Sausage Cheddar Breakfast Cookies

This is another one of those posts that includes 2 recipes in one.  Not only do you get the cookies, but traditional sausage balls as they’re known in their original form.  Be excited!!

Over the years, some of my favorite Christmas memories include the things that happen in the morning on Christmas day.  Nothing ever could beat the feeling of waking bright and early with sleep (restless sleep at that) still in my eyes and head, and wearing my Christmas PJ’s out into the living room to find our tree, towering and twinkling, protruding from the mount of offerings left by the mysterious jolly elf clad in red and white.  My sister and I could hardly ever prevent ourselves from at least tearing into the stockings before breakfast and the recitation of the Christmas Story.  And Breakfast.  That was one of the things I remember most, because the smells would enthrone our whole house, and it was the one time during the year when we got to eat breakfast casserole.  And this wasn’t the only thing we would eat all day, by a long shot.  There was a fountain of candy that seemed to have sprung from a well deep somewhere underneath our house that probably ran through a pipeline all the way up to the North Pole.  And the Christmas cookies, which Mom had spent weeks making (and making us help her make), which explained why we had to annex the downstairs freezer just to hold all the overflow. And then Christmas dinner.  And dessert. And leftovers.

My wife had traditions too, which often included many of these same things.  I get to experience some of those this year, as we’re spending Christmas with her dad for the first time since we got married.  For her, though, one of the things she loved best was sausage balls.  I understand why, because it’s like if breakfast and finger foods had a baby, that’s what you would get.  And finger foods are great, because you can eat one at a time until you can’t.  And then you wonder how you got so full, because you only had one at a time, and it seemed like you hadn’t eaten that many (plus when you eat things one-at-a-time, the calories don’t count).  We’ve all been there, and continue to go there every holiday season from football season until after the New Year.  By the way, cookies work the same way.  Her dad has his own way of making sausage balls, and they’re pretty great, I have to say.  It’s also pretty easy, and all you have to do is mix it well, form it into balls on a baking sheet, and bake it for 15-17 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.  This is his recipe.

• 2 C. Pioneer Brand baking mix (same as Bisquick, to my knowledge)
• 1 lb. hot ground sausage (unbrowned)
• 1 lb. block extra-sharp Cracker Barrel brand cheddar cheese, grated by hand

So, here’s my rendition of a favorite from both my childhood and my wife’s– it’s a nod to not only the classic sausage balls, but also the sausage breakfast casserole and the endless varieties of Christmas cookies that herald the holiday season every year.  They’re great for an office party, a tailgate or Superbowl party, or to share with your family on Christmas morning.  Also, this recipe yields about 4 dozen cookies.  This is a much doughier recipe than my father-in-law’s, which allows for a more cookie-like outcome.

• 1 lb. Bob Evan’s spicy ground pork sausage (browned and drained)
• 3 C. Bisquick baking mix
• 1 lb. block extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated by hand (got mine at Trader Joe’s)
• 1 can Campbell’s cream of chicken soup
• 1 can milk
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Brown the sausage and drain off the fat.
3. Mix the Bisquick, milk, soup, paprika and salt together.
4. Fold in the sausage and cheese.
5. Onto a greased cookie sheet, drop about 1 1/2 tbs. of the dough in rows about 1 inch or so apart.
6. Bake in batches for about 25 minutes, until they begin to brown lightly on top.

NOTES:

You may opt to buy mild sausage when you’re looking at the many varieties of sausage options in the store.  Let me give you fair warning, though.  You’ll probably be sorry if you buy mild sausage, because it yields a pretty bland result.  The nice thing about sausage balls is that they have a little bit of a kick and a really nice flavor as a result of the spices in the sausage.  You’re going to want that in these cookies, too.  Also, note that included in both recipes is a 1 lb. block of extra-sharp cheddar.  My father-in-law used the Cracker Barrel brand, which may not be available everywhere.  The reason, though, that it needs to be in block-form is that pre-shredded cheese has less oil in it than the block does.  Also, pre-shredded cheese typically has a little bit of corn starch in it that keeps the shreds from sticking together and keeps it dry inside the package.  These are not qualities you want in these sausage balls/cookies.  Do yourself a favor and shred the cheddar by hand.

Eggnog & Rum Caramels

Here’s a new one.  I’m pretty excited about these, particularly since I just recently ventured into the world of boiling sugar, and this is an accomplishment for me.  I was always kind of scared to try to make any kind of candy, because I knew I would inevitably screw it up.  It just seemed intimidating.  Then, because of the world of Pinterest, I stumbled across “Apple Cider Caramels” this fall, and went out and got a candy thermometer, because I HAD to make them.  Those turned out great and were a big hit at my Halloween party, so I got to thinking about what other flavors I could pair with caramel.

Eggnog goes with Christmas about as well as… any combination of two things that go together extremely well. I love it, and I always have to run and get some around mid-November when I can’t wait any longer before I start pulling out Christmas decorations and playing Christmas music (even though the radio hasn’t started playing it yet).  But what, besides Christmas, goes particularly well with eggnog? RUM.  …and nutmeg… of course.

I made a big ol’ batch of these and brought them to work, gave them to friends, and ate a bunch myself.  They were well-received, to say the least.  What better media to spread holiday cheer than eggnog caramels spiked with a little rum? 😉

• 2 C. eggnog, divided
• 1 stick of butter, cubed
• 2 C. white sugar
• 1/3 C. Karo light syrup (filled to the 1/2 C. mark with water)
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. rum extract
• 1/4 C. Captain Morgan’s spiced rum

AAAAAAND here’s how.

