December 1st – 12th 2013
Hosted by: As You Wish Reviews & Confessions of the Paranormal
Sponsors: As You Wish Tours & Book Dragon Designs
(Cookies? Wait. I thought this was a BOOK Blog Tour~ ! It is, however, the HOLIDAY SEASON and that does mean BAKING OF SWEETS..).
So every year at this time, my daughter, niece, sister and I get together for what we lovingly call BAKING DAY. We even have a beautiful set of Christmas aprons (sewn by yours, truly) and we pull together the ingredients for a plethora of yummies. Standard fare includes your basic chocolate chippers and Magic Cookie Bars, peanut brittle and fudge. We rotate in and out other confections such as peppermint bark, rum balls, macaroons, lemon bars, haystacks and chocolate-dipped mega-pretzel sticks. In the end, we have a nice variety to make ups cookies plates for 7 or 8 other families. The event is a fun, sometimes wild, afternoon that really kicks off the season in our household!
My recipe: Instead of giving you one of mine, I’m going to reprint one I’ve never made but which will be on the BAKING DAY bill of fare this year. LACE COOKIES drizzled with dark chocolate!
Lace Cookies (sometimes called “Florentines”)
Yield: 20 sandwich cookies
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
ingredients:
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces dark chocolate, melted
directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and oats. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, cream, corn syrup, and vanilla. Mix with the beater blade until smooth. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix to combine.
4. Drop about 3/4 of a teaspoon of batter onto prepared baking sheets. Try to make the cookies all the same size. Place only 12 cookies on each sheet because the cookies will spread in the oven.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.
6. Find 2 cookies that are about the same size. Spread one cookie with melted chocolate. Place other cookie on top. Repeat with remaining cookies.
Recipe from The Essence of Chocolate
NOW… onto the book stuff! Books make WONDERFUL holiday gifts, especially if the book is something different, unexpected, rewarding. So without further ado, here is my promo for this year’s startlingly different, 5-star read, UNMASKING PAULIE BINGHAM –part of the big giveaway! (Good luck!)
Rather than tell you about Paulie’s story, I’ll let him tell you himself… wait til you see and HEAR my new video for Unmasking Paulie Bingham! Whether you’ve read it and are dying to hear Paulie’s voice, or are a prospective fan wondering what all the buzz is about, you’ll enjoy this short trailer featuring Paulie, Kate and Rob (with a personal narration by British actor Matthew Wade. Mat did a wham-bam job giving Paulie the image, the sound, the emotion needed. Be sure to check out Mat’s website at http://matthewwade.co.uk and witness this amazingly talented guy.) TURN UP THE SOUND!!
NOW… for a bonus giveaway… a free copy of Anne Carter’s latest novella, STARFIRE… post a comment! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Grand Prize: $150 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash First Prize: One (1) eBook from Every Participating Author
Thanks for stopping by… And don’t forget to visit each and every stop on the tour! Goodies await you!
I’ve made these cookies, though it’s been many, many years ago (and I’d lost the recipe, so thank you) and they are delicious! The recipe doesn’t make many cookies, so be sure to multiply it many, many times over because they have a mysterious habit of disappearing. For some reason, I didn’t seem to have any of these to give away. They vanished into thin air. Perhaps they disintegrate? Or perhaps the Christmas elves visit in the night for a taste? 🙂
Whew! I thought I was the only one whose cookies disintegrate. Thanks for stopping by and reinforcing my desire to make lace cookies…!