These have to be my favourite Christmas Cookies of all time! Mind you, if there's jam involved in any way at all, be it cake, cookie, pie or sandwich . . . I'm one very happy camper!!



I have a thing about jam. I just love, Love, LOVE it!!




I got this recipe from a very old friend of mine quite a number of years ago. Mildy spiced, buttery and filled with ground hazelnuts, these are fabulously delicious!



You could dust them with icing sugar of course, which looks really nice also, but I like to use caster sugar . . . because I enjoy the extra texture . . . and the glittery finish it gives.



Buttery nutty and lightly spiced dough . . . sweet/tart raspberry jam. What's not to like? Well, you may have to bake them twice, coz . . . umm . . . if you are like me they kinda disappear before you know it, but what's a gal to do???

I can't help myself . . . Cookie + Jam = my only weakness. (Shhhhh . . . )



*Linzer Cookies*
Makes about 2 dozen
Printable Recipe

The quintessential Christmas Cookie. Tender sweet cookies filled with tart raspberry jam. Delicious!!

3 ounces (2/3 cup) hazelnuts
3.75 ounces (1/2 cup packed) light brown sugar
10 .75 ounces (2 1/2 cups) sifted plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 large free range egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces raspberry jam, seived
caster sugar for dusting


Preheat the oven to 180*C/ 350*F/ gas mark 4. Place the hazelnuts into a shallow baking pan and bake for about 6 minutes until the skins are beginning to loosen and the nuts are fragrant. Turn off the oven. Dump the hot nuts into a tea towel and rub with the towel to loosen as much of the skins as possible. Discard any skins. Place half the brown sugar and the nuts into a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Cream together the butter and remaining brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the nut mixture and beat until well combined. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Work iin the flour mixture, just until combined. Divide the dough in half, shaping each half into a round flat disc. Wrap in cling film and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Heat the oven again to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark4. Roll out 1 disc of the dough to 1/8 inch thickness between two sheets of cling film. Cut out as many cookies as you can with a 2 1/4 inch fluted round cookie cutter. Repeat until all the dough has been cut out/ Using a smaller shaped cutter, cut shapes out of the centre of half of the rounds. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Dust the top halves with some caster sugar . (these are the ones with the centre cut out.) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely before proceeding. Repeat until all the dough has been used up, only rerolling the scraps once. Discard any scraps after that.

Spread about 1 teaspoon of jam on the solid halves of the baked cookies. Top with the flat side of a windowed cookie. Repeat until all cookies are put together. Store between sheets of parchment paper in a tightly covered tin.

One thing my mother always made at least once during the holidays was peanut butter fudge. It was never chocolate or any other kind . . . always peanut butter, but we didn't mind because we loved it so very much. It was a real treat!



She always made it in the same pot, an old aluminum one that she had gotten in her original set of Wearever cookware back in 1955. I think it cost almost as much as a house, but here we are 2011 and she is still using it. Money well spent, I'd say!



She never measured anything. She didn't need to . . . it was all done by memory, and she knew exactly how much of each thing she needed to add by sight alone . . . and it always worked like a charm, every time. (Me . . . I made fudge sometimes for my children when they were growing up, and 9 times out of 10 they'd end up having to eat it with a spoon.



We'd watch her as it went together . . . as if by magic . . . and then sometimes she would let us beat it when it was ready, with her big old wooden spoon . . . if we'd been very good . . .we'd be given the pot and spoon to lick clean . . . we did a pretty good job of that, coz it would always be as clean as a whistle by the time we were done.



The beaten fudge would be poured into the same pan each time . . . it was an old aluminium tin, blackened through use . . . it's bottom engraved in a swirly pattern of raised tin. Some how those little traced swirls on the bottom of each piece only added to it's flavour . . . cakes used to come out with that swirly pattern as well. Nom! Nom!



After I grew up, I was determined to learn how to make it for myself and my family, and so I had her dump in the ingredients one at a time one evening . . . and I carefully measured them as she did so. It worked out pretty well, as I have had a great peanut butter fudge recipe for years that I can count on to turn out every single time.