1. Stir together 1 C. eggnog, the nutmeg, cinnamon, rum and rum extract until well mixed.  Set aside.
2. Line an 8×8 baking dish with greased parchment paper (cooking or baking spray works well)–make sure the edges are covered– and set aside.
3. In a large pot, combine all other ingredients EXCEPT butter.  Stir and dissolve the sugar.
4. Continue to stir over medium heat until the temperature on the candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Remove the pot from heat, and slowly whisk in the mixture you had set aside.
6. Add the butter cubes and whisk in until all is combined.
7. Return to heat and continue cooking until the mixture reaches 248 degrees on the candy thermometer.
8. Immediately remove from heat and pour into the prepared baking dish.  If any of the candy remnants cool slightly inside the pot, they will be a different consistency than the rest of the candy and should not be added to the candy in the baking dish (yes, learned from experience).
9. Allow these to harden.  You can put them in the refrigerator if desired, though this is not necessary.  You can simply cover them and allow them to sit out overnight.
10. Cutting time!  If you refrigerated them, you’ll need to let them come down to room temperature, or they will be too hard to cut/ will shatter. Remove the caramels from the dish (the parchment liner should have made this pretty easy) and lay the parchment over a sturdy cutting board. With a long, sharp knife,  cut them into whatever size pieces you want.  I cut them into log shapes because that prevented me from having to wrap a million tiny pieces.
11. Cut a bunch of pieces of parchment to wrap your caramels in.  My batch yielded about 30 caramels the way I cut them.  When you wrap them, roll the parchment around the caramel and firmly pinch each end, twisting it away from you.  If you twist both ends in the same direction, you will be able to unwrap them by simply pulling each end.

Please enjoy these.  And not just by yourself, because that would be bad for your health, no matter how happy you were from all that caramel enjoyment.  Even more than all of that, Happy Holidays!

Russian Christmas Tea

So far as I have observed, “Russian Tea” as it is known may not even really be Russian at all, but I’m not going to spoil the illusion.  We, as Americans, have a way of making our strange American pastimes and traditions seem more special by foreignizing them in some way; take for instance, French fries. Just because they’re not really French doesn’t make me enjoy them any less.  Similarly, even though I hear Trans Siberian Orchestra (and cringe) roughly playing music that used to resemble Tchaikovsky’s at Christmastime, I don’t enjoy the Nutcracker any less. So, even though this Russian Christmas Tea is more than likely a product of American imagination than anything that hints at Russian, I enjoy it all the more every Christmas (and my entire family begs me to make it every year!).

Russian Tea has become colloquialized in the modern gift giving culture of Southeastern America (apparently), as a dry mix for use as an instant hot beverage consisting of instant tea, tang, lemonade powder, cinnamon, sugar, and cloves.  While I do cherish the idea of a homemade gift to share with those you appreciate, I feel this particular combination sort of falls short of its potential.

When you think of Christmas and everything you love about it, some of the things that come to mind are probably tastes and scents remembered from years long past.  That’s likely because the olefactory is one of the strongest sensory details in terms of memory.  When you smell something familiar, the mental image of the first time you smelled it is likely to follow.  When you recall the happy times of Christmas past, you may think of turkey.  Maybe cranberry, douglas fir, sugar cookies, gingerbread, orange clove with cinnamon, hot chocolate.  So think about it.  With all of these wonderfully aromatic scents and flavors, why would you choose to annihilate your potential of creating a delicious seasonal beverage by making it out of Tang and NesTea?

My solution?  Instead of making a big jar full of “fake tea,” make some big boy tea.  That’s the kind where you actually use some tea bags and hot water and make some tea.  Don’t use instant powders, because first off, they’re not good for you.  They’re loaded with “fake” stuff that was probably made in a factory (and not the olefactory, either).  My Russian Christmas Tea is made with black tea and mulling spices, then honey, brown sugar, oranges, and cranberry juice. Mulling spices, by the way, are often used around Christmas for various reasons– especially in the making of Wassail or hot mulled wine.  They consist of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.  Did I mention mulling any kind of liquid makes your house smell amazing?  Well, it does.  Especially when you combine the spices with orange and cranberry.  So, might I suggest, rather than giving a dry mix away as a gift, make a big ol’ pot of the good stuff.  Then, I guarantee people will want to come to your place on Christmas Eve just to get their mitts on a big ass mug of your tea.  Here’s what I use.

• 12 C. water
• 8 Tea Bags (Lipton or Luzianne)
• 1 can frozen cranberry juice concentrate
• Juice from 1 orange (navel are good in the winter, as well as seedless and sweet)
• Peel from 1/2 an orange
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 palm-full whole allspice
• 1 palm-full whole cloves
• 1/2 C. honey
• 1 C. white sugar

First, you’re going to want to bring the water almost to a boil in a rather large pot with the tea bags dangling in.  Medium-high heat should get you where you want to be.  Then, bring it down to an even simmer (low to medium-low), adding in the cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and orange peel.  Speaking of which, I was at Williams Sonoma the other day and ran across this little doodad… It’s a mulling ball.  I am sincerely considering picking one up so I don’t have to strain the bits out of my mulled cider and Christmas Tea anymore.  Anyway, allow this to steep for about 20-30 minutes.  My recommendation, though, is to only leave the orange peel in the mix for about 15-20 minutes, as the pith (white part) from the orange peel can tend to give off a somewhat sour or bitter flavor.  You also don’t have to keep the tea bags in for this entire time– once the tea reaches a decent darkness (use your best judgement) you can remove the bags.  Add in the remaining ingredients and allow it to simmer for another 15 minutes.  Grab a large pitcher or carafe, and pour it from the pot, through a fine sieve, and into the carafe.  Serve hot.

Merry Christmas!