I'm pleased to announce that I now officially take requests and answer questions. As to the request, it was fielded from an old kindred spirit who popped up to say hello and then asked for a post about my mom's Thumprint Christmas Cookies. I'm not sure if this individual plans on making the cookies anytime within the next four months, but in the spirit of honoring requests, I will post this now. Her Thumbprint Christmas Cookies are my FAVORITE Christmas cookies, and surely this recipe would have been posted at the more seasonally appropriate time but for this early request. I'm not sure where the recipe comes from but my best guess would be ancient Italy. Perhaps the Colosseum. Or perhaps from a bakery around the corner from this church, where both of my great-grandparents were baptized: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalfi_Cathedral. Why they ever left beautiful Amalfi boggles the mind! Now. Moving on to the questions. Because I'm just totally in the helping spirit these days. So, I'm able to see the searches people enter into Google that lead them to my blog. And then they get here and their questions are typically unanswered until NOW, when I'll attempt to answer them.
After much consideration, here are the top five most interesting searches:
1) where to buy cannelloni in Singapore- HA! Hmm, I don't know but I hope you (whoever you are) were able to figure it out. In the meantime, if you're still in Singapore, might I recommend the Hainanese chicken rice from a street vendor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainanese_chicken_rice or getting your fortune told by one of the fortune-tellers with the green parrots http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mani_the_parakeet?
2) how to pronounce pannkakor- That's easy! Let me assist! "Pahn-cah-core." Emphasis on syllable the first.
3) hendl recipe paprika- Amanda and I don't know how to actually cook/bake/broil(?) hendls, but perhaps one day we will. In the meantime, might I suggest not actually making them but eating them at Oktoberfest in Munich? You'll thank me later!
4) "dragon tattoo" "open faced"- I think I actually answered that one: http://cookingmywaytothe365.blogspot.com/2012/04/recipes-18-and-19-swedish-meatballs-and.html I just linked to my own blog! WHAT? Check and mate!
5) venn diagram maker- I did not answer that one. But I'm currently accepting requests to be hired as a venn diagram maker. I think I would very much enjoy that career.
THUMBPRINT CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Ingredients:
-3/4 c sugar
-2 c flour
-1 t salt
-1/2 t almond extract (don't worry, don't worry, I'm not allergic to almond extract, only almonds themselves)
-1 1/2 sticks softened butter
-1/2 t vanilla
-2 egg yolks, save the whites
-1 1/2 c chopped walnuts
-various jams and jellies (my mom alternates red jams and mint jelly to make these look extra Christmas-y... but I personally always avoid the mint ones like the plague because, while pretty, I feel pretty strongly that the mint jelly ones just don't taste as great as the ones with the berry jams)
Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2) combine the sugar, salt, extracts, butter and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl
3) mix the ingredients with an electric mixer for one minute at medium speed
4) add the flour and continue mixing with the mixer at low speed until well-blended
5) slightly beat the egg whites in a small bowl
6) roll the dough into small balls (maybe with a diameter about the size of a quarter)
7) dip the cookie balls into the egg whites and then roll in the walnuts
8) make an indentation with your thumb (hence the name "thumbprints") in each cookie
9) space the cookies out on a greased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies appear "set" (but not browned)
10) let the cookies cool and spoon jelly/jam into the indentations
11) Merry Christmas-in-August!
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