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USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

JF_Gophers said:
Stop ruining food with peppermint! :p

I'm not sure what kind of cookies I'll make yet. But I only make a couple batches, unlIke Jen who could feed small villages.
Click to expand...

mint = Christmas. I try to limit cookies to seasonally appropriate varieties (some exceptions, like PB Maple, which, have I mentioned, is the greatest cookie ever?). Mint, gingerbread, rum, seasonal shapes, etc. I'm pretty heavy on the mint this year, though. But I think there's enough different kinds so the mint haters will find something they like. :p

It's hard to think of other Christmas flavors. Anything eggnog I've tried has not been eggnogg-y enough for my taste. Almond extract reminds of me Christmas, but I absolutely detest it and refuse to use it.

and I only feed maybe half a village.
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Acceptable xmas add ins are: nutmeg, vanilla, eggnog, gingerbread and if you're a coffee shop, caramel.

Also good old fashioned frosted sugar cookies. :)
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Mint is not Christmas. :p
The only thing at all that I can think of that is mint flavored that has an association with Christmas are candy canes, and they suck something fierce. I don't want my cookies to taste like toothpaste.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

bigblue_dl said:
Mint is not Christmas. :p
The only thing at all that I can think of that is mint flavored that has an association with Christmas are candy canes, and they suck something fierce. I don't want my cookies to taste like toothpaste.
Click to expand...

Mint is Christmas for me. And I'm the one making the cookies. :p Candy canes are mint, and my grandmother always made grasshoppers at Christmas.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

jen said:
Mint is Christmas for me. And I'm the one making the cookies. :p Candy canes are mint, and my grandmother always made grasshoppers at Christmas.
Click to expand...
Mint is most definitely Christmas, like you said with the candy canes. Those fruity ones are only new within the last couple decades, and they don't hold up to the peppermint ones. You go into any coffee shop, order their Christmas themed mocha, it's got peppermint syrup or crushed peppermint candies mixed in. Mint is a Christmas flavor all the way, right up there with gingerbread.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

dxmnkd316 said:
What the **** is grape salad?
Click to expand...

Sour cream and cream cheese are the dressing. You can google the standard recipe and I recommend it, it tastes awesome. My nephew makes it and he adds more crunch than the recipe calls for.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

dxmnkd316 said:
What the **** is grape salad?
Click to expand...

<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/18/dining/thanksgiving-recipes-across-the-united-states.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&_r=5">the whole article, for reference</a>. A lot of the choices are very strange. Minnesota gets grape salad because one person had it? They're trying a bit too hard to be on trend with some of these. Also there's mention of corn pudding (sorry, it belongs to Virginia).

Wisconsin got wild rice and mushrooms. I'd link wild rice more to Minnesota than Wisconsin.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Holy crap. I have just found out my mom is not only familiar with grape salad but has had a couple different preparations.

I feel like I'm seeing an ivory billed woodpecker. People swear they've seen them, people have pictures of them, but you just can't believe them until you see one for yourself.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

dxmnkd316 said:
Holy crap. I have just found out my mom is not only familiar with grape salad but has had a couple different preparations.

I feel like I'm seeing an ivory billed woodpecker. People swear they've seen them, people have pictures of them, but you just can't believe them until you see one for yourself.
Click to expand...

We had grape salad yesterday and it was awesome. My nephew also made a crap rangoon dip that was the delicious, just packed with crab flavor. On the comical side, my wife forgot to put the sugar in the pumkin pie! She took a bite and exclaimed "This is the worst pumpkin pie I've ever had!!!" Everyone also agreed, but didn't say anything until she did, she was the last to sit down and eat it since she served the desserts up. Poor Honeybunches. Now I've got a long time zinger that matches my forgetting to put the drain plug in the boat prior to launch (it did not sink thank the good Lord, though it scared the bleep out of us as we tried to get back to the launch before it was too late).
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

I found out my mom was lying. :/

I figured since she grew up in a church-centric family and small town in northern. Minnesota it was possible. What a jerk. :)
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

almost there. 3 kinds of candy left, and only 1 cookie.

