Goat Cheese Balls with Pecans and Dried Cherries
Another easy appetizer recipe. Goat cheese & cream cheese balls mixed with dried cherries & pecans are simple but elegant and delicious. Great on crackers or bread.
Author: Lesley at Lola Rugula
Garlicky Marinated Mushrooms and Red Peppers
This is an easy appetizer for a crowd. These garlicky marinated mushrooms are best when made ahead of time (hallelujah) and delicious with an array of cured meats and cheeses.
Almond Lemon Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
These beautiful little cookies look like jewels nestled in snow, don’t they? The addition of almond flour gives them a flavorful crunch and a touch of lemon zest is a perfect complement to the powdered sugar and jam. These are delectable bite-size cookies for the holidays or really for any special occasion.
Almond, Lemon, and Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies with Almond Flour Recipe
This makes about 60 small cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup almond flour (not almond meal; look for finely-sifted almond flour)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more coating
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
- About 1 cup of real fruit raspberry jam or other jam
Directions
- In a small bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl to a stand mixer and using a paddle attachment, add softened butter, confectioner’s sugar, granulated sugar, and zest.
- Turn mixer on low and blend butter, sugar, and zest together for about one minute, until combined.
- Increase speed to medium and cream together until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
- Once the butter mixture is creamy, turn mixer back down to low and slowly spoon in the flour mixture just until a dough forms. You’ll need to stop the mixer and scrape the sides a couple of times.
- When the dough has formed, it may seem just a little flakey but that’s okay.
- Scoop the dough out by small heaping teaspoons and roll into a ball.
- Place the rolled ball on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Once all the balls are formed, gently press your index finger or the handle-end to a wooden spoon into the center of each ball. If the balls crack on the sides, you can gently reform them. I don’t get too worked up by some cracks but we’re all perfectionists in our own way. 🙂
- Refrigerate the formed cookies for 15 minutes.
- While the cookies are chilling, preheat the oven to 325°
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and gently re-press the center holes.
- Return to the oven and bake for 9-12 minutes more, until slightly browned on the bottom.
- Remove from the oven and let cool at least 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, warm the jam in a pan on the stovetop or in a dish in the microwave. You just want the jam to loosen up a bit so that it’s somewhat liquified and spoonable.
- While the jam is heating, sprinkle or toss the cookies with powdered sugar. I’ve done this a number of ways over the years but find that just putting them in a Ziploc bag and gently tossing them around works best. Remove from the sugar, shake off, and put on a plate.
- Using a small spoon, spoon the heated jam into the center of the cookies.
- Let cool and serve.
The really beautiful thing about these cookies is you can make them in advance. After they’ve cooked and cooled and BEFORE you dust them with powdered sugar and fill them with jam, you can freeze them for up to a month. When you’re ready to serve them, defrost them in the refrigerator for 2 days, and then dust with powdered sugar and fill them with the softened jam. I find this is a real time-saver at the holidays.
I love making these with a variety of jams, including fig and huckleberry. They’re such gorgeous little cookies and they’re sweet without being too sweet, which is a bonus in my book.
Looking for a make-ahead or freezer cookie? These are perfect and so easily customizable to your own taste. These are gorgeous presented on a platter or small tray and they never fail to delight.
Enjoy!
Snowy Mason Jar Candle Holders
These beautiful little candle holders are perfect for the holidays and easy to make, too! It’s a project even little hands can help with.
Recipe Box Makeover
Here’s the full details on how I took this once-loved recipe box from faded to fully-loved again. I enjoy refinishing wood & bringing out the beauty of vintage pieces. #vintage #wood
Potato, Leek and Broccoli Soup
This soup is luscious, there’s just no better way to describe it. I love a great bowl of soup and this one has layers of flavor that come together pretty easily but should not be rushed. I had one final bunch of leeks from my garden that I needed to use and it’s been so unseasonably cold here that a warm bowl of soup was calling my name
Potato, Leek and Broccoli Soup Recipe (Dairy Free)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 large leeks, whites and tender greens only, chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 large celery stalk, sliced or chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional; adjust to taste)
- 4 cups vegetable stock (if using canned, use low-sodium)
- 2 cups of water
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 small head of broccoli, cut into large florets, tender stems chopped
Directions
- In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat
- Add leeks, garlic, celery, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir well
- Cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are slightly softened, about 5 minutes
- Add stock, water, thyme, and bay leaf and stir
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes
- Stir in potatoes and cook 20 minutes more
- Stir in broccoli and cook – the soup should be pretty packed at this point but as long as there’s still broth surrounding everything, you’re good; if not, add a little water just to cover the veggie mix.
- Cook for about 30 minutes, until broccoli is fully cooked through and softened (scoop out a few florets for serving, if desired) and remove from heat
- Let cool 15 minutes and puree, either with an immersion blender, blender, or food processor until smooth
I make this soup without any dairy but if you’d like, you can add a bit of milk, cream or half and half to it. Another option is to swirl a little sour cream in right before serving.
If you like heat, you can also swap out the red pepper flakes for a hot pepper.
Finally, this soup is vegetarian but if you’d like to make a heartier version, you can certainly add some cubed ham or cooked, shredded chicken or pork to it.
A creamy, dreamy soup without dairy? You bet! Be sure to serve this with some crusty French or Italian Bread and enjoy!
Chicken Thighs in Mushroom & White Wine Sauce
This rustic chicken dish is packed full of flavor with garlic, shallots, white wine, and portobello mushrooms. I love this served with buttery noodles.