Melts in your mouth...like snowflakes...

We had our first snow fall early this week and all I see is snow covered rooftops and pine trees holding snow flakes……to me the Mother Nature is looking like a beautiful bride clad in her satin white bridal gown, after her colourful autumnal fashion parade in red, yellow, orange, crimson and brown! As the British poet, Edith Sitwell says, “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home”. So to extend that friendly hand shake into a friendly talk beside the fire, last year all we needed was a plate of cookies and a hot cup of tea! Around this time, last year we had one of CJJ’s friends making an impromptu visit and as expected, my pantry was not geared up to entertain guests on such a short notice; luckily our cookie tin was not empty and I shared those homemade cookies with our friend……he seemed to be enjoying those baked goodies a lot to the extent he was embarrassed when I refilled the plate :) Yes, Paula Deen’s Mexican Wedding cookies are so fabulous and irresistible…….they just melt in your mouth, tempting you to go for one more piece!! This is a simple and easy, MUST- TRY cookie recipe and the best cookie I have ever baked!! I halved the original recipe and flavored with powdered nutmeg, instead of vanilla extract, which gave a wonderful aroma too and every time our friends seem to prefer the batch with nutmeg rather than the vanilla one. DO TRY, you will be glad that you did :)

Mexican Wedding Cookies : Yields around 20 cookies
(Recipe Source: Paula Deen from www.foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for coating baked cookies
• ¼ tsp nutmeg, powdered ( OR 1 tsp vanilla extract as per original recipe)
• ½ cup + 6 tbsp all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting hands
• ½ cup pecans, chopped into very small pieces

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper or no- stick aluminum foil.
• Cream the butter and sugar at low speed, using an electric mixer, until it is smooth. Add the powdered nutmeg and start the mixer again and slowly add the flour (½ cup + 6 tbsp) in small quantities. Once it is mixed well, stir in the pecans with a spatula.
• You can make the cookies in any shape you want. For the crescent shape mentioned in the original recipe, dust your hands with some flour and scoop out about 1 tbsp dough and shape into a crescent; else you can make them into small balls or footballs or slightly flatten the dough in your dusted palms and use a cookie cutter to get your preferred shapes. You may also make drop cookies by dropping about 1 tbsp dough onto the prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake for about 40 minutes and when cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in additional confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks. You may also sprinkle sugar on top using a small strainer.

Note: I have tried freezing the dough and it stays good for a couple of weeks.


This goes to Eat Christmas Cookies event, hosted by Susan of Food Blogga . Susan has been quite gracious enough to pass the “You Make Me Smile Award to me”. Around the same time, very creative and talented Anne of Simply Annes also passed the "Nice Matters Award" to me. Let me tell you, I am really flattered :) I am supposed to pass these titles to others in the blog world but since all of you, my readers and fellow bloggers, make me laugh through your comments and posts and since all of you have been so supportive and nice, I think it is fair enough to pass it on to each of YOU out there :)

Last week my stat-counter took me to a site where I was quite surprised to find out that my last post, Fruit Cake- A rich Christmas Tradition of Kerala, has been nominated for “Best Food Blog – Post” at WELL FED, by one of my readers, Sati. I have absolutely no idea how this works but let me tell you Sati, I am truly honored and moved by your gesture and treasure this appreciation you have shown. I remember seeing your comment once and I am really glad that you are enjoying my posts, THANK YOU :)

Luv
Shn

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