Thanksgiving Round-Up: The Desserts

"Begin with the end in mind." Desserts making an appearance on my Thanksgiving table are generally very different than the ones made for Christmas. However, there are two exceptions in this year's Thanksgiving Dessert Round-Up (the Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry Sauce and the Mocha Chocolate Chip Icebox Cake). Because most anything chocolate are favorites on pretty much any holiday. Not surprisingly, no one in my family wants to see anything pumpkin in December (more than likely the culprit is pumpkin spice overload). So Thanksgiving is the last holiday of the year for everyone get their pumpkin fix. Although pie may be the quintessentially classic way to celebrate the pumpkin on the dessert table, pumpkin bars and cakes may actually be more sweet tooth satisfying. No one says you can't have both. It is actually Thanksgiving, the one day a year where we turn a blind eye to over-indulgence.

Whittling a Thanksgiving Dessert Round-Up down to eight satisfying, sumptuous, eye-candy gorgeous desserts wasn't easy. I could have easily added a couple more. Like the Brown Butter Caramelized Apple Crisp or the Stone Fruit and Mascarpone Tart with Triple Ginger Crust) to create a top ten list. But sometimes enough is enough and the more choices there are, the harder it is to choose.

Almost all of these desserts can be made the day before, although a couple need some Thanksgiving Day finishing touches. If you need to bring a dessert to a holiday gathering, the Pumpkin Squares are the best for traveling. All of them are delicious the day served. And if leftovers are available, maybe even tastier the next day (when we all have more room in our stomachs). There is something for everyone here. Except there are no cookies. If one cookie is Thanksgiving worthy it would be rolled, cut-out sugar cookies in the shapes of pilgrims, turkeys, and/or cornucopias decorated in royal icing. Regardless which dessert you decide to serve to your family and friends this holiday, give them with something homemade with love.

Brûléed Pumpkin Pie with Caramel Swirl 

Lemon Meringue Tart

Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cake

Pumpkin Squares

Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Applesauce Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Mocha Chocolate Chip Icebox Cake

French Laundry's Cranberry and Apple Kuchen with Hot Cream Sauce

Lighthouse along the shore of Lake Michigan in South Haven, Michigan (November 2016)

English Oat Crackers

Last week's three day girl's getaway trip to southwestern Michigan was a much needed reprieve from all of the deafening political noise dominating every form of media for the past several months. From waking up and walking along the shore of Lake Michigan, to driving in landscapes rich with the deepest, most vibrant autumnal colors, to looking for treasures in antique stores, to enjoying some amazing food, to have some time to take photos of an iconic lighthouse, to staying up in the wee hours to watch the Cubs clinch the World Series, these busy from morning to night days were actually more relaxing than exhausting. More than likely this was due in large part to the graciousness of the friend who opened up her home to us and served as travel guide extraordinaire. Although I don't know whether to love or hate her for introducing me to Salt of the Earth, a restaurant in Fennville, Michigan, serving some of the most amazing food I have ever eaten. Seriously, the food is so unbelievably incredible it is almost worth making a five hour round trip drive just to have a dinner there. Or maybe, worth spending the night to squeeze in stops at Virtue Cider and Crane's Pie Pantry after spending the day photographing the lake and woodland landscapes. I can hardly wait to go back.

One of the first recipes in Ina Garten's new cookbook, Cooking for Jeffrey, to catch my eye were the English Oat Crackers. They reminded me of my favorite so hard to find crackers I don't even think I remember who made them. Before leaving for Michigan, I made them to go with some cheese and wine I had packed for us. If there were ever a cracker to create a best ever cheese platter, it would be these English Oat Crackers. Crisp and deeply flavored they are a cross between a cracker and cookie. We have all known that Ina Garten is a genius. But now we are further indebted to her for helping us realize we should be giving as much to the crackers on our cheese platters as we have been giving to the cheese.

Having given all but one of these English Oat Crackers away (well I had to make sure they were good), I made them again when I returned home. I could say it was all in the spirit of making sure they were as good the second time around. But I would be lying. These crackers are as beautiful as they are addictive. One of the more lethal combinations in the food world.

One of Ina Garten's most enduring qualities is creating 'simple' recipes using easy to find ingredients (albeit sometimes on the expensive side) as well as ones always delivering in taste and presentation. These English Oat Crackers more than deliver and just happen to be on the relatively inexpensive ingredient side. The only ingredient variable is the butter (unsalted of course). Because there are very few ingredients in these crackers using a high quality unsalted butter is even more critical. However, there is no need to splurge on high end oatmeal. The Old-Fashioned Quaker Oats work perfectly.

