Homemade Irish Cream

With the holiday season comes dozens of yankee swaps and gift giving and sometimes it's hard to choose just what to give. Homemade gifts are so thoughtful and if it involves liquor then you may have hit the jack pot, especially if it's festive! Irish Cream (aka Bailey's) is a wonderful addition to a cocktail or a delicious treat in your Christmas morning coffee.

It's a simple recipe and stays good in the fridge in an air tight container for months! Plus, you can have a lot of fun decorating them in adorable bottles. I gave mine away with a bag of local, organic coffee.

 

I use Jameson but you can use your favorite Irish whiskey. This recipe has chocolate, coffee and almond in it, giving it a similar flavor to Bailey's. This recipe has a bit higher alcohol content than Bailey's though, which is my personal preference but you can alter the ingredients as you wish. In my opinion, you want the whiskey flavor to shine a bit and not just be masked by heavy cream. 

As I said, it keeps good in the fridge for a few months. It does thicken in the bottle, so before serving you'll want to give it a good shake and it will loosen right up to be poured into a delicious coffee drink!

Happy Holidays!!





Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur 

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup Irish Whiskey
1 cup heavy cream (do not substitute with half and half or milk, it doesn't work)
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp instant coffee
1 tbsp chocolate syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/4-1/2 tsp almond extract

Directions:

• Pour ingredients into blender and mix until combined. 
• Pour into air tight containers and store in fridge. 
• Shake well before serving.

Homemade Oreos

My favorite reason to cook is for special occasions. Good food brings people together and it's great to be the person that provides that. There's something so special to me about baking a pie to share on Christmas, or breakfast for the family on Mother's Day. I find I even get more excited for other people's birthdays than my own because I get to learn about their favorite treats and make something just for them.

Two of my colleagues, David and Josh, have birthdays in December and I wanted to make them something. I asked for a hint of what they would like and I was told they both loved Oreos. My mind immediately started jumping to all of these different ideas that involved Oreos in some way. I was thinking way outside the box about this elaborate trifle dessert when it hit me; I should just make homemade Oreos.......Duh! It's the type of thing that's just so obvious that you don't even think of doing it.

Well, they aren't hidden in plain sight anymore because they made their big debut in the office today and I will 100% be making them again.

The decadent chocolate cookies are crisp yet chewy, and the filling is sweet and creamy. Consider them your packaged Oreos on steroids.

The thing I truly loved about these cookies is that they are uncommon, at least as far as I know. I have never had or seen homemade Oreos before, but wherever you bring them they are sure to be a hit just based on how well loved the classic packaged cookie is. It's a thoughtful, homemade version of the cookie so many of us loved as kids (and now), which gives them an element of nostalgia. That's always a huge bonus for a food item!!

Here's a fun fact: Oreos are vegan. I know this because my sister is a vegan and has been since she was 11. No offense to her, but you have to assume these must be better than the packaged cookies because: A. they are homemade B. they have butter.

They are even Hilnur approved! (My sister's Irish Wolfhound mix - don't worry, we didn't let him have the chocolate but he definitely gave it a solid attempt!)

This is a delicious recipe that will please any crowd and be a thoughtful gift for your Oreo loving friend or family member!






Homemade Oreos


Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups of sugar
1 1/4 sticks of butter, softened
1 1/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
Filling:
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Mix flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder until thoroughly combined.
• Cream together butter and sugar in standing mixer. Slowly mix in flour (just pulse) until nearly combined then add the egg. Mix until it is just formed into a dough.
• Using a small spoon/teaspoon, scoop the dough and roll into 1/2" to 1" balls. Spread out on parchment paper lined baking sheet. 
• Press the balls down slightly to flatten just a bit. 
• Bake in preheated oven for 9 minutes. The tops will look nicely cracked like the image above. 
• For the filling, gradually beat powdered sugar into butter and shortening in a standing mixer. Add in vanilla and beat on medium-high until the filling is light and fluffy - about 2 minutes. 
• Once cookies are cooled, use a pastry bag (or a strong plastic bag) to pipe the icing onto cookies and make sandwiches.

Almond Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

This time of year is a time to celebrate, share and give not only to those who you know and love, but those who aren't quite as fortunate and could use a little help during the holidays. My firm ran a food drive for the Seacoast Food Pantry and the NH Food Bank and I was thrilled with the results. Together with our clients (all located in NH/MA) we were able to donate nearly 2,500 pounds of food! You can check out the article on my company site here.

It was heartwarming to see how generous the local businesses are, and of course I thought they deserved a homemade treat to thank them for their voluntary participation. After making pumpkin cookies for clients of mine who participated in the Epilepsy Foundation clothing drive, I knew I had to follow up strong. Sugar cookies are a well known holiday treat and I felt they would be a perfect way to say thanks ("thank yous" that are edible are the best kind of thank yous).

They can be dressed up to look fancy and they are loaded with butter.... It is clearly an obvious choice.

I love this recipe because there is a perfect balance of buttery, almond cookie and sweet filling. They look beautifully festive and can hold their own on a table spread of even the most gourmet holiday treats. I got rave reviews from clients I gave them to, so I know the recipe is worth sharing!

The fun part about this recipe is that you can get a little creative. Feel free to experiment with different types of jams (raspberry, strawberry, cherry, apricot, etc!) and toppings such as icing or a light dusting of powdered sugar. One thing I would not recommend substituting is the almond extract for vanilla in the cookie. The almond gives the cookies a delicious nuttiness, and the vanilla flavor just seems to fall short in comparison.

My last tip is for those of you who love to cut corners in the kitchen (don't worry, I do sometimes too). Don't skip the step of freezing the dough. These cookies have a healthy dose of butter in them and will spread thin causing the jam to run if you don't freeze them before cooking.

Now that I have shared my last piece of wisdom, let the holiday cooking commence! Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-laaaa!




Almond Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup raspberry jam or jam of choice
Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
half and half

Directions:

• Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. 
• In standing mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes.  Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add egg and vanilla and beat for about a minute more, until fully mixed. 
• Mix flour mixture into butter mixture, slowly and a little at a time until it starts to combine. It will be a bit crumbly but it will form a ball. 
• Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place spread out on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using your finger (or get this - a chap stick tube works beautifully and is so much easier!) press a hole into the top of the cookie, about halfway through to the bottom. Fill with jam but don't over flow. 
• Freeze the cookies on the cookie sheet for at least 1 hour. 
• Preheat oven to 350 and bake cookies one sheet at a time in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until just lightly golden. Let cool ten minutes then move to a wire rack.
• While cookies are cooling, mix powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 tsp of half and half or milk at a time until it just turns to icing consistency. Pour into plastic bag and cut the corner to ice.
• Drizzle icing over cookies once they are completely cool.