Six days down and two to go. The eight-day Passover holiday is nearly over and we’ve run through our cookies and our brownies and our sponge cakes. Time to make macaroons. I grew up thinking of macaroons (as opposed to the French macaron) as Passover cookies. My mother would buy a couple of cans of macaroons (one coconut, one chocolate… and yes, I said cans) every year with her Passover groceries. Even today, when the Passover food displays appear in the grocery store, the predominant sweet lining the shelves is macaroons. And then — they disappear. Poof!

There’s no rational reason for that, of course. Macaroons can be enjoyed all year-round, and flavored to suit your tastes and the season. They’re also entirely gluten-free. My adult tastebuds were asking for something a little different, this year – a little fresher and less cloying. My eyes landed on a pile of fresh limes I’d just bought, and I thought, “Aha! What’s a more natural pairing with coconut, than lime?” And so, the Coconut Lime Macaroon was born:

Coconut Lime Macaroons
(Makes 20-24 large-ish cookies)

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1-1/4 cups sugar
8 oz. (by weight) fine almond meal
7 oz. (by weight) unsweetened dried coconut
Grated zest and juice of 1 large (or 2 smaller) limes

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Prepare 2 cookie sheets by either lining with parchment paper or silicone liners.

In a large glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff. While continuing to beat, add the sugar in 4 parts.

Fold in the almond meal, coconut, and lime zest and juice, continuing to fold until everything is completely incorporated. There should be no streaks of whites and you should have a very thick, scoopable batter.

Mound by tablespoonfuls (I used a scoop 2” across) onto the prepared pans, about 1/2″ apart, and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely on the pans.

Notes:

If you can’t find unsweetened dried coconut (got mine at Whole Foods in the nut/snack aisle), you can use the usual sweetened coconut that you find in the baking section of your grocery store. Just reduce the sugar to between 3/4 cup – 1 cup. I think this makes the macaroons less cloyingly sweet and you don’t have big shreds of coconut to deal with. Your choice.

No almond meal? Just weigh out 8 oz. of blanched almonds and run them through the food processor until they’re finally ground. No need to sift as you might for French macarons.

The lime really enhances the flavor of the almond and coconut, while at the same time cutting the sweetness a bit and adding a fresh note.

These Coconut Lime Macaroons are such a hit around here (my husband said they were the best I’ve ever made), that I’m adding them to the roster of treats I’m making for our National Food Bloggers Bake Sale, benefiting Share Our Strength / No Kid Hungry.

If you’re in the South Florida / Miami area on May 14th, I hope you’ll come out and join me and our roster of fabulous South Florida food bloggers and baking talent, at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden – one of my favorite spots on Earth! We’ll have wonderful treats, both sweet and savory, and an incredible Raffle – all to raise money to feed hungry children here in the U.S. Click here to get more information or to donate.

Chris at Blog Well Done inspired (instigated? dared?) me and Elle of Elle’s New England Kitchen (one of my regular co-conspirators in gastronomic excess) to concoct Loaded Fries for a first-ever #GoJunkFood extravaganza in hedonism.

For my first offering, I enlisted (however unwittingly) a group of my friends who came over Saturday night to playtest MJ’s new boardgame (shhhhh!). I wasn’t quick enough – or sneaky enough – to get photos of what they put together, but it was a great excuse to do the deed, right?
Really? You want a recipe?

Chili Loaded Fries

Mixed white potato and sweet potato fries

1 recipe of your favorite chili

Your favorite chunky salsa

White cheddar cheese sauce

Sour cream

Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

For a crowd, I recommend you get frozen fries. They bake up in about 15 minutes in the oven, and no grease mess.

Here’s the chili recipe I used… Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone they weren’t eating meat! Heehee!

For the White Cheddar Cheese Sauce:

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 stick butter
Approx. 3 cups milk (your choice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
Approx. 3 cups shredded white cheddar cheese

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour till smooth and just starting to bubble. Add the milk and whisk until thoroughly combined and bubbling.

Add the salt and pepper. Begin whisking in the cheese, a handful at a time, continuing to whisk until melted and completely blended.

Taste your sauce. Not cheesy enough? Add more. Too thick? Add more milk. Whisk completely after each addition and make sure it’s bubbling before making any further adjustments. You want a super-cheesy, pourable consistency. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.

