Spritz Cookies

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Ingredients:

1 cup room temperature butter

1 cup sugar

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract

Directions:

Combine butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add egg, almond extract, salt and flour. Mix until combined. Put dough in cookie press and place on non-stick baking sheet directly. First batch will take 6 minutes, subsequent batches will take 5 minutes. 

*I wipe down sheet pan with a paper towel between batches so that the cookies will stick to the sheet pan better, coming out of the press.

**I separate the dough into three bowls and mix in red food coloring to one bowl and green food coloring to one of the others, leaving one of the bowls the original white color. I add small increments of each of the colors to the cookie press, filling the press completely. Outcome is shown in picture above.

~Recipe from my mother-in-law (Nora)

Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam

Directions:

1. Using a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Switch mixer to medium speed and add the sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer off and pour the flour into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed. Press the dough down to compact it and tightly cover with plastic wrap to chill until firm.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Shape the cookie dough into balls. Mine were about 1 Tablespoon of dough per ball. Make sure they're nice and smooth. If you find the balls of dough are sticky and/or have gotten a little soft after rolling- place the balls of dough back into the refrigerator to firm up. You absolutely DO NOT want soft dough. Make an indention with your thumb into each ball. The dough may crack slightly when you press your thumb into it. Simply smooth it out with your finger if you can. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine to have a few cracks. Fill each with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of jam. (Or however much it can hold.)
3. Bake the shortbread thumbprint cookies for 14-15 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges. The cookies will puff up and spread slightly. Do no over bake. In fact, I only baked mine for 13-14 minutes. I prefer them a little soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wore rack.

~Recipe from sallybakingaddiction.com

Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Baking Chips, for melting into the cookie dough
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Baking Chips, for mixing into the prepared cookie dough
• 2 Tablespoons coarse sea salt, or as needed

Directions:

1. In a heatproof bowl over a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter until smooth. Turn off the stove and let chocolate sit over warm water.
2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. In another bowl, mix together sugar and eggs, combine throughly with whisk and slowly add the warm chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. Add vanilla extract and mox. Stir in flour mixture. Cool for a few minutes (if batter is warm, chocolate chips will melt). Stir in chocolate chips. Chill for 10-15 minutes.
3. Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter and place on baking tray. Sprinkle each cookie lightly with a pinch of sea salt. Baking at 350°F for approximately 7-8 minutes until the outside looks slightly cracked. Be very careful not to over bake cookies because they will continue to bake as they cool once removed from the oven. Cookies should be soft and gooey in the center.

~recipe from allrecipes.com

Crockpot Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 2 Pounds beef stew meat (cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 32 oz beef broth
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 4-5 small red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Combine beef, celery, carrots, onion, potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and tomato paste in the crockpot. Cook on LOW for 10 hours or on HIGH for 6-7 hours.
2. About 30 minutes before serving, mix the flour and the water together in a small dish and pour into the crockpot. Mix until well combined. This will add nice thickness to the stew. Next add in frozen peas and corn. Continue cooking covered for 30 minutes.

*I forgot to add the peas and corn but it was still very good.

~Recipe from familyfreshmeals.com

Beef with Broccoli

Prep time: 10 minutes
Marinade time: 1 hour
Cook time: 8 minutes

Marinade Ingredients:

• First, marinate the meat:
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, sliced into thin strips

Directions for marinating:

1. Whisk together the baking soda, sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, water, and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Toss the steak with the marinade to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, then proceed below.

Cooking Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (Do not use regular. The final product will be way too salty)
• 4 Tablespoons sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 Tablespoon sherry
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 heads broccoli, crowns only

Directions for Cooking:

1. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, flour and sherry until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a large wok or saute pan, heat 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil over high heat until shimmering. Add broccoli and saute 3 minutes, stirring often. Transfer broccoli to a plate.
3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Carefully add the remaining Tablespoon of oil to the hot pan. Add the marinated meat and half of the sauce mixture and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink. Stir in the broccoli and remaining sauce. Saute 1 minute more. Serve.

~Recipe from rainydaygal.com