There were a few changes I made to this recipe (I know, who am I to mess with perfection). But these changes were due more to not paying close attention to the recipe (I was multi-tasking the first time I made them). Instead of using a half-cup of lightly packed light brown sugar, my brown sugar was more on the semi-firm packed side. And instead of baking them at 375 degrees (F), I baked them at 350 degrees (F). More on what I think the difference in these two temperatures might be later on. 

For some reason I had difficulty pressing down the cracker dough balls down by simply flouring the bottom of a drinking glass (the dough kept sticking to the glass, resulting in an unbakeable mess). Putting a small piece of parchment paper between the dough and glass worked perfectly when carefully peeling the paper away from the flattened cracker. And it wasn't necessary to add any more flour to the cracker.

Baking time for these English Oat Crackers ranged from 22-24 minutes. For the crispiest cracker, your baking time will be closer to 24 minutes.. However, the thickness of your cracker will also influence how long these crackers remain in the oven. My crackers may not have been flattened as much as Ina's. Mine were a little thicker. Personally, I liked the substantialness of them. The higher oven temperature (375 degrees F) would also contribute to the cracker's crispness. If you bake them at the higher temperature, begin checking them at 20 minutes.

Once removed from the oven, the crackers should be allowed to cool on the cookie sheet for at least five minutes before being transferred to a cooling rack.

They can be served either warm or at room temperature. If making them earlier in the day or day before, make certain they have completely cooled before being put in a tightly sealed container or placed in a tightly tied cellophane bag.

So now let's talk about the cheese. While there are many cheese pairing options to go along with these crackers, the French Triple Cream Cow's Milk cheese Delice de Bourgogne would be amongst my favorites. The combination of flavors is head-spinning.

If you were going to serve only one appetizer at a cocktail party or dinner party, then serve English Oat Crackers paired with a great cheese and some fruit. It's really all you need. And this is coming from someone who is finds it difficult to stop at making just one.

With the holiday entertaining season quickly approaching, consider making these English Oat Crackers your must-serve cracker. Additionally, they make for a great hostess gift. Just be sure to make some for yourself as it may be difficult to let them go.

Recipe
English Oat Crackers (an ever so slight adaptation of Ina Garten's English Oat Cracker recipe from her newest cookbook 'Cooking for Jeffrey')
Makes approximately 22-24 three inch sized crackers.

Ingredients
3 cups (8 1/2 oz/240g) old-fashioned oats (recommend Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats)
1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, semi-firmly packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks (8 oz/226g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch dice (recommend Kerrygold's Unsalted Butter)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup lukewarm water
Sea salt or Fleur de sel  (recommend Maldon Sea Salt)
Serve with fruit (sliced Honey Crisp apples and cheese)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place oats, flour, brown sugar, and kosher salt into a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for approximately 15-25 seconds or until oats are coarsely ground.
3. Add butter and pulse 15-20 times until the butter is pea-sized.
4. Dissolve baking soda in lukewarm water. Stir to dissolve. Add to food processor. Pulse until mixture is even moistened and can be easily pressed into balls that will hold together (Note: If mixture is too wet, add a little more flour or if too dry, add a little more water.)
5. Using a 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" inch ice cream scoop, form balls. Evenly space on baking sheet.
6. Flour the bottom of a flat bottomed 3 inch drinking glass and flatten each cracker so it is somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" thick (mine were closer to 1/4"). Note: If the ball of dough is sticking to the glass, cut a 4" square piece of parchment paper, place on dough ball, then press with glass. The parchment paper should release easily leaving you with a perfectly flattened cracker.)
7. Sprinkle with sea salt. 
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Remove from oven. Allow crackers to cool on pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.
9. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store completely cooled cookies in a tightly sealed container or tightly tied cellophane bag for several days.

Notes: (1) Instead of lightly packing the brown sugar, I packed mine semi-firm. This may or may not have added to the moisture of cracker dough. As a result I added an additional tablespoon of flour. (2) The drinking glass method of flattening the crackers didn't work as it did not easily release from the cracker. However, placing a piece of parchment paper on top of the cracker ball and then pressing with the glass worked perfectly. (3) Use Old-Fashioned NOT quick cooking oats. (4) The original recipe recommends the crackers bake at 375 (F) degrees for 20-25 minutes. My baking temperature was 350 (F) degrees with a baking time of 22-24 minutes. (5) Highly recommend serving these crackers with the French Delice de Bourgogne, a triple creme cow's milk cheese.

Thanksgiving Round Up: The Sides

If there was ever a holiday dominated by traditions, Thanksgiving might be the one having this distinction. At least in my world. This is not to say that every Thanksgiving is the same. It isn't. Oh, there are elements of continuity from year to year (with one unforgettable exception), but it has become a tradition to be sightly non-traditional. Although there is one sacred part of the meal: the turkey, stuffing, and gravy. Mess with that part of the dinner and, well, I will not take responsibility for what could happen next or how far I will spiral downward. Yet changes to the appetizers, sides, desserts, or even the table setting would not even phase me at all. My Thanksgiving flexibility is clearly compartmentalized. 