I was flattered when Mardi of Eat. Live. Travel. Write. invited me to participate in the newly-revived (by Denise of Chez Us) “Hay Hay It’s Donna Day” monthly cooking event, dedicated to Australian star cookbook writer and home economist, Donna Hay.  I’m always flattered when one of my food blogger friends invites me to participate in one of these challenges.  I’m a little intimidated by some of the company I keep, these days.  By the way, I’m not “in it to win it.”  I just think it’s a lot of fun to see what different people in different parts of the world do with the same basic recipe to make it their own. 

Anyway, I’d never heard of Donna Hay before now, but she is quite famous on the other side of the pond for her super-simple, yet elegant, dishes.

The object of the game is to take one of Donna Hay’s recipes, prepare it – giving it your own personal twist, photograph it, and post it.  Mardi, our hostess this month, chose a light summer dessert: Blackberry Cheesecake Pots. To see the original recipe, click on that link.

MJ’s not fond of blackberries (or raspberries either, for that matter), and in any event, we don’t really see those in any quantity down here.  But Florida blueberries are starting to come in, and they’re a perfect substitute!  First, the Donna Hay recipe, with my modifications, then my notes.

Blueberry Cheesecake Pots

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. package cream cheese (soft, at room temperature)
¼ cup caster (superfine) sugar
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
 1 cup fresh blueberries

• 8 biscotti, to serve

Preparation:

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, cream and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer (I used my hand mixer) at high speed, until well-mixed and fluffy.  Crush half the blueberries with a fork, and add to the cream cheese mixture.  Spoon into 4  6 oz. dishes and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

Serve with the biscotti and the remaining blueberries. Serves 4.

Notes:  All the usual adjectives apply here: rich, but light, delicious, quick, easy.  You can throw this together in 5 minutes in the morning (leave the cream cheese out to soften overnight – you know, someplace where the cat won’t get at it), and have it for dessert that evening… if you can wait that long.

In Mardi’s post, she says that the texture of hers didn’t firm up as well as it should, more the consistency of yogurt.  Mine firmed up perfectly, and I suspect it’s due to a couple of differences in the ingredients.  The original recipe specifies 250 grams of cream cheese.  Here in the U.S., cream cheese comes in 8 ounce packages – that is, 226 grams – and I didn’t feel the need to make up the difference.  Also, Mardi used “single” cream (what I assume to be the equivalent of our “regular” whipping cream), while I used “heavy” whipping cream.  I did not whip the cream before adding to the cream cheese.

The original recipe instructs to use a food processor.  I did just fine with my hand mixer. You can certainly buy superfine sugar, but I just took my regular granulated sugar and ran it through the mini-chop attachment of my hand blender for about a minute and achieved the same results. Frankly, I’m not sure you really even need to worry about it at all – I use regular granulated sugar for normal cheesecakes, and I’ve never had a problem with it.

I took the recipe literally when it said to serve with biscotti, so I baked up some coordinating Blueberry Biscotti to go with:

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking liners. 

Print this post for your Moleskine journal

Continuing yesterday’s discussion, I said that we’re not permitted to eat any yeast-raised breads during Passover. But we all still have to go to work and the kids have to go to school, so what are we supposed to do about lunch?

I remember, as a kid, having to go to school with sandwiches made out of a couple of pieces of matzo with some of last night’s leftovers in between. You ever try to eat a slice of meatloaf sandwiched in matzo? Not a pretty picture. Not to mention, messy.

Manischewitz, the kosher foods company, used to put out a collection of Passover recipes every year. You’d get this big, fold-out flyer containing a list of recipes and suggested menus, for free with your Passover foods order from your local grocery store. My mom collected those things religiously every year. In fact, I think she still has the originals.

One year, appeared a recipe for Passover Rolls. They were made with matzo meal and eggs, and the answer to every Jewish kid’s lunchbox prayers! I still make them every year, but now that whole wheat matzo meal has become available, I use it half-and-half with regular matzo meal, trying to offset a little bit all that fat from the eggs and oil. Still, for the one week, a darned acceptable substitute for bread.

Passover Rolls (adapted from a 1960′s Manischewitz recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup matzo meal
1 cup whole wheat matzo meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs

Method:

Preheat oven to 375º F (190º C). Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with a silicone baking mat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine matzo meal, salt, and sugar. Mix well.

Bring water and oil to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the matzo meal mixture, and stir until blended. Beat one egg at a time into the mixture. Let stand 15 minutes.