It never quite tastes quite as good as the memory of the taste of hers . . . but then . . . I don't have that special touch of magic mother's love that she put into it . . . nor do I have a swirley bottomed pan.



*Mom's Peanut Butter Fudge*
Makes one 8 inch square pan
Printable Recipe

It just wouldn't be Christmas without a pan of this to munch on! Creamy and peanut buttery. If you don't like peanut butter, look away now!

21 ounces of white sugar (3 cups)
3 TBS smooth peanut butter
250ml of whole milk (1 cup)
2 ounces butter (1/4 cup)
1 tap vanilla

Butter an 8 inch square pan. Set aside.

Place the sugar, peanut butter and milk into a LARGE saucepan. (You will need a really big one as it really increases in volume when it is boiling. Trust me on this.) Heat, whisking, until the peanut butter is completely melted into the mixture. Increase the heat slightly and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to a medium boil and continue to boil, stirring occasionally to help prevent it from catching. You will want to boil it to the soft ball stage, (115*C/235*F) This should take between 18 to 25 minutes or so. Once this happens, remove from the heat immediately.

Stir in the butter and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until it begins to look creamy and begins to lose it's gloss. Pour into the prepared pan immediately. (Don't wait too long or it will harden in the pot and you won't be able to pour it into the prepared pan. You just want it to begin losing it's gloss.) Allow to set for about an hour at room temperature, before cutting into squares to serve.

Store in an airtight container. This also freezes well.

 

I decided to go through the refrigerator today and get it ready for Christmas. It's something I do every couple of months anyways, but today I went for it with a particular vigor.  My refrigerator is very small, with very little shelf space, mostly due to a water gadget on the door . . . which was a complete waste of space.  It's never worked properly and used up half of the door, which is really vital space when it comes to bottles and jars.  Because of that, I can only ever have one jug of milk in my fridge at any given time . . . and a very small container of juice.  It's really irritating, but . . . live and learn.

 

Anyways, I went through the refrigerator and had a real clean out.  You know . . . little bits of jam in the bottoms of jam jars, out of date pickles, etc.  I really hate waste like that . . . but with only two of us in the house . . . it is inevitable sometimes.

 

To make a long story short I had some pastry which needed using, as well as some cheese and a pound of extra lean beef mince and so I decided to make a pie with it, but not just an ordinary pie . . . a Bacon Cheeseburger Pie, because I also had some streaky bacon which needed using up as well.

 

I tried so use tradition cheeseburger flavor in this tasty pie . . . yellow mustard and tomato sauce (ketchup) and pickle, and some caramelized onions, along with a variety of spices and herbs.  There's grated cheddar in the meat mixture as well as on the top . . . and of course some scrummy streaky bacon garnishing the top.  Everything tastes better with bacon!



I recently got some of the Gourmet Garden Products and thought their crushed Garlic would be perfect for this pie.   My garlic bulbs always dry up before I can get them used.  This Gourmet Garden crushed Garlic is perfect for me.  It's stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, is easy to squeeze out into my dish, contains natural ingredients without a lot of preservatives and oil.  I have tried ready chopped garlic etc before, but have never really liked the stuff.

 

I really like the Gourmet Garden garlic though and best of all it's ready on tap, no mess or fuss and my hands stay garlic free.  (I really dislike the smell of onions and garlic on my hands.)  One teaspoon of the Gourmet Garden Garlic  is the same as one regular clove of garlic.

 

I was really pleased with the way this pie turned out and Todd loved it so much he had two slices!  It's filled with beautiful flavours, and if you like you could also garnish it with your favourite burger toppings, like chopped onions, pickles, sliced tomatoes, lettuce . . .  I had in mind to make some special sauce to have on this, but after smelling all of those tasty aromas coming out of the oven while it was baking, we just couldn't wait long enough.

 

We just had to tuck in right away! If anything it tasted even better than it smelled . . . like I said Todd had two pieces all by himself and both of us are looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow.  All in all it was a really scrummy way of making one pound of beef mince go a very long way!



