The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays PLUS a Boozy Pudding Cake!

I can't wait to share this book with you today.  It's Ree's latest:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

The book is so beautiful that it's not with my cookbooks...it's on my coffee table. 

I think this holiday book may be my favorite.  Of course, I said that about Ree's last one and the one before that, but I really, really love this book.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays is divided up by, you guessed it, holidays.  You'll find recipes for Valentine's Day, Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve...and everything in between.  All total: 140 recipes, all presented in Ree's signature step-by-step style.

You know I went right for the dessert pages, right?

I don't know what this says about me, but this Halloween "Cheese Ball of Death" really speaks to me.  Any recipe that calls for a gummy tarantula has to be a winner.

Of course, you'll find lots of pictures of the ranch and cowboys.

Do you read cookbooks like novels?  Me, too.  I love those little intro parts before the recipes.  Well, Ree writes them like no other.  I had the best time reading through the book and hearing Ree's voice in my head.  (Does that sound weird?)

Anyway....stay tuned because Ree is giving away three, yes THREE, signed, yes SIGNED, copies of her book in just a bit.

Now, let me introduce you to a cake.  A boozy cake.  A boozy cake from Ree's book that is responsible for my extra three pounds this week.

I made Ree's cake, and *promised* myself that I would have just a sliver after taking the pictures.  You can see in one of the pictures that the first slice out was really small.  That was my slice.

THEN, I decided that you really couldn't see the beautiful, moist cake, so I sliced off another piece...this time a pretty big honkin' piece.

I took the pictures, stood (I didn't even bother sitting) over the table, and INHALED both pieces.  Inhaled, I tell you.

This cake in fantastic.  I'm not sure of it's the booze, or the brown sugar pecans on the top, or the one and a half sticks of butter that are melted and poured over the cake after it bakes, or what.  The combination of it all is magical.

[Note: the cake recipe calls for rum and I used Kahlua...did you know Kahlua is rum and coffee liqueur?  You do now!]


Christmas Rum Pudding Cake
{from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays}

Cake:
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 box yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 oz.) package vanilla cook-and-serve pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup dark rum (or Kahlua)

Glaze:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cups dark rum (or Kahlua)

Preheat oven to 325.  Thoroughly grease a Bundt pan.  Sprinkle the brown sugar and pecans in the bottom of the pan.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil, and rum.  Mix until smooth and totally combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

When the cake has about 10 minutes to go, make the glaze.  Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.  Then add the water and bring to a boil.  Boil for 4-5 minutes, or until thick.

Turn off the heat and add the rum.  Turn the heat back on and cook for 1 minute more.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

Use a skewer or toothpick to poke holes all over the surface of the cake.  Drizzle half of the glaze over the cake and down the sides.  Let it sit in the pan for 10-15 minutes, letting the glaze soak in.

Carefully invert the cake onto a serving platter.  Slowly drizzle the remainder of the glaze over the top, giving the cake a chance to absorb as much as possible.

Let the cake sit for a couple of hours to make sure it's really moist and rummy...or Kahlua-y in my case.

Eat.  Two pieces...while hovering over the table.  It's too good to waste time sitting, people.

Alright...who wants a SIGNED copy?  You do!!!  
 (Would this not be the BEST Christmas gift?!?)
 
To enter:  leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite holiday food tradition.

For an extra entry: leave a SEPARATE comment telling me if you've ever tried a recipe from Ree's blog, TV show, or cookbooks.

Entries accepted through 11:59CST, November 20th.  Good luck! :) 

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays...you're going to LOVE it!!!

Two cool gals...in cookie form.

I told you if I did all of the saint cookies in one post it would be 5 miles long.  So, here is part two of the all saints' cookie tutorial...

...St.Therese of Lisieux and St. Brigid of Ireland.

All of the saint cookies were inspired by these felt dolls from Saintly Silver. 

The cookies start by baking two shapes together to form one.  For these sweet ladies, I used candy corn and circle cookie cutters.  Place the cut-out shapes next to each other on the cookie sheet before baking and they will bake together to form one cookie. (I like to freeze the shapes for 5-10 minutes before baking to prevent spreading.)

