Walnut Shortbread Cookies

Since the Regent Diner closed its doors about five years ago, my brother, Art, has been unable to find another bakery who can replicate his favorite cookie.  On my visit to New Jersey last month, I hand carried a box filled with my latest attempt.  I couldn’t wait until we got home to have him taste the cookie, so I slipped one into his mouth on the ride home from the airport.  With eyes widening he said, “Not exactly like the Regent Diner cookie, but these are much better.”

Ingredients:

§  1 1/2 cups walnuts

§  1/8 teaspoon table salt

§  2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

§  1 tablespoon vanilla

§  1/2 cup sugar

§  2 cups all-purpose flour

§  1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more for serving

Directions:

 

In a food processor, finely grind 1/2 cup walnuts and salt.  Roughly chop the remaining 1 cup of walnuts and set aside.

In a bowl, beat softened butter and salt for 2 – 3 minutes until smooth.

 

Add the sugar and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy scraping down the sides of the bowl. 

Add flour and mix just until combined well.  Add ground and chopped walnuts.

 

Divide the dough into thirds.

 

Wrap lightly in plastic wrap and roll each piece to form a log approximately 1" in diameter for smaller cookies or 1 1/2" for larger cookies. 

Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and chill until cold, about 30 minutes or overnight.

 

To bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove the cookie logs from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2" discs.  Place the discs onto a baking pan lined with a Silpat or parchment paper. 

Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom and just pale golden on top.

Put powdered sugar into a bowl.  Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.  Toss the warm cookies in the powdered sugar.  Transfer the sugar-coated cookies to a rack to cool completely.

 

Once cooled, store them in an airtight container.

 

Before serving, sift additional powdered sugar over cookies. For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Walnut Shortbread Cookies. Enjoy!

My Most Requested Recipes Collection

With friends and family repeatedly asking for my recipe for Bacon Candy, I introduced this blog, My Most Requested Recipes, to share my most treasured treats. That first post attracted over 7000 views.  Now, 4 years, 4000 subscribers and a quarter of a million views later, I often receive emails requesting recipes I have previously posted. 

This month, in honor of our 4^th anniversary, I’ve decided to do something a little differently. Below, for the benefit of those arriving late to the party, please find links to all of the mouth-watering recipes I have previously posted.  We’ll still be posting new and popular recipes, starting with next month’s incredible Mexican Wedding Cookies, a petite shortbread treat that will have you and all your friends wanting to know how to make them.

Appetizers and Hors d’oeuvres

• Bacon Candy
• Smoked Salmon Mousse
• Hot Corn Dip
• Hot Artichoke Dip
• Crab and Cream Cheese Won Tons
• Sweet Onion Dip
• Monte Cristo Poppers
• Nuts, Nuts, Nuts
• Cheese Ball Pops.
• Jack Daniel's Brown Sugar Brie en Croute
• Shaved Ham Rolls
• Smoked Trout or Smoked Salmon Salad
• Texas Salsa
• Stuffed Sausage Balls
• Artichoke Dip Pinwheels
• Pesto, Pesto Pasta and Pesto Canapés

Soups

• Creamy Tomato Soup
• Pumpkin Soup
• Autumn Squash Soup
• Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
• Mushroom Barley Soup
• Mama Marko’s Chicken Noodle Matzo Ball Soup
• Chicken Corn Chowder

Sides

• Praline Sweet Potatoes
• Corn Soufflé
• Sweet and Savory Baked Beans
• Twice Baked Potatoes
• Pot Roasted Potatoes
• Potato Latkes
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Breakfast

• Vegetable Frittata
• Breakfast Bread Pudding
• Breakfast Basket
• Breakfast Burritos
• Breakfast Pizza
• Light and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes (No Buttermilk…No Problem)

Entrées

• Chicken Francaise
• Chicken Marsala
• Shrimp and Grits
• Shepherd’s Pie
• Pot Roast
• Basic Risotto
• Black Bean and Corn Chili
• Lasagna Roll-Ups
• Tuna Melt
• Not My Mama's Stuffed Cabbage
• Pan Fried Chops
• Chicken Noodle Casserole
• Warm Potato Salad
• Croque Madame
• Flatbreads
• Mushroom Lasagna
• Adult Macaroni and Cheese

Desserts

• Berry Cobbler
• Balsamic Strawberry Shortcake
• Southern Tres Leches Cake
• Pumpkin Mousse
• Bananas Foster
• Sour Cream Coffee Cake
• Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting
• Chocolate Boston Cream Cake
• Jersey Diner Rice Pudding

Cookies

• Mama Marko’s Frozen Dough Cookies
• Shortbread Cookies
• Cranberry-Pecan Cheese Crackers

Candy

• Sweet and Spicy Chocolate Truffles
• Chocolate Salami
• Peanut Clusters
• White Chocolate Bank

Miscellaneous

• Dill Caper Sauce
• Corn Muffins
• Hot Pepper Jelly

Praline Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving is without a doubt my favorite holiday.  If I had to choose my last meal, it would most definitely be my Thanksgiving plate and although I always promise myself to do so, I never replicate this menu throughout the year.  But that’s not the only reason why I love Thanksgiving. 

As a two-religion household, we celebrate all of the holidays.  At our Christmas brunch, we include members of our Jewish family to experience the season.  At our Passover Seder, we always share the ceremonial dinner with Christian friends….but Thanksgiving is different.  Thanksgiving belongs to everyone.  We are all Americans, we are all patriotic and most of all we all have reasons to be thankful. 

Only on Thanksgiving can I rationalize having mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn soufflé, green bean casserole and macaroni and cheese as only a few of the many accompaniments to our star, the big beautiful turkey. 

