Chewy White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies (Not Greek but delicious!)

A couple of folks have asked for the recipe for these cookies which I made for Christmas. And while it's not a Greek recipe and has no family history, I thought the easiest way to share it would be via our blog.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks - Butter, softened
• 2 C - Sugar
• 2 C - Light brown sugar
• 4 - Eggs
• 1 T - Vanilla
• 4 C - Flour
• 5 C - Oats, processed in food processor to a coarse flour
• 2 t - Baking powder
• 2 t - Baking soda
• 1 t - Salt
• 1 C - White chocolate chips
• 1 C - Coconut (more if you like)
• 1 C - Macadamia nuts, chopped coarsely

Mix Butter and sugars on low for 1 minute. Switch to high until creamy.

Add eggs and vanilla, mixing on low and then high until light and fluffy.

Add oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and coconut. Mix on low until will blended (it's a heavy/dense dough and may push the limit of your mixer).

Stir in chips and nuts until blended (I do this with my hands).

Line baking sheets with parchment. Using a scoop, place dough onto sheets and flatten slightly with palm.

Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

VARIATION: If you'd prefer regular chocolate chip cookies, switch out the chips (I like to use the minis) and skip the coconut and macadamia nuts. You could trade in walnuts, if desired.

20% off foods from Greece at Demeter's Pantry

20% off orders over $25 at Demeter's Pantry until December 31st.
Use coupon code: Holiday08

www.demeterspantry.com

And check out their blog at http://demeterspantry.com/blog/ for their posting, "Domestic Cheese Making in Rural Crete."

Spice & Herb Substitution Charts

I just started to make some ginger cookies, and realized I didn't have any nutmeg. I did a search to see what would make a good substituion (other than cinnamon, ginger and cloves, which are already in the recipe) and found this chart. I thought some of you might find it of value.

You can find it at: http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blspicesub.htm

And one for herbs at:

http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blherbsub.htm

κόκκινες χιονιές (red snowballs)

This was a Ruby invention (and name, translated to Greek). I found a basic sweet-roll dough recipe in a Fannie Farmer Baking Book and she filled them with Greek sour cherry preserves.

2 pkgs dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk, warmed
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, softened
3 eggs*
5-1/4 to 5-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

*Note: If eggs are refrigerator cold, pour hot water over them and let stand for several minutes to warm before cracking.

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small cup or bowl, stir and let stand for a minute or two to dissolve. (I add about 1 tbsp of the sugar to the water as well — a trick Mom told me that Rae told her.) Combine the milk, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs in a large mixing bowl, and beat well. Stir in the dissolved yeast. Add 2-1/2 cups of the flour, and beat until smooth and well blended. Add 2-1/2 cups more flour and beat until the dough holds together in a rough, shaggy mass. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Resume kneading for 8 to 10 minutes more, gradually sprinkling on a little more flour if the dough sticks to your hands, until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Punch the risen dough down, and it is ready to be formed and baked. You can also freeze the dough or store in the refrigerator for a few days in a tightly covered container. We ran out of time, so stored it in the fridge over night.

Melt a couple of tbsps of butter in the bottom of a 9 x 12 cake pan. Break dough into 24 mandarin-sized balls and roll into a flat circle. Spoon about 1 tbsp (we made sure there was one cherry plus some goo) into the center of dough, dab water around edges and pinch up sides. Rub roll (pinched side up) in butter at bottom of pan, then turn over and push to edge. Repeat with all rolls, so that they are touching each other and the sides of pan. Cover, and let rise about an hour and bake for 15 minutes at 375°.

Patoutha — New to me, but delicious!

I got this recipe out of Cretan Cooking by Maria & Nikos Psilakis, when looking for something new to bake for the holidays. The filling is very baklava-ish, and the shape like kalitsounia. They're incredibly tasty (if not loaded with olive oil), and not too sweet, which is how I like my pastries.

The dough:
2 cups olive oil
1 cup "alousia" or water (you can prepare alousia by boiling 1 tbsp wood ash in 1 cup water, then strain and discard the ash — I opted for plain ol' nero, and it was fine)
1 cup orange juice
4 tbsp cognac (ie, Metaxa)
1 tbsp baking soda
more or less 1.5 kilos flour (about 3 lbs)

The filling:
1 kilo roughly ground walnuts and almonds (I bought a pound of each and ended up with left over, but I probably could've stuffed more into the crescents)
1 cup honey
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tbsp grated orange zest
4 tbsps olive oil (I couldn't bear to add that much, so I just did 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp ground clove
1 tbsp cinnamon
4 tbsps ground toasted bread (I food-processed some unseasoned stuffing bread cubes left over from Thanksgiving)

Prepare the dough — in a large bowl, beat oil a little, then add the other liquids and the soda dissolved in the cognac. Finally add flour, bit by bit and form soft, smooth dough.

Prepare the filling — in a saucepan, heat water and add honey, olive oil and sugar; simmer for 2-3 minutes. Let it cool to being just warm, then mix with nuts, zest, spices and finally the bread.

Separate the dough into small balls and roll into circles. Place 1 tbsp of the filling on one half of each. Fold over to form crescents and press the edges together. Place on a baking sheet or on oiled baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. (I set oven to 350° and baked for 15 minutes.) When they have slightly cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Paximathia: The best Greek cookie?

I just made a bunch of Paximathia using Thea Rae's recipe, and thought it was the perfect "just before Christmas" choice for the first post to The Other Man's Pot.

Like all Greek pastries, these take a good part of an afternoon to finish, as you have to bake, slice and toast, but they are worth it! And while you're waiting, you are rewarded with your house being filled with a wonderful scent. In my opinion, the finished cookie is one of the best -- if not the best -- Greek cookies. Thanks Rae.

PAXIMATHIA

• 1 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temp
• 1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 T vanilla
• 1/4 t anise extract
• 1/2 t lemon extract
• 6-8 cups flour
• 1-3/4 cup sugar
• 4 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 3 t anise seeds

Combine cooled butter, oil, eggs and extracts until blended.

Combine all dry ingredients (start with 6 cups of the flour).

Mix in dry ingredients, alternating with canned milk. Add more flour, if necessary. Dough should be soft and sticky, and hold its shape.

Shape into long, thin, flat logs on parchment lined cookie sheets (one per sheet). Brush tops with an egg wash (one yolk and two tablespoons of milk). If desired, top with sesame seeds.

Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned and firm to touch (35 - 45 minutes). Cool. Cut into cookies and place on cooling rack on a baking sheet. Place in oven and toast as desired (Note: I turn down the oven for this step).

If you'd prefer to make a cinnamon orange version, substitute as follows:

• Anise seed - 2 t cinnamon (ideally from the Hania agora!)
• Lemon zest - orange zest
• Anise extract - cinnamon extract
• Lemon extract - orange extract

NOTE: I saw a version that said to slice the loaves half-way thru with a floured knife prior to baking, then to slice completely after the first baking. I've never tried this, but it may be a good way to prevent some pieces breaking when cut.