Dark Chocolate Coating:

1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips

1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil

Decorative garnish – I used crushed peppermint pieces and gold colored sugar sprinkles

Directions:

For dark chocolate filling, place chocolate chips in a medium heat safe bowl. In a heavy saucepan, bring cream to a low boil. Pour cream over chocolate chips and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk liqueur into cream and chocolate mixture until mixture is blended together and smooth. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 1 day. Repeat this process for the white chocolate filling.

Once fillings are chilled, shape into 1 inch balls then place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place in freezer for 1 hour.

For the dark chocolate coating, place chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.

One at a time, dip chilled ball of filling into coating mixture, making sure each one is completely coated. Place each truffle back onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with decorative garnish. Once all truffles are garnished, refrigerate until coating is set or you are ready to serve them.

PUMPKIN PECAN PIE

November 21, 2017 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving is all about sharing a meal with those you are thankful for. I’ve lived all over the place so spending time with family by blood is not alway an option for this holiday. However, I have been incredibly blessed to make friends who are dear enough to be called family. Some I had known for years before being invited, others I had only known for a few months. Regardless of the age of friendship, it is incredible to gather around a table and express gratitude. Even in years that life has brought challenges, ESPECIALLY when life has brought challenges, there is plenty to be thankful for. A roof over my head, friends/family to lean on or celebrate with, food on the table (even if not in abundance). I hope that this year, you will be spending time with loved ones and celebrating the wins and/or overcoming the losses of the year together.

While I haven’t been a life long pumpkin lover, I knew I needed to try this recipe from my grandmother’s recipe box. What a joy to have her with me in spirit as I made this pie for friends. This pie is the perfect balance of both pumpkin and pecan. For those of you who can’t decide between the two flavors, this is your solution!!! Grandma also gets bonus points for this recipe because it is so amazingly easy. The hardest part is getting it into the oven without spilling the filling. Check out the tips below for help with that.

Tips

If you are using pre-made pie crust that is in an aluminum tin, place it on a baking sheet before pouring the filling in and keep it on the baking sheet even while baking it. The tin is flimsy enough that it is easy to spill the filling while transferring it to the oven if you don’t have the support of the baking sheet.
If you are using a roll-out pre-made pie crust and placing it in your own glass/metal pie dish, go ahead and put a baking sheet in the oven on the bottom shelf. If you happen to have any filling bubble over the edge of the crust the baking sheet will catch it and save you from a mess in your oven.

For those wanting to be more decorative with the pie, you can customize your crust by imprinting the edges with items you can find in your own kitchen. For this one, I used the handle of a measuring spoon so get those cute little dots. You can absolutely sprinkle the pecan pieces all over the top. I chose to make a circle out of the nuts near the crust edge before sprinkling the rest.

Print Recipe

PUMPKIN PECAN PIE

Why choose between pumpkin and pecan when you can have both? This pie is the perfect marriage of both flavors and is incredibly easy to make.

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Dessert, Pecan, Pie, Pumpkin

Servings: 8 slices

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9" pie crust
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
15 oz canned pumpkin
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 Tablespoons butter melted and cooled
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. If using a roll out pie crust, unroll it and place it in a pie dish. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, pumpkin, corn syrup and butter. Pour mixture into pie crust. Top with chopped pecans. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until filling does not jiggle. Once cooled, serve topped with whipped cream.

*Original source of this recipe is unknown. Directions are slightly modified from my grandmother’s recipe card.