Snowball Cookies

This is a quick post because I assume everybody is very busy preapring all the stuff for theese days, but I wanted to wish you the best for these Christmas Holidays with these cookies. Hope you enjoy with your family and friends, days full of love, laugther, nice meals and lot of peace. You still are on time to prepare these cookies, even for New Year's eve, you will not take so long preparing them and they look gorgeous, did them with pecan and cardamom taste, but you can give them the taste you wish.

Snowball Cookies

Makes about 25

115 g unsalted butter at room temperature

75 g powdered sugar, plus extra for dust

120 g all porpuse flour

1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon puur vanilla extract

75 g pecan nuts

Preheat the oven to 170° and line a tray with baking paper

Cream de butter and the suggar with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla and the salt and mix it well. Add the flour, the crunched nuts and the cardamom, mix just until combined. Shape into a disk and wrap it with plastic foil. Place in the fridge for one hour.
Shape the dough into a ball (like a nut size), and place them on the tray. Bake them about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and roll right away the warm cookie balls in powdered sugar. And roll them once cooled again.. Store in an airtight container. 

All the best and Merry Xmas!
See you in 2014

Lots of love  ♥

Turrón Cheesecake

In few days is gonna be Christmas! Are you planning something special? I'm gonna spend the the Christmas in my town with my family, it is a tradition for me to be at home on Christmas, and I can't imagine such a special day away from home. On New Year I will be back in the Netherlands, New Year's eve is somthing complety different for me, somthing to share with friends and if I have the chance I like to travel, but this year, and once again new year's eve in the Netherlands. So what isn't miss these days of course is sweet traditional delights, and at home the most appreciated one is the turrón, which is a kind of nougat, this one made with honey and almonds. If you follow me you must know I love cheeescakes, and here it comes my version with turrón taste, and I can just tell you it tastes amazing. I used a turrón cream, this is something very usual in any big store in Spain, you can also use the normal turrón tablet and crush it with a food processor, anyway it will taste the same. 

Turrón Cheesecake

Makes a 20 cm tin

Base
200 g oreo cookies (or any other cookie)
60 g butter
Filling
400 g cream cheese
125 g sour cream or greek yogurt
75 g white sugar
3 large eggs
300 g turrón
20 g flour

Crush the cookies in a food processor or in a plastic bag, seal the bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Add the melted butter and mix together with a fork until well incorporated. Line the bottom and the sides of  a loose-bottomed tin with baking paper. Place this mixture in the tin and press with the bag of a spoon. Keep it in the fridge while we do the filling.

Preheat the oven to 160°.
If you are using a turrón bar put it in a food processor until well crunched, you can leave some pieces at your like, set aside.

Mix together the cream cheese and sugar with and electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and mix at the time until smooth, add the sour cream and mix. Add the turron cream and mix until well incorporated. Finally add the flour and mix just until combined, do not overmix after you add the flour. Pour the mixture into the preparated tin.

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, without opening turn the temperature down to 90º and bake 40 minutes more or until the edges of the cheesecake have a light-golden colour. It should feel firm to the touch with a slight wobble in the center. Allow the cheesecake to cool down at room temperature in the tin and on a wire rack. Place it latter in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
Unmold before serving. Top with dusted powder sugar or any syrup at your taste.
To prevent the top from cracking, be careful not to overmix the batter and do not open the oven during the baking. 

Have a nice week ♥

Christmas Giveaway

Today I don't come with a recipe but I'm here with a special giveaway for xmas. I know H&M home is not in every country, so I would like somebody enjoy this special set I prepared: a cake stand, a kitchen towel and a box (where you can keep cookies or whatever you want).

How to enter:

1. Leave a comment letting me know that you're entering and I will appreciate if you say what you would like to see in the blog and which things can be improved.

2. Giveaway is open to everybody who lives in Spain or in the Netherlands, as well as people who the shipping can be done in one of these two countries.