To make them, you'll need:

• cut-out cookies, as described above
  
• royal icing, divided and tinted with AmeriColor  Copper, Chocolate Brown, Ivory, Deep Pink, Soft Pink, Leaf Green, Super Black, and Bright White
• disposable icing bags
• couplers and tips, #2, #3 & #1
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks
• pink food coloring pen

Use a #2 tip to outline a circle for the face in copper icing.  (You can see the start of St. Michael here, also.)

Thin the copper icing with water, a bit at a time, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  You'll want to drop a "ribbon" of icing back into the bowl and have it disappear in a count of "one thousand one, one thousand two." Four is too thick, one is too thin.  Count of 2-3 is good.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a silicone spatula to pop and large air bubbles that have formed.  Pour into a squeeze bottles.

Flood the face portion of the cookies with the thinned icing, using a toothpick to guide to the edges and to pop large air bubbles.

Let the icing dry at least one hour.

Use #2 tips to outline the remainder of the cookie.

I used Ivory for the base of St. Therese's cookie...

...and Chocolate Brown for the base of St. Brigid's.

Thin and flood the outlined areas as described above.

Let the cookies dry at least one hour.

Add piped detail on the veils and collars with a #2 tip.

For St. Therese, use a #3 tip to add three roses in the darker pink.  Use a #1 tip to pipe a swirl in the lighter pink on top.  Use a #2 tip to pipe the cross in brown icing.

For St. Brigid, use a #1 tip to add a St. Brigid's cross in green icing (I'm sure yours will be prettier than mine.)

Use a #1 tip to pipe eyes and a mouth on each.

Let the cookies dry uncovered 6-8 hours, or overnight.

The next day, use a pink food coloring pen to add rosy cheeks. (Warning: do not try this until the icing is COMPLETELY dry.)

Ta-da!  The next tutorials will include St. Cecilia and St. Francis of Assisi.  Yay, saints!  

See all of the saints in this set here.
St. Michael cookie tutorial
St. Francis and St. Cecilia cookie tutorials

Bring on the boots, sweaters, scarves...and cookies!

A cold front came through H-town this afternoon.
(H-Town...not to be confused with Big D or ATX.) 

Would you laugh if I told you that our high tomorrow will be a *chilly* 66 degrees and I'm already planning to bundle up in jeans, boots, and a scarf?  I mean, really...the temperature will be exactly the same as inside our local Target store.  But most days, I do need a sweater in Target.  Maybe that's why I have such a collection of Merona cardigans.

Anyway...the weather makes me want to decorate pumpkin and acorn cookies all day.  (While wearing boots and a scarf, of course.)

Here is the pumpkin how-to.  The acorns are made using the same basic method.  For those, I used two shades of AmeriColor Chocolate Brown food coloring.

To make the pumpkins, you'll need:

• pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies
• royal icing, tinted with AmeriColor orange, a darker orange (I used electric orange mixed with super red), chocolate brown and green
• disposable icing bags
• tips: #2 (and/or #1)
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks

Use a #2 tip to outline the pumpkin shape in orange.

Thin the both shades of orange and the brown icings with water, a bit at a time, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  You'll want to drop a "ribbon" of icing back into the bowl and have it disappear in a count of "one thousand one, one thousand two." Four is too thick, one is too thin.  Count of 2-3 is good.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a silicone spatula to pop and large air bubbles that have formed.  Pour into a squeeze bottles.

Working about 6 cookies at a time, fill (flood) the pumpkin with the thinned orange icing.  Use a toothpick to guide to edges and pop and large air bubbles that have formed.

Starting with the first cookie flooded, drop lines of the thinned darker orange icing on top of the wet orange icing to make the pumpkin "ridges."

Repeat the process with the thinned brown icing.

Let the cookies sit for at least 1 hour.

Use a #1 or #2 tip to pipe on a stem and vine.  I like the stem piped rather than flooded to give it some texture.

Let dry 6-8 hours, or overnight. (Keep in mind that the colors will deepen as they dry.)

Fall, I am officially smitten with you. 

{Portions of this post were originally published on 11-03-11.}

St. Michael the Archangel (and Cookie)...decorating tutorial

It all started with a sketch...

No, wait.  It all started with the designs from these felt dolls.  Then, the sketch.

