in a jam

Christmas baking has commenced…which means the only thing getting a good workout at the McCottage right now is my Kitchen Aid Mixer.  As we get to know each other, I should warn you  I have had a tendency to be a wee bit over the top.  I’m getting better about this.  For example,  in Christmas pasts my contribution to company potlucks (mine and my husband’s)  were homemade Buche de Noels replete with little meringue mushrooms or gift box cakes with butter creme frosting made with pounds of butter (gasp!) and draped in red ribbons made of sugared fruit roll-ups.  They were gorgeous!  They were delicious!  And I think they cost me some friendships.  At the very least, The Angler (aka my curly haired husband) suffered some serious ridicule at work.   Bless his heart!  He was in a jam. His young bride slaving away for hours in the kitchen, beaming with pride at her latest culinary creation, followed by the seasonal offering… “Sweetheart, you can take this to your office”.  As the good husband,  he always took it.  I can’t even begin to imagine the jokes that ensued when he brought a cake shaped like a log to an office dominated by men.  (Ren and Stimpy’s Log Song comes to mind)  Still he reported back the glowing praises of his colleagues.

Thankfully time calms us  – or maybe it is that I no longer have the time nor energy to create such holiday masterpieces. The recipes are easier this year which allows me to embrace the joy this season has to offer.   Nothing is better than hugging a friend’s neck when I deliver the sweet treats to their door.  So, this year’s simplified Christmas 2009 baking list includes:

My famous “secret-ingredient- I-may-someday-tell-you-what-it-is” Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mocha Bundt Cakes ( recipe via Junior League of Little Rock’s BIG TASTE OF LITTLE ROCK cookbook)

Ina Garten’s recipe for Jam Thumb Print Cookies.*

The thumbprint cookies are the one thing this year that err on my historical pattern of culinary pretension.   I blame the jam jars.  I mean – just looking at them makes me smile.   But they are still JUST cookies – and not so difficult to make.   This morning, I offered to plate a few of these delicious jam covered morsels and let the Angler share them at this year’s company potluck.   He looked at me.  I knew that look.  It’s that same look I gave my mom when she wanted me to wear the pink bow in my hair when I was twelve and I felt way too old for bows.    He smiled and said,  ” They are a little sissy.  I think I’ll stop and pick up doughnuts.”  Despite the fact I just launched a culinary / photography/ lifestyle blog yesterday,  I let him. More jam for my cookies and less of putting him in one.   I guess it’s the joy of the season taking hold.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

recipe courtesy Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2002

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature  (BUTTER – not the fake stuff)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (PURE – the best you can find)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• 7 ounces of sweetened flaked coconut (don’t worry it’s not that coconutty)
• Raspberry and or apricot jam  ( blackberry jam would be scrumptious, too)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla.  Separately, sift the four and salt.  ( yes, sift the flour.  don’t skip this step.  It incorporates the right amount of air and allows the salt to distribute more evenly) With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar.  Mix until the dough starts to come together.  Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk.  Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1 1/4 inch balls.  (Ina suggests a scale to weigh each at 1 ounce.  I use a one ounce cookie dough/ ice cream scoop) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in the coconut.   Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indention into the top of each with your thumb. (Get it THUMBPRINT cookies) Drip 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown.  Cool and serve.

Cheers!