I would like to share with you my recipe for Praline Sweet Potatoes which can be made a day or two ahead and will probably taste better if you do.

Ingredients

§     1/4 cup butter
§     2 tablespoons vegetable oil
§     2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes (2 – 3 large sweet potatoes)
§     2 granny smith apples cut into ½ inch cubes
§     1/4 cup sugar
§     1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
§     1/2 cup pecans, chopped
§     1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
§     1/2 teaspoon salt
§     3 – 4 tablespoons water

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of oil to keep the butter from burning.

Add sweet potatoes, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until golden.  Mix potatoes and reduce heat, add salt, cover and cook 5 more minutes. Remove potatoes from skillet.  Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet.  Add apples and cook for 10 minutes, mixing occasionally. Return potatoes to skillet. 

Add sugar, pecans and cinnamon, tossing to coat.  Add water stirring to loosen brown particles.  Cook 5 – 10 minutes or until potatoes and apples and glazed and tender.

For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Praline Sweet Potatoes. Enjoy!

Autumn Squash Soup

Everyone loves the fall.  Some say it’s because of the brisk air.  Others love the changing color of the foliage.  Fall is my favorite season because it ushers in the time for warm comforting food.  Now I realize that I can make my savory Pumpkin Soup, Praline Sweet Potatoes and Pumpkin Mousse any time of the year…and I do…but there is something about a slight chill in the air that makes them all taste better. 

 

Anyone who follows my blog knows that I love soup.  I’m not normally a chain restaurant kind of girl, but there is one I love for their selection of soups.  They do a good job introducing new and exciting seasonal selections.  My taste buds were pleasantly surprised by their newly featured Autumn Squash Soup.  I fell in love at first bite with the fall delicacy lightly seasoned with curry and sweetened with apples. 

I couldn’t wait to get home to recreate my new favorite autumn soup.  I bought a butternut squash and two kinds of apples and began cooking away on my stovetop.  The soup turned out great but a little more complicated to make than my average most requested recipe. Most of the feedback I get from my readers is from people who rarely cook but love my recipes because they are impressive to serve yet easy to make.  So I went back to the drawing board and came up with this easy version of my new favorite soup.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

Ingredients:

§     3 tablespoons butter

§     1 tablespoon vegetable oil

§     1 medium onion, chopped

§     1 teaspoon Kosher salt

§     1 12 ounce package of frozen squash

§     1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree

§     1 cup chicken broth

§     1 cup apple cider

§     1/4 cup honey

§     1/4 cup sugar

§     1/2 cup cream or half and half

§     2 teaspoons curry powder

§     1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

§     Freshly grated nutmeg

§     Toasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts

Directions:

In a large pot, melt butter.  To keep the butter from browning, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.  Add onion and salt.

   

The salt will sweat the onions and keep them from turning brown.  Sauté the onion until translucent, about 8 minutes. 

Add squash, pumpkin puree, chicken broth and apple cider.  Cook over low heat until the soup begins to bubble.  Add honey, sugar, curry powder, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook for another 5 - 7 minutes. 

Lastly, add cream and heat through.  Using an emersion blender, mix soup until smooth and creamy.  If you don't have an emersion blender, carefully ladle the soup into a blender and mix until smooth and creamy. 

Serve hot with toasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts.

For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Autumn Squash Soup. Enjoy!

Flatbreads

I can’t say that this is an actual recipe, but I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t share one of my favorite last minute meal secrets with you.  Because it is as good served at room temperature as it is warm from the oven, and I don’t have to prepare in advance to have particular ingredients on hand, this has become my go to recipe when packing a lunch to take on the boat, a backyard picnic or when asked to bring an appetizer to a last minute gathering. 

I first started making these Flatbreads when looking for something to do with the small dishes filled with an assortment of leftovers in the refrigerator. Not enough of any single item to make a complete meal, but items too good to just toss.  That’s when I pulled out my flatbreads and got creative. 

NOTE: I was in the supermarket and couldn’t find flatbreads so I asked an employee in the department.  He said “Wait right here and I’ll get you some,” proceeded to go to the freezer in the back of the store and returned with several frozen bags.  That’s when I got the idea to always buy them frozen and keep them in my freezer until ready to use.  They take only 2 – 5 minutes at room temperature to defrost and are always fresh.

Suggested Ingredients:

§     2 pieces of flatbreads
§     1 cup grated cheese (i.e. Swiss, cheddar, Monterey jack, Fontina)
§     Approximately 4 – 6 ounces of any leftover or deli meats (i.e. salami, chicken, turkey, ham)
§     1/2 cup crumbled soft cheese (i.e. blue, gorgonzola, feta or goat cheese)
§     1 cup chopped vegetables (i.e. red or yellow peppers, red onion, jalapeno and/or fennel)
§     1/2 cup crumbled soft cheese (i.e. blue, gorgonzola or goat cheese)
§     BBQ Sauce (Regular or Carolina mustard based)
§     Salt and Pepper to taste
§     Optional:  Chopped parsley and/or chives to sprinkle on top after removing from oven

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Place flatbreads on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with grated cheese. The cheese at the bottom will act as the glue for the rest of the ingredients. 

In a small bowl combine the chopped vegetables and season with salt and pepper.

 

Pile the vegetable top of the meat and splash lightly splash with BBQ sauce. 

Dot with soft cheese and sprinkle with remaining grated cheese. 

Place in hot oven for about 10 – 12 minutes or until cheese melts. 

Remove from oven serve warm or at room temperature.  For color and freshness, sprinkle with chopped parsley or chives. 

For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Flatbreads. Enjoy!