A Cookie Tour Vol.3

Here’s what it looks like when teenagers make the Christmas cookies:

Kind of like Tokidoki.  I don’t know why Mr. Gingerbread Man is nothing but bones.  Love the Spongebob looking eyeballs.

On to one of my favorite Christmas cookies, Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprints.  What a long name.  I think I’ll just call them Raspberry Thumbprints.  The combination of crisp, almond flavored shortbread hooked up with Raspberry jam is perfect to me.  There’s a reason I only make these at Christmas and that is because I want to eat a lot of them!  Part of my recipe is planning ahead for friends to give them away to so that only a respectable amount are left within “gettin’ range”.  I haven’t made them yet (made something else yummy this weekend…) but I looked up the Land O’ Lakes site for you with the recipe.  So, I also have to borrow their picture:

Pretty, aren’t they?  Click on, Raspberry Thumbprints, if you want to make some of this goodness. 

This weekend I made Ina’s Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Butter Cream.  Another really long name!  It’s basically a jazzier version of Libby’s Pumpkin Roll found on the back of their label.  Here’s the recipe. 

It really is easy to make even if it looks fancy and difficult.  I’m going to encourage you to try it if you’re looking for a new pumpkin dessert.  Here are a few hints: 

My local grocer only had an 8 oz. container of mascarpone cheese and it’s a little pricey, so I substituted cream cheese for the other 4 oz.

I didn’t have heavy cream handy either (used it for the mashed potatoes for dinner the night before…) so I substituted regular milk.

I buy crystallized ginger at Central Market in the bulk bins.  It looks like this:

One last thing. I’ll admit I stopped to think about flipping the cake out of the pan onto the heavily powder sugar dusted towel.  All I could picture was a  Krakatau type of event.  But the flip out was happily uneventful!

I have to go!  I have just a few more things to pick up and there are only 10 more shopping days till the big day!

Happy Baking!                             

“C is for cookie, it's good enough for me; oh cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C.”                - Cookie Monster

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