How you doin’? I’m a real “cookie monster!” I love my icebox cookies. Icebox cookies, also known as refrigerator cookies, are slice-and-bake cookies. The dough is formed into a log, chilled in the refrigerator (also known as an icebox), and then sliced into rounds before baking. Ice box cookies are short… mostly flour, sugar and butter. A short cookie is crisp and buttery like a piece of Walker’s Scottish short bread… yum.
 
There are hundreds of recipes for Icebox Cookies. Recipes come in all flavors, ranging from chocolate to vanilla, lemon, orange, etc. By alternating colors and flavors of dough, usually chocolate and vanilla, cookies can be made with patterns, such as checkerboards or pinwheels.
 
By exchanging the lemon zest for orange zest, the lemon juice for frozen orange juice concentrate and the pecans for poppy seeds you can make great Orange-Poppy Seed icebox cookies.
 
Icebox cookies are a great prepare-ahead-of-time dough because it can be kept refrigerated for 3 days in a form or other shape, or frozen for a month or so. Then, cookie dough can be cut and baked at any time, even if directly from the freezer.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  10 to 12 minutes
Chill time:  1 hour
Yield: 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoon lemon zest (use a micro-plane, if you have one)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
 
Directions

1. Thoroughly cream the butter and sugar together. 
2. Add the egg, lemon zest and lemon juice; beat well. 
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture, mixing well.
4. Stir in the pecans. 
5. Shape the dough into rolls 2 inches in diameter.  Chill thoroughly.
6. Preheat oven to 325⁰F. 
7. Slice the cookie dough very thin and place on ungreased cookie sheets. 
8. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. 
   
9. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

ChefSecret:  You may be asking yourself, why do all Ed’s recipes call for kosher salt? The main difference between regular salt and kosher salt is the structure of the flakes. Chefs find that kosher salt, due to its large flake size, is easier to pick up with your fingers and spread over food. Kosher salt is also less likely to contain additives like anti-caking agents and iodine.

Special Note:  We actually had a real ice box in a rental vacation cabin at Big Bear Lake, California. Every morning around 8 o’clock the ice man cometh (really, he did) so we could keep things chilled another day.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  The World Health Organization announced that dogs cannot contract COVID-19. Dogs previously held in quarantine can now be released. To be clear, WHO let the dogs out.
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com.  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. We have added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. 
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Here is wishing you the very best for the upcoming holidays. To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind welcoming in the holiday season. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thank you for reading.

#ThanksgivingRecipes #Thanksgiving #HolidayRecipes #ChristmasCookies #LemonPecanIceBoxCookies #Dessert #Snack #Holidays2020 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                      ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

How you doin’? If you grew up in the Los Angeles Area you would know that many of the “cafeteria ladies” were great cooks. On more than one occasion, I asked my mother to go to the school and ask Miss Margaret for one of her recipes. She made great southern biscuits, fantastic jumbo cinnamon buns, the best mac ‘n cheese and fantastic Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Coffee Cake.
 
Nothing was a frozen, prepared food—everything was scratch-made from USDA American-grown surplus. These surplus foods included all-purpose flour, cheddar cheese, sour cream, corn and more. This allowed the farmers to keep price supports in the market for their products. It was a bonanza for school districts and the kids loved the food that was prepared.
 
I can’t claim my Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Coffee Cake to be historically accurate, but it’s darn close and, to my memory of taste. It is right on with all the 1950’s recipes of the time that I was able to find on the internet. This is the perfect recipe for holiday mornings when this freshly baked Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Coffee Cake can be the star of the morning or holiday buffet table.
 
Prep time:  30 minutes
Bake time:  1 hour 10 minutes
Yield:  8 to 10 servings
 
Ingredients
 
For the streusel
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 packed tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 
For the cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
3/4 cup unsalted butter, plus more for the pan, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
 
Directions
To make the streusel

1. Make the streusel by fork-mixing the sugar, brown sugar, nuts, flour, butter, vanilla and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Set it aside.

To make the cake

1. Preheat an oven to 350⁰F.
2. Generously brush a 9 x 9 x 2-inch cake pan with butter.
3. In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and mace together and set it aside.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with an electric hand-held mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until very light and fluffy: about 5 minutes.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated.
   
