I Got Crafty

So, I can't sew (except to replace a button), I hate scrapbooking, and those "easy" crafts I see on Pinterest make me chuckle incredulously. I'm not very crafty, unless you count my cooking. But I wanted to make my friends, and Cookie Monster, something a little special for Valentine's Day. 

(source)

 

Yes, I think it's a stupid Hallmark holiday, but part of me still thinks it's fun. And so what if it's an excuse to do something nice for your sweetie? But it's not just my sweetie I wanted to let know I care about them; I also wanted to tell my good friends. 

So Valentine's Day this year was a way to tell my friends I care about them. Hallmark don't make a card for that (actually, they probably do. But damned if I'm gonna spend 3 or 4 bucks on something like that that they'll just throw away), so I made my own. Made my own cards, and made my own treats.

Here are the cookies I made. I totally plagiarized the idea from last year's Valentine's Day, but you know what? I don't care. They're still fucking adorable. And, to increase the theme and adorable factor, these cookies are cranberry-white chocolate chip ... so that makes them red and white. I used the chocolate chip cookie recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and instead of chocolate chips, just used dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. I spread the prepared cookie dough out onto a baking sheet and made one giant, flat cookie. Then I cut out heart shapes with my cookie cutter.

Now here's where the crafty part comes in. I simply took some brown paper lunch sacks and got out some Magic Markers. Then I just drew Valentine-y things, like hearts, on the bags. I put some red tissue paper in each one, making sure some stuck out of the top. Then I put in some cookies, folded down the tops, punched a hole and tied up the bags with red curly ribbon.

I made my own cards with red card stock and wrote cheesy messages on each one, like "I LOVE having you as a friend," or "I HEART that we're friends."

I had fun working on this little project. Maybe it was super cheesy, but I don't care. If someone's upset about getting free cookies, well, then, they're communists.

Fig Newton Fruit Thins

Foodbuzz recently offered to send me some new Fig Newton thins for free. I like free things, so I said yes. I received a box of the fig and honey flavor.

Cookie Monster had actually recently purchased a box of the classic Fig Newtons since we hadn't had them in a really long time (like, 10 years or something). I expected the eating of these Newtons to be all Proustian, but instead they tasted all fake and chemical-y. Blech!

That being said, however, I actually did like these fruit thins. They are slightly sweet with a nice, subtle cinnamon flavor. But here's a caveat: They are not really very cookie-like, at least to me. They're more like a sweet cracker. When I have a hankerin' for a cookie, I want gooey, squishy and chewy. Hence the opened package of these has been sitting on the counter for the last month. Actually, I bet they'd be better for breakfast crumbled over yogurt or oatmeal.

So, I don't think I'd purchase these cookies with my own money (remember: they were freeee!), but it was an enjoyable experience to eat them.

Party Eats

Cookie Monster and I recently hosted a party. This was the first time I'd cooked for several of my friends, so I wanted to impress. I also wanted to use the flavors of the season.

Here's what I made:

Hazelnut brown sugar cookies

(recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook)

Cranberry sauce over cream cheese, served with crackers

Bacon-wrapped dates

Homemade pumpkin bread

Caramelized onion and blue cheese flatbread (L) and pumpkin ricotta phyllo turnovers (R)

Ginger molasses cookies

(Both cookies were served in my Snowman cookie jar, 

which plays "Jingle Bells" when you lift his head off)

And, the pièce de résistance, Cookie Monster's famous eggnog.

Also, I mulled hot cider in my Crock pot and served that, too.

So, things turned out pretty much awesome. There was very little food left at the end of the party. Yay!

Here are the "recipes" of some of the dishes. I made these all up, so there are no exact measurements.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Be sure to make a lot of these babies. They go fast!

I feel silly even typing a recipe for these. It's just combining two delicious things and making them into one uber-delicious thing. Simply cut strips of bacon into thirds, wrap each slice around a dried date, and bake at 350 until the bacon is crisp. They are salty, sweet and amazing. Highly recommended.

Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Flatbread

Butter

Yellow onions 

S&P

Blue cheese (I used  a tub of blue cheese from Trader Joe's)

Flatbread (also from Trader Joe's)

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Melt few tablespoons of butter and add onions, salt and pepper. When they begin to turn brown, reduce the heat to very low. Continue to stir until they break down and turn very brown and caramely. This usually takes a while--about 30-40 minutes.

Brush flatbread lightly with olive oil. Spread a thin layer of caramelized onions over bread, then sprinkle with chunks of blue cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and edges of bread are crisp, about 10-15 minutes.

Pumpkin Ricotta Phyllo Turnovers

Sheets of phyllo dough

Canned pure pumpkin

Part-skim ricotta cheese

Grated Asiago cheese

Freshly grated nutmeg

Hot sauce

S&P

Prepare filling: Stir together pumpkin, cheeses and spices.

Prepare phyllo: Take one piece of dough and brush lightly with olive oil. (Be sure to cover unused phyllo with a damp kitchen towel; this will prevent it from drying out.) Add another layer and brush with oil. Repeat until there are four layers of phyllo. Place layers of dough lengthwise on a cutting board like a flag. Cut horizontally into four even strips. Working with one strip at a time, spoon ricotta mixture onto bottom and fold up corner to form a triangle shape. Continue folding until you have one large triangle, and tuck the last end under the bottom. Continue with remaining strips. Cut three air slits into top of each triangle, and brush tops with olive oil. Bake until golden brown in a 350 oven, about 25-30 minutes.

Cookie Monster's Valentine

Since Cookie Monster is, well, a Cookie Monster, I made this Valentine's Day gift for him. I think it was apropos. Also, if I do say so myself, it was pretty fucking cute.

These are his favorite cookies, Oatmeal Scotchies, cut into heart shapes. All I did was make a whole batch of cookie dough and bake it flat on a sheet pan instead of shaping the dough into cookies. Then I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make these adorable cookies.

Isn't that so cute?

I paired a plate of the cookies with his present, a pair of Valentine's themed boxers. All together.

And yes, he agreed to be my Valentine. Cookies always help.

Molasses Cookies

These are some of our favorite "winter" cookies. They have a strong molasses flavor, kinda like a gingersnap, but are soft and chewy. I say winter because these flavors are typically associated with Christmas and the holiday season, which is when I usually make them. But they'd be good any time of the year. They're really, really good.

Ok, here's the recipe.

1 cup light brown sugar

1 room temperature egg

1/4 cup blackstrap molasses (this makes a big difference. I made them without the blackstrap and they got very mooshy and spread very wide. So use the blackstrap)

2 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3/4 cup room temperature butter

Sugar to roll the dough

Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter with brown sugar on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add egg and molasses and blend. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on low until everything is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl periodically.

Pour some sugar onto a small plate. Roll ~1 tablespoon dough into a ball, then roll in sugar and place on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat until all cookies are formed.

Bake until cookies are firm around the edges, soft in the center and crackly on top, about 11 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then cool completely.

Devour.

I made these cookies for our neighbors and put them in pretty holiday bags. I know Cookie Monster and I enjoyed them; I hope the neighbors did too!