Snowball Cookies

You’ll want to have these melt in your mouth, snowy pearls on your holiday cookie tray this Christmas season. They will disappear quickly, so better make a double batch!

Snowballs

Snowball Cookies

(from 12 Tomatoes)

Makes 48 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioner’s sugar, for rolling cookies

Heat oven to 400 degrees and line cookie sheets with a silpat or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, 1⁄2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until well combined. Gradually add in flour and salt on low speed just until well mixed and dough starts to holds together; stir in pecans. Do not over mix or dough will be tough.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Transfer to cookie sheet and set about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes; cookies should be set but not brown.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Roll cookies in confectioner’s sugar while still warm.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Roll in confectioner’s sugar again. Store in an airtight container.

Snowballs 2

Pumpkin Bread with Pecan Streusel Topping

Posted by Brenda K. Agresta in Loaf Cakes and Breads and tagged with pecans, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice, streusel November 5, 2015

Halloween is over and Tom Turkey will soon be on our table. It’s the time of year when we crave pumpkin spice – in lattes, pies, muffins and breads. This lighter version from Cooking Light, is spicy and moist, without being heavy with oil. Topped with a delightfully sweet and crunchy pecan topping, all you need is a cup of coffee or tea for the perfect afternoon snack.

Pumpkin Bread with Pecan Streusel Topping
recipe from The Best of Cooking Light

Topping Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons sugar
1- 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon group cinnamon

Bread Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Cooking Spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with a cooking spray such as Pam.

In a small mixing bowl, combine topping ingredients until crumbly. Set aside

To a large mixing bowl, add dry ingredients and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin with yogurt, honey, oil, vanilla and eggs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Stir just until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with pecan topping.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of bread comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove and complete cooling on a wire rack. Store tightly covered for up to 3 days.

Turtle Thumbprints

Posted by Brenda K. Agresta in Cookies and tagged with brownie, caramel, chocolate turtles, christmas cookies, pecans December 15, 2014

This is a fabulously rich, chocolate brownie cookie, rolled in pecans, filled with caramel and drizzled with chocolate. Now if that doesn’t peak your interest, I don’t know what will. Chewy, gooey, crunchy and oh my goodness, so delicious.

Turtle Thumbprints

(adapted from Tastes Better from Scratch, The Kitchen is my Playground, America’s Test Kitchen)

Cookie ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (two sticks) butter

1 and 1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, separated

4 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups pecans, finely chopped

Caramel Filling:

1 bag Kraft Caramel bits

1 teaspoon water

Drizzle:

3/4 cup chocolate chips plus 1 teaspoon shortening

Directions:

Sift flour, cocoa and salt into a large bowl; set aside. Using a heavy duty mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks one at a time; mix in milk and vanilla. Slowly add flour/cocoa in four parts, mixing just until combined. Chill at least one hour in an airtight container. Dough can be made in advance and chilled for several days. You will need to bring it back to room temperature so that it is soft enough to work with.

Prepare baking pans. Line with silpat or parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Roll the dough into small balls, whatever size you prefer. I used a cookie scoop 1 and 1/2 inch wide and 1 inch deep, which made 38 cookies.

In a small bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Add chopped pecans to a shallow bowl. Roll dough balls in egg whites, then roll in chopped pecans, pressing nuts into dough. Use your thumb or a small spoon (a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon works well) to make a small well in the center of each cookie ball. Refrigerate cookies on cookie sheet for 10 minutes then bake for 12 minutes, just until set. Remove from oven and re-press center. Cookies will appear under cooked, but will firm up when cooled. Do not over bake. Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to wire rack to finish cooling.

In microwave safe bowl or measuring cup, microwave caramel bits and water in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. (I separated into 2 batches) Carefully fill center of cookie with caramel. When caramel has set, drizzle with chocolate.

For chocolate drizzle, microwave chips and shortening in thirty second intervals until melted. Stir until smooth. Use a decorating squeeze bottle or fill a plastic sandwich bag and snip the corner, squeezing to drizzle chocolate over cookies. Let chocolate set before storing in an airtight container.

Classic Pecan Pie

Posted by Brenda K. Agresta in My Oh My I Love Pie and tagged with karo syrup, pecan pie, pecans November 15, 2014

This recipe that I am about to share with you is very special. Not because it is one of a kind, or has amazing, unusual ingredients. You can probably find tons of pecan pie recipes that are very similar featured in any cook book or magazine. This is a simple, classic pecan pie recipe. What makes it special are the memories that are tied to it. Memories of a big sister who was like a mother to me. A big sister that I lost to cancer. My oldest sister Bonnie. Bonnie’s life was about faith and family. She gave much to many, and we miss her terribly.

I remember the day she wrote out the recipe and handed it to me. I was home for Christmas, down in Alabama with my 10 year old son Bryant. This was the first time Bryant had tasted Bonnie’s pecan pie, and he asked her to give me the recipe. That was 22 years ago, and I still have that recipe card. I never imagined that 4x 5 recipe card would become such a valued treasure.

So now every Thanksgiving and Christmas, I will pull out that card, see her hand writing and many wonderful memories come to mind. And though I am still saddened by her passing, I am so happy and thankful to have had her for a big sister and all of the memories she left with me, and for this recipe that I can share and create new memories with my son and his children. Amazing, isn’t it, how special a pecan pie can be.

Happy days with my sister Bonnie.

Classic Pecan Pie

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 eggs

1 1/2-2 cups pecan halves

1 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

Pie pastry for one nine inch pie plate plus additional for pastry leaves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9 inch glass pie plate with a pastry shell. Using a pie pastry leaf cutter, cut out enough leaves to cover the pastry edge of the pie plate. In a small bowl, beat one egg with 1 teaspoon water or milk. Brush edge of pie shell with egg wash and line with pastry leaves. Brush tops of leaves as well. Refrigerate while you prepare filling.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, melted butter and salt. Beat 3 eggs and add to sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Rough chop one cup of the pecans and stir in. Pour filling into prepared pie shell and top with remaining pecan halves in a circular pattern.

Place pie plate on a rimmed cookie sheet and put into oven on center rack. Bake 55-60 minutes until center is set. If edges begin to brown excessively, place a sheet of foil loosely over pie to shield.

Cool completely before serving.

Healthy Homemade Granola

Posted by Brenda K. Agresta in Breakfast and Brunch and tagged with dried cranberries, granola, greek yogurt, healthy, oatmeal, pecans, walnuts March 4, 2014

I start every weekday morning with greek yogurt and fresh berries topped with this sweet, crunchy, healthy granola. It fills me up and helps me maintain a healthy weight. Full of wholesome ingredients, it’s quick and easy to make and so delicious. I make a fresh batch every weekend so I always have it on hand. Use different types of dried fruit and nuts to change it up.

Healthy Homemade Granola

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2 cups old fashioned Quaker Oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
3 tablespoons agave nectar

Mix ingredients in a large bowl making sure oil and agave nectar are evenly distributed throughout the dry ingredients.

Spread out evenly on a large sheet pan. Bake for 25 minutes, low and slow, stirring half way through baking time.

Let cool on baking sheet, store in airtight container.

A Flair for Fare

Sharing my love of food and stories of inspiration

Tag Archives: pecans

Snowball Cookies

Pumpkin Bread with Pecan Streusel Topping

Turtle Thumbprints

Classic Pecan Pie

Healthy Homemade Granola