3. I'm glad if you are new here and I invite you to follow my blog and follow me on facebook, twitter, instagram or pinterest. I will appreciate you are here beacause you like what I do ♥

Giveaway ends Decembrer 30th 2013 and the winner will be announced on the 31st of this month on facebook and twitter.

Good luck!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Speculoos

These are the traditional dutch and belgian cookies, lot of people asked me about them, so finally I did them with their traditional wooden mold, which I bought in my favorite shop in Haarlem, don't miss it if you ever come to the Netherlands. Nowadays speculoos are eaten along the year, but they are traditionally for St Nicholas and Christmas. Don't worry if you don't have the mold  you can perfectly use any other cookie cutter and if you have a springerle mold or rolling pin will be suitable as well. As you can see I made some of them with a christmas tree cookie cutter and my Christmas tree has now yummy ornaments. These cookies are specially known for the special flavour of the spices. Some of the recipes include almond I rather to add them, but you can also avoid them if you prefer.

Speculoos Cookies

150g brown sugar
100 g unsalted butter at room temperature
250g all purpose flour
20 g speculoos spices mix
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
25 g grated almonds you can use also almond flour
60 ml water

Sift the flour, the spices and the baking powder. Crush slightly the grated almonds, set aside. In a large bowl combine the sugar and the butter with and electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the half of the flour mixture and beat, add the water, then remaining flour mixture. Shape into a disk and wrap it with plastic foil. Let it overnight in a cool place to let the spices to permeate the dough.

Preheat the oven to 150° and line a tray with baking paper.
On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough and cut into shapes. If you are using the molds dust the molds with flour and fill them with the dough, lightly press with you hands or using a pin roll, cut with a knife the excess and unmold . Make sure to dust with flour between each impression.

Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes until cookies are set and just beginning to turn light gold around edges, the time will depend on the size of your cookies. Remove from the oven and let them on the tray for 2 minutes and  transfer on a wire rack until they are cold. Store in an airtight container. They can be stored for a week.
If you can not find out the spices mix you can easily mix 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp white pepper and 1/4 tsp cardamom. 

How are your Christmas preparation doing?

Have a nice week ♥

Snickerdoodles

I'm back from the my trip to Barcelona, I had such a nice time there and also quite busy days, but also time to relax, enjoy with the family and friends and of course time for cooking. Cookies I show you today I use to make them quite often since they are very easy to make and people use to like a lot. I assure you can't take only one. I love them specially for its texture, they taste like small cakes, are lightly crispy outside and inside soft and chewy. It will depend on your preference but I would recommend you not to bake them so long otherwise the cookie will get to crunchy. Actually you only need to roll them on the cinnamon sugar, but I rather to add some extra flavour in the dough as well. 

The origin of these cookies is a little bit confusing, some says it comes from Germany, others form the US area from New England, the certain thing for me is they taste lovely and is a good snack for Christmas seasson, I use to associate this spice to the holidays are coming. If you like this type of cookie you can have a look to these cookies, which are a kind of variation of them, and  are often referred as sugar cookies.

Snickerdoodles Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies
220g all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
200g sugar
110g unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 170° and line a tray with baking paper

Sift the flour, the salt, the cinnamon, nutmeg and the baking powder, set aside. In a large bowl combine the sugar and the butter with an electric mixer, add the egg and the vanilla and mix until creamy. Add the sifted ingredients graduatlly and mix until combined.
Mix the cinnamon and the sugar in a bowl.
Shape the dough into a ball (like a nut size), roll them in the cinnamon sugar and place them on the tray, make sure you leave about 7 cm in between each other. Gently flatten the balls.
Bake them about 8-10 minutes, until they are light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them on the tray for 2 minutes and  before transfering on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container. 

By the way you can have a look already to the new magazine of the Sweet Magazine, which is the magazine I'm collaborating in. This month you will find a large recipes and ideas for Christmas. I will start as well with Christmas stuff, today I'm expecting to decorate my home, what's about you? do you like Chrismtas?

Have a nice week ♥