This year will be a very different Thanksgiving. With the person who shall remain nameless not returning home from an out of the country work assignment until after this holiday, I am left with deciding how, where, and with whom I will honor and celebrate it. At the moment, my fiercely independent side is having an ongoing conversation with my traditional side, with both sides being egged on by a few other personality characters (aren't we all more or less multidimensional?). Fortunately I have some time before having to make a decision. But for those of you fortunate enough to have a Thanksgiving plan already in place, maybe this is your year to change it up a bit. Particularly the meal part of the day. To encourage you to add something new to your holiday table, I will be re-sharing some of my favorite 'perfect' for Thanksgiving dinner recipes over the course of the next few weeks. First up. Well, the sides, of course.

Each of the following seven sides have appeared on 'my' Thanksgiving table more than once. It would be safe to say there is at least one (Wendy's Mashed Potatoes) where everyone's day would be ruined if it wasn't served. And not just because it's 'tradition'. All but one of them can be made the day before and are easily transportable. Each vary in their levels of richness. None of them are what you might consider 'low calorie', although the Roasted Brussels Sprouts Gratin might object. There are no obscure, hard to find, or must go to the ends of earth to find ingredients in any of the recipes. However, I won't guarantee they will be available if you wait until the night before Thanksgiving to do your grocery shopping. All seven of them push the limits on what most would consider 'best ever', 'the most insanely delicious side ever', 'worth fighting over the last spoonful' and/or 'worthy of going on a last meal list'. A click on the link below each of the photos will take you immediately to the recipe. As Ina Garten might say 'How easy is that?'. But don't feel you have to wait for Thanksgiving to make any of them. These sides would make any Sunday dinner, dinner party, and/or Christmas/Hanukkah meal memorable. 

Spiced Cranberry and Dried Fruit Chutney

Wendy's Mashed Potatoes

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Gratin

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Bread Pudding

Cheesy Hasselback Potato Gratin

Sweet Potato Casserole

Boursin Spinach Gratin

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." (W.T. Purkiser) 

Iced Sugar Cookies

When one of my friends put out a platter of Halloween inspired Iced Sugar Cookies, I immediately asked 'where did you get them?'. Turns out she was the one who made those absolutely gorgeous, incredibly delicious, almost too pretty to eat cookies. My envy was apparent as I couldn't stop gushing over her cookie works of art. A week later I had the recipe. While her cookies were decorated with all of the finesse of professionally trained pastry chef, it turned out I was able to successfully channel my inner 10 year old for my first time at bat making and decorating cookies with royal icing. Yes, first time. Which explains in part why the cookies intended to pay homage to the Chicago Cubs (that hometown team currently playing in the World Series) had more than a little bit of a whimsical look to them.

My initial cookie decorating plan was a little on the ambitious or rather overly ambitious side. Clearly I had overestimated my 10 year old artistic abilities when I embarked on this cookie making endeavor. Although the mess I made in the kitchen lived up to or possibly exceeded the work of any 10 year old. So instead I thought I would take some inspiration from one of Cubs Manager Joe Maddon's maddonisms. 'Do simple better.' As it turns out, simple can be a pretty good thing in both baseball and the making of iced sugar cookies.

In spite of taking some photos of the baked and iced cookies, I wasn't sure I was going to post these recipes to the blog as the finished cookies seemed to be in a 'league of their own'. But then the more I thought about why I created this blog in the first place I decided I would. Unless we take some risks with our baking and cooking, we won't ever know what we might be able to create, what we are capable of, what we might learn along the way, or what pleasure might be derived from making and eating them. In other words, playing it safe (at least in the culinary world) isn't always a good thing.

 

With two other sugar cookie recipes on the blog (Randee's Iced Sugar Cookies and the Sugar Saucers inspired by Rebecca Rather) why would I share a third one? Partly because each one is different. But mostly because this cookie was too good not to share.

If there was ever a cookie dough that rolled out perfectly, this may be the one. For those of you having a cut-out cookie phobia, these may be the cure you have waited your whole life for. And the best part? No chilling is required. One of the keys to these awesome sugar cookies is rolling out the dough to a 1/4 inch up to a 1/3 inch thickness. The result is a sugar cookie that feels and tastes sort of a like a shortbread cookie. 

