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Dec 30, 2011
Ah, a nice and easy appetizer for the holiday season. And while I am big on appetizers in general, I am even bigger on easy WARM appetizers that can be served this time of year. This one is great for two reasons: it really is simple to throw together (you can make and pre-fill the mushrooms and pop them in the oven when you are almost ready to serve), and the flavors are great. Who doesn’t love spinach and artichoke dip? But in portable, finger-food friendly form? Ok. I’m sold.
While I used full-fat versions of the mayonnaise and the cream cheese, you could substitute in lower-fat versions. As far as a vegan version of this, I’m sure you could substitute in your vegan favorites for the cream cheese and mayo (I haven’t tried this yet, so let me know if you try it and how it works out!)
Have a fantastic rest of your holiday season!
Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms
Servings: 8 large “stuffing” mushrooms**I had leftover filling, please feel free to make extra mushrooms with this recipe
Ingredients
8 large stuffing mushrooms (or mushroom variety of your choice)
4 ounces (1/2 brick) cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup mayonnaise
One 12-ounce jar of artichoke hearts, liquid drained, chopped and squeezed dry
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Clean the mushrooms by gently blotting them with damp paper towel, removing the stems and scoop out the gills.
- In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, artichoke hearts, spinach, garlic, sugar, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper, mixing until completely combined.
- Gently fill each mushroom with a heaping tablespoon (or two) of the filling mixture.
- Place the mushrooms on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the topping is lightly golden, about 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Source: Adapted from Eating Well Living Thin.
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Yes, here’s another last minute holiday treat idea. Another one which seemed to be a big hit in the holiday goodie bags this year. If you have a fear of candy thermometers and making candy in general, this might be a good recipe to practice with. It’s pretty straight forward, uses simple ingredients, and is ready in a relatively short amount of time.
But, first, a few things about this recipe. I made enough for three whole batches, which was enough for 45 people to have a relatively decent-sized piece of bark in their goodie bags. And, while I mixed the ingredients well and made sure that it reached the appropriate temperature, I noticed that when I poured the bark out onto the prepared baking sheets, there was a solid rim of melted butter around the edges…which, after freezing, seemed a little unappetizing to me. I was a little nervous, thinking that maybe the condensation of butter around the edges meant that it didn’t mix well, and I would have a disaster on my hands. I went ahead and trimmed off the excess butter around the edges and went to work on breaking apart the mid-portion of the poured and chilled bark. It tasted fabulous! I’m anxious to see if any of you out there have similar results.
So, if you are a peanut/toffee/chocolate fan, this recipe is one you should certainly try.
Happy Holidays!
Chocolate Peanut Toffee
Servings: approximately 2 large rimmed baking sheets (again, I was serving several people. What I have posted is enough for at least two batches. Please feel free to cut this recipe in half.)
Ingredients
12 sticks unsalted butter (yes, I am fully aware of how much butter this is.)
6 cups granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
9 cups lightly salted whole peanuts, plus about 2 more cups peanuts, chopped
24 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Instructions
1. In a large Dutch oven or sauce pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Meanwhile, line two rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil and generously butter the foil.
2. Add the sugar and salt, mixing well.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until a candy thermometer inserted into the mixture reaches 300 degrees. (about 15-20 minutes)
4. Remove the mixture from the heat and (very carefully) add the peanuts, stirring until completely combined.
5. Carefully pour the mixture onto the rimmed baking sheets, smoothing gently with a spatula.
6. Let the mixture stand and cool slightly, about 2 minutes or so.
7. Sprinkle the bark with the chopped chocolate and let stand for about 5 minutes. Smooth the chocolate over the bark with a spatula.
8. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts evenly over the bark.
9. Freeze the bark until firm, about 30 minutes. Once firm, break the bark apart into pieces.
Source: Gourmet, via Epicurious.
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I love chocolate. I love cherries. I love chocolate and cherry combinations.
So it’s about time that I shared a chocolate/cherry combination in cookie form that I came across recently. Now, I realize I just posted a cookie recipe the other day. I had planned to post this about a week and a half from now (you know, to spread the cookie love out a little), but, I’m starting to get the mentality of “why not?” Why not post these super cute cherry shortbread thumbprint cookies for you if I can? Because life is too short to go without the things in life that make you happy, that’s why. Now, bring on the cherry chocolate kisses!
These little cookies are really too simple to mix together-it’s a basic shortbread recipe with a little added boost of chopped maraschino cherries in the batter with some almond extract. I think the addition of mini chocolate chips to the shortbread might be on the list for next time, and I might up the cherry bits as well. Since these are shortbread cookies, they are not in-your-face too sweet (the chocolate kiss on top helps with that)-but they definitely are a nice sweet treat to have on hand.
Cherry Chocolate Kisses
Servings: approximately 36 cookies
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, but still cool
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons maraschino cherry “juice”
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling the cookies
36 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.
3. Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and slowly add the powdered sugar and salt.
4. Add the cherry juice and the almond extract until combined.
5. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
6. Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the cherries.
7. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, and place the balls on a baking sheet, approximately 2 inches apart.
8. Using your thumb, gently press each cookie in its center until the cookie is about 1/2-inch thick.
9. Sprinkle each cookie with a little granulated sugar.
10. Bake the cookies until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 14 minutes.
11. Once removed from the oven, immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie’s center.
12. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Source: directly from The Ultimate Cookie Book.
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baking, cherry, cherry chocolate kisses, chocolate, cookies,dessert, everyday, shortbread
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