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Community Corner

Holiday Cookies and Treats

Several Stamford moms share their favorite holiday dessert recipes.

There are two types of people who can wield a rolling pin: those who do so with effortless ease; and those who dread it, try it, miserably fail, throw out the dough (and sometimes the rolling pin), and head to the nearest bakery. 

Whichever category you fall into, or if you're somewhere in between – you like to bake, just nothing complicated – then read on. Three Stamford moms recently shared their favorite recipes with me, and I include my favorite, too.

Poppy Seed Cookies

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Barbara Wood, a mother and grandmother, has been making poppy seed cookies since the 1960s. The recipe was handed down to her from her mother-in-law, affectionately known as "Momo," who used to bake the cookies for her own children. 

The recipe had actually traveled from Russia where Momo was born.  Barbara's sister-in-law, Pat, also has a copy of the recipe, which was written on stationery in the hospital during Momo's last days. Well known to Jewish families, poppy seed cookies are a crunchy, mildly sweet cookie that pleases both children and parents.  And they are pretty easy to make.

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Preheat oven to 350°

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
2-3 teaspoons of poppy seeds
5 cups flour

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar, salt, baking powder, oil, water and poppy seeds. Add the flour until dough is fully combined. Flatten into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour. 

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out dough to about 1/4-inch thickness.  It's easiest to roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap. Using your favorite cookie cutters, shape the cookies and set on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.


Cookies 'n Cream Balls

Julie Epstein can't recall the first time her friend shared these treats with her, but she does remember the amount she consumed — many. They were so delicious that she began making them herself for various holidays throughout the year. 

For Halloween, she decorates them with thin red icing to lend a bloodshot eye effect. In the spring, she creates pastel food coloring. 

"They're very easy and very forgiving," she said. "And they're the first to go at every party." 

The best part is that her two young daughters can help with rolling.

Ingredients

1 package Oreo Cookies
1 -8 oz bar cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 -12 oz package of white chocolate morsels

Place the Oreos into a food processor and pulverize until you have a sand-like quality. Add the cream cheese and process until completely blended. Turn out dough and using your hands, roll into small balls. Place the balls on wax paper-lined cookie sheets. Freeze for one hour.

Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Using a fork or a skewer, dip the balls into the chocolate and coat completely. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Yields approximately 30 balls.


Dipped Treats

Regina Haecker has always enjoyed making homemade gifts for all the uncles and aunts in her family (her husband is one of nine children). Even before she got married, she was usually found whipping up holiday goodies in the kitchen. 

Now she likes to involve her 3-year-old son when making her holiday sweets. 

"They're fun for young kids to make," she said. "But be careful – lots of fingers tend to find their way into the bowl of melted stuff!" 

Regina likes to use pretzel rods and candy canes, dipped in melted caramel and chocolate.  At the end, colorful sprinkles complete the holiday look. 

"One thing I started noticing was that I always had too much caramel," she noted.  "And hardened caramel is not easy to clean up. So while I'm making the treats, I cut up an apple and dip them in the caramel as I'm working. They don't travel well, so I can eat them with only half the guilt!"

Ingredients

Pretzel rods
1/2 bag of caramels, unwrapped
1 bag of milk chocolate morsels
1 tsp shortening (optional)
Sprinkles
Candy canes
1 Silpat mat
1 cookie sheet

Line the cookie sheet with a Silpat mat. Silpats work better than wax paper, as the treats tend to stick to the paper. 

Start by melting the caramels in a bowl in the microwave for one minute. Stir, then continue microwaving every 20 seconds until you get the right consistency. Dip the pretzel rods in the caramels, using a spoon if your bowl isn't wide enough. You want to leave about two or three inches of uncovered pretzel for handling. 

Place the pretzels on the Silpat, then refrigerate to re-harden the caramels.

Next, melt the chocolate in another bowl, using the same timing methods. You can include the shortening for a smoother melt, but this may be omitted. Stir the chocolate frequently so it doesn't seize up. Dip the caramel coated rods in the chocolate and place back on the Silpat. Sprinkle with festive sprinkles.

For the candy canes, skip the caramel and just go for the melted chocolate. Sprinkles make a nice a touch, as do crushed candy canes, to finish them off.


Mexican Wedding Cookies

When Donna Meadows was in the tenth grade in the 1980s, she came home from school to find a new stove in her mother's kitchen. Curious, Donna thumbed through the booklet that came with the oven and found a recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies. 

Not many sophomores read oven manuals, but I am so glad she did. She gave me the recipe, and both of us have been making them ever since. Although Donna moved up the line to Monroe years ago, I'm happy to report they're still being made in my own Stamford kitchen.

There are so many variations of this cookie.  Some have spices, others have nuts.  Both Donna and I agree that using the basic dough and tossed in a bowl of confectioners sugar is the best way to go. They're a huge crowd pleaser — but then, anything with this much butter and sugar would be.

Pre-heat oven to 400°

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup more for covering at end
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until light. Add flour and salt. Mix until well blended. Shape dough into one-inch balls. Place two inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. While warm, cover with powdered sugar. Makes approximately 40 cookies.

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