Sunday, February 03, 2008

A Little Kitchen Time...


I love to bake but haven't indulged my passion much lately. Today seemed a perfect day and those cookies up there are to die for. You'll have to pardon the dark pictures. I just can't seem to get the right light in my kitchen for nice pictures. I think some new task lighting might be in order one of these days. Anyway, my new Better Homes & Gardens came a week or so ago but my days are so full of messy diapers that I didn't really even thumb through it until Friday. Holy Cow are there some good recipes in this issue! I made the Pineapple Curry Chicken last night ~ Scrumptious ~ and the Rosemary-Lemon Sandwich Cookies today. I love to bake and anything with fresh herbs gets my attention, so this recipe grabbed me right off. It's an easy one, so try it for yourself. Very spring-timey taste. Mmmm....

ROSEMARY-LEMON SANDWICH COOKIES
Prep:30 minutes Bake:8 minutes
Oven:400
Ingrediants:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. snipped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup lemon curd
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (I substituted cream cheese)
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, rosemary, lemon peel, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in remaining flour.

2. Shape dough in 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on a parchement paper-lined cookie sheet. With bottom of glass dipped in sugar flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Bake 8 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack; cool.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine lemon curd and mascarpone cheese (where I subsituted cream cheese). Spread on flat side of half of cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat side to filling. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve immediately or refrigerate, in layers separated by waxed paper, in airtight container up to 24 hours. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
Makes 20 cookies.

I found that between batches I should have refrigerated my dough because my second batch of cookies didn't hold their shape as well. These are really yummy!



Riff made a pot of his incredible chili that's simmering away on the stove and my beer bread just came out of the oven. The spicy chili smell has swirled together with the fresh baked bread smell and tantalized my tastebuds. My mouth is watering for that first delicious bite. What a wonderful meal to enjoy while the Patriots are kicking some Giant butt. Actually, my dear husband can't make up his mind. They're both his favorite teams, so he's holding to "I don't care who wins, I just want it to be a good game." I call BS on that one. Sounds to much like "I don't care if we have a boy or girl, I just want it to be healthy." We ALL want them to be healthy, but we all secretly have a preference. Stop waffling Riff ~ name your team, man!

I'm going now to finish my book, The President's Lady, and hopefully get some embroidery done. Happy football, baking, reading, crafting day!

12 comments:

Mary said...

Paula,

The chili, the bread and those cookies all look delicious. I really need to do some baking. I usually give the boys some homemade goodies for Valentine's Day and I bought some supplies today to make their Valentine's. I'm doing something different this year and hope it works. If so, I will post photos.

Take care and enjoy your delicious food.

Blessings,
Mary

Anonymous said...

I love that you love to bake. And I love even more that I've been the lucky recipient of that lovin' from the oven!

I didn't either about the Super Bowl (I just watch for the commercials. And the snacky-snack food). But at the end I was glad NY won when I saw Paton Manning (sp) jump for joy for his little brother. Thinkin' like a mom... I'm glad NY won - for Mama Manning.

Hey... I caught your cute wave! Wavin' right back at ya!

Jodi Ohl said...

mmmmm...your goodies always look top notch. You may find me at your door step one day~~!

Yolanda said...

All this sounds so yummy. Hope you had a good weekend.

Anonymous said...

You are realy making me hungry Paula!! I'm going to have to get to my kitchen & do some cooking.

Josh said...

I expect some good food when I get out there in April! :-) Also, of course is good seafood out in the Oregon country, as opposed to the low country food that I had over the weekend in Georgia. :-) I know you won't let your little brother starve to death. BTW pop over to my website and you can see the pictures I posted of Georgia and South Carolina.

See ya in a few months!!! :-)

Terri said...

Oh it all looks so good!
How did the book turn out?
I finished Love In the Time Of Cholera and it was o.k. I just couldn't get into it much.
I finished The Diving Bell And The Butterfly. Short and rather sad.

monique said...

Those cookies sure looks delicious !I can't wait to try the recipe this weekend.

Susan said...

I saw the cookie recipe in BH&G, now am going to have to try them out! There surely is noting better than a steaming pot of soup and fresh, crusty bread on a winter day. Just warms you clear through!

Shelby said...

oh my gracious those look fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Do you have a chair ready for me in your kitchen? I'm coming over!

Anonymous said...
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