COOKIE EXCHANGE!

There are many things I love about the holidays, but at the top of my list is baking cookies with my mother. Now that I am home, this will be at the top of my list. Two years ago, she taught me how to make candies from her shop. This year, we will be baking at my sister's, balancing a baby in one hand and a cookie tray in another.

These Cornmeal and Cherry Shortbread Cookies are the first of many cookies that I'll be baking here soon. They're a taste of home, and one that I have used a couple times before (here and here). I didn't want to reinvent the wheel, but I wanted to share my world with Rachel of Bakerita, as part of our blogger cookie exchange that was coordinated by one of my absolute FAVORITE blogger friends, Rebecca of Displaced Housewife. See the rest of those participating by following the hashtag #holidaycookieparty2016 on Instagram!

Cornmeal and Cherry Shortbread Cookies

Makes roughly 18 cookies, depending on your cutter size.

Ingredients:

• 16 TB unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup fine cornmeal 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 TB dried cherries
• 12 oz good quality white chocolate, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper
2. In a food processor, pulse together butter, sugars, flour, cornmeal, and salt until it is fine and crumbly
3. Dump out onto a floured work surface and knead in dried cherries
4. Pat into a rectangle
5. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out until dough is about 3/4 inch thick
6. Cut into desired shapes and transfer shapes onto your prepared baking sheet
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and edges are only slightly browned
8. Allow to cool, then dip in chocolate and sprinkle with a bit of white sugar or salt
9. Can be kept for up to 5 days or a week in an airtight container

And here is the list of everyone else participating this year!

Wife Mama Foodie | Gluten Free Icebox Cookie

Now Forager | Vanilla Bean Marshmallow & Pink Peppercorn Shortbread Cookies

DisplacedHousewife | Chocolate Peppermint Crinkles

Tutti Dolci | Brown Butter Chai Snickerdoodles

The Daley Plate | Romany Creams

Cloudy Kitchen | Anzac Biscuits

The Beach House Kitchen | Double Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Vanilla and Bean | Cocoa Nibby Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Chez LaRae | White Rollout Cookies

Husbands That Cook | Apple Cider Snickerdoodles

Rainy Day Bites | Melody Cookies

Bakeritablog | Brown Butter Shortbreads With Dark Chocolate

The Jam Lab | Thandai Shortbread Cookies

Katie Clova | Espresso Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

Food Fashion Party | Stuffed Shortbread Cookies

My Kitchen Love | Chocolate Toffee Shortbread

No Crumbs Left | Peanut Butter Blossoms

The Leftovers: Roasted Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Spread

I spent yesterday at my sister's place, kissing my niece's hands and telling her I love her. We showed her the Christmas lights and she stared in amazement at the colors. We ate off of paper plates on the couch and my mother said she was thankful that I was home now. I tried to fight off a nap and nearly lost. I was in bed by ten after finishing the first season of Fargo.

Today, I'm baking alone. I have the house to myself and I'm going to clean up my mess and then make a new one, I'm sure. But, like last year, here is a recipe for some of your leftovers - this time with sweet potatoes.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Spread

This recipe is very forgiving, so feel free to use any kind of goat cheese you'd like. Further, this recipe outlines if you do not already have roasted sweet potatoes on hand -- if you do, then just use a cup or a cup and a half of your leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, cut in half and pierced with a fork
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 oz creamy goat cheese (I used Vermont Creamery's Spreadable Goat Cheese)
• 1 TB parsley
• 2 TB honey
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425*F and lightly grease a shallow casserole dish or baking pan
2. Place your sweet potato halves skin-side down in your prepared pan and drizzle with olive oil and pat a quarter cup of sugar on each
3. Roast for 30 minutes or until fork-tender
4. Remove from oven, allow to cool
5. Remove from skins and place meat of your sweet potatoes and the caramelized sugar in a food processor
6. Throw in remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. You may want to add a bit of greek yogurt to this if it is not as smooth as you would like
7. Store in an airtight container for up to a week, use on toast for breakfast

Thanksgiving: Hasselback Scalloped Potatoes

This Thanksgiving is the first year I won't be cooking in three years. I'm going to my sisters. To play with her baby and to make small talk with her in-laws. I like it there, no pretense and a lot of disruptions. We laugh. I take her elderly dog outside, then sit by a heater to keep my feet warm. 

I like it there. I share a cigarette with her husband and I'm bringing a 12-pack with me. I know how it goes, she'll cook for four hours and we'll eat in 20. I'll help clean up, take a nap with Lana. I'll bring a side dish, the potatoes below. I'll make myself useful but stay out of the way. I'm still a voyeur in some senses of the word; watching the world I left four years ago and still trying to grow accustomed to it now. I hope I'm not too deer-legged in trying.

