Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner: Blackberry jam

Showing posts with label Blackberry jam. Show all posts

Hallelujah! It's National Cookie Day and Christmas Cookie Season: Brown Butter Thumbprints!

I am of Dutch heritage and

thank them for more than

windmills and tulips!

The English word "cookie" is derived from the Dutch word "koekie" meaning little cake.

Dutch bakers used to test oven temperatures on small amounts of batter so that they wound not waste the entire cake mix if the temperature wasn't right. It wasn't long before they discovered that these tiny pieces of cooked batter were actually quite tasty.

Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits ~ when many of the ingredients we use now, such as ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west.

By the 16th century, Christmas biscuits were popular across Europe. Not until the 17th century, when the Dutch brought them here, did we see the early examples of Christmas cookies in the United States. Gingerbread cookies were among the popular early American cookies.

I for one, am thrilled this practice carried on, as cookies are my favorite sweet treat!

Cookie Monster busy baking his cookies!

In 1976, Sesame Street included National Cookie Day on its calendar for the first time on November 26. The Cookie Monster also proclaimed his own National Cookie Day in the 1980 book The Sesame Street Dictionary.

Then in 1987, Matt Nader of the Blue Chip Cookie Company out of San Francisco created Cookie Day, celebrating it on today, December 4th.

There is a cookie out there for everyone, and here’s a perfect buttery cookie to add to your Christmas cookie repertoire!

I’ve made thumbprint cookies for many years, and was intrigued when I came across this recipe in the Chicago Tribune for Brown Butter Thumbprints.

I love that the usual thumbprints are kicked up a notch by using browned butter. Browning butter adds a new dimension to an already good kitchen staple. It’s an easy way to change-up a recipe. And the aroma as they’re baking, is magnificent.

Browned butter gives the cookie a nutty caramel flavor that is a perfect complement to blackberry jam. Choose the jam of your liking, we like blackberry, apricot or is fine also.

A little cardamom goes a long way; I added one-half teaspoon to the mix; however, if cardamom is new to you, go easy with it, and use a little less for a background note. It has a distinctive, spicy flavor, maybe a little citrusy, I think it’s great in baked goods and learned about baking with it many years ago from my Swedish MIL.

Allow for additional time when making these, as the butter will have to freeze for a short time. Then, later, the cookies will have to be refrigerated for a while before baking.

Give this one a go, bet you'll really like it!

Yield: About 30 cookiesAuthor: Pam

Brown Butter Thumbprints

Here's a perfect buttery cookie to add to your Christmas cookie repertoire!

ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup superfine sugar*
Gold sanding sugar, optional

1 large egg

⅓ to ⅔ cup seedless jam
Frosting, optional

instructions:

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt butter in a small skillet or saucepan over medium heat.

Cook, swirling the pan, until brown flecks appear and the butter smells nutty, about 7 minutes.

Pour into a heatproof bowl.

Freeze, stirring occasionally, until the butter is spreadable, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.

Beat the browned butter and ½ cup sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Beat in the egg until combined.

Reduce the mixer speed until the dough comes together.

Roll dough into 1” balls, then roll in the remaining ¼ cup sugar, or gold sanding sugar.

Arrange about 1½” apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Using the tip of your thumb, make a small indentation in the center of each cookie, without going through bottom of dough; pinching together any large cracks.

Refrigerate until firm, 20 to 30 minutes.

While refrigerating:
Preheat oven to 375°.

Fill each indentation with ½ to 1 teaspoons jam.

Bake until cookies are set and lightly browned on the bottom, about 25 minutes.

Let cool completely on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to wire racks.

Decorate with frosting, if desired. Add a drop of red or green food coloring to white frosting, if you like variety.

notes:

*I sift regular sugar

I rolled the balls in gold sanding sugar.

Allow 35-40 minutes freezing time for butter.

Allow 20-30 minutes refrigerator time for dough.