Shape the dough into rolls with oiled hands. Arrange rolls on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until golden brown and delicious.

Notes:

I’m not mentioning yield here, because you can make these into any size or shape you please, from dinner roll size to hamburger roll size. The baking time indicated is for roughly in between, but is a good guide. Adjust accordingly.

As with all breads, they’re done when they sound hollow when you tap the bottoms with your fingers.

Print this post for your Moleskine journal!

It’s still Monday, right?

I really wanted to come up with a sexier name for this, but it was either that, or Soccer Mom Chicken. Which one do you like better?

What it really comes down to, is the ability to put a healthy and delicious meal on the table in a limited amount of time and on a budget. Because, who’s got time these days? Or money. With a little bit of forethought, though, you can do this. Okay, first the recipe, then we’ll chat.

Middle Eastern Style Freezer Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup orange juice
Juice of one lemon
4 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

1 cut-up chicken or parts of your choice, equalling 2 – 3 pounds

Ready? You’re going to love this.

Combine all ingredients, except the chicken, in a gallon-size zip-top freezer bag. Zip the bag closed and swish it all around to evenly mix. Open the bag and put in the chicken. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Label the bag with the contents, throw it in your freezer.

Either the night before, or the morning of the day you want to use it, take the bag out of the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator. If you take it out the same morning, you may want to take it out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 375º. Empty the contents of the zip bag into a roasting pan or large casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.

Seriously. That’s it. Moist, juicy and some rockin’ flavors. Serve this with maybe some jasmine rice (put a few drops of sesame oil in the cooking water), or couscous, or the roasted brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes, pictured (recipe follows).

Ready for version two?

Italian Style Freezer Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup white wine
4 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil

1 cut-up chicken or parts of your choice, equalling 2 – 3 pounds

Combine all ingredients, except the chicken, in a gallon-size zip-top freezer bag. Zip the bag closed and swish it all around to evenly mix. Open the bag and put in the chicken. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Label the bag with the contents, throw it in your freezer.

Beginning to sound familiar?

Either the night before, or the morning of the day you want to use it, take the bag out of the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator. If you take it out the same morning, you may want to take it out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 375º. Empty the contents of the zip bag into a roasting pan or large casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.

Serve with the roasted veg below, or maybe some orzo or farfalle (bow-tie) pasta dressed with a little butter and chopped parsley.

Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Fingerling Potatoes

1 to 1-1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes (I get them at Costco. Way cheaper than the grocery store)
1 lb. fresh brussels sprouts with the ends and any bruised leaves trimmed (Ditto.)
2 – 3 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Wash, but don’t dry the potatoes and brussels sprouts. Place them on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil.

Drizzle the oil and sprinkle the seasonings over the veg and toss with your hands until everything is well-coated. Put the pan in your preheated (375ºF) oven for about 30 minutes, or till the potatoes are cooked through (easily pierced with a fork).

*Notes*

These chicken marinades will work with any chicken parts – dark meat, breasts, mixed parts – so buy what’s on sale, bag up a few of these, and toss ‘em in the freezer.

I am reminded to remind you: Never ever ever EVER ever re-freeze chicken that has been frozen and thawed! Use only fresh, just purchased chicken for these recipes, OR if using thawed chicken, put it in the marinade, and put it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours (you could throw it together in the morning), and cook the same day as directed.

The nice thing about the roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts, is that you can put them in the oven to cook at the same time as the chicken. Everything done at once!

Tasty enough to serve company, this is one of my go-to recipes. I keep a couple of bags of this in the freezer at all times, and for good reason. You should, too!

I came home late from work the other night, and even though the temptation was great to order in pizza or take out Chinese, I resisted. I had just baked these light and fluffy burger rolls with the Soft Whole Wheat Bread dough recipe from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and was really eager to try them. So, in the interest of time – I was so hungry I could have chewed the arm off the couch – I grabbed some ground beef and some of my favorite cheats, and had supper on the table in literally, fifteen minutes! That’s less time than you can get a pizza – or even decide on your toppings!

This quickie meal blends the gentle heat of a favorite chili, the fun of a Sloppy Joe, and the goodness of whole wheat. By the way, this would make a great addition to your Super Bowl menu, too! Ready? Start your stopwatches:

Black Bean Chili Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

2 Tbs corn oil
1 lb lean ground beef
1 16 oz jar Oxford Falls® Fried Green Tomato Salsa (or any tomatillo-based salsa)
1 15.5 oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
8 whole wheat or whole grain hamburger buns (toasted, if you like)

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the ground beef. Add the jar of tomatillo salsa, stir, bring up to a simmer. Add the black beans and the diced tomatoes, including its liquid. Allow to simmer until most of the liquid has cooked off, about 5 minutes.

