Merry Christmas Everyone

Adoration of the Christ Child (1620) by Gerard Van Honthorst at The Uffizi Gallery in Florence Italy

Merry Christmas from THE SAVVY SHOPPER. I hope the week fills your life with love, peace, and joy. Whatever your faith tradition is or wherever you live on our globe, everyone is equally valued here, where we can share or learn about each other's cultures and holidays.

Inside my kitchen for Christmas ...

I made a Kentucky bourbon fruitcake (with walnuts, pecans, dried apricots, pineapples, cranberries, raisins, frozen cherries, and fresh blueberries). I baked the cakes the first week of December and have been soaking them with bourbon every few days, aging our treat for Christmas Day.

Know that I baked all these cookies in 2024, then returned to older blogs to switch out the Google images I originally posted, so don't be confused.:)

Four batches of cookies will do this year - Springerle, Scottish shortbread, pecan cookies, and coconut macaroons are enough for family, friends, and building staff.

We're keeping Christmas 2024 low-key. I'm happy to spend it with my senior mother and whoever drops by for homemade low-fat eggnog and treats. During Christmas week I'll walk with a friend down to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree but plan to stay close to home.

A neighborhood friend has her heart set on making us chicken coq vin as a Christmas dinner which we'll gladly accept. Usually for Christmas in my childhood home, my mom made a roast beef dinner. She grew up eating a stuffed roasted goose for Christmas but didn't carry on the tradition of serving any special meal. On December 25th, we simply ate a hearty balanced dinner often roast beef with either potatoes or 

Kartoffelklöße (potato dumplings), gravy, vegetables, and a salad with a loaf of grainy rye bread heated in the oven. It's still one of my favorite meals although I don't eat as much red meat as I did growing up since it's no longer doctor-approved. How we stayed healthy in the past is a mystery.:) 

In celebrating Christmas around the world ... or just joining your friends who do🎁👑🎄: 

Merry Christmas in 25 different languages

• Arabic: عيد ميلاد مجيد (Eid milad majid)
• Chinese: 圣诞快乐 (Shèngdàn kuàilè)
• Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest!
• Farsi: کریسمس مبارک (Krismas Mobaarak!)
• French: Joyeux Noël!
• German: Frohe Weihnachten!
• Greek: Καλά Χριστούγεννα! (Kalá Christoúgenna!)
• Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka!
• Hebrew: חג שמח (Chag Sameach!)
• Hindi: क्रिसमस की बधाई (Krisamas Kee Badhaee!)
• Irish: Nollaig Shona!
• Italian: Buon Natale!
• Japanese: メリークリスマス (Merī kurisumasu)
• Korean: 메리 크리스마스 (Meli keuliseumaseu)
• Latin: Felix Nativitas!
• Polish: Wesołych Świąt!
• Portuguese: Feliz Natal!
• Russian: С Рождеством (S Rozhdestvom!)
• Spanish: ¡Feliz Navidad!
• Swahili: Krismasi Njema!
• Swedish: God Jul!
• Tagalog: Maligayang Pasko!
• Turkish: Mutlu Noeller!
• Vietnamese: Giáng sinh vui vẻ!

If your native tongue isn't on the list, please add it in the comments below. May the season's goodwill touch the world and last in the hearts and deeds of people throughout the year! 

Merry Christmas Everyone!🐑🐪

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Protein Cookies For Breakfast

Today I'll share two recipes, one for a senior and another for everyone else. First up: For breakfast some mornings I make a hot bowl of cereal for my senior mother. In her cereal, she gets 1/4 cup of 1-minute oatmeal, an overflowing tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter, about 1/4 cup of milk, and sometimes 1/2 banana. Microwave it for 2 minutes and after it cools but is still warm, I dice a Pure Protein Chocolate Chip bar and mix it in. She gets protein vitamins, and fiber but is none the wiser that she's eating a healthy breakfast as it tastes and smells like a cookie! According to her, she doesn't eat breakfast.🙂

Here's how you can turn it into a real protein cookie to eat for breakfast, or anytime you need a cookie. If you're not a senior who's a picky eater, you don't need the Pure Protein bar 😉 --