Hasselback Scalloped Potatoes

A better alternative to the boxed scalloped potatoes your mom has probably tried to doctor up with peas or ham. These are simple to make and nearly foolproof, yet still a fun play on a classic. My favorite kind of recipes these days.

Ingredients:

• 10 Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and dried
• 1 yellow onion, cut into chunks
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 TB unsalted butter
• 3 TB flour
• 2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 4 strips of bacon

Directions:

1. First, grease your pan with butter. Use a shallow casserole dish, such as the Falk pan pictured here
2. Preheat oven to 400*F
3. Next, using a sharp knife, cut your potatoes into thin slices, but not going all the way through the skin on the bottom, so they are held together by a brown tendon of flesh
4. Arrange your potatoes in your prepared pan, putting chunks of garlic and onion in between the spaces the potatoes have made
5. Now, in a saucepan, melt your butter on medium-high heat
6. Whisk in your flour and continue whisking until it is slightly browned and aromatic
7. Slowly add your milk in and continue whisking for a good minute, until the edges bubble and the sauce begins to thicken
8. Now, add your cream cheese and one and a half cups of your cheddar and continue whisking to melt them
9. Take off heat, whisk in your spices (to taste)
10. Pour over your potatoes. Do this slowly and completely smother them, fanning the potatoes to get in each slice
11. Top with remaining cheddar and breadcrumbs
12. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour covered
13. While potatoes are baking, fry your bacon and cut into small "lardons"
14. After one hour, remove foil, top dish with bacon and continue to bake, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce the potatoes
15. Allow to cool before serving

A Wooden Watch, A Coffee Press, and A Fall Picnic

There is a manmade lake in the middle of my town, surrounded by nearly four miles of trails to walk. Mothers push their children in strollers and dogs walk in zigzag lines behind. Small patches of grass get muddy and sometimes snakes lay stretches on the path, baking in the sun. Lazy, they won't move for you. 

The water is dammed, controlled. You can sometimes see the bursts of mist from deer that hide just behind the tree line. You can almost feel their skittish energy. You want to say sorry and that you didn't mean to bother them. You're just there to get some fresh air, too.

I used to walk this park with my best friend, Carissa. When she worked at a country craft store and I worked at a gas station. Before I went to Italy and we talked about the boys we hated. I took my boyfriend there the first time he visited my town; I said it was the only place that made me feel like I was really home. The lake is landlocked and the beach is roped off, the roads are blocked and there are parts of the trail that aren't shaded. There's a homeostasis that makes you whisper, branches that you could twist your ankle on if you were walking any faster, and the mosquitos bounce from left to right in the summertime.

And now it's November and gets dark at four. The light dies and I have an electric blanket I keep plugged in all day. But this weekend we went and had a picnic before it got too cold, too rainy; before we got too sleepy. My mother brought home rugelach and it inspired the donuts that I baked one morning. Apple and almond for fall. A hot cup of coffee and a boy's arm to keep me warm. It's November now and it gets cold at four; but that's still eight hours to dream about a future and a farm and a hand to hold.

Almond and Apple Rugelach Donuts

Ingredients for Doughnuts:

• ¾ cup water, warm to the touch
• 1/3 cup full-fat cream cheese, left out for half an hour to be closer to room temperature
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cup AP flour + additional for kneading dough
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• Almond-apple filling (recipe below)
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 cup cornstarch

Directions for Doughnuts:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together water, cream cheese, ¼ cup sugar, yeast, and salt. Allow to sit for five minutes
2. Next, sift together flour and cinnamon
3. Then, use a wooden spoon to gently stir while slowly pouring flour into your wet ingredients. Do this slowly, stirring in a large circular motion, and do not add an additional cup until previous is completely mixed (depending on altitude, you may require a little more flour than what is listed)
4. Dump dough onto a floured work surface and knead for three or four minutes, until dough is light and springy (it will not be a big ball of dough)
5. Place into a greased bowl with a tea towel cover to rest for thirty minutes
6. While dough is resting, prepare your station. Lay out your parchment paper on a cookie sheet to easily assemble your donuts. Also, have your cornstarch poured onto a plate to dip your dough in, and have your almond-apple filling at the ready
7. When thirty minutes have passed, roll dough out into a large rectangle, about a quarter inch thick
8. Using a doughnut cutter, cut out about 20 rounds
9. Place half of these rounds on your prepared parchment pan and, using a small rubber spatula or spoon, rim your dough with a small amount of your almond-apple filling. Repeat with remaining dough
10. Now, top these prepped doughnut rounds with the remaining half that you had cut out but set aside. Press down slightly and pinch the edges to hold them together (they may be a little messy, so work slowly
11. One by one, take a doughnut and dip into your cornstarch, replace back on prepared pan. Repeat with remaining doughnuts
12. Now, heat about an inch of oil in a pan and bring to 375*F (if you do not have a thermometer, you can pinch off a bit of dough and carefully dip in the oil to see when it begins to bubble around the dough)
13. Now, carefully place doughnuts, two at a time, into your pan to fry. Each side should only need about 20-30 seconds max, but keep checking the edges to ensure they do not burn
14. Remove using tongs and place onto paper towel-covered plate to drain off excess grease
15. Repeat with remaining batches
16. Eat immediately while still warm, or store in an airtight container for up to two days. Enjoy for breakfast with coffee and confectioner’s sugar

