Jamie Oliver's Mincemeat Palmiers

Do you need to come up with something truly elegant in a hurry? These palmiers fit the bill perfectly. Make them ahead of time and stick the roll in the freezer; slice and bake when you need them. These won't take 10 minutes to make as practically everything comes in a jar or from the freezer. Jamie adds some fresh orange rind, nuts and a dash of brandy to the bottled mincemeat to brighten it up. I love the idea and they are full of all the yummy flavors of Christmas. With a glass of wine or sherry, you've got the perfect little treat. 

Jamie Oliver's Mincemeat Palmiers
Adapted from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients:
zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1 piece stem ginger (from a jar), finely chopped ( I omitted)
1 1/2 cups mincemeat (I used Crosse & Blackwell)
1 splash brandy
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator overnight
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 bottle Pedro Ximénez or other sweet sherry, to serve 

Method:
In a bowl, mix the orange zest, chopped pecans and stem ginger into the mincemeat, then add a splash of brandy. Set aside. 
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. 
Lay the pastry on a clean work surface, very lightly floured, with a short edge facing you. Spread thinly and evenly with the mincemeat mixture, leaving a 1 inch border around the pastry. Brush the pastry border with a little beaten egg. Then, working from the short ends, fold each end halfway to the center. Then fold each side again toward the center until the folded edges almost touch. Fold one side over the other and press lightly. Wrap in wax paper or cling film and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up. (Or freeze)

Unwrap the pastry and cut off and discard the ends to make it neat. Slice into 24 rounds, then lightly flatten each one. Transfer to 2 non-stick baking sheets, spaced apart. Bake in the oven for 15–18 minutes, until cooked through, puffed and golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool. 

Gingerbread Biscotti

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'll be thinking of you all, slaving away in the kitchen while we're eating out at our favorite restaurant. I'm being catered to this year instead of catering for. I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

I hope you're not being affected by the big storm crossing the country...we're expecting lots of rain and cooler weather, but South Florida pretty much gets a miss. It's travel that affects us...I'm hoping my daughter gets down from NYC without huge delays.
And then you know what follows Thanksgiving: Black Friday. I'd do anything to avoid it, but when my daughter comes home to visit, it's almost the only time she has to shop. I am NOT looking forward to it. 

So....do you have time for some gingerbread recipes?  I got carried away with a gingerbread theme this year and made three different gingerbread-type recipes, all in one day! LOL.
Here's the first: Gingerbread Biscotti. These biscotti are delicious fun to serve with eggnog, coffee or just plain milk. Easy to make too. Don't you love the smell of gingerbread in the house? Better even than bread!

Gingerbread Biscotti 
Jillianpie via Epicurious

Ingredients:

1/4 C butter

3/4 C packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/4 C molasses

2 1/2 C all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 C macadamia nuts

White chocolate

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl beat together butter and sugar until there are no lumps of sugar. Beat in the eggs, then blend in the molasses. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Blend until smooth. Fold in the almonds (and candied ginger if using).

Divide the dough in half onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Spray your hands generously with nonstick spray (dough will be sticky) and form each half into a log about three or four inches wide and one inch high. Place them two inches apart. Bake dough for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Cool logs for 10 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut each log into one-half-inch slices. Place the slices cut-side down on baking sheet and return to oven to toast. Remove after 10 minutes and flip all of the cookies over. Toast an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Optional white chocolate coating: Melt coating or white chocolate chips according to package directions. Dip cookies halfway into coating, or use a spoon to drizzle quickly back and forth. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint before the chocolate has set. Let set completely before storing.

Aromatic Seed Cookies

These lovely cookies are another recipe from Gayle's new eCookbook. She describes them as reminding her of Indian Mukhwas, an after-meal digestive and mouth freshener. Don't let the description of mouth freshener throw you off.  :) Not so. These cookies are very delicate and somewhat mysterious in flavor. Quite mild and an absolute delight with tea. They will also be a unique addition to your holiday cookie tray.

Aromatic Seed Cookies
From The Global Pastry Table by Gayle Gonzales

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons unsalted cold butter
 2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:
Place flour, sugar, almonds, all three seeds and salt into food processor. Process until almonds are finely ground. Add diced cold butter and process 15 seconds. 
Whisk the yolks and vanilla together and add. Process 15 seconds or until dough hold together when pinched.
Place dough on wax paper and press flat. Cover with another piece of wax paper and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Slide onto baking sheet and chill.
Preheat oven to 325. 
Line baking sheets with parchment. Cut cookies into squares and bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating sheets half way. They should be a light golden  brown. They're delicate, so cool them right on the parchment.