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies (a complete protein)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups oatmeal flakes

1 cup of crunchy peanut butter

1 large ripe banana, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla

a pinch of salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

a sprinkle of nutmeg

1/4 cup honey

2/3 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Options: (1) 1/4 cup of raisins - I add raisins to keep the cookies moist longer. You could puree them before adding. (2) Although we're not dried fruit in cookie fans, you could use other dried fruit if you like. (3) If you wish to chop 1/2 cup of nuts like walnuts, pecans, or almonds, feel free to toss them into the batter. (4) A couple teaspoons of flax seeds is another healthy choice.

Directions:

1) In a mixing bowl, mix all your ingredients, one by one, together.

(2) Refrigerate the batter for 1/2 hour or more.

3) Drop a tablespoon size of batter onto a buttered foil-lined cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Flatten the top if you wish.

4) Bake at 375 degrees F for 12 - 14 minutes or until they are slightly golden brown.

5) Remove and let cool before serving.

Protein cookies are for people who don't eat breakfast.🙂

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Canada's Nanaimo Bars

Oh, Canada, why have you been holding out on me?

These classic Canadian cookie bars popped up on my Facebook feed. They are named after Nanaimo, British Columbia, but I've never heard of them. They look so delicious I've decided to make them! After googling the recipe to find that other recipes call for custard powder, another food item I've never heard of and won't find in my supermarket, I decided to go with this 12 Tomatoes recipe adapted from Classic Cooking. I like the white chocolate flavor in the custard layer. Another version of Nanaimo bars suggests making a coffee-flavored custard, also tasty! You choose. I'll go with white chocolate the 1st time.

Nanaimo Bars - 12 Tomatoes version:

Ingredients:

Photo: 12 Tomatoes - FB

Bottom Layer --
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
⅓ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups graham crackers, finely crushed
8 oz sweetened coconut, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds)

Pudding Filling -- 

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup heavy cream 

2 tablespoons white chocolate instant pudding mix

2 cups powdered sugar

 

Photo: 12 Tomatoes

Chocolate Topping -- 

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips - See my tweak - step 6.

4 tablespoons salted butter 

Optional: ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions: (From 12 Tomatoes with my tweaks in blue font).

1) Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside. (It works in a buttered 9x9-inch baking pan equally well. I think the crust is better without parchment paper.)

2) Melt 1 stick of cubed butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder, salt, and brown sugar, remove the pan from heat, and whisk until mixture is well-blended.

3) Slowly whisk in the beaten egg and mix constantly until the egg is incorporated. Return the pot to the stovetop over medium heat and cook until the chocolate mixture has thickened, stirring frequently, for up to 2 minutes.

4) Stir in vanilla extract, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, and graham cracker crumbs. Once blended, pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 40 minutes.

5) Beat 5 tablespoons unsalted butter with heavy cream, and instant pudding powder until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar until a creamy mixture comes together. Spread the cream filling over the top of the chocolate base layer and recover with plastic wrap. Return the pan to the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Photo: BBC

6) Melt chocolate chips with butter in a microwave-safe bowl, cooking in short increments of time and stirring until melted and smooth. Add salt, if using, and stir until blended. (See my tweak below👇). Spread chocolate topping over top of the cream filling. Cover with plastic wrap and return to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes or until the chocolate has completely set. My chocolate ganache is pure and simple without sacrificing flavor: Melt chocolate chips or broken dark chocolate pieces in a microwave-safe bowl with a tiny amount of any fat milk. Remember you can always add more milk, but can't remove it, so start with less. You don't need the butter or salt to make chocolate ganache. After melting, stir well and pour the ganache over the 2nd layer. Cover and refrigerate.

7) To serve, cut into squares. Store in an airtight container. If stacking your Nanaimo bars, place a layer of parchment paper in between each layer. Don't stack the cut bars as thy're moist because of the middle layer of pudding. It won't end well! 

Makes 16 bars. Refrigerate any leftovers and return the next day to eat the batch up! Let's not lie and pretend otherwise.