Ingredients for Almond-Apple Filling:

1. ½ teaspoon almond extract
2. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3. ½ cup almond meal (a fine one works perfectly here such as Bob's Red Mill)
4. ½ cup light brown sugar
5. 1 TB apple butter
6. ½ TB orange juice
7. Half of apple, cored

Directions for Almond-Apple Filling:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth
2. Use immediately with doughnut recipe above

This post was sponsored by two awesome companies. The first being American Press. American Press provided me with their press and I have honestly used it probably ten times in the last two weeks. The beauty of this product is twofold: the first being how easy it is to use and clean (a huge advantage for French Press users), but also how full-flavored the coffee is. As many of you know, I'm a Folger's and Mr. Coffee kinda guy, but I can enjoy American Press because it can elevate my experience without any fussiness.

Secondly, JORD wooden watches were an inspiration for this post, too. These watches are superb quality and you can tell that nothing is spared in their design. What I particularly like about these watches is that they give take a classic piece and only add to its design, not taking away or making a caricature of the watch's integrity. I chose the Frankie in Dark Sandalwood because I think it went most with my personal style, but any of their watches would make a great gift. I partnered with JORD to offer my readers $25 their first purchase with this coupon. I definitely think these watches are great gifts for the person in your life that has everything, but you still want to make them feel special. I hope the coupon code is your opportunity to try them out! 

Wooden Wristwatch

Happy #nationalbundtday! Pumpkin Chocolate Bundt, in partnership with Nordicware!

Microwaved coffee and Milo in his sweater. That's who my week has started. I worked outside yesterday, pulling dead branches off an old fruit tree and took the trash to the curb. I looked for a used truck, I have big plans to live in a farm. My dad called from a gas station outside of Virginia to say he loves me.

The cats outside are shaking, the cats inside are fighting. I babysit them while my parents take a week to visit my brother at their house in North Carolina. They bought three trash bags full of clothes for the flood victims, but most of what they found were swimming trunks. There's irony in there somewhere, but I didn't have the heart to tell my mother. She's always been bad at thinking things through, we ran across the country when I was little, moved to five new states by the time I hit kindergarten, and then when I was 15 she asked if she thinks that affected me at all. 

But we're a home now, tucked in Pennsylvania. I drive two hours roundtrip to see my sister and my niece. We watch the football game my brother-in-law went to and we bring over sandwiches so she doesn't have to cook. Next week, she's hosting Thanksgiving at her house for the first time and we'll help how we can. I promised to bring the dessert, a chocolate pumpkin cake spiked with peanut butter and cinnamon. She doesn't need to do everything alone. We're all in this together now. 

No more moving, no more leaving anyone behind. There's irony in there somewhere, but I'm not thinking about that now.

Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake

An easy, all-on-one cake recipe that it perfect for a bundt, but can also be baked in any traditional pan, you will just have to adjust the temperature. Coming from Indiana, I always think that a bundt cake during the holidays is just that much more festive; and with NordicWare's bundt cake with the fall leaves pattern, it takes autumn to a whole other level.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup AP flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon + more for sprinkling
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• White sugar, for sprinklin

Directions:

1. Prepare your bundt pan with shortening and flour (I used their harvest leaves bundt pan to add a little festivity to this post)
2. Preheat oven to 350*F
3. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, sugar, and cinnamon twice in a large mixing bowl
4. In a measuring cup, whisk together peanut butter, egg, pumpkin, vanilla, and buttermilk
5. Create a well in the center of your dry ingredients with a wooden spoon
6. Gently pour a steady stream of your wet ingredients into the center of the well, stirring constantly until thoroughly mixed—but beware over-mixing
7. Pour into your prepared bundt pan
8. Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean
9. Allow to cool, remove from pan, and sprinkle with white sugar and cinnamon on the leaves, as shown
10. Enjoy! Can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight containe

A special thanks to Nordic Ware for sponsoring this post. Nordic Ware has been producing quality kitchenware products in their 70 years and are now one of America's most beloved and iconic brands. Today, Nordic Ware manufactures the vast majority of its products in America, at our Minneapolis headquarters, including cookware, bakeware, grillware, microwave, and kitchen gadgets and accessories.For more information or products, check out their website!