Today, I'm going to walk you through the making of the St. Michael cookie.
(You can see all of the saint cookies here.)

The cookie shape was made by combining a candy corn shape and the wings off of an angel cookie shape (upside-down).  Place the cut-out shapes next to each other on the cookie sheet before baking and they will bake together to form one cookie. (I like to freeze the shapes for 5-10 minutes before baking to prevent spreading.)

{Don't you think this shape would make a super cute rocket, too?!?!}

To decorate the St. Michael cookies, you'll need:

• cut-out cookies, as described above
  
• royal icing, divided and tinted with AmeriColor  Copper, Chocolate Brown, Super Black (also into light grey & dark grey), Egg Yellow, and Bright White
• disposable icing bags
• couplers and tips, #2 & #1
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks
• pink food coloring pen

Use a #2 tip to outline a circle for the face in copper icing.

Reserve some of this piping consistency copper icing for adding details later.

Thin the copper icing with water, a bit at a time, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  You'll want to drop a "ribbon" of icing back into the bowl and have it disappear in a count of "one thousand one, one thousand two." Four is too thick, one is too thin.  Count of 2-3 is good.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a silicone spatula to pop and large air bubbles that have formed.  Pour into a squeeze bottles.

Flood the face portion of the cookies with the thinned icing, using a toothpick to guide to the edges and to pop large air bubbles.

Use #2 tips to outline the remainder of the cookie.  Use yellow for the sleeves, dark grey for the hood, light grey for the body, and white for the wings.

Thin and flood the outlined areas as described above.  (You can see that I flooded the wings and sleeves after piping the hair outline.  Either way is ok.)

Let the cookies dry at least one hour.

Use a #2 tip to pipe the hair outline in brown icing.  Reserve some of this icing for later.

Thin the brown icing as described above and flood in the hair outline.

Follow the same method for outlining and flooding the arms.  Add piped detail on the hair, wings, and sleeves.

Use a #2 tip to pipe the sword handle with brown icing.  Use another #2 tip to pipe the sword.

Use a #1 tip to pipe eyes and a mouth.

Let the cookies dry uncovered 6-8 hours, or overnight.

The next day, use a pink food coloring pen to add rosy cheeks. (Warning: do not try this until the icing is COMPLETELY dry.)

The cookie looks just like the saint card in the picture, don't ya think? ;)

See all of the saints in this set here.
St. Francis and St. Cecilia cookie tutorials
St. Therese and St. Brigid cookie tutorials

Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In....

Happy All Saints' Day!!!  

Ever since making these cookies for All Saints' Day a few year ago, I've wanted to try my hand at making actual saint cookies...piped and flooded without using images printed on frosting sheets.

Three years later, here we are.  Finally.  Is it sad that I've been wanting to make something like this and it's taken me THREE YEARS to do so?  Yes, yes it is.

OK...first let me say that these designs come from one of my favorite etsy shops, Saintly Silver.  The owner makes felt saint dolls and they are the cutest little things ever. (PS: she's booked through Christmas already, so put your orders in for next year early.)

Here are some of her pieces from her sold page.  So, you can see the cookie inspiration comes directly from her.  I love that they're so beautiful, but still really simple.  You guys know how much I love simple.

For the cookies I chose a few saints:

St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and his feast day just happens to be on my birthday.

St. Therese of Lisieux, also know as the Little Flower.  Patron saint of missions.

St. Cecilia, patron saint of music.  I always think of my sister the music major when I think of St. Cecilia.  (And, I just realized I've been spelling it "Cecelia" all these years.)

St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of grocers and police officers.  I love that grocers have a patron saint.

St. Brigid (or Bridget) of Ireland, how could I make saint cookies without a St. Brigid?  Her cookie was not my favorite since I messed up her cross, but this poem attributed to her IS one of my favorites. ;) How can you not love a saint who writes about beer?

Because I don't want this post to be 2 miles long and contain over 30 pictures, I'll divide the how-to's up over the next few weeks.  In the meantime....Happy All Saints' Day!!! 

 Do you have a favorite saint? 

Tutorials:

St. Michael cookie tutorial

St. Francis and St. Cecilia cookie tutorials

St. Therese and St. Brigid cookie tutorials