Jenn's Baking Chamber

I like this Apple Pie recipe because it's a bit different than your classic apple pies.  This recipe includes different fruit juices incorporated into the filling which gives the pie a great hint of citrus taste.  I tried this recipe first but found that the filling was a bit too runny so I altered the recipe a bit and posted it below.

Apple Pie

1 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
1/4 Cup corn starch
1/8 Cup orange juice
1/8 Cup grapefruit juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 apple (or pumpkin) pie spice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4-5 Cups of apples; peeled, cored, and cut
2 Tbsp butter, room tempur
Classic Crisco Pie Crust Recipe

1) In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, corn starch, orange juice, grapefruit juice, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and nutmeg
2) Add apples and toss gently
3) Make pie crust and line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; then lightly brush the pastry with 1 Tbsp butter (this helps from the bottom crust getting soggy)
4) Gently pour filling into prepared pie crust; then cut the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter and spread evenly over filling
5) Roll the remaining pastry on top of pie; then cut vents on top of pie
6) Bake at 425F for 10 minutes then reduce heat 350 and bake for 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly
7) Let pie cool then serve and enjoy!

Who doesn't love Rum Balls during the holidays?  The best thing about Rum Balls is the longer they sit for, the boozier they get (if you can make them last that long).  This recipe is from my 'Joy of Cooking - All About Cookies' cookbook, the original recipe calls for bourbon but I used a spiced rum instead and they tunred out just great!  Happy Holiday's!

Rum Balls

1 Cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 - 1/3 Cup of rum (or bourbon)
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 1/2 Cups chocolate wafers (or vanilla), crushed finely in a food processor
1 Cup coarsley chopped pecans

1) Sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder and set a side
2) In a seperate bowl, mix together rum and corn syrup
3) Mix together cocoa mixture and rum mixture until combined
4) Stir in crushed wafers and nuts into cocoa rum mixture until well combined (if mixture is too dry, add more corn syrup and if mixture is too wet, add more powdered sugar a little bit at a time.  This mixture should stick together well and keep their shape)
5) Roll mixture into balls and coat with powdered sugar
6) Ball can be kept at room temperature for 3 weeks or can be stored in the fridge or freezer for later use (the longer they sit, they stronger they taste!), enjoy!

This recipe is from my 'The Best of Fine Cooking Cookies' magazine.  The original recipe calls for using a mixture of cranberries and sugar as the middle component of the bars but I didn't have any cranberries on hand so I used the Johnson Berry Farm Jam that my mom bought me at Pike's Market in Seattle.  The crust and streusel of the bars were buttery and flakey while the center was soft and sweet.  These bars would work great with any type of berry, jam or preserve.

Jam Streusel Shortbread Bars

1 Cup and 5 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled until just warm
1 Cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 Large egg yolks
3 Cups and 3 Tbsp flour
One 10.5oz jar of jam

1) Preheat oven to 325F and line a 13*9in baking pan with parchment paper or foil
2) Stir together butter, 3/4 Cups sugar, and the salt then add in the egg yolks and whisk until well combined
3) Stir in flour until mixture begins to make a stiff dough
4) Transfer about 2-3 Cups of dough mixture to prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom them prick the dough with a fork all over
5) Refrigerate the dough for 30min (or freeze for 5-7min) until dough is firm
6) Bake the dough for 20min until crust begins to set but does not brown on the edges
7) While crust is baking, use the remaining dough and add the remaining 1/4 Cup sugar and mix until it forms coarse crumbs
8) Remove crust from oven and spoon jam evenly over the hot crust then sprinkle the coarse crumbs evenly over the layer of jam
9) Increase the oven temp. to 350F and bake for about 25min until streusel on top is golden
10) Remove bars from oven and let them set on wire rack for an hour to let them completely firm and cool down
11) Cut into bars and enjoy!

I got this recipe from the December 2011 'Everyday Food - A Martha Stewart Magazine'.  The original recipe is called Chocolate-Peppermint Thumbprints but I omited the peppermint flavor.  These cookies were so good; they were full of chocolate, sugar and more chocolate.  They had a nice brownie texture with a soft chocolatey center.  Here is the recipe below for you to try.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

2 Cups flour
2/3 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Cups butter, room temperature
1 Cups granulated sugar
1 Large egg
1 Tbsp vanilla
Decorating sugar
5 Ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 Cup butter
(1/2 tsp peppermint extract)

1) Preheat oven to 350F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
2) Whisk together flour, cocoa powder and salt then set aside
3) In a large bowl, beat 1 Cup butter and 1 Cup of sugar on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes
4) Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined
5) Mix in flour mixture gradually on low speed until combined
6) Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then roll balls in the decorating sugar
7) Bake for 5min then remove the cookies from the oven, and with the bottom of a small teaspoon, make a imprint in the center of each half baked cookie
8) Continue baking for another 4min (do not overbake), until the cookies are set but still look moist then cool on wire racks
9) While cookies are cooling, melt together the 5 ounces of chocolate and the 1/4 Cup of butter (either in the microwave or over top a double boiler), (add peppermint extract if desired)
10) Spoon chocolate mixture into the center imprints of the cookies
11) Let cookies continue cooling, store at room temperature and enjoy!