Coffee Thins Cookies

Although I don't often drink coffee, I love the flavor of coffee in most any way I can find it. When I found this recipe, it immediately appealed to me and I now have the cookie dough getting cold and ready for slicing and baking in my refrigerator. I mentioned this particular cookie in a previous post and got a request for the recipe. Thought there might be others interested in trying it, too.

Coffee Thins

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup packed, dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder, dissolved in 2 teaspoons coffee-flavored liqueur
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

Combine flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until well blended; stir in the dissolved coffee. Add the flour mixture; mix well until the dough is blended and begins to clump together.

Form the dough into a squared-off log 7 inches long, wrap in saran or waxed paper and refrigerate for three hours or until quite firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut into 1/4-inch slices; set them one inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until the tops look dry and edges are slightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Finish cooling on wire rack. (From Fine Cooking Magazine Holiday Issue 2012)

Christmas Baking Has Begun!

 A departure from my using beginning of the holiday baking season - all the cookie dough I prepared yesterday was from recipes new to me. No tried and true ones . . . yet!

The first cookies of the season are: Chocolate Marble (pictured in the process), Maple Pecan, Coffee Thins, Toffee Butter, Orange Poppy Seed, Toasted Coconut, and Hazelnut Butter Cookies. The reason we go for so many kinds is that I enjoy baking and having a reason to bake. Christmas gives me good reason as a large plate of homemade cookies is our gift to friends and family.

My son and daughter enjoyed the smell of cookie dough being mixed but not a baked cookie was in sight. I had time before dinner so tried yet another new cookie - a Butter Oatmeal that was made interesting/special with a very light sprinkling of coarse salt on the top before baking. I have to tell you that when I read 'oatmeal cookie', my mind goes to raisins and spice so it was hard for me to actually make the recipe as written . . . but I was glad I did because it didn't need either the spice or raisins. Interesting cookie and obviously popular as very few were left by the time everyone went to bed last night. Yes, another batch may appear for placement on Christmas cookie plates.

Serious Pasta Performance!

 To save a bit towards Christmas activities, I'm doing my best to live 'out of the cupboard' this week. It is also a good way to discover hidden, frozen treasures in the forgotten depths of the freezer. I discovered a small package of boneless beef, about a quarter of a pound. It made me think of ravioli especially since I now have a pasta roller. I cooked down the beef with a bag of frozen onions/pepper also discovered in my excavating and roughly chopped it up for filling said ravioli. It took two hours from start to finish but I've learned that in order to save money, you have to be willing to offer some extra work time to the bargain. With flour, eggs, milk, and random meat, I made enough for five plates of pasta plus a small leftover for one of the children's lunch the next day.

The only difficult part (and it isn't really that difficult!) is to get the dough right either for machine or hand rolling. Know that you will need extra flour on hand and expect to dust the immediate area of the floor around your working counter with flour!

Homemade Pasta Dough
4 cups flour
3 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons of milk

First, dump your flour either in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs. Mix that together and if it is too dry, add one, more egg. At this point, it should still be a bit dry so add the oil and milk. If the dough gathers into a workable but not sticky ball, you are ready to go. If it is too wet or sticky, add bits of flour until it reaches the desired workable texture. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Keep a bowl of flour at hand. Dust the work board with flour and take a fourth of our dough and roll it as thin as you like. Cut the dough into noodle strips of whatever width you prefer. A pizza cutter works great for this. Spread the noodles out on waxed paper covered and floured baking sheets.

If you are using them for chicken or beef soup, you can add them at the finish of the soup just make sure the water is a mild boil so they don't stick. Stir constantly as your put them in. The flour from the noodles also helps thicken the broth a bit. It takes about five to six minutes to cook through depending on the thickness.

No soup? You can cook them in boiling, salted water, drain and serve with pasta sauce either canned or homemade. Have lots of grated cheese at hand and serve. I don't think you will get any complaints once the family is over the surprise.

Where is he?

 We have a very feisty cat whose idea of playing is to grab any unsuspecting animal around the neck and wrestle him/her to the ground and bite the ears. There is a cat around the same age in our neighborhood who has a home but likes to come over for a snack. Marcella desperately wants to renew their kitten era relationship but Fresh remembers what that entails and avoids her like the plague. Marcella always knows when Fresh is about and stands sentry at the window to watch him.