Baking time about 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Blackberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Of all the Christmas cookies I’ve baked in the last week, this is the one that got Bill’s attention. I have baked them every year since his mother introduced me to them many years ago. He adores them and so do I!

Thumbprint cookies are an old standard that are filled with great ingredients that people like. Make them with your favorite jam or jelly, with just frosting and no jam, with nuts or without, or drizzled with chocolate! However you like them! They’re all great!

I added a little blackberry brandy to the blackberry jam and lemon zest to the dough for extra flavoring. It’s a great mix of flavors that turns out a delicious cookie with the well being filled with jam and frosting. Blackberry thumbprint cookies are really a huge hit in our house and love at first bite!

Blackberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup blackberry jam

1 tablespoon Blackberry Brandy

2¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

2/3 cups sugar

2 eggs, separating yolks from whites

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pecans, chopped fine

1 can your favorite frosting

Few drops of red food coloring

Few drops of green food coloring

Method:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Lightly butter baking sheets or line with Silpat mats or parchment paper.

In small bowl, combine jam and brandy well. Set aside.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt, whisking to blend.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla.

Add the flour in 2 additions and beat until the dough forms a clump.

Gather dough into a ball.

Pinch off the dough and make a 1-inch ball.

In a small bowl, with a fork, gently beat egg whites until foamy.

Dip a dough ball into the egg whites, shaking off the excess.

Place pecans in a small bowl and gently roll cookie in the nuts, coating it completely.

Do the same with the remaining dough.

Place on baking sheet one inch apart.

Using your thumb, make a well in the center of each ball.

Fill each well with approximately ½ teaspoon of the jam mixture.

Bake until golden and firm to the touch, about 15-18 minutes.

Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

Mix half of the frosting with 2-3 drops of red food coloring in a small bowl and the remaining frosting with 2-3 drops of green food coloring in another small bowl.

When cookies are completely cool, apply a dab of frosting to each.

Let frosting dry some before storing (I do over-night).

Store between layers of waxed or parchment paper.

Makes 4 dozen

Do these have you drooling yet?

They would be a great colorful addition to your Christmas cookie tray!

Be sure to enter my CSN Giveaway for a $35 gift certificate that I posted on December 17^th!

Also, check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway!

Another CSN Giveaway and Jam Kolaczki!

Winter is just beginning here in the Midwest with our share of snow, ice and very cold weather with horrific wind chill readings.

So many people around here love snowmobiling, skiing and even ice fishing. I remember when I met Bill and he told me about his father going ice fishing. I thought he was pulling my leg and I was waiting for the punch line. In fact, his father ice fished quite often. He had a home-made sled in which he placed a sterno heater to sit on to keep warm; along with an auger, an ice pick plus the usual fishing equipment. That was paradise to my father-in-law!


My father-in-law loading up his sled to go ice fishing ~ Feb. 1974

Paradise to me is sunning on a beach and swimming in the warm ocean water at the Riviera Maya or in a nearby pool. If I can’t be there, then second best is parked in my recliner at home, eating these Christmas cookies and watching TV.

Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso ~ Riviera Maya, Mexico

Speaking of TV, if you will be purchasing a new flat screen TV or should be lucky enough to receive one as a Christmas gift, you will be in need of a new TV stand and CSN stores is the place for you to shop for it! Sean at CSN has kindly given me another wonderful opportunity for a giveaway for you good people. Look at these great TV stands:

CSN Stores has about everything you could imagine in their over 200 specialty online stores ~ an amazing array of products for you to choose from. They have everything from wall art to lighting to au gratin dishes, furniture, baby items and even beds for your favorite cat or dog.

Or maybe you’d like:


A Chicago Cubs inflatable chair

or...

A new bed for your favorite cat

So after you browse around CSN and see what you would like to purchase, take a break and enjoy one or two of these cookies with a cup of coffee or tea, if you favor. The dough for these kolaczki is what makes them irresistible.