Serve over sliced burger buns. Serves 8.

Told you it was a cheat. A tasty, even pretty healthy cheat, at that. Want to make it even healthier? Change out the ground beef for ground turkey, or even ground chicken.

And those burger buns? They sprang from this edition of the HBin5 Challenge:

To review, Michelle over at Big Black Dog, organized a group to bake from the book by Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe François, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

The current challenge is to bake 3 different things using the Soft Whole Wheat Bread Recipe: a loaf of bread, hamburger or hotdog rolls, and Apple Strudel Bread.

First, the straight-up sandwich loaf:

This is actually the second loaf I made. The first one was made with the original recipe from HBin5, and was a great hit. So much so, that the loaf was eaten before I could photograph it! This is an excellent sandwich loaf – soft, tight texture, and holds together, even sliced very thin. But I couldn’t help but wonder if I couldn’t make it even healthier for my borderline-diabetic husband.

In this version, I substituted light agave nectar for the honey as the sweetener, and substituted an 8 ounce carton of Egg Beaters (roughly the equivalent of 4 eggs) for the 5 eggs called for in the recipe. I also added 1/4 cup of flax seed meal, and to lighten it up a bit more, substituted white whole wheat flour for half of the whole wheat flour. While MJ detected only the slightest difference in taste from the original, it wasn’t anything pronounced, and I was instructed, “Don’t lose this recipe!” The highest praise.

Next up, were the burger buns you met at the top of this post. I used my kitchen scale to make these buns all the same size. They baked up soft, beautifully textured, yet sturdy. Delicious!

Last, but not least, is the Apple Strudel Bread. The same whole wheat bread dough is rolled out and rolled up with chopped apple, walnut, and (in mine) dried blueberries instead of raisins, all mixed with raw sugar and cinnamon. Yum.

This was perfect for the Jewish holiday, Tu B’Shevat, essentially our Arbor Day. As the 3 of you regular readers should know by now, a Jewish holiday doesn’t exist that doesn’t have certain food traditions attached to it and this is no exception. Traditionally, foods that contain tree fruit and nuts are served on Tu B’Shevat, and the apples and walnuts in this, definitely qualify.

Check out the other participants in the HBin5 Bread Braid to see what everyone else came up with!

Come back Tuesday for my first sponsored giveaway! Here’s your hint: Whether you’re a man or a woman, gourmet cook or home cook, you need this, and I’m betting most of you don’t have one!

Oh, my. I have just discovered The Buckwheat Pancake. No, no! Not just buckwheat pancakes – THE best buckwheat pancake I’ve ever had! I made these for Sunday breakfast, and had to share them with you.

Sure, they’re healthy and low fat, but they’re also so delicious and easy to make, you won’t care! Would I lie to you?

Please don’t go by this photo! I don’t know what happened here, but they really do look golden brown & delicious in real life!

Buckwheat Apple Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk (can use low-fat, if available)
1 large egg (or equivalent of egg-substitute like Egg Beaters)
1/2 Tbs. wildflower honey
1/2 Tbs. dark honey
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbs. Smart Balance Light (or other) margarine, melted
1 medium apple (your favorite) diced or chopped small

Non-stick cooking spray

Preparation:

In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. In another, smaller bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients, except the apple. Pour the wet mixture into the dry, and mix until thoroughly combined. When the batter is smooth, fold in the chopped apple. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Spray a large frying pan or griddle with cooking spray and heat it until a few drops of water bounce around before evaporating. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Turn when the tops develop bubbles and the edges look dry. Cook the second side for about 3 – 4 more minutes, or until brown.

Serve with additional Smart Balance and honey. Makes about 8, roughly 5-inch pancakes

Notes:

One more time: I receive no consideration for using Smart Balance Light, or any other brand. I have it in my fridge because we like it and for its stated healthy composition. If you want to use something else, feel free.

I prefer to use local honeys. If there’s a farmer’s market in your area, odds are you’ll find someone selling local honey. For this recipe, I used a local wildflower honey and an avocado honey, which is a very dark, rich honey that has almost a bite to it at the finish. If you can find buckwheat honey, that would be awesome! If you can’t find a dark honey, you can substitute molasses.

