Opt Ricotta Cookies

Ricotta Cookies

Ricotta Cookies

These crumbly, chewy, slightly sweet Italian cookies have been in my life for as long as I can remember. I am fortunate that my husband enjoys baking these every Easter and Christmas.(Makes approximately 48 cookies)

Ingredients
  

For The Cookies

  • 2 Sticks of Butter
  • 1.5 Cups Ricotta Cheese
  • 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Cups Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 4 Cups Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 2 Teaspoons Almond Extract or 1/4 Cup of Amaretto

For The Icing

  • 2 Cups of Confectioners Sugar
  • 8 Teaspoons of Water

Instructions
 

  • Allow butter to soften
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  • Blend butter with ricotta until creamy
  • Add vanilla mix well
  • Add sugar gradually, beat until blended well
  • Add eggs and blend well
  • Slowly stir in dry ingredients, blend well
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  • Roll dough into little balls and drop onto the cookie sheet
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes until bottoms of cookies are browned
  • Mix up the frosting and once cookies are still slightly warm use a teaspoon to drizzle onto the cookie starting from the middle of the cookie in a circular motion
  • Top with either a cherry or sprinkles
  • Let cool completely and make sure icing has hardened before stacking or placing in container

Video

Notes

Decorate with 1/2 slices of Maraschino cherries faced down or Sprinkles

 

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Holiday Rice Krispy Treats

  • 4 Cups Rice Krispy Cereal
  • 4 Cups Mini Marshmallows
  • 3 ½ Tablespoons of Butter
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla
  • 3/4 Cup of Holiday M and Ms Candy
  1. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat
  2. Add marshmallows and vanilla and stir until melted
  3. Turn heat off
  4. In a large bowl add rice Krispy and pour the marshmallow-butter mixture and mix together using a spatula
  5. Prepare a baking dish using non-stick spray or parchment paper on the bottom
  6. Add mixture to the pan
  7. Add the holiday M and Ms
  8. Refrigerate for 40 minutes

Salami Roll Ups

  • Genoa Salami (sliced very thin)
  • Plain Cream Cheese (softened)
  • Pickles (minced)

 

Mix approximately 3-4 pickles per 4 ounces of cream cheese

I used 1/4 tsp of some herbs I had left over from a pork rub but you really don’t need them. 

Mix together cream cheese and pickles and spread on the salami.

Roll the salami with the mixture inside 

Cut the salami in little bite sizes and secure with a toothpick.

Holiday Meat Tray

  • Assortment of Your Favorite Cured Meats
    We used salami, pepperoni, prosciutto ham, sopressata
  • We also had some of those pre-rolled salami around a cheese stick and figured why not!
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Pickles
  • Olive Medley
  • Marinated Antipasto Vegetables from the Whole Foods Olive Bar
  • Rosemary Harvested from the Herb Garden 
  1. We used a round drink serving tray that might be from a summer beach party, this allowed us to fill it with rosemary without it falling out. 
  2. Line a round tray with rosemary to form the shape of a wreath. 
  3. Turn a small bowl upside down in the middle to create a space for the olives that can have some height. Make sure that the olive bowl will sit on top without sliding. You can use a piece of saran wrap under the olive bow, to help secure it if needed.
  4. Place your crostini or bread around the edge of the rosemary 
  5. Roll or slice your meats depending on what you selected 
  6. Place the meats around the olive bowl, working your way outward from it and toward the bread
  7. Decorate the Rosemary with the cherry tomatoes and some black olives

Christmas Cheese and Fruit Tree

  • 1 Lb. of Colby Jack Cheese 
  • 1 Lb. of Pepper Jack Cheese
  • 1 Lb. of Sharp Cheddar Cheese
    (Or a selection of your favorite hard and semi-hard cheeses)
  • 1 Lb. Green Seedless Grapes
  • 6 Strawberries
  • 1 Star Fruit
  • 1 Package of Rectangle Shaped Water Crackers
  1. Use a rectangle shaped serving dish.
  2. Rinse grapes and strawberries under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
  3. Cut all cheese into small 1” blocks (bite size).
  4. Cut strawberries and star fruit in half.
  5. It helps to think you are building a long triangle. If needed create an outline with some grapes and remove them as you go.
  6. To build the tree, start with the bottom and work your way up.
  7. Put a cracker where the trunk of your tree belongs. 
  8. Place the star fruit at the top for a guide.
  9. Place the grapes for your first bottom layer.
  10. Place a row of cheese right above it but make 1” smaller on either side. When adding the cheese layers make each one a different cheese (preferably a different color if you have it. 
  11. Continue to interchange the cheeses and grapes for each layer
  12. The top of your last layer will be the strawberries, just below the star fruit for the tree topper.
  13. Place crackers at the corners of your dish.

