Peanut Butter Rudolph Reindeer

Source: http://www.lhj.com/recipe/cookies/peanut-butter-rudolph-reindeer/

Yield: 48 cookies

Prep   40 minsBake  375°F   8 mins  to  10 minsStart to Finish  1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 3/4 cup peanut butter

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 48 large red M&M candies

• 96 mini semisweet chocolate chips

• Pretzels, broken into 96 1-inch pieces

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F and place rack in center. Grease two baking sheets. In a large mixer bowl beat together butter, peanut butter and sugars on medium speed until light, about 2 minutes. Add egg and extract; beat until combined. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until a dough forms. Roll into 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on prepared sheets.

2. Bake, one sheet at a time, until just set and bottoms are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. For each cookie, immediately place 1 M&M in center for nose, 2 chocolate chips for eyes and 2 pretzel pieces on top for antlers. Transfer cookies on sheets to a wire rack and let cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, in single layers separated by waxed paper, up to 2 days.)

Nutrition Facts

• cal.(kcal)80,
 
• Fat, total(g)5,
 
• chol.(mg)10,
 
• sat. fat(g)2,
 
• carb.(g)9,
 
• pro.(g)1,
• sodium(mg)101,
 
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Dough TIPS: Foolproof Pie Dough

Published September 1, 2010.
Cooks Illustrated

We wanted a recipe that is tender, flavorful, and—most important—consistent.

The Problem

Pie dough can go wrong so easily: dry dough that is too crumbly to roll out; a flaky but leathery crust; or a tender crust without flakes. And it's hard to get the same results every time.

The Goal

We wanted a pie dough recipe that bakes up tender and flaky every single time and also rolls out easily.

The Solution

The first step was to determine the right fat. A combination of butter and shortening provided the best balance of flavor and tenderness. The best method to cut the fat into the flour proved to be the food processor; it was the fastest and most consistent. But we couldn't figure out how to ensure same-sized pieces of butter time after time. The answer was to eliminate the pieces entirely. Rather than starting with all the flour in the processor, we put aside 1 cup of flour and processed the remaining 1 1/2 cups with all of the fat until it formed a unified paste. We added the reserved flour back to the bowl and pulsed it until it was just evenly distributed. Finally, we tackled the tenderness issue, which is partially determined by the amount of water added. The conundrum? In order to roll easily, dough needs more water, but more water makes crusts tough. We found the answer in the liquor cabinet: vodka. While gluten (the protein that makes crust tough) forms readily in water, it doesn't form in ethanol, and vodka is 60 percent water and 40 percent ethanol. So adding 8 tablespoons of vodka produces a moist, easy-to-roll dough that stays tender (because it contains only 6 1/2 tablespoons of water). The alcohol vaporizes in the oven.

Foolproof Pie Dough

For one 9-inch Double-Crust Pie.   Published September 1, 2010.   From Cook's Illustrated.

Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor—do not substitute. This dough will be moister and more supple than most standard pie doughs and will require more flour to roll out (up to 1/4 cup).

2 1/2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1	teaspoon table salt
2	tablespoons sugar
12	tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2	cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 4 pieces
1/4	cup vodka , cold
1/4	cup cold water

Instructions

1. 1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. 2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Step-by-Step

Key Steps to Foolproof Pie Dough

1. MAKE A FAT AND FLOUR PASTE: Completely blending part of the flour with all of the butter ensures a consistent amount of fat-coated flour in the final dough.

2. ADD MORE FLOUR: Pulsing in the final cup of flour ensures a consistent amount of uncoated flour in the final dough.

3. ADD WATER AND VODKA: Sprinkling with water and vodka ensures even distribution. No need to skimp—unlike water, vodka won't make the dough tough.

Masa de Panqueques

Colocar en un bol los huevos y la sal, batir bien y agregar de a poco la harina alternando con la leche, hasta obtener una preparación omogenia, chirle sin grumos, dejar reposar 10 minutos, preparar los panquenques.En una sartén tipo panquequera de 18 cm. de diámetros, calentarla sobre la llama, pincelarla con manteca derretida, poner un cucharoncito de la mezcla y hacer correr rápidamente para que cubra bien toda la panquequera cocinar a fuego moderado, cuando los bordes comiencen a dorarse, el panqueque estará cocido de ese lado, darlo vuelta con una espátula y dejar cocinar unos minutos del otro lado.
Nota: Se tiene que echar cada vez una pequeña cantidad de pasta para obtener panqueques finos, se debe pincelar la panquequera con la manteca cada vez que se prepara un panqueque.

Ingredientes

• 3 huevos
• 1 pizca de sal fina

• 250 gr. de harina común
• 1/2 litro de leche