The kolaczki are filled with jam or preserves, such as peach, apricot, strawberry or pineapple. I made some with apricot preserves and the remainder with blackberry preserves. They are a very popular item in this area of “Chicagoland” and after making them yourself, you will see why. They are delicious!

JAM Kolaczki

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, at room temperature

3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

2 cups flour

Your favorite jam, I used apricot and blackberry

Confectioners sugar

Method:

Cream butter well.

Mix in cream cheese until smooth.

Gradually work in flour until a dough forms.

Gather in a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Roll out chilled dough on floured surface 1/8” thickness.

Cut out circles with a 2” round cutter.

Dot center of each circle with about ¼ teaspoon jam. Don’t use too much.

Place on greased cookie sheets, or sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper.

Bake until golden about 8-12 minutes.

Let cool for a minute or two.

Transfer to a wire rack.

Sprinkle lightly with confectioners sugar when cool.

Mmmm Mmmmmm!!!!

Now, more about the great $35 gift certificate from CSN…

The $35 gift certificate does not include shipping costs but, you can use the gift certificate on ANY product from ANY one of the CSN sites.

Here are the rules for entering:

Leave a comment telling me you are a follower through Google Friend Connect (on the side bar of this blog) and tell me what you would like from CSN when you win the giveaway.

For an extra entry, follow this blog on the Facebook Networked Blogs (on the side bar of this blog) and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.

This giveaway is open through midnight, CST, Monday, December 27^th. The drawing will be by a random number generator on Tuesday, December 28^th and is open to US entrants only.

Good luck and I hope you win!

Mom’s Blackberry Jam Cake

My mother was a great cook, who learned all about cooking from her Aunt Jim in Dayton, Ohio; however, she had a reputation for being a great baker also and this was one of her favorite cakes, mine too!

This is a very old recipe and it makes a flavorful moist, rich cake with a fantastic frosting. When you burn sugar, you get caramel and that’s what the frosting is, caramel with finely chopped nuts.

It’s a delectable cake for any time but is particularly an excellent dessert for a special occasion such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s sinfully rich and even better the next day!

Mom's Blackberry Jam Cake

Ingredients:

2 cps. sugar

1 c. vegetable shortening

6 eggs

3 cps. sifted flour

1 t. each, cinnamon, cloves, allspice

Dissolve 1 t. soda in 1 c. buttermilk

2 cps. blackberry jam

½ c. dry rolled oats

Method:

Cream sugar and shortening well. Add eggs, two at a time, beat well. Add spices to flour. Alternately add flour and buttermilk. Fold in jam and oats. Put in two 9”x 13” pans which have been greased and lined with wax paper, then greased and floured. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Place pans side by side on rack in center of oven. Let cake cool in pans 10 minutes. Then put on waxed paper. Remove paper from cake, cool and frost.

Frosting:

In heavy saucepan, mix:

3 cps. sugar (white)

2 stks. butter

1 ½ cps. evaporated milk

Method:

Bring to boil over high heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon.
Turn to medium low heat and continue cooking and stirring. Test with small drop in cool water you can pick up with your fingers.
It’s better to overcook and add a little canned milk to thin than to undercook.

Remove from heat and immediately add:

1 c. English walnuts or pecans, finely chopped, optional.

Let cool and beat well.
If too stiff, 2 or 3 T. evaporated milk can be added to make it creamy enough to spread.
Put layers together with filling and frost top and sides with remainder.

Sprinkle nuts on top, if desired.

It is good and I mean REALLY GOOD!

Pages

Hallelujah! It's National Cookie Day and Christmas Cookie Season: Brown Butter Thumbprints!

Brown Butter Thumbprints

ingredients:

instructions:

notes:

Blackberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Another CSN Giveaway and Jam Kolaczki!

Mom’s Blackberry Jam Cake

DINNER PARTY

ᴡᴏᴏ ʜᴏᴏ!!!

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