If you’d like, you can substitute agave nectar for the honey – use the light agave nectar for the wildflower honey, and use the dark, raw agave instead of the dark honey. *Bonus* – Although there’s very little honey in this recipe, substituting the agave nectars for the honeys makes these pancakes an excellent choice for Type II diabetics.

No, you don’t have to use a “cooking” apple. I used a Golden Delicious in mine – you can use whatever you have.

I used an electric griddle set at 325º F.

And, of course, this recipe is easily doubled to feed a crowd. You can freeze any leftover pancakes with pieces of waxed paper or parchment paper slipped between each one, in a freezer bag, and reheat them from frozen (don’t thaw them) in your oven or toaster oven, whenever you want them!

You have got to try this the next time you have a craving for pancakes – and they won’t wreck your diet!

Yes, I know it’s Tuesday. That happens a lot around here.

In case you hadn’t heard, it’s been downright frigid around these parts for the last week or so – at least frigid for us! And unless you’re living south of the equator, it’s pretty darn frigid where you are, too, I’m betting. Time for some hearty 5 Bean Barley Soup! Want some? It’s easy-peasy!

5 Bean Barley Soup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Great Northern or Navy beans
1/4 cup Roman (a/k/a Cranberry) beans
1/4 cup Small Red beans
1/4 cup lentils
1/4 cup split peas
1/4 cup pearl barley
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 Tbs. canola or olive oil
4 cups broth of your choice (vegetable, chicken, or beef)
8 cups water
2 tsp. kosher salt (or more to taste)
1 tsp. ground black pepper

Optional: 1 large dried chipotle chili pepper or
2 tsp. Liquid Smoke

Preparation:

At least eight hours before cooking, rinse the beans, lentils, split peas, and barley and put them into a large bowl. Fill the bowl with cool water to cover by about 2 inches. Leave to soak overnight or for 10 – 12 hours. Drain, then rinse again.

In a 5 – 6 quart pot, sweat the onions and carrots in the oil over medium-high heat, till the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the beans/barley mixture, give it a stir, and add the broth, water, and seasonings. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil, then cover partially (leave the pot lid a bit askew) and simmer on low for approximately 2-1/2 to 3 hours, till slightly thickened. Toward the end of the cooking time, taste the soup and adjust your seasonings – you may want to add a bit more salt and/or pepper – or even more Liquid Smoke.

Notes:

Stir occasionally during the cooking time to keep from scorching, and to scrape up any yummy bits that might have stuck to the bottom – they add flavor!

You can use whatever beans you happen to have, but keep in mind that cooking time varies according to the age and size of the dried beans you’re using.

Don’t have any broth handy? Use the equivalent amount of water and crumble in bouillon cubes or packaged dry soup mix!

Obviously, this makes a lot of soup – intentionally. The leftovers freeze beautifully – just thaw on your counter or in the microwave, add a little water or broth to thin it out a bit, and heat. There are two of us, and enough soup left over for 3 more meals! How’s that for delicious, satisfying, and budget-friendly?

Didn’t I tell you it was easy?

I’m serving mine here with pretzels I made from the Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes Whole Wheat Master Recipe.

To review, Michelle over at Big Black Dog, organized a new bread baking group, baking from the new book by Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe François, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The current challenge is to bake 3 different things using the Whole Wheat Master Recipe: a loaf of bread, an epi (you’ll see), and crackers. Only I didn’t feel like making crackers, so I made pretzels!

It all started with the loaf:
I made a boule topped with sesame and flax seeds. Here are a couple of slices topped with my homemade Ruby Red Grapefruit Marmalade – my very first effort in canning! But that’s a story left for next week’s “Can Jam” post.

This is an epi:
Isn’t it cute? Okay, so very non-pro, but fun to make – you just form a thin baguette and snip it with kitchen shears! It was a lot of fun to eat, too, breaking off the “leaves” and dipping them in our soup! The epi came out very crispy and crunchy, and became the inspiration to make pretzels.

I made different sizes of pretzels – the smaller ones were made with balls of dough about the size of a ping pong ball, and the larger ones from dough balls about the size of a golf ball. I rolled them between my hands into long, thin snakes, twisted the ends a couple of times, and folded the twisted part over the loop of dough on my baking sheet. I misted the pretzels lightly with water and then sprinkled coarse sea salt on them, and baked in a 400º oven for about 20 minutes.

