Damages Dream Realm

Lady MoonWolfe’s recipes

PIERNIKI (Polish Spice Cookies)

1-1 ½ c. honey
Pinch of black pepper
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. allspice
1 c. sugar
4-5 c. flour
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. cloves
4 eggs
1 tsp. soda dissolved in water

Heat honey until it boils, then allow it to cool until lukewarm. Sift the flour with the spices.

Beat the eggs with the sugar until thick. Add the soda, then the honey and the flour. Mix well. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut cookies in whatever shapes you like. Bake them on buttered sheets in a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until just lightly browned.

The pierniki may be decorated with a thin glaze made of confectioners' sugar, water, almond or vanilla extract and a drop of food coloring.

Sun Shine Sugar Cookies with Orange Frosting
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine milk with vinegar to make sour milk. Let stand for 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars, shortening, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Stir in sour milk and mix well. NOTE:

Dough will be very sticky and hard to handle so be sure to refrigerate either several hours or overnight. Roll on well floured board to ½ inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters to desired shapes-a sun shape or large round circles are best to signify the sun with large cutters working best.

Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly brown on bottom. Frost with frosting (see recipe) and decorate.

Frosting
3 egg whites
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 Tablespoon of orange rind
1 Tablespoon of Orange Juice

Beat egg whites in clean, large bowl with mixer at high speed until very foamy Gradually add sugar, rind, orange juice and extract. Beat at high speed until thickened. Spread over cooled cookies or put in a pastry bag with a piping tip attached and pipe onto cookies.

Rolled Oat Yule Cookies

I make these cookies all year long, although during the Yule season I add either red and green M&M's or dried cranberries to the batter.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup M&M's or dried cranberries
In a large mixing bowl, mix butter and brown sugar. Mix in water and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, salt, baking soda, and M&M's or cranberries.
Mix the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture.
Shape the cookie dough into two long logs, cookie size in diameter.
Wrap the logs in wax paper, parchment, or plastic wrap. Chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Unwrap cookie logs and slice into ½ inch thick cookies.
Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes.

Nessa’s Welsh Cookies
(Wonderful for Santa's Deputy Ritual)

4 c. flour
½ c. shortening
1 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. currants
½ c. milk
2 eggs

1) Mix flour and dry ingredients.2) Add currants. 3) Cut in shortening as for pie [I use a fork for this] 4) Add eggs and milk. 5) Roll out on floured surface. 5) cut circular shape out [I use a glass]. 6) Fry on griddle at low heat til a light brown appears on each side.
Makes about 5 dozen.

Cookies from Artemisia

My grandmother and great-aunt made these cookies for Christmas Eve. In the Polish tradition, we would gather the family together on Christmas Eve. My cousins and sisters and I continue the tradition of making their cookies for our family gathering on Christmas Eve.
Blessings
Artemisia

Catherine's Neckties

2 boxes of 1 lb lard
1/4 c butter
1 c sugar
3 ½ c flour2 eggs beaten1/3 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 c milk

Melt lard in fryer over low heat until liquid.
Cream butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy. Beat eggs in separate bowl.
Add eggs to butter and sugar in batches. Mix salt, baking powder and flour in another bowl. Add vanilla to milk.
Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to egg/sugar mixture and mix well with mixer.
Once mixed, knead dough lightly on floured board - it will be sticky.
Separate dough into 4 or 5 chunks and put extra in refrigerator while working on others.
Roll out one chunk like a pie crust to about 1/4 in thick or less.
Cut dough on an angle into strips 3 inch long and about 1 inch wide.
Make a lengthwise slice in center of each strip and pull one end through the slice to turn it inside out .
Place these neckties onto waxed paper. Put wax paper between layers.
Proceed to prepare all the rest of the dough. (There are about 25 neckties per chunk of dough)When ready to cook, turn up heat on fryer to 350 degrees.
When the first cookie rises to the top, put in the other cookies. Turn cookies one browned on one side.
Take cookies out of fryer and put on layers of brown paper to drain.
Optional: sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Store in tin and will keep for a couple of weeks.

