pow der, and baking p ow der until
com bined. Beat in egg and vanilla.
Beat in melted chocolate.
Beat in as m uch flour as you can
with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour
w ith a w ooden spoon. Cover and
chill dough for 1 to 2 hours or until
easy to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, roll
dough Vi inch thick. Using a 3-inch
fluted round cutter or a 3x2-inch
fluted diamond-shape cutter, cut out
dough. Place cutouts on ungreased
cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated
oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges
are firm. Transfer cookies to a wire
rack. Cool completely.
Line a 2-quart rectangular baking
dish with plastic wrap; set aside. Let
ice cream stand for 10 m inutes to
soften slightly. Spread ice cream into
p rep ared dish. Cover w ith plastic
w rap and freeze until firm. Using
the same cutters as used for cookies,
cut ice cream into round or diamond
shapes. Place ice cream cutouts on
bottoms of half of the cookies. Top
w ith rem aining cookies, bottom s
down. Place in the freezer to quickly
refreeze sandw iches. Roll edges in
crushed candies.
W rap each sandw ich in plastic
wrap; freeze for 2 hours. Let stand
at room tem perature for 5 m inutes
before serving. Freeze for up to
1 month. Makes 6 sandwiches.
Vegetable-Tortellini Soup
Shown on
page 60
and
left.
V2
cup dry cannellini (white
kidney) beans
4
cups water
Bouquet Garni
1
medium onion, chopped
(V
2
cup)
3
cloves garlic, minced
1
tablespoon olive oil
3
cups chicken broth
8
ounces green beans, halved
V2
of a fennel bulb, chopped
(about % cup)
1
medium zucchini, chopped
2
medium tomatoes
2
sprigs fresh thyme
V
2
teaspoon salt
1
9-ounce package
refrigerated spinach and
cheese tortellini
R inse
beans;
drain.
In a large
saucepan, combine beans and
2 cups
of the water. Bring to boiling; reduce
heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove
from heat.
Cover and let stand
1 hour. (Or, place beans in water in
the saucepan. Cover; soak overnight
in a cool place.) Drain. Rinse beans;
set aside.
Prepare Bouquet Garni; set aside.
In a 4-quart D utch oven, cook
onion and garlic in hot olive oil
until tender. Add soaked beans and
the rem aining 2 cups water. Add
Bouquet Garni and bring to boiling.
Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for
55 minutes. Remove Bouquet Garni
and discard.
Add chicken broth, green beans,
fennel, zucchini, tomatoes, thyme,
and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce
h ea t.
Sim m er,
co v ered ,
for
20
minutes. Add tortellini and simmer,
co v e red ,
fo r
5
m in u tes
m ore.
Discard thym e sprigs. Ladle soup
into bowls. Makes 4 to 5 servings.
Bouquet
Garni:
Cut
a
10-inch
square of 100-percent-cotton cheese-
cloth.
Place
3
sprigs
parsley,
2
bay leaves, V2 teaspoon whole black
peppercorns, and 3 sprigs thyme on
the cheesecloth. Draw up corners of
square to create a bag and tie with
clean kitchen string.
Smoked Sausage-
Split Pea Soup
Shown on
page 59.
Unlike other dry beans, split green peas
do not require soaking, so you can
ladle up this hearty, warming soup in
less than 45 minutes.
1
small fennel bulb
4
cloves garlic, minced
1
tablespoon olive oil
1
medium onion, chopped
(V
2
cup)
2
carrots, chopped
6
cups water
1
V4 cups dry split green peas, rinsed
and drained
V
2
teaspoon salt
V4
teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
6
ounces smoked sausage,
cut into f'
2
-inch slices
1
medium tomato, seeded and
chopped
3
tablespoons red wine vinegar
Chop enough of the fennel bulb to
measure 1 cup.
In
a
D u tch o v en ,
co o k
garlic
in h o t oil over m edium h eat for
1 minute. Add onion and cook until
golden brown. Add fennel and carrots;
cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
Add water, split peas, salt, and pepper;
bring to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer,
uncovered, about 25 to 30 minutes or
until split peas are tender.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown
sausage on all sides. Remove sausage
from skillet using a slotted spoon;
add sau sag e to so u p along w ith
tomato and red wine vinegar. Makes 5
to 6 servings.
62
Best of Christmas Ideas
