Walnut Fudge... in a cookie

Yeah, what's up with all the food posts? Well if you know me you know I like to bake. Or should I say love to bake. Without baking, my life would be sad indeed. So. I present to you the Walnut Fudge cookie. Walnut fudge was one of my dad's favorite candies growing up, so this is a re-creation of the rich stuff with no candy thermometer necessary. The basic ingredient in this cookie is... umm... I'll let you guess. These aren't to be confused with the chocolate cookies I made on December 8.

Chocolate, walnuts, brown sugar, flour.... good stuff. And I can't make cookies without my trusty culinary scoops.

Sorry the picture is so dark but hey, it's chocolate.

And... the final result. So shiny, with that great crackled top that is so fun to bite.

Dad, these will be in the mail tomorrow! :-)

Raspberry Cheesecake

While Anya was here (yes I know, pictures coming soon!), we made some eclairs and this lovely little cheesecake. And wow was it good... thanks to the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. We both almost fainted when we took our first bites. Yeah... just. that. good.

Raspberry Cheesecake

2 c. chocolate wafer crumbs

1/3 c. butter, melted

3 Tbsp. sugar

3 c. fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed (1 cup reserved for garnish)

2/3 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. lemon juice

3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. vanilla

2 egg whites

1 c. heavy cream

2 Tbsp. raspberry liqueur or orange juice

1. Crust: stir together chocolate crumbs, butter, and sugar. Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the side of an ungreased 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Chill.

2. Raspberry sauce for filling: Blend 2 1/2 cups raspberries in a blender until smooth; add water to bring the volume to 1 cup. Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan; stir in blended raspberries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 more minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Pour out 3/4 c. sauce and cool slightly; reserve and chill the rest for garnish.

3. Cheesecake: Combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla; beat until fluffy. Add egg whites and beat on low just until combined. Stir in heavy cream.

4. Assembly: Pour half the cheesecake mixture into the crust. Pour the 3/4 c. raspberry sauce over the cheesecake, and cover with the rest of the cheesecake mixture. Place in a shallow baking pan to catch drips and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool in the springform pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen sides of pan and cool 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool 1 hour. Chill at least 4 hours. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce mixed with the liqueur and whole raspberries.

Applesauce: a winter staple

In our house, Mom's applesauce was served at every meal. Because it was just that good. So for the past 2 years I've been trying to replicate it. I'm getting close, but not quite there. Chunky, not much sugar, lots of cinnamon. I will probably be walking this road for a long time... but at least the detours taste good!

Beezus!

My neighbor Kimberly is often out of town, and I get the pleasure of playing with little Beezus here... I miss having a dog around! Ok let me explain Beezus' name. Remember the Ramona books from Beverly Cleary that we read when we were about 10? Yeah, Ramona's sister was named Beezus. *ahh...*


Beezus' favorite activity (besides snuggling and begging for belly rubs) is running in circles at full speed around the yard. Snow or no snow, doesn't matter to this puppy.

Miriam's cookies are worth braving the January ice for...

Two years ago, I held a young women's Bible study at my house, led by my friend Miriam. The girls in the Bible study came from all over the Treasure Valley, and many of them traveled 45 minutes or more to get there. When the Bible study was done, we didn't run into each other nearly as often. So Miriam staged a little reunion in early January at Flying M in downtown Nampa, which was a great idea. Unfortunately the weather had other plans. It was snowing like crazy and there were a few inches of ice on the road. A few of the girls couldn't make it but a few of us were already on our way. So, plan B became Miriam's house and homemade chocolate chip cookies. We'll take it!


Miriam and Johanna made some sort of grainy, Malt-O-Meal stuff that I tried but didn't really go for.... it was sort of like Cream of Wheat (excuse me while I gag). And thus ensued an entire conversation on 12-grain, 10-grain, 8-grain, and 6-grain hot cereals and how well each of them provides an internal cleansing... enough said. They seemed to like it.

Ah yes, and cookies were made. I played with the camera while they threw ingredients in the Bosch. Have you ever seen a Bosch mixer? It's a baker's dream. Someday I will get one. Perhaps in place of the standard KitchenAid. Not sure yet.

Erin, Ariel and Hannah showed up a bit later and we all had a great time sitting around visiting and asking personal questions like only a roomful of girls can do. It was fun. :-) Thanks Miriam!

Tea Forte'

I got some tea from Tea Forte' as part of a Christmas gift. I have recently begun drinking way more tea than I ever have before in my life and I actually prefer it at times more than a latte (imagine!). There are thousands of flavors of tea. Gotta love that. So this one is mainly ginger root, with lemon myrtle and hints of ginseng and black pepper. Ginger is spicy on its own, so I was curious about the addition of pepper, but it was just right--made you feel warm inside without assaulting your tongue with pepperiness. And this coming from someone not too fond of pepper. But I adore ginger.

The pyramid-shape makes the bag float in your cup and there is a nifty little leaf on top so you can pull it out without a spoon.

Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Would definitely have again.

A New Year

I'm debating whether to post a list of New Year's Resolutions. I would post them because a) it would keep me more accountable to others, b) it puts them in a neat and tidy list where I can always reference it, and c) something about seeing your plans in print makes them more do-able. I wouldn't post them because a) they're personal, b) there are a lot, and c) I don't really make resolutions as much as I do goals, seeing as how my birthday is coming up and that's usually the time I review the past year and make plans for the next year.
Do you make New Year's Resolutions? What are some of them?

For curiousity's sake:
Resolution: a resolve or determination, to make a firm resolution to do something.
Goal: the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.