 *Bacon Cheeseburger Pie*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Kids, big and small will love this one.  If it's in a pie . . . I'm there!

2 TBS olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 tsp of garlic paste
1 pound of extra lean minced steak
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp ground chili pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS tomato ketchup
1 TBS yellow mustard
1 TBS balsamic syrup
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
2 large free range eggs, beaten
1 dessert spoon sweet pickle relish
40g of seasoned dried bread crumbs (1/3 cup)
240g grated cheddar cheese (2 cups)
3 slices of partially cooked streaky bacon
pastry for one 9-inch pie tin

 

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line a 9 inch pie dish with the pastry and flute edges.

Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Add the onions and cook until they are softened and beginning to caramelize.  Crumble in the beef and cook, stirring and mashing it with a fork, until it is cooked through.  Stir in the garlic paste, both paprikas, thyme, chili, black pepper, and salt.  Continue to cook until it begins to brown.  Turn out the heat.  Stir in the bread crumbs, brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, Balsamic syrup, Worcestershire sauce, pickle relish, and half of the cheddar cheese.  Stir in the beaten eggs.  Spread the mixture into the prepared crust.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and the partially cooked pieces of bacon, cut in half crosswise, placing them in a spoke manner.  Bake for an additonal 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is crisp and the pie is golden brown.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.  Cut into wedges to serve. 

Note:  you can serve your traditional burger toppings with this if you like. 

Yes, this is another repost.   My hip is still giving me jip and I am still resting it up so that I will be fit for the big dinner on Christmas Day.   With any lucky you may seem something new tomorrow!  Here's hoping!

 

My mother never ever liked getting a gift for Christmas that had anything to do with  cooking, cleaning or eating . . .well except for chocolates that is.  I never saw her turn down a nice box of choccies.  She just didn't want to get the other stuff, like mixers or blenders, or jars of jam, etc.

Me on the other hand, I just love, Love, LOVE to get any gift that has anything to do with the kitchen or eating!  I have had a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer on my wish list for years now, to no avail, but . . . I live in hope.

 

Candy Apple Red or Powder Blue or even yellow would do me fine.  Actually who am I trying to kid, I'll take it in any colour I can get it!  But I digress . . .

 

Food gifts.  I just adore receiving them and I love putting them together for friends.  I especially love the mix in a jar things, or goodies in a mug, or Mug-ems as they are also called.  We did an activity in RS Society in August and I did a presentation on Gifts in a jar and it was quite popular so today I am going to show you two of my favourite Gift Mixes in a Jar, and in the spirit of giving, I am including my artwork Gift Tags for you to print out and tie on to your own gift jars.  All you need to do is right click and save and then you can print them out 4 or 6 to a page via your own printer.  Merry Christmas!  (And there are two versions, one with American measures and one with British measures.)


 

The first one is the Oatmeal and Raisin Cookie Mix in a Jar, and let me tell you they are fabulous cookies.  Very delicious.  These mixes are so easy to make, and such fun to give and to receive.  I really love decorating the jars up and making them pretty with ribbons and bows, etc.



You can decorate the up with Cute little Christmas Ornaments, or whatever.  Little cloth caps, ribbons . . . let your imagination and creativity carry you away!



And if you aren't into cookie mixes in a jar, you can just make some for yourself.  These cookies are fabulous.  Very, very tasty indeed!



 *Oatmeal and Raisin Cookie Mix In a Jar*
Makes 1 1-litre jar
Printable Recipe

100g of plain flour (1 cup)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
150g of soft light brown sugar (3/4 cup)
110g of granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
100g of raisins (3/4 cup)
160g of old fashioned  oats

 

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda and salt.  Layer the ingredients in the jar as follows, tamping each layer down well before adding another layer.  Half the flour mixture.  Half the brown sugar.  The raisins. The white sugar.  The remaining half of the brown sugar and the oats.   You may think it won't all fit, but it will.  Just persevere.  Screw on the lid tightly.  Decorate as you wish and attach a label with the baking directions.