6. Mix the vanilla with the sour cream. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts to the butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream mixture in 2 parts until just combined.
7. Spread half the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with half the streusel.
8. Spoon the remaining batter on top and spread it out with a spatula. Scatter the remaining streusel over the top of the batter.
9. Bake the coffee cake for 1 hour and about 10 minutes, or until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
10. Cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Epilogue:  Years later, I found out that Miss Margaret had retired and her husband had died leaving her quite alone. I invited her to spend Thanksgiving Day with my family. She was very talkative about her life. She had no children and loved to be with the kids at school. She learned to cook on her family’s farm in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. At 12 years of age she was helping her mother cook 3 meals a day for the family (of 8) and about 10 hired hands. She’d go to school for 4 hours and then collect the chickens' eggs, help milk the cows, and even do a little baking. She was quite a lady. Her husband worked at the McDonnel Aircraft factory in Long Beach during the World War II while her husband served in the Pacific with the Marines.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  “Due to the requirements to maintain a safe distance, I will no longer be shaking hands or hugging. In lieu of those established customs, you may politely bow or fall to your knees from a safe distance.”
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com.  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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Here is wishing you the very best for the upcoming holidays. To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind welcoming in the holiday season. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America.

#ThanksgivingRecipes #Thanksgiving #CoffeeCake #Streusel #ChristmasMorning #Dessert #Baking  #HolidayRecipes #Holidays2020 #Thankful #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                              ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

How you doin’? A couple of years ago we were asked to create a line of holiday gingerbread houses. We researched gingerbread houses, people and even Old Saint Nick himself to their origins. We learned the history and found quite a few good recipes as well. This is the recipe we went with.
 
Gingerbread cookies should not be just for the holiday; they are great to munch on all-year ‘round. Unfrosted gingerbread cookies can even be crushed and used for cookie crumb crusts for special cheesecakes.
 
The first documented commercial trade of gingerbread “biscuits” in England dates back to the 17th century, where they were sold in monasteries, pharmacies, and town square farmers' markets. In England, gingerbread was thought to have medicinal properties. They were kind of a rough crude cookie… nothing that would be acceptable in today’s market.
 
In the 16th century, the English had replaced the breadcrumbs with fine-milled flour, and added eggs and sweeteners, resulting in a lighter, tastier cookie. The first gingerbread “man” is credited to Queen Elizabeth I, who surprised visiting dignitaries by presenting them with gingerbread men baked and decorated in their own likeness. Then she would bite their heads off—only kidding.  Just checking to see if you’re paying attention.
 
In the story the Gingerbread Man, he springs out of the oven alive and is transformed from a piece of gingerbread to a live, gingerbread man. Thus, an inanimate object springs to life, signaling the desire the woman has for a child. Awww… isn’t that cute?
 
Moving right along… Gingerbread Houses originated in Germany during the 16th century. The elaborate cookie-walled houses, decorated with foil in addition to gold leaf, became associated with Christmas tradition. It is unclear whether gingerbread houses were a result of the popular fairy tale, or vice versa.
 
Gingerbread houses are quite edible, and absolutely delicious. You have to eat it, because it will turn moldy and lose its flavor the older it gets. That is, unless you're participating in a contest, in which case eating the house would be ill-advised until you receive your prize!
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
Chill time:  3 hours
Bake time:  10 to 12 minutes
Decorating time:  allow 30 to 60 minutes
Yield: 2 dozen cookies
 
For the cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light molasses (room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup hot water
 
For the icing
2 cups powdered sugar
6 to 7 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
 
To bake the cookies

1. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, ginger and salt; set aside. 
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, then the molasses. 
3. In a cup, dissolve the baking soda in the hot water. 
4. In alternating steps add the flour mixture and dissolved baking soda to the molasses mixture; begin with the flour and end with the baking soda. 
5. When a medium-firm dough has formed, (one that feels firm to the touch and yet rolls out easily), cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 350⁰F and grease your cookie sheets.
7. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and turn onto a floured surface.  Using a small portion at a time, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. 
8. Cut out the dough with a cookie cutter.
9. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. 
10. Bake the cookies until lightly browned about 10 to 12 minutes.
11. Remove the cookies from oven and let them cool about 3 minutes on the cookie sheet.  Then lift them onto wire racks to finish cooling.