I made a couple of ingredient changes to the inspiration recipe. I increased the amount of vanilla from 1 teaspoon to 1 1/2 teaspoons and I added 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. My baking time was closer to 13 minutes (for an almost 3 inch in diameter cookie) instead of the recommended 6 o 8 minutes. Personally I like the hint of almond flavor in these sugar cookies, however, if you aren't an almond flavor fan, I would recommend increasing the amount of vanilla to 2 teaspoons. 

Admittedly I am not a royal icing expert. So before I made the icing I found it helpful to read a few postings (one from Sweetambs and one from Annie's Eats and watch a couple of videos online. The video posted by Julia Usher was really helpful.

My royal icing was initially on the too thick side. Adding a little bit of water was all it needed to get it to the desired consistency. I used #3 and #4 tip sizes in the making of these cookies. For this sized cookie, next time I would use #2 and #3 tip sizes. Numbers 2 or 3 for outlining and number 2 for the detail work. For smaller cookies or finer designs #1 tip may work best. My icing was colored with either a gel or paste. The liquid food coloring used in the making of cupcakes and cakes does not work well with royal icing.

Allow the iced cookies to get before packaging or storing in a container. While the cookies may look dry on the surface, they still retain some moisture. I learned that the hard way when I put a layer of parchment paper between the cookies. Some of the cookies 'bled' and lost some of their whimsical prettiness. Some cookie experts out there recommend waiting 24 hours before packaging them (I must have skimmed over that recommendation). 

Even if you don't want to make the royal icing, make THESE sugar cookies. For the sake of simplicity, ice them using the icing recipe in Randee's Sugar Cookies. But who knows, you might hit a home run out of the park on your first try at making and decorating cookies with royal icing!

For years I would look at those large over-sized cookie cutters and think 'why?'. Having now made these sugar cookies, I am now thinking 'why not!' Decorated, as fancy or simple as one's cookie-loving heart desires, they would make beautiful gifts, be great place cards, make for fun favors, serve at a party, and/or make to celebrate an event. Like the World Series. Although with the outcome of the World Series yet to be decided, I will share another Maddonism. "I'm not superstitious. I'm just a littlestitious." So I will just end this post by saying Go Cubbies! 

Recipe
Iced Sugar Cookies (sugar cookie recipe adapted from The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe shared by In Katrina's Kitchen and icing recipe adapted from the royal icing recipe shared by Moms and Munchkins)
Makes approximately 30-33 cookies (2 1/2 inch sized)
Updated April 2022

Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (or 2 teaspoons in not using the almond extract)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups (390g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Royal Icing
2 pounds (906g) confectionary sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
5 large egg whites (look for eggs labeled pasteurized)
1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
Food gels and/or pastes in colors of your choice

Directions
Sugar Cookies
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 4-5 minutes).
4. Beat in egg and extracts.
5. Add in dry ingredients in three batches. Mix until incorporated and dough is smooth. Note: Dough will be stiff, but pliable. 
6. Remove half of dough from the bowl. Form into a disk and roll out dough to 1/4" to 1/3" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Note: You do not want your cookies to be thin, but rather be on the thicker side.
7. Cut into desired shapes and transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheets. Space cookies about an inch apart. Note: Cookies should not spread.
8. Bake cookies for 10-14 minutes or until lightly browned on the underside. Note: Baking time may increase or decrease based on the size of the cookies.
9. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
10. Cool cookies completely before icing.

Royal Icing
1. Place powdered sugar and cream of tartar in the bowl of standing mixer. Stir to blend.
2. Add in egg whites, stirring by hand until sugar is moistened. Note: If mixture is too dry, add another egg white.
3. Place whisk attachment on mixer. Begin beating on low speed until egg whites are thoroughly mixed in.
4. Increase speed to high  and beat for approximately 3 minutes our until icing is silky, smooth and light.
5. Beat in vanilla. Note: Using a clear vanilla extract helps to keep the color of the icing a purer white.
6. If icing is too thick, thin with water. Icing should have a thick but not stiff consistency.
7. Divide icing into bowls to add food gel and/or paste in colors of your choice. 
8. Place icing in icing bags fitted with pastry tips (sizes 2, 3, 4 or 5). Keep unused icing tightly covered so it does not dry out.

Notes: (1) Un-colored Royal icing can be stored in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Bring to room temperature before using and mixing in food paste and/or gel. (2) Instead of using egg whites can use meringue powder but eliminate use of cream of tartar. Follow directions on meringue powder container to determine how much to use. (3) If you don't like the flavor of almond in your sugar cookies, increase the amount of vanilla to 2 teaspoons. (4) When storing these cookies, do not stack them on top of one another or put a layer of paper between them. Although the cookies appear to be dry after several hours, the retain some moisture so they may bleed if covered in paper. (5) Recommend using the plastic disposable pastry bags for use with the icing.

 Morton Arboretum on a cloudy day in October (2016)