TWD: Grandma's All-Occasion (Chai) Sugar Cookies

Recipe chosen by: Ulrike of Küchenlatein
Link to TWD Group: Tuesdays With Dorie


Ulrike picked these cookies for the Dec 9th Tuesdays With Dorie recipe. I chose to do the spiced slice and bake version of the cookie since the spices sounded good and I have a hard time rolling cookies out.

I found a chai spice combination that sounded good. 1 tsp Cardamon, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp clove.

The spices gave the dough a speckled appearance, and made the whole house smell amazing.

I thought the cookies needed a little something when I took them out of the oven, so I made a lemon juice and powdered sugar glaze. I couldn't decide the next day which cookie I liked better. The lemon glaze was tasty, but the cookies by themselves were amazing with a cup of tea.

I'll be using this (slice and bake) sugar cookie recipe from now on. Thanks Ulrike!

TWD: Buttery Jam Cookies

Recipe chosen by: Heather of Randomosity and the Girl
Link to TWD Group: Tuesdays With Dorie

I made these back before Heather's week (Dec 16th) but couldn't get the pictures downloaded. I hope it's okay to post them now.

I loved these cookies. I used some strawberry jam I'd bought for another of the Dorie recipes since it was thick and really tasty. I love ginger, so I chunked up some crystallized ginger to add a little punch.

They turned out a lovely light pink color, had a hint of strawberry, and the ginger chunks were a nice surprise.

If I changed anything, I'd try making them into thumbprint cookies with a dollop of the jam. I think that extra bit of jam would give them a little more oomph. Oh, and I had the same experience as everyone else - the cookies didn't spread much. I used my large cookie scoop, and they came out lovely domes. They also were even better the second day (they didn't last a third).

Thank you Heather for picking a recipe that I loved and probably wouldn't have looked at twice!

Barefoot Bloggers: Pappa Al Pomidoro

Recipe chosen by: Me!
Link to Recipe: Pappa Al Pomidoro

My turn to pick a recipe! I wasn't really sure what this one would be like, but it sounded interesting.

To make things even more challenging, I left this until I was back in Ohio over the holidays. My mom's kitchen, all new equipment, completely new recipe, and two grocery store trips (the tiny one that had the pancetta didn't have the fennel bulb - figures :) made this one a three day affair. On the plus side, I finally got to cook for my parents. They've been salivating over the pictures for months without any way of tasting things.



I'd say reviews were mixed. Everyone loved the topping (because how can you go wrong with bread and pancetta?). Mom and hubby loved the soup. Dad was polite and finished his bowl, but that was about it. I'm still on the fence.

The soup went together easily, and the topping was just plain amazing. I liked how the ciabatta melted into the soup after simmering and gave it a lovely texture. The tomatoes were just a bit too acidic for me. It might have been the brand I chose, so I'll definitely give it another shot when I'm back in my kitchen.

Here's the hubby "helping":



Again, I think Ina gave another winner. This is something I would have never chosen to make on my own, but it was a fantastic experience.

I hope everyone enjoyed it!

Sorry!

I've been having technical issues for quite awhile, so things have been at a stand still.

Long story short, I put the camera cable away someplace "safe". Yeah - I still can't find it. Mom's computer is new enough that it can take my camera memory stick, so I'm at least good to go for the pictures up to the end of December. Wheee!