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Black Forest Cookies

I'm still busy away from blogging but I'll jump on as time permits. Today for the first time ever I tasted a soft, chewy, and ultra chocolatey cookie that I never knew existed! The rich dark chocolate (like an Oreo) cookie is filled with chunks of white chocolate (or substitute dark chocolate chips) and maraschino cherry pieces. I think both the taste and texture make the cookie delectable. Here is the recipe:

Black Forest Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar (I try to cut the sugar a tad without a resulting cookie failure😏)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons good cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 cup maraschino cherries, finely chopped

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or chopped and feel free to substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips)

1) In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2) Next add the egg and vanilla and beat with the mixer.

3) In a 2nd bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

4) Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in portions until just combined.

5) Mix in the white chocolate and maraschino cherries.

6) Cover the dough and refrigerate for 2 hours or more.

7) Scoop the cookie dough (into tablespoon-size balls or globs) and deposit onto a buttered or parchment-lined prepared cookie sheet.

8) Bake in a pre-heated 350 degrees F oven for 9 - 11 minutes or until the edges set.

I like Black Forest Cookies even better than the cake. Delicious paired with a cup of milk or coffee. Down the hatch or freeze a batch!

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Faux-Reos: When To Make Homemade Cookies?

Photo and recipe courtesy of King Arthur Baking Co.

Everyone should know where his or her food comes from, what's in it and what it takes to put it on the table, so I think everybody should have a few basic cooking or baking skills.🙂 Often homemade is healthier as you use better ingridients. That said, life is a balance. Who wants to spend all their time in the kitchen? So how do I decide between homemade or readymade?

If I can't make food, better, healthier, or cheaper, I buy it readymade. Oreos are one of my favorite store-bought cookies. I can't make them better than Nabisco Cadbury Milka, their manufacturer ... and not much cheaper either. 

Moreover, are cookies ever healthy? Really ... truly?! It's the sugar that's so bad for us ... as well as, eating too many cookies! So Oreos are a cookie I buy and never bake at home. BTW, if you can find the same crispy chocolate sandwich cookie manufactured by Hydrox, the original inventor of the recipe in your supermarket, buy them. As tasty as Oreos, Hydrox -- the 1st retailer to make them -- deserves your patronage!

Despite never making the chocolate sandwich biscuit myself, I'm curious to know what's in my favorite, sooo delicious, store-bought cookie. Let's turn to a professional baking company for a copycat recipe:

Faux-Reos by King Arthur

Ingredients for the cookie:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

12 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 large egg

1 tablespoon cold water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup good quality cocoa

Directions for the cookie:

1) In a mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, salt, and espresso powder. 

2) Beat in the egg, water, and vanilla. Next add the flour and cocoa (to get a stiff dough with no leavening agent, so do not worry about either).

3) Roll the dough into 2 teaspoon-size balls (the weight of a chestnut).

4) Place the balls on a greased, or parchment paper prepared cookie sheet, leaving 1 1/2'' - 2'' apart.

5) Flatten each cookie to about 1/8" with your fingers or a glass bottom dipped in cocoa.

6) Bake the cookies for 18 - 20 minutes and watch them closely to get a crispy-without-scorched cookie. When just right, remove them from the oven and cool completely.

Ingredients for the filling:

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cold water

Directions for the filling:

1) Beat together the sugar, shortening, and vanilla.

2) Add the water and continue to beat until smooth and spreadable.

3) Place 1 tablespoon of filling in-between 2 crispy cookies and squeeze to flatten.

Oh, what a lot of sugar, no wonder they're so tasty! Frankly, unless Oreos and Hydrox cookies both disappear from supermarket shelves, I don't plan to make them. Yet seeing the recipe is an education, isn't it ... and I'll hold onto the Faux-Reos recipe to make at home should the day arrive of empty supermarket shelves.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Here's another easy King Arthur recipe I will make:

Photo and recipe courtesy of King Arthur Baking Co.

