Grandma's Cloud Cookies

These meringue cookies are crisp on the outside, and meltingly tender at first bite. They are light and airy, the way clouds ought to taste.
They have only four ingredients, and you bake them by preheating your oven, then turning it off as soon as you put the cookies in and leaving them in with the door closed for at least 4 hours. You can just leave them in the oven overnight if you'd like to wake up to cookies in the morning!

Grandma's Cloud Cookies

6 egg whites
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz (1 bag) chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Beat the egg whites until you reach soft peaks. Slowly add in the vanilla extract and sugar, and beat until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Plop fist-sized dollops of batter onto parchment-paper-covered cookie sheets. (The cookies don't expand, so they don't need to be too far apart.)
Put them in the oven. Turn the oven off immediately, and leave them in the off oven with the door closed for at least 4 hours.

Swedish Pepparkakor (my favorite cookie)

Swedish Pepparkakor

2/3 C. packed brown sugar           3/4 tsp. baking soda
2/3 C. molasses                            2/3 C butter                  
1 tsp. ground ginger                     1 egg              
1/2 tsp. ground cloves                   3 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat brown sugar, molasses, and spices just to boiling. Remove from heat, add baking soda and stir.  Add butter and stir until melted. Pour into mixing bowl and cool. Add beaten egg and mix. Add flour one cup at a time. Knead on a floured surface for 1-2 minutes, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm - at least one hour. Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on greased or parchment paper lined sheets at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a rack. Decorate with icing if desired. Makes 4-5 dozen cookies. Store in tightly covered container - the cookies improve with age.

(Legend says put a pepparkor in the palm of your hand, make a wish, and tap it with one finger. If it breaks into three pieces, your wish will come true!)

Swedish Christmas Cookies

In case you didn't know, my grandparents were from Sweden. I love the recipes my grandmother gave me and would like to share some with you.

Swedish Christmas Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Colored sanding sugars or chopped toasted pecans

Directions

Whisk the flour, cardamom, and salt in a bowl.


Put the butter and confectioners' sugar in a food processor, and process until smooth. Pulse in the egg, vanilla, and Lemon zest until combined. Add the flour mixture and process to make a soft buttery dough. Divide dough in half onto 2 (12-inch long) sheets of plastic wrap, using the plastic, shape into rough logs. Refrigerate the Dough logs for 30 minutes until just firm enough to shape into uniform logs, 8-inches long by 2-inches in diameter. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.


Scatter either the sanding sugars or toasted nuts on a work surface and roll the logs until completely coated. Cut into 1/4-inch thick cookies and space about 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until golden around the edges, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cookies on the pan on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Colder Weather, Halloween, Thanksgiving and on our way to Christmas!

Looking forward to brand new recipes for the holiday season. We have moved since our last post, lost some good friends who also moved away and gained some new. Now that we are settled in our new home it's time to start warming the kitchen with new flavors and smells for the season. Getting colder outside means new Chili recipes, baking and those wonderful warm your tummy recipes. Post some of your favorites it you like and I will post mine. Happy Holidays!