Monthly Archives: December 2012

DOUBLE COCONUT MACAROONS

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Wishing you a zombie Christmas?

Having your picture taken with Santa can be a scary experience for kids.  This is because  strangers sweating in rented costumes are creepy.  But the Santa in this vintage photo I found on ebay takes creepy to a whole new level.  What’s with the mask?  I thought Santa was supposed to have twinkling eyes, not a blank zombie stare:

Little Johnny, in his sweet little cowboy plumber outfit, has apparently already succumbed to zombie Santa’s powers:

While little Susie is trying to resist:

Shhh, dolly.  Look away — don’t make eye contact!

Here’s another creepy masked Santa photo from ebay (for those of you familiar with Boy Scouts, this picture suggests that sometimes even 2-deep leadership might not be enough):

 World’s worst Eagle scout project

In fairness, Santa does not have a lock on the “sweaty adults in rented  costumes scaring kids” thing.  My kids have had the bejeebers scared out of them by grownups dressed up as Teletubbies, the Easter bunny, Power Puff Girls, and Spiderman, to name a few.  And,  of course, clowns.  But no one instilled more fear in my son when he was little than Chuck E. Cheese — the giant unloveable rat.

I don’t know that my kids ever really believed in Santa, or the tooth fairy, or the Easter bunny, but they did enjoy the rituals associated with them.  Even though they’re teenagers now, we’ll still leave out a plate of cookies, just in case a sweaty guy in a rented costume swings by with a few gifts.  Inspired by these photos of men trying to make Christmas just  a little more magical, I am leaving Santa Double Coconut Macaroons this year.  If you like coconut, these are really good.  The recipe originally came from Bon Appetit in 1994.  The recipe only makes around a dozen macaroons, so I recommend doubling the recipe if you are expecting more than one Santa.

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DOUBLE COCONUT MACAROONS
Author: 
Recipe type: Cookies
 
Ingredients
  • 2 7-ounce packages sweetened flaked coconut
  • ⅔ cup packed powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup canned cream of coconut
  • 1 ounce cream cheese, softened
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 egg white
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • Pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Place one 7-ounce package of coconut and powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse until coconut is finely chopped and mixture is moist. Add cream of coconut, cream cheese, flour, egg white, vanilla, and salt, and process until well blended. Transfer dough to a medium bowl.
  3. Place remaining coconut in a pie plate or shallow bowl. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into coconut and roll to coat completely. Using the palms of your hands, gently roll dough into balls about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Place macaroons on a greased baking sheet, and bake until golden brown and just firm to touch, approximately 35 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.
  4. Makes about 2 dozen
  5. Optional: Place ½ pound of chopped bittersweet or dark chocolate in a bowl and melt in microwave, heating in 30-second intervals and stirring until smooth. Spread melted chocolate on bottom of cookie. Place cookie, chocolate side up, on a large baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Repeat with remaining cookies. Refrigerate until chocolate sets, approximately 15-30 minutes.

 

 Fluffy coconut snowballs ready to go in the oven

 Toasty!

 A little chocolate never hurts

  •  Merry Christmas Santa!

PEPPERMINT POPCORN MARSHMALLOW BARK

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I found these cute little peppermint marshmallows at the grocery store last week:

I had a recipe for Peppermint Popcorn Bark that I had been wanting to try, and these seemed like they would be a fun addition.  The end result was a pepperminty, pretty-in-pink holiday treat, that, like Jiffy Pop, was as much fun to make as it was to eat.  (Well, sort of.)

A few tips —

1.  For best results, don’t use microwave popcorn.  Make 2 batches of popcorn — for each pop 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, following package directions.

2.  I used 11 6″ candy canes.  To crush them, put them in a large ziploc bag, place on a towel, and crush with a mallet or rolling pin.

3.  Look for peppermint oil–not peppermint extract–in the baking aisle.  Extract will cause the almond bark to seize up, and it will get clumpy and not look very nice.  The peppermint oil won’t do that, and the melted almond bark will be smooth and creamy, easier to work with, and look prettier.


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PEPPERMINT POPCORN MARSHMALLOW BARK
Author: 
Recipe type: Snacks
 
Ingredients
  • 16 cups popped popcorn
  • 1 pound almond bark or white chocolate chips
  • 6 ounces candy canes, finely crushed
  • ¼ teaspoon peppermint oil
  • 2 cups peppermint mini marshmallows
  • ¾ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Place popcorn in a large mixing bowl. Place almond bark or white chocolate chips in a medium bowl and melt in microwave, heating in 30-second intervals and stirring until smooth. Stir in peppermint oil, and pour over popcorn. Add crushed candy canes and marshmallows, and stir until popcorn is evenly coated. Spread popcorn out on 2 large baking sheets.
  2. Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and melt in microwave, heating in 30-second intervals and stirring until smooth. Using a spoon, drizzle melted chocolate over popcorn. Let sit until chocolate and almond bark have hardened (if possible, place in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to speed this step up). When the chocolate and almond bark have hardened, break up popcorn into chunks.

Waiting for its chocolate drizzle

 Now it’s ready!

All dressed up with some place to go