No-Bake Energy Bites

Ingredients:

3/4 cup any nut butter (I'll use peanut butter)

1 cup of rolled oats

1/3 cup of honey

1/3 cup of dried whole milk (I'll use dried skim milk ... all I ever buy and doubt with powdered milk, it makes much of a difference in taste. What am I ... a supermarket?🙂)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Select:

2 cups of mix-ins - such as mini chocolate chips, coconut flakes, chopped nuts, dried fruits or seeds, crushed candies (unhealthy), 1 tablespoon chia or poppy seeds (healthy) -- or whatever you like.

Directions:

1) In a mixing bowl, combine the 1st 5 main ingredients.

2) Next add 2 cups of whatever mix-ins you like.

3) Use your hands to mix and get the right consistency. Add more oats if too sticky, add a tad more honey if too dry.

3) Form into 1 tablespoon-size balls. Place on a cookie sheet. Wait at least 20 minutes for them to rest and firm up before eating.

Obviously, the Energy Bites are healthier than Oreo cookies, but sometimes you need an Oreo; and we all must practice moderation. Alas, staying healthy always comes down to portion control! I rarely eat more than 3 Oreos, yet rarely eat less than 3.🙂

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Mini Pecan Pies A/K/A Tassies

 

As a teenager, I started helping my mom make Christmas cookies. She made (and decorated) butter cookies, Russian Teacakes, coconut macaroons, and Czechoslovakian cookies. I made mini pecan pies, likely a recipe I tweaked from a cookbook. Sometimes they are called Pecan Tassies and originate in the American South. My mom loved them so much, she asked me to make them every year. Mini pecan pies or Tassies are a 2-step process, yet still easy to make. Here is the recipe for 12 cupcake-sized pies:

Mini Pecan Pies

Ingredients for the Crust:

1/2 stick of butter, room temperature 

3 oz cream cheese, room temperature 

1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions for the Crust:

1) Combine the butter, cream cheese and all-purpose flour. 

2) Refrigerate for 15 - 20 minutes to make the dough easier to work. (While chilling, you can make the filling.)

3) Form into 12 balls of dough. 

4) Press the 12 balls of dough into 12 sections of an ungreased muffin pan. Press the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of each section. They should not stick, but you can brush the pan sections with butter and sprinkle with flour if you wish.

5) Bake at 350 degrees F in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool, and set aside for the filling. This extra step will stop the pies from sticking and crumbling after they are fully baked.

Ingredients for the Filling:

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Optional: A splash of Kentucky bourbon

Directions:

1) Toss the brown sugar and butter into a mixing bowl and incorporate using a fork.

2) Slightly beat the eggs and add to the mixture, along with the vanilla and salt.

3) Stir in the pecans and slash of Bourbon.

4) Fill the pecan mixture into the 12 waiting pie crusts about 3/4 full. I like to lay a few big pieces of pecans on top.

5) Return to the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 - 30 minutes.

6) Take them out of the oven, let cool down, but while the pan is still warm, remove the mini pies from the pan.

IMHO these pecan tassies are exactly the right portion of sweets and you don't need to have syrups to make them. The brown sugar, butter and pecans are delicious. Perhaps a new holiday tradition for your family. Enjoy!

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Laura Bush's Texas Cowboy Cookies

Photo: New New Times

These cookies, brought to the public's attention by First Lady Laura Bush in 2000, are delicious! Brown sugar gives them a caramel taste. Here are the steps to get the texture right, crispy on the edges and soft in the middle without being underbaked and doughy.

Get out two mixing bowls and portion the following ingredients into each one:

Ingredients

Dry --
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Stir together in the 1st bowl.

Photo: stayathomechef

Wet --
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
12 tablespoons melted and cooled butter
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk (Toss the 2nd egg white into tomorrow's omelet.)
Whisk together in the 2nd bowl. 

More dry ingredients --
1 1/4 cups of Old Fashioned (or Quick) rolled Oats
1 cup chopped and toasted pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Combine the dry ingredients (bowl #1) into the wet ingredients (bowl #2) until just incorporated.

2) Next add the rolled oats, chopped pecans, shredded coconut and chocolate chips to the batter.