To make the frosting

1. Add the cream or milk, a little at a time, to powdered sugar to make a good spreading consistency. 
2. Divide the frosting into separate dishes and tint with food coloring in the colors you want to decorate with.
3. When the cookies are thoroughly cooled, spoon the frosting into a pastry bags fitted with a small nozzles and pipe on eyes, boots, suits, and hair.
4. Let the frosting harden completely before storage. 
5. Store the cookies in an airtight container until ready to devour.

ChefSecret:  Handle the dough as little as possible and work quickly so the warmth of your hands doesn't soften it too much. 

Special Note:  If making Mr. or Mrs. Claus gingerbread cookies, the colors will be red and black for suits, hats and eyes. Leave majority of frosting white for beards, hair and fur.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  “Kids would be a lot cooler if every time they shouted “MOM,” it was followed by, “You’re Awesome,” “Thanks For Keeping Me Well-Fed,” “Thanks For Home Schooling Me During These Difficult Times,” “Thanks For Keeping Me Alive!” Just kind of dreaming, I guess.
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com.  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. We have added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. 
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Here is wishing you the very best for the upcoming holidays. To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind welcoming in the holiday season. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thank you for reading.

#ThanksgivingRecipes #Thanksgiving #Gingerbread #GingerbreadMen #GingerbreadPeople #Dessert #Cookies #HolidayRecipes #Holidays2020 #Thankful #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                               ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

 How you doin’? Are you in a quandary? Do you want to bake a pumpkin pie or pecan pie for Thanksgiving? Do you want to make both? Decisions, decisions, decisions! What’s a person to do?
 
With this recipe you can have the best of both worlds and please everyone seated at the dinner table. This recipe offers a little bit of each—a wonderful custardy pumpkin base crown with baked golden pecans. Sprinkle a little granulate sugar on top of the pecans just when you put the pie in the oven.
 
If you don’t have a favorite pie crust curst recipe, use mine—it’s perfect!
 
Prep time:  15 minutes, plus the crust time
Bake time:  50 minutes
Cool time:  60 minutes
Yield:  One 9” Pie / 6 to 8 servings
 
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree (not canned pie filling)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1-1/4 cups milk
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1-1/2 cups pecan halves
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 9-Inch unbaked pastry shell (see recipe below)
 
Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400⁰F. 
2. Thoroughly combine the pumpkin, sugar, salt and the spices. 
3. Blend in the beaten eggs, milk and evaporated milk. 
4. Pour into the unbaked pastry shell (have edges crimped high because amount of filling is generous). 
5. Artfully arrange the pecan halves carefully on top of filling.
6. Sprinkle the pecans with a tablespoon of granulated sugar.
7. Bake the pie for 50 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and outside edge comes out clean. 
8. Cool before serving.

ChefSecret:  At this time of year, you can usually find a Pumpkin Pie spice already premixed in the spice section of your supermarket. Just use 1 tablespoon of the premix and forget the rest of the spices listed above.
 
                                                    Ed’s Perfect Pie Crust
                              © Ed Engoron, Choclatique-150 simply Elegant Desserts, Running Press, 2011
 
Prep time: 10 minutes
Yield: Makes One 9-Inch Double-Crust Pie (enough for two single-crusted pies)
 
Ingredients
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut in 1/2-inch pieces (for an extra flaky crust you can use lard)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons very cold water
 