Ida's Cookies

1 stick margarine or butter
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 c. flour3 tsp baking powder
confectionary sugarwater sprinkles

Melt the butter and let it cool somewhat. Add sugar to the butter and mix well. Stir in eggs, one at a time and vanilla.
Mix flour and baking powder separately.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in batches, and mix well.
Let cookie dough stand at least 5 minutes before going on (or refrigerate or freeze dough for later.)Roll balls of dough out of 1 tsp of dough and place them on greased cookie sheets 1 ½ inches apart.
Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until cooked but not too brown.
Remove from cookie sheet, dip in icing and sprinkles and cool on rack.
Stack in tins between layers of wax paper after cool.

Icing - mix 3 tsp water to 1 cup confectionary sugar.

Lila’s Yule Log

Cake:
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs

3/4 cup sugar
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons water

Filling:
½ pint whipped cream
2 tablespoons icing (confectioners') sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups icing (confectioners') sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan, and line with waxed paper. Grease waxed paper.
Mix flour, soda, and salt together.
Beat eggs in a small mixer bowl at high speed, until thick and light - about 5 minutes.
Gradually add the sugar, and beat until thick.
Melt the chocolate and water together, and add to the egg mixture.
Fold in the dry ingredients, and mix gently but thoroughly.
Spread in prepared pan, and bake for 15 - 17 minutes, until the cake springs back when lightly touched.
Remove from oven and turn out immediately onto a tea towel that has been sprinkled generously with icing sugar.
Remove waxed paper, and trim of any crisp edges of the cake.
Begin at the narrow end, and roll up the cake and the tea towel together. Allow to cool.

Filling:
Whip cream until soft peaks form. Stir in icing sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff.
Unroll the cake when cool, and spread the top with the whip cream.
Re-roll, without the towel.
Cut a thin slice off of each end of the roll, to make them even.

Cake:
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons water

Filling:
½ pint whipped cream
2 tablespoons icing (confectioners') sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups icing (confectioners') sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan, and line with waxed paper. Grease waxed paper.

Mix flour, soda, and salt together.

Beat eggs in a small mixer bowl at high speed, until thick and light - about 5 minutes.

Gradually add the sugar, and beat until thick.

Melt the chocolate and water together, and add to the egg mixture.

Fold in the dry ingredients, and mix gently but thoroughly.
Spread in prepared pan, and bake for 15 - 17 minutes, until the cake springs back when lightly touched.
Remove from oven and turn out immediately onto a tea towel that has been sprinkled generously with icing sugar.

Remove waxed paper, and trim of any crisp edges of the cake.

Begin at the narrow end, and roll up the cake and the tea towel together. Allow to cool.
Filling:
Whip cream until soft peaks form. Stir in icing sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff.

Unroll the cake when cool, and spread the top with the whip cream.
Re-roll, without the towel.

Cut a thin slice off of each end of the roll, to make them even.

Icing:
Soften butter. Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and of good spreading consistency.

Use the centres of the ends you sliced off the cake to make bumps on the log : Use a little of the icing to affix the bump to the side of the cake - one on each side.

Ice the entire cake with the icing, including the ends and the bumps.
Run a fork along the icing so that it resembles tree bark.

Sprinkle with icing sugar, and decorate with holly or other Christmas decoration leaves.
Store in refrigerator.

Icing:
Soften butter. Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and of good spreading consistency.
Use the centres of the ends you sliced off the cake to make bumps on the log : Use a little of the icing to affix the bump to the side of the cake - one on each side.
Ice the entire cake with the icing, including the ends and the bumps.
Run a fork along the icing so that it resembles tree bark.
Sprinkle with icing sugar, and decorate with holly or other yule decorations.
Store in refrigerator.