Recipe: Christmas Mountain Cookies

My mother and her friends have a cookie party tradition that dates back over thirty years! One of my favorites were the “Christmas Mountain Cookies” a family friend always brought, and one year she finally relented and showed me how to make them. Though they are a bit tedious when it comes to preparation, they are beloved in our home. The good news is that they are worth the effort, and I firmly believe your friends and family will agree!

Ingredients
– 1 c. margarine  – 2 c. sugar  – 2 eggs  – 1 tsp vanilla extract  – 1 c. sour cream  –  5 c. flour  – 3 tsp baking powder  – 1 tsp baking soda  – 1/2 tsp salt  – raspberry all-fruit spread

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl (I used my KitchenAid stand-up mixer), cream the margarine, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream until thoroughly mixed, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. It may be a little lumpy, and that’s okay!

Gradually add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, again scraping the sides as you go to ensure it is evenly combined.

Place teaspoons of cookie dough onto a cookie sheet, allowing at least 1.5 inches between each cookie – I typically fit 8-10 cookies on a standard cookie sheet. You may be tempted to drop larger dollops – try to avoid this, as the cookies will expand while baking.

Once the sheets are full, make a small indentation in the center of each cookie, filling with a small amount of raspberry spread. You do not want to use a raspberry jelly, as it will most likely run, and want to be careful near the edges.

Finally, top each cookie with a small dough “cap” and dust lightly with granulated sugar.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, watching closely as they can burn easily. Because the top will remain relatively pale, check the bottom of the cookies. If they are a nice golden brown, they are done.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do, and Happy Holidays!

Until next time,
SugarSource

 

Spotlight: Croissant Class – Take Two

After initially taking the croissant class at Mille Feuille in December, I thought I was ready to tackle baking croissants. The course may have left me a little overconfident, and my first batch proved to be less-than-appetizing. With that in mind, I wanted to share my top tips:

• Do not let the dough proof before you have rolled and assembled your croissants. Upon departing Mille Feuille, I proceeded to run errands for hours, allowing the dough plenty of opportunity to rise in my purse. Though it did not make it mess, it did complicate the rolling and proofing process once I was ready to make use of it.
• Related, but somewhat different: do not allow your dough to get too warm. The butter will start to melt, reducing the overall flakiness of the pastries.
• Do not attempt to use the dough after a few days. The yeast will slowly lose its ability to activate.
• Do use a good amount of flour to help with the rolling process, but do not forget to brush it off before you assemble or proof the pastries. Excess flour can lead to a bitter or distorted taste.
• If you do not have a convection oven, placing an empty baking sheet below the sheet with pastries helps to create a convection-like environment.
• Do not forget the egg wash step after proofing! Croissants have that beautiful golden-brown hue because of this step and it should not be overlooked. Otherwise, they may turn out like the above!

I will give croissants another shot, from start to finish in my own kitchen, using the directions provided by the instructor.

Until next time,
SugarSource