Festive Cherryettes Recipes

FESTIVE HOLIDAY CRANBERRY RELISH

Steps:

• Stir cranberries, sugar, orange juice, water, lime juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest, and lime zest together in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook at a simmer until cranberries pop, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Transfer cooled sauce to serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. Garnish with a pinch of orange zest to serve.

FESTIVE CHERRETTES

Steps:

• Blend together shortening, butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla. Add flour and pecans and mix into soft dough. Measure out level tablespoonfuls of dough and roll in palms of hands to form round balls.
• Place on greased baking sheets. Press a little indentation in center of each ball with a thimble and put a half of candied cherry on top of each.
• Bake in a 325 degree F (165 degrees C) oven for 25 minutes.

FESTIVE CHERRYETTES

Steps:

• Blend together shortening, butter, salt, sugar and vanilla.
• Add flour and pecans and mix into a soft dough.
• Chill.
• Preheat oven to 325° F and grease cookie sheets.
• Measure out level tablespoonfuls of dough and roll between palms of hands to form round balls.
• Place on greased cookie sheets.
• Press a little indentation in center in each cookie with a thimble and put half of cherry on top.
• Bake in preheated 325 oven for 25 minutes.

RED COOKING WINE

Steps:

• Once you have gotten over the fact that you've had to open up a perfectly good bottle of wine for that incredible sauce and realized you can't finish it right now, pour the remainder into a 20 oz clean water bottle to neck, seal and put on shelf in freezer. Depending on how much wine you needed for your recipe, this should give you at least one bottle and enough to start a second.
• This extra bottle gives you room for those "not quite a glass" leftovers from the good bottles. Add to your freezer stash as available.
• I keep several of these bottles handy for cooking. The wine doesn't go rancid, doesn't freeze, and actually seems to strengthen in taste. It also doesn't take away from the drinking stash! : ).

LEBKUCHEN (GERMAN CHRISTMAS HONEY COOKIES)

Steps:

• Mix honey and molasses and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool completely.
• Stir in brown sugar, egg, lemon juice and lemon rind.
• Sift together flour, baking soda and spices, then stir into the honey-molasses mix.
• Mix in the citron and chopped nuts, place the dough in the refrigerator and chill overnight.
• Roll out a small amount of dough at a time to 1/4 inch thick, keeping the rest in the fridge. You can either cut out oblong shapes about 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" or just cut out circle shapes about 2" in diameter.
• Place on a GREASED baking sheet about 1" apart.
• Place 3 almonds on top of each cookie in a flower shape, and place in a 400 deg oven for 10-12 min or until no imprint remains when touched lightly.
• While cookies bake, make glaze by boiling the water and sugar to 230 degrees - until it just barely begins to thread.
• Remove from heat and stir in confectioners sugar.
• Brush the hot glaze lightly over the cookies (if it gets grainy reheat slightly with a little water to thin again).

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH TEA COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream the shortening, butter and sugar together.
• Blend in the vanilla, almond extract and nuts.
• Sift together flour and salt, adding it to wet ingredients and mixing until dough is smooth and well blended.
• Shape into small balls (1 tbsp of dough for each).
• Place balls on ungreased baking sheet and flatten bottoms just enough so they won't roll.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
• Roll cookies in powdered sugar after baking.
• Option: If desired, top with colored sugar, coconut or more nuts before baking and then don't roll in powdered sugar after baking.

COUSCOUS FOR PEOPLE WHO HATE COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Once you have chopped your vegetables and ground your spices, place the couscous in a large bowl, and add all of the ground spices.
• Using a vegetable peeler, shave some butter off the block and place in the bowl.
• Bring the chicken stock to a boil, and pour it over the couscous. Don't stir it. Place a plate over the bowl to cover it, and set aside.
• Melt some butter in a frypan with the garlic, and add the celery and onions. Fry until the onion starts to become soft.
• Add a little more butter to the frypan, and add the mushrooms. Fry for about 2 minutes over medium heat until the mushroom is soft.
• Remove the cover from the bowl of couscous, and stir it gently with a fork, being careful not to mash it.
• Add the contents of the frypan, and stir it through gently.
• Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and serve.