Directions

1. Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse briefly to combine.
2. Add the butter and shortening; pulse just until coarse crumbs form, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the lemon juice and water. Pulse just until moist crumbs form.
4. Turn the dough onto a work surface and gently shape it into two equal disks about 4 or 5 inches in diameter.
5. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour of up to 1 day.
6. For a one-crust pie:
7. Roll one disk of dough between two large pieces of lightly floured parchment. 
8. Roll into a 14-inch-diameter round that’s 1/8 inch thick. Remove the top sheet of parchment. 
9. Gently roll the dough around the pin and position the pin over the pie pan. 
10. Unroll, gently easing the dough into the pan. Gently but firmly press the dough against the sides and bottom, taking care not to pull or stretch. 
11. With scissors, trim the edge of the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch margin from the outer edge of the pan. Tuck this dough under to shape a high edge crust that rests on top of the rim. Pinch and crimp.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  “My husband purchased a world map and then gave me a dart and said, “Throw this and wherever it lands—that’s where I’m taking you when this pandemic ends.” Turns out, we’re spending two weeks behind the fridge. I’ve got to learn to get better at darts!”
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com.  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. We have added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. 
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Here is wishing you the very best for the upcoming holidays. To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind welcoming in the holiday season. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

#ThanksgivingRecipe #Thanksgiving #Dessert #Pie #PumpkinPie #PecanPie #HolidayRecipes #Holidays2020 #Thankful #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                            ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

How you doin’? The end of the year is not only about apple and pumpkin pies… many of us love cheesecakes and frozen pies that don’t easily lend themselves to rolled out pastry crusts. As a Consumer Research Food & Restaurant Consultant, I suggest to our friends and clients that they might want to prepare a crushed crumb crust. The most recognizable is a graham cracker crust, most commonly used for cheesecakes.
 
These crushed crumb crusts are not only perfect for cheesecakes, but also key lime pies, cream pies, ice cream pies and frozen pies all of which call for tender crumb crusts made of crushed crackers, wafers or cookies instead of rolled pastry dough crusts to hold the fillings. Below are two of my favorites that work for a variety of fillings—Graham Cracker Crumb Crust and Salty Peanut-Pretzel Crumb Crust. Marry these two crusts up with your favorite filling. After baking, these two crusts also work well with any Instant Pot prepared pie.
 
                                          Graham Cracker Crumb Crust
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 15 graham crackers)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
 
Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350⁰ F.
2. Break the graham crackers into smaller pieces. Using a food processor, pulse in short bursts until you've got coarse crumbs. (You can always do it the old-fashioned way by putting the graham cracker pieces in a large, heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Leave a small opening in the top of the bag to allow air to escape. Using a little pressure, roll a rolling pin over the plastic bag. Continue rolling the pin over the bag until the cookies are broken into coarse crumbs).
3. Add the sugars, cinnamon and salt to the food processor bowl and pulse, followed by the melted butter, pulse again. Adding a bit of salt enhances the sweet flavor of the crumb crust. (if you’re not working with a food processor, work the butter into the crumbs with a wooden spoon or your hands until the butter is evenly distributed.
4. Deposit the crumb mixture into a 9-inch springform pan or pie pan; there's no need to grease the pan.
5. Use your hands or a flat-bottomed glass to press the mixture evenly into the bottom and sides (if desired) of the pan. To avoid crumbs getting into the filling, press firmly to ensure the crust is well compacted.
6. Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes.
7. Let it cool completely before adding the filling.

ChefSecret: Graham cracker is the standard, but you can use shortbread, chocolate cookies (Oreos), chocolate wafers, vanilla wafers, gingersnaps (I love ginger snaps), pretzels, cereal, or nuts, too—the basic method will stay the same.
 
                                       Salty Peanut-Pretzel Crumb Crust
Ingredients
2 cups mini pretzels
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons roasted, salted peanuts
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
 
Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350⁰F.
2. Add pretzels, peanuts and brown sugar to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until the mixture resembles very coarse sand with a few larger pieces remaining.
3. Pulse in the butter until well combined.
4. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
5. Bake the crust until light golden and fragrant, about 6 to 8 minutes.
6. Set pans on a rack to cool completely before filling.

 
Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  “I’ve had a lot of things to think about over the last 6 months.  One is, if a speech impaired child signs swear words, does his mother have to wash his hands with soap?”
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com.  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—that’s the American way.  If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

#Dessert #Baking #Crust #Cheesecake #Pie #GrahamCrackers #Peanuts #Pretzels #NPB  #NationalPeanutBoard #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                               ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020