You might think when you look at each recipe . . . all that would never fit in a jar, but don't worry!  It absolutely does!  I use my Pampered Chef tamper tool and it packs everything in very nicely.




These Cranberry White Chocolate and Oat Cookies are my favourites.  Oh my . . . but I could just eat them all up myself.  Quite dangerous to have around once baked.  I bet I ate three right away.  I am such a naughty pup.



I bet even YOU couldn't eat just one though . . . but who's eating??  These are for gifts right?  Yah, of course they are!!  But really . . . I don't think anyone would begrudge you making a jar of the mix, or just baking yourself up a recipe of these for your own family.  In fact, that might just be one way where you could guarantee a sweet surprise for yourself under the tree on Christmas morning!  After all, as they say . . . Charity begins at home! Ho Ho Ho!!



 *Cranberry White Chocolate Cookie Mix In a Jar*
Makes 1 1-litre jar
Printable Recipe

50g of plain flour (1/2 cup  plus 2 TBS allpurpose)
40g old fashioned oats (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
66g soft light brown sugar (1/3 cup)
63g of white sugar (1/3 cup)
75g dried cranberries (1/2 cup)
90g white chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
60g of chopped  pecan nuts (1/2 cup)



Layer the ingredients in a clean canning  jar in the order given, tamping each layer down into place before adding the next one.  (I use my  pampered chef tamper for this, but you could use the end of a rolling pin as well.)  Screw on the lid tightly.  Attach a gift tag with the mixing and baking directions and decorate the jar as desire 

If you think you have seen this post before, you would be right. It is a repost from last year.  I threw my hip out today and although I had plans to do some baking I am having a hard time just to walk at the moment.  Arthritis is sometimes a real pain to live with.  In any case I am resting it up and reposting this post from last year.   I think some of my newer readers would enjoy it irregardless.  Do feel free to copy and print out my art recipe card/tags I have included.   God willing I will be back tomorrow with something new to share!!!

One last thing to tell you about that you may want to get in before Christmas.   This was sent to me and I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but did want to tell you about it so if you wanted to use them for Christmas you would have time to do so!   This is the Eddington's Christmas Tree Decoration Set, angels.
 




The set consists of 3 Angel cookie cutters ranging in sie from about 2 inches up to 4 inches, along with  some red ribbon for hanging and a spigot to cut a hole into the cookies prior to baking so that you can hang them up after. 

The cutters are made from Stainless steel and are dishwasher proof.   I think they are really cute!

They are available at most kitchen stockists in prices from £2.40 and up!

Many thanks to Eddingtons  for sending these to me!

Roll two of the pastry discs into a round large enough to fit into each of two nine-inch pie tins with an overhang.  Divide the cooled filling between each crust.  Roll out the two remaining discs to cover the tops with an overhang.  Wet the edges of the bottom crust and place the top crusts over each.   Seal and trim.  Cut out a steam vent in the centre of each pie.  Roll out the scraps if desired and use to decorate the tops.  Brush with the beaten egg yolk to glaze.

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7.  Place the two pies on a large baking try and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4 and bake for a further 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden brown and crisp on the bottom.



I did a little one for Todd so you could see how flakey that pastry is and what the filling looks like.  He really enjoys this each year, and of course he doesn't have to watch his waistline!



(My sister's pies this year!  Yes we both like to take photos of what we cook and eat!  It must run in the family!)

Note:  If you only want to make one pie, just cut all the ingredients for the filling in half.  Or make the full batch and freeze half of it for another time.   You can also bake this in individual pies.  My sister does and uses canning jar lids for the pans.  Works perfectly!

I was recently contacted and asked if I would like to try out some sausages.   HECK is a  company owned by the Keebles who are a family of farmers and sausage enthusiasts.  They produce a range osf 8 differen premium sausage varieties ranging from the traditional 97% pork to the more unique Chicken and square sausages.  They also produce several gluten free varieties.  You can read more about how they produce their sausages here. 

