Italian "S" Cookies

These cookies are one of my family's favorites!...Especially around the Holidays...we always make them at Christmas time but they are also a great Easter cookie..."S" cookies are an Italian tradition that can be made for any special event though....although the traditional shape is an S, I am sure you could make them into a  different shape or letter,,,Just be sure to test it first because this cookie does puff when it bakes so you may have to adjust...This is a really nice dough to work with and they come out perfect every time I make them!..I am also Including the recipe for the glaze that tops this cookie...this is a great recipe that I also use on my Italian cutout cookies, I use almond extract in mine but you can use whatever flavor you like....Here is how I make them...Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS

2 Sticks of Butter {softened}

6 Eggs

1 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup oil {vegetable}

2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

2 Cups Sugar

4 Tablespoons Baking Powder

8 Cups Flour

Optional to add Almond extract to this dough also about 2 teaspoons or more if you like

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350

1. Add Flour and baking powder to a bowl mix together with a whisk and set aside

2. In your stand mixer add butter, eggs, and sugar, mix til creamy

3. Add milk, oil and vanilla and mix

4. Slowly add the flour mixture until dough forms

5. Remove dough and add flour to knead until not sticky

6. Pinch off about a Tablespoon of dough, roll into 6 inch log then roll in ends in opposite direction to form your S

7. Place on silpat or parchment lined baking sheet

8. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes {should be light in color}

This recipe makes 8 dozen cookies

When cool you can frost with this glaze recipe then add sprinkles if you like...this glaze will harden and stay shiny!

Glaze Recipe

2-1/4 Cups Confectioners Sugar

2 Tablespoons light corn syrup {Karo}

2 Tablespoons Milk + more

1-2 drops Almond extract

You can add food coloring for color of your choice also

Mix all ingredients until desired consistency then frost cooled cookies

Here are cookies I decorated all white for my Grandchildren's Christening

Here are the cookies before glazing and decorating

These are other cookies I have made with this dough

Cutouts and braided candy canes...I added almond extract to this batch

Here is the Glaze used on my Italian Cutout Cookies

Mexican Lasagna

One of my favorite and most popular Crock Pot recipes is my Lasagna...I was looking to do a Mexican version of it for a Taco party I was having, so I came up with this version and everyone loved it!...First was coming up with the sauce ..it couldn't be Italian tasting like my original lasagna so I decided to add Salsa and enchilada sauce along with tomato sauce the last time I made it I also added a can of Tri-Bean blend to it which was a good addition...I have also added green chiles which can be optional...You could even add corn to sauce if you like...You can make this spicier also by what salsa you want to use..A lot of Mexican lasagnas call for using flour tortillas as your layers but I like using regular lasagna pasta noodles, you also add them uncooked....I have also made this with gluten free lasagna noodles and it was amazing!...This took less than 4 hours to cook on low which I do to prevent burning on the bottom..Next time I am going to make my Mexican Pizzas along with it...It could be a MexItalian night!...Here is how I made this...Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

SAUCE

1 pound ground sirloin

1 small onion diced

1 Jar Salsa (I used Chi Chi's mild)

1 can enchilada sauce ( I used mild)

1 can tomato sauce or petite diced tomatoes

+ 1 can of water

1 can tri- bean blend 

1 small can green chiles (optional)

LAYERS

1 box lasagna noodles or Gluten free version

1 can re fried beans

Shredded Cheese ( you can use your choice, cheddar, fiesta cheese or a combination)

you may need 1-2 bags

SAUCE

1. Preheat Crock pot to low

2. Ladle sauce in bottom to cover

3. Add uncooked lasagna noodles to fit

4. Drizzle more sauce over noodles then spoon half the can of re fried beans on top

5. sprinkle cheese over beans then cover with a layer of sauce

6. add another layer of noodles then repeat with the rest of the re fried beans then cheese

drizzle more sauce on top

7. You will end with a layer of noodles covered with sauce making sure all noodles are covered

8. Cook for 3-4 hours on low then top with cheese

Serve with Sour Cream if you like

**If by chance you don't end up with enough sauce to cover you can always add more enchilada sauce on top..you also want to make sure top layer stays submerged in sauce while cooking so it doesn't dry out

This is what it looks like finished...you can slice then scoop portions out

Peanut Butter Cookies (flourless)

So, what do you when you have three  jars of peanut butter in the pantry.... You make peanut butter cookies of course!..... And when looking through some of my old recipes I did not want to use granulated sugar.... So I thought I would replace with confectioners sugar and brown sugar and they turned out great.... Here is what I did.... enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Peanut Butter

1 beaten egg

3/4  cup  Confectioners Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Baking soda

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350

Mix all ingredients together

Scoop about a Tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball

Place on cookie sheet and flatten dough into a circle

Mark with a fork (I used a silicone fork worked great!)

Bake for 8-9 minutes until lighly golden

00 Flour Artisan Bread

I have never really been a fan of making yeast breads for the simple fact that I am intimidated by yeast!...and also because I try to stay away from gluten as much as I can...so if you can relate to this, this bread is for you!... I have recently been introduced to this 00 Flour from Italy that I ordered off of Amazon....it is Caputo's 00 soft wheat flour...00  is the rating that is given for the way the flour is milled....00 is the finest grated rating they give... the French also use this system....it is believed that this makes it easier to digest....it has lower protein and lower starch which means lower gluten....this is what makes it different from American bleached all purpose flours....So I decided to try this Artisan bread with it and I was pleasantly surprised on how simple this was...This dough is literally put together in 5 minutes but you will have to be patient because it needs to rest for 8-24 hours before baking...8 being the least amount of time and 24 being the most it should be left resting...here is what I did....Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 Cups Flour (I used 00) regular can also be used

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2  teaspoon Yeast

1 1/2 Cups warm Water

Directions

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined...it will look like a sticky mess but that is ok

Cover with plastic wrap (I Mark with the time so I don't forget)

Leave on counter at room temperature for 8-24 hours (I did for 12)

It will start getting bubbly

Once the desired rest time is done you will need 90'munutes before serving

Once rest time is up you will need to preheat oven to 450

And you will need to preheat your Dutch oven pan

Then take your dough and turn it into a floured surface

Knead into a ball and let rest for 30 minutes

I formed onto a piece of parchment paper for an easy transfer into Dutch oven pan...if you don't use parchment you will need to grease the pan

Add the dough to your Dutch oven and cut an x on top before baking

Bake covered with lid or foil for 30 minutes

Then bake uncovered for 10 more minutes to brown the crust

Let cool 15 minutes before cutting... An electric knife or a serated one works well

This bread has a nice crisp crust with a chewy center

This is the flour I used