We tried a few new cookie recipes at Christmas this year and found two that we really liked.  This one was a favorite with everyone who tried them. It sort of takes a second - you take a bite and think "that's good" then about one second later everyone, without fail, said some variation of "Oh my gosh! Those are SO good!"  These will become a staple in this house for sure.

Chocolate Orange Cookies

2 C flour

2/3 C cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 C (2 sticks) butter, softened 

1 C granulated sugar

2/3 C firmly packed brown sugar 

2 eggs

1 tsp Orange extract 

6 oz chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.  Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and extract; mix well.  Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low until well mixed.  Stir in chocolate chips.  

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (or spray with non-stick cooking spray).  Drop by rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. 

Bake 8-10 minutes or just until cookies are set.  Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

Try not to eat them all.  

Altered slightly from McCormick 

Egg Nog Creme Brulee

I always pin egg nog recipes at Christmastime and I've been wanting to try Egg Nog Creme Brulee for a while.  I had just enough egg yolks left over from an attempt at making a Buche de Noel (which was a horrible, disgusting, total failure.)  After looking at all of the recipes for egg nog creme brulee, I finally found one that didn't call for any alcohol.  Hooray!  So I finally made it today.  It was really easy and deeeelish.  Jeff gives it "at least a 4.75" (out of 5).  Josh and Tiernan didn't like it but Jeff, Mia and I loved it.  Oh, when I brought the torch in from the garage to caramelize the sugar, Mia asked what it was for.  I explained the process and she was shocked.  Even more so when I told her that I was going to do this right in the kitchen - NOT outside, like she suggested.  When Jeff came downstairs, she said, "Dad.  Mom is going to BURN our dessert!"  Then when I got ready to do the sugar, she called to the boys, "Boys!  Come watch Mom burn our dessert!"  Ha ha ha!  She's such a turkey.  It's a good thing she liked it - burnt sugar and all.
My ramekins are a little deeper than typical creme brulee ramekins, so it took a little longer to bake. When it's done, it should be a little jiggly, but set, and a knife inserted in the center should come out clean.  I also would have used a little more sugar on top.

Eggnog Creme Brulee

makes six 4-oz/120-ml ramekins 

Ingredients

2 cups (473 ml.) store bought or homemade Eggnog
2 cups (473 ml.) heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup (62 mg.) sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
6 tsp. sugar for topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, 160/170 Celsius, or Gas Mark 3. And put a kettle of hot water on the stove.

Place the eggnog, the cream and the sugar into a medium saucepan, stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to just a simmer, don't boil it. Place the yolks into a large bowl and beat them a little. Ladle a little cream mixture into the yolks, whisking the whole time, then a little more while you keep whisking. Keep adding and whisking till you've added about half. Then add all of yolk mixture to the cream mixture and whisk till it's all incorporated. Add the fresh nutmeg. Pour the whole shebang through a fine mesh strainer placed over a large measuring cup with a spout for pouring. 

Place 6 ramekins into a large (9x13 ish) sized pan. Pour hot water from your kettle half way up the sides of the ramekins. Pour the creme mixture into ramekins. Now cover the pan with foil.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Until the centers are set and a knife comes out clean when placed in the center. Tip- if the water is poured more than half way up the sides of the ramekins, it will take longer to bake.

Remove the ramekins from the pan using tongs. Put them into another 9x13 pan and cover with plastic. Place in the fridge until cold, or overnight. When ready to serve, using a paper towel, carefully pat the tops of the custards to remove moisture that accumulated in the fridge. Place 1 tsp of sugar in a thin layer over each custard. Make it as thin as you can, it may not take the whole teaspoon. Broil the top of the sugar with a torch until it's golden brown. Or if you don't have a torch, place them under the broiler until the sugar is golden. If you are doing it under the broiler, you need to watch it closely, this only takes moments. I would even leave the oven door open and watch it while it's happening. They can burn very quickly and that would be bad. 

Let the custards sit a few minutes before serving so the sugar hardens.

Recipe from: http://alchemybaking.blogspot.com/2012/01/eggnog-creme-brulee.html?m=1

Mojo Fondue Broth

This is a tasty alternative to oil for fondue - delish!  We cooked steak, chicken, broccoli and mushrooms in it and it had really good flavor.

Mojo Fondue Broth (ala The Melting Pot) 

5 1/4 C chicken broth (plus 1 can in reserve) 

1/4 C orange juice

2 Tbsp ground cumin 

2 Tbsp jerk seasoning (we used Nantucket Rosemary Citrus Poultry Rub from Savory Spice) 

1 scant Tbsp black pepper 

2 Tbsp lime juice 

3 tsp minced garlic 

Combine all ingredients in large saucepan on stovetop.  Bring to a boil.  Transfer to electric fondue pot.  

As the broth cooks away add another can of chicken broth then give it a couple minutes to come up to temperature.  (There's plenty of seasoning so you only need to add more broth.)

Cook chicken, beef, shrimp and veggies.