They came out golden brown and crunchy – and a perfect topping for my hearty soup!

Enjoy!

How convenient, right? Here we are on Day 7 of The 12 Days of Cookies, our quest to bake and blog 12 cookies in 12 days from the Bon Appétit 2008 Holiday Cookie-a-Day collection, and we’re gaining momentum!

First the recipe, then my notes:

Cranberry Orange Drop Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (packed) dried sweetened cranberries (about 10 ounces)
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup chopped unsalted natural pistachios
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

Preparation:

Butter 3 baking sheets. Combine dried sweetened cranberries and orange juice in small bowl. Let stand until dried cranberries soften slightly, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Whisk all purpose flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl until just blended.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Using electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter and golden brown sugar in large bowl until smooth. Add 1 egg, minced ginger, vanilla extract, and grated orange peel and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour-spice mixture. Stir in chopped walnuts, chopped pistachios, coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries, and dried cranberries with any juices that have accumulated.

Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing tablespoonfuls about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 baking sheet at a time, until golden and almost firm to touch in center, about 18 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool cookies completely. (Cookies can be made 2 days ahead. Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature.)

Notes:

This is one terrific cookie. The combination of Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries) and fresh cranberries (I used some I’d stashed away in the freezer before Thanksgiving), with the orange zest, walnuts, pistachios, and ginger, make this a standout drop cookie.

I changed nothing about this recipe, so I’ll just offer this one tip in the name of efficiency. You can chop the nuts and fresh cranberries altogether in the food processor. Just drop the walnuts, pistachios, and cranberries in the food processor, and in about 10 – 15 pulses, it’s all done, mixed together and ready to dump in the batter.

Another tip I picked up somewhere along the way (probably on Food Network) regarding the ginger: I don’t know about you, but I buy fresh ginger for something, and wind up throwing away half of it, because I don’t use it up before it goes bad. Try this – when you buy ginger, cut it up into one-inch or two-inch pieces, peel it, and put it in a freezer bag and put it in your freezer. When you need ginger for a recipe, take out a piece and grate it, frozen, directly into your recipe.

Well, that’s it for Day 7 – a whole week’s worth of cookie recipes tested in real home kitchens, before you break the first egg. Thanks for stopping by!

Please visit my partners in holiday baking, below, and see what they’ve got in store for you. And don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the eighth installment!

Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes (honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Michelle of Big Black Dog
RJ of Flamingo Musings (hey! that’s me!)
Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project

It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday for you internet-savvy holiday shoppers. You’ve got two problems: You’ve got all this leftover turkey from last week, and you don’t have a lot of time to make supper tonight.

You know what? I’m with you. I’ve got at least 6 new posts in my head (one of which I actually started to write and never quite finished), and I’ve been baking cookies. And will continue to bake cookies for the foreseeable future.

The 12 Days of Cookies Project begins tomorrow (see that badge over there in the sidebar?), and that means that, beginning tomorrow, I’m going to be baking – and posting – a different cookie recipe from the 2008 Bon Appétit Holiday Cookie-a-Day collection, everyday from December 1st (yes, that’s tomorrow! can you believe it?!?) through December 12th, along with a bunch of other bloggers. At least I’m going to give it my best shot!

I’ve also got macarons (with feet!) due for Mac Tweets on December 10th, and a new bread for the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day group due on December 15th. And oh, yeah. I’m expected to make regular appearances at my job, and get ready for Chanukah AND Christmas!

But no, you don’t care. You just want to know what to do with your leftover damn turkey. Well, you know what you’re getting? Reruns. Here are a few things from previous recipe posts to give you some ideas of what you can do with that turkey. And get your minds out of the gutter, thankyewverymuch!

The first suggestion that comes to mind is our favorite Chipotle Chicken Pizza. Simply substitute
1 1/2 – 2 cups of cooked, cut-up turkey for the chicken.

Give your leftovers an Indian flavor and try a modified version of American Chicken Curry Masala. Instead of the chicken, season approximately 3 cups of cooked turkey, saute for just a couple of minutes, and proceed with the recipe as indicated.

And here’s one that requires no modifications at all -Turkey Taco Salad!

Don’t forget – you can also slip some of that leftover turkey into your favorite pasta (try it with Roasted Garlic Spinach Pasta), or even in your favorite lasagna!

There! Are you happy now? Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for the first installment of The 12 Days of Cookies!