We really love sausages in this house!  Not the cheap nasty ones out there that are yuck, yuck, yuck . . . we are a bit more discerning in our tastes and those cheap and nasty ones just have a horrible consistency  and are loaded with fat.  We do NOT like those . . . so we are always up for trying something which is better.  Getting to try new things is the best part of my job!

These are farmers market quality.  It can't be bad and with Christmas coming up with all of the entertaining that entails, we were absolutely up for trying these sausages.



One package which was sent was their Smoky Chorizo-style sausages.  Hearty and tangy with a smoked paprika kick.  Gluten Free. (nice!)

 

These had a really lovely flavour.  Nice colour.  Nice texture and just enough heat, and a lingering afterburn . . . without it being overpowering in the least.  Most pleasant.  We quite enjoyed.  I had only ever eaten the dried chorizo sausages that you can buy which come from spain and are pre-cooked.  These were quite nice and I would buy these, absolutely.

Content:  85% British Pork Shoulder Corn Flour, Water Red Peppers (1%) Spices, Salt, Sugar Leek Powder Preservative (Sodium Sulphite) Stabilisers (Diphosphates) Herb Yeast Extract Colour (Paprika Extract) Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid) Spice Extract. Filled into natural pork casings.



Next up "The Family Favourite."   Good old pork. Comforting, noble and satisfying, this is the original favourite, a classic that’ll never lose its shine.  These are the kind that I would use to make my Christmas Stuffing with or my sausage rolls.  They are also gluten free, which is nice.  Those cheap and nasty things use far too much filler.  I want meat in my sausage, not filler.



Our verdict . . . meaty and moist without being greasy.  Just what you would expect from a good breakfast or supper sausage.



We both enjoyed.

 Content:  85% British Pork Shoulder Corn Flour Water Salt Rice Flour Leek Powder Cream Powder (from Milk) Sugar Spice Yeast Extract Preservative (Sodium Sulphite) Flavourings Natural Flavourings Spice Extracts Citric Acid Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid). Filled into natural pork casings.



Next . . . the Plump Pork & Apple Sausage.  Pork and apple are made for each other. They are a marriage made in heaven.  The perfect marriage of savoury and sweet . . .  did they live up to their promise?



These were gorgeous.   Not greasy.  Well flavoured.  With just enough of a hint of apple flavour to bring out the best of the pork.  Also gluten free.

Contents:   85% British Pork Shoulder Corn Flour Water Apple Flakes (2%) Salt Rice Flour Leek Powder Cream Powder (from milk) Sugar Spice Yeast Extract Preservative (Sodium Sulphite) Flavourings Natural Flavourings Spice Extracts Citric Acid Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid). Filled into natural pork casings.



Heck 97% Pork.  These lip smackers were my favourite of them all.  Meaty and well flavoured and lean.  Moist and not greasy.  They were the overall winners with us both.   Once again gluten free.



 Contents: 97% British Pork Shoulder Salt Cream Powder (from Milk) Spices Preservative (Sodium Sulphite) Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid). Filled into natural pork casings. 

All in all we were very impressed with these sausages, and we would happily buy any of them.  These tasty links are available at supermarkets throughout the country.

Thank you very much to Katy and to Heck Sausages for sending us these to try out.  We now have a new favourite.  Tis true. 

Follow them on facebook.
Tweet them on Twitter @HeckFood
Check out the tastiness on Pinterest 

Some sausage tastiness to get your tastebud juices flowing:

 

Oven Barbequed Sausages 

 

Cider and Honey Braised Sausages  

 

Bean and Sausage Hot Pot
(The chorizo ones would be fab, FAB in this!)



Hawaiin Sausage Casserole  

 

Creamy Mustard Sausage and Pasta Hot Dish 

 

Sausage and Squash Mash 

 

Sausage and Bacon Toad in the Hole 

 

Fruity Sausage Baps   

 

Cherry Tomato and Sausage Bake 

 

Sausage and Corn Bake 

And that's just for starters!  Thank you Heck Sausages!