Holiday Chicken Salad Square

 

I can not tell a lie, this was an amazing appetizer that a friend made and I just had to have it in our blog for the Christmas holiday. Not only did it look gorgeous it tasted fabulous as well!  This is guaranteed to be a hit at your next Christmas gathering.

  • 1 Cooked Chicken Breast (chopped)
  • 2 8-Ounce Packages of Cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 1/2 Cup Onion (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 2 Cups Pecans (finely chopped)
  • 12 Red Grapes (quartered)
  • 5-6 Green Onions (scallions)
  • 5 Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
  1. Mix together chicken, cream cheese, onion or onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans in a medium mixing bowl.
  2. Fold in the grapes
  3. Line a Loaf pan with Plastic wrap and press the mixture into the pan 
  4. Pour chicken cheese mixture into the pan . Using plastic wrap, press chicken cheese mixture tightly forming a rectangle.
  5. Wrap with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for 1 hour up to 3 days before serving.
  6. Before serving blanch the green onions so that they are pliable and you can fold them around also this makes them the bright green color you see in the photo.
  7. Turn your chicken cheese mixture over out of your loaf pan and cut it down the middle so you have two squares.
  8. Move your square to the plate you intend to serve from and wrap the green onions around it like a bow and add the 5 tomatoes to the top 
  9. Serve with water crackers 
Fixed Pics in LOF 1023 (2)

Herb Smoked and Roasted Whole Turkey

The star of the Thanksgiving meal is the turkey. I used a 14.5 lb. frozen turkey. I removed it from the freezer to the refrigerator on Saturday to be ready on Thursday.  It is important to brine the bird for moisture, so we will start with those ingredients. I made my brine more of a marinade than a traditional brine. (A traditional brine calls for more salt and you have to rinse it down before cooking).  I planned to smoke my turkey using a steam pot in my smoker to hold in even more moisture and infuse additional flavor. I will share that also below. Lastly, I rubbed the turkey. This was by far the best turkey I have ever made! 

Brine

  • 2 Gallons of Water
  • 18 Ounces of Vegetable Stock
  • 1/3 Cup of Sea Salt
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1 Apple (sliced)
  • 1 Onion (rough cut)
  • 1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary 
  • 1 Sprig of Fresh Thyme
  • 1 Sprig of Sage

 Steam Pot
(I used my blue dutch oven to put in the smoker under the bird) I used mostly all the same ingredients as above. 

  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1 Apple (sliced)
  • 1 Onion (rough cut)
  • 1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary 
  • 1 Sprig of Fresh Thyme
  • 1 Sprig of Sage
  • 18 Ounces of Vegetable Stock
  • 1-2 Carrots (cut into quarters)
  • 1-2 Celery Stalks (cut into quarters)

For the Turkey Rub 

3/4 of a Stick of Butter

1/4 Cup of Fresh Thyme (removed from stem)

1/2 Cup of Minced Rosemary (no stems)

1/2 Cup to 3/4 Cup of Minced Sage (no stems)

 

For the Brine

  1. Add all brine/marinade ingredients to a large pot or oversized bowl. 
    (remember I made a quasi brine that was more like a marinade so no need to boil and cool or to rinse the next day).
  2. Soak overnight. 
  3. Pull the turkey from the brine after 12 hours and pat completely dry with paper towels. (This is an important step for the skin to cook properly in the smoker).

For the Rub

  1. Mix all the ingredients with a food processor or immersion blender
  2. Apply the rub with your hands all over the dry turkey before smoking it.
  3. Reserve some for basting in a small pot on the stove. 

For the Steam Pot

  1. Add in all the ingredients and once your smoker has been lit and the smoke is the right color, set the steam pot down into the grill, right on the reflector plates and then place your grill racks over it. 

For the Grill

  1. I made a little foil packet of the fresh herbs, sealed it well and poked 3 tiny holes in it and set it down right on the coals (optional) 
  2. I placed a small piece of applewood in the smoker for a mild smoke flavor. 

For the Turkey

  1. Place the turkey on the racks in the grill for 2 hours at 350 degrees F.  
  2. At 1 hour and 40 minutes, preheat your indoor oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. Remove the turkey and place it in a roasting pan. Baste it with the extra mixture of butter and herbs.
  4. Transfer it to your oven. Baste one more time over the next hour.
  5. Tent it with a piece of aluminum foil if the skin appears to be getting too dark before the temperature reaches 160 degrees F. 
  6. When the temp is 160 degrees F pull the turkey from the oven and wrap it in aluminum foil completely and let it sit for 45 mins to an hour before carving.