That ***** Martha Stewart's gingersnap palmiers were a huge failure again. Really tasty, but almost every single one broke in the middle (between the "ears") or puffed out weird and didn't hold shape. Couldn't donate them, so had to make an extra batch of peanut butter maple, since I was 24 cookies short.

brutti du buoni another failure. Tossed the batch after the texture turned out all wrong. oh well. I only made them because I had extra hazelnuts, so not a huge loss.
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Done. Final tally, not counting ones tossed in the garbage (or eaten): 1,456

30% donated to charity, 65% given to friends and family (and work), and 5% kept for family Christmas.

PHEW.

Final list with recipes:

<a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/peanut-butter-maple-cookies">Peanut Butter Maple</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/candy-cane-cookies">Peppermint Candy Canes</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://tastingspoons.com/archives/9558">Maple Pecan Slices</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gluten-free-chocolate-peppermint-snaps-recipe#.UIbO7DkN1tM.pinterest">Gluten Free Molasses</a> (new)
<a href="http://www.rachelcooks.com/2013/12/04/peppermint-shortbread-cookies/">Peppermint Shortbread</a> (new)
<a href="http://www.crunchycreamysweet.com/2013/12/09/gingerbread-snickerdoodles-recipe/">Gingerbread Snickerdoodles</a> (new)
<a href="http://seattletimes.com/html/foodwine/2016828671_grasshoppercookies23.html">Grasshoppers</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20081128/ARCHIVES/311289979">Chocolate Cornflake Wreaths</a> (new)
<a href="http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/recipes/patrick-s-chocolate-raspberry-rugelach/article_415add4a-0d05-559e-92bd-5addd0e428b2.html">Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://www.bhg.com/recipe/rum-praline-shortbread-bites/">Rum Pecan Praline Shortbread</a> (new)
Mandelbrot (Zingerman's recipe... not online) (repeat)
<A HREF="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gluten-free-cocoa-molasses-cookies-recipe#.UQRb5zZiZlI.pinterest">Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/peppermint-crunch-bark-recipe">Peppermint Bark</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cranberry-nut-chocolate-bark-recipe?crlt.pid=camp.v8XuaBmGMbDb">Cranberry Pecan Bark</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-peppermint-pinwheel-cookies-recipe2.html">Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-ginger-bark-recipe">Dark Chocolate Ginger Bark</a> (repeat)
<a href="http://www.hersheys.com/rolo/recipes.aspx?id=8631">Rolo turtles</a> (new)
<a href="http://www.hersheys.com/rolo/recipes.aspx?id=8631">Gluten Free Chocolate Chip</a> - made with white chips and dried cherries (new)

My first batch of gluten free spread a lot and got pretty thin. One of the recipe commenters mentioned freezing the dough after rolling into into balls, and the baking straight from the freezer. That worked really well.

Pretty happy with how the rest turned out. I only broke ONE candy cane cookie, which I think is a world record.

Rolo turtles seem a little redneck-y, but man, are they easy to make and addictive.

Was up until 11:30 organizing last night - now to get them packaged up for the mail.
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

How are the Maple peanut butter ones to bake? Looks easy but then looks can be deceiving!
Do they really make 5 dozen?

So many questions. Trying to find something new.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

leswp1 said:
How are the Maple peanut butter ones to bake? Looks easy but then looks can be deceiving!
Do they really make 5 dozen?

So many questions. Trying to find something new.
Click to expand...

My favorites. They're as easy as plain old chocolate chip cookies. I got about 58 per batch using a tablespoon cookie scoop. Don't flatten them before baking. I use Mighty Maple PB from The Peanut Butter Company, because that's the kind I buy anyway.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Thanks! I have Skippy (the only kind Mr les will eat.) Hopefully that will work. I love those cookie scoops!
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

I made the peanut butter maple cookies and the Rolo turtles. They're both good, though I used macadamia nuts for the turtles, because I have an annoying reaction to pecans (as well as walnuts, cashews, pistachios and brazil nuts). Oddly, almonds, hazelnuts, and macadamias are OK.
 
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