3) Texans use a 1/4 cup scooper to portion out the batter to make huge cookies (because "everything grows big in Texas,") but you can make smaller cookies unless you long to be huge yourself.😊 I use a tablespoon. Drop the batter for each cookie onto a buttered, or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Leave spaces in between the batter for the cookies to spread regardless of the size you make.

Photo: TX Governor's Mansion

4) Bake the cookies for 17 minutes -- rotating the cookie sheet midway (after about 8 minutes). The cookies will brown on the edges, yet remain soft and seemingly not done in the centers.

5) Pull the tray out of the oven and let the cookies rest on the hot-hot-hot cookie sheet for another 5 minutes to set. After 5 minutes you can take them off the cookie sheet to cool completely.

In the presidential campaign of 2000, Laura Bush's Texas Cowboy Cookies beat Tipper Gore's Ginger Snap Cookies in the annual cookie recipe contest for Family Circle magazine. And now everyone make them.

Enjoy your cookie baking/eating weekend! See you on the other side.🍪

Post Script 9-30-20: Readers, are you wondering what happened to recipe.com? Lately googling the longtime website ends up in an error message. It has gone AWOL! Rachel Cook, editor of Slateberry.com/StayAtHomeChef sent me an article explaining its disappearance. Read it here.


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Digestive Biscuits Vs Marie Biscuits

Prince Alfred (1844 - 1900), son of Queen Victoria married Grand Duchess Maria (1853 - 1920), daughter of Tsar Alexander II in 1874. The Marie Biscuit was named after the bride. Although their marriage soured over the years, they had 5 surviving children, including Queen Marie of Romania and later granddaughters who married rulers to become Queens of Greece and Yugoslavia.

When I moved to Manhattan I discovered 2 delicious tea cookies at the supermarket that are more common in Europe than here in the U.S. Both are types of shortbread cookies. They share a dry, crispy texture and are semi-sweet, but differ in types of flours used.

Sweetmeal Digestive Biscuits, developed by Scottish doctors in 1839, were my first find. Instantly hooked, they fill my cookie tin always. At $1.99 for 14 ounces, I never bake them at home ... then along comes a world pandemic. So when they are missing from the grocery shelve, literally we can take matters into our own hands with the following easy recipe:

Digestive Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup confectionary sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1) Toss the dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, baking soda, and confectionary sugar into a mixing bowl and mix with a fork.

2) Dice the butter into tiny chunks with a knife, then use your fingers to mix into the dry ingredients. Add drops of milk until you get a crumbly dough.

My favorite brand of digestive biscuits.

3) Toss onto a floured flat surface and use a floured rolling pin to roll flat about 1/6 inch in thickness (eyeball it).

4) Use a round cookie cutter (or the top of a drinking glass) to cut into circles.

5) Transfer to a buttered, or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Prick holes in the biscuits.

6) Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for about 20 minutes. The cookies should be light when you pull them out of the oven.💂

The 2nd cookie, Marie Biscuits, was created by London bakery Peek Freans in 1874 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, the 2nd son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom to Grand Duchess Maria, the only daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Here is how to make those:

Marie Biscuits

Ingredients:

A pack sells for 99 cents at the supermarket.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Punch of salt
4 tablespoons butter
1/8 cup milk

Directions:

1) In a bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

2) Using your hands mix in the butter (diced in tiny chunks) and milk until you get a crumbly dough.

3) Turn the dough out onto a floured flat surface and roll flat with a floured rolling pin.

4) Use a round cookie cutter, or top of a glass to cut into cookies.

5) Place on a buttered, or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Next prick holes in the dough. (Little pricked holes help distribute heat while baking.)

6) Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 8 - 10 minutes.

After dunking a few of the baked cookies into a lovely cup of tea (or coffee for Americans), store the rest in Tupperware, or a cookie tin.👑

In ordinary times, I buy these cookies at the supermarket. They are delicious and cheap. (Furthermore, I sometimes grind them instead of graham crackers to make pie crusts.) 

But these are not ordinary times, are they? Do you have any plans this weekend? Of course, you don't. None of us in the world do! If you get bored sheltering in place, go into the kitchen and bake. Cookies make everything better!🏰

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