Create holiday surprises with these treats </MCC HEAD>

Story last updated at 12:42 AM on Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Create holiday surprises with these treats

By Teri Robl

Christmas is a time of surprises. The Other Fisherman insists we give good old-fashioned presents, wrapped and topped with shiny bows and little tags. Absolutely no gift cards are allowed. He loves to surprise his family on Christmas morning.

So, because this time of year is all about surprises, we've already pulled a holiday ho-ho on our old Homer neighbor who somehow decided Seward was the place he now calls home. This has something to do with the fact the gal he fell in love with and married lives there and has a real job. A little history on this neighbor named Joe: He loves to play practical jokes. I think this comes from too much time waiting for salmon to fill up gillnets in False Pass over many years. ^^One evening many years ago, I was on my way home from work, anticipating all the things I needed to do for a dinner party I would be hosting in a couple of hours. I see Joe and his little boys outside working on the ultimate snowman. This frosty guy is huge and everyone is giggling and having a ball working on the snowman's finishing touches. I am getting all warm and fuzzy watching Joe and his boys sharing some quality father and son time. Mr. Snowman was centered perfectly in the yard between our house and theirs -- a perfect view of him from our kitchen and dining room windows.

Oh, I think, how nice for our dinner guests. I am so excited and run to the kitchen window to see Mr. Snowman from a different side. Oh, and what a side, or I should say backside, view of this guy did I get. Yup, Joe and the boys constructed one of the most real-to- life looking versions of Joe the Plumber working on your dishwasher.

He was decked out with strategically placed sweat pants bunched up at his snow ankles and bent over in a perfect posture to "shoot the moon" right before my wondering eyes.

The phone rings. It's Joe asking me how I like the snowman. I am laughing and telling him it is truly a snowman only Joe could build and that I had best get off the phone as I have company coming for dinner soon.

Dead silence on the other end of the line. Joe finally says, "Oh my gosh, I am really sorry! I didn't know you were having company and now you have this nasty snowman for them to see while they dine." To which I replied, "Joe, if the people coming over to have dinner with me can't laugh and enjoy your creativity, well, they just don't need to be calling themselves my friends and be eating dinner at my table."

A lot of practical jokes have passed between us over the years. Some were downright obnoxious and annoying, like the time we gathered up a million paper holes from hole punches and dumped them into his truck vents and left his air controls on full wide open, so when he hopped in and turned on the truck after being out cod fishing for a month, the little holes would fill the cab in true practical joke fashion. They are still blowing around in his truck three years later.

Surprise Cookies
A chocolate cookie with a surprise filling of marshmallow
and frosted with a rich chocolate frosting.

To stack cookies, wait until frosting dries, then place waxed paper in between
the layers to keep the frosting from smearing. Makes about 2 dozen.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally
Chocolate frosting

Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined. Using a tablespoon or 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begins to melt, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered.

Cassis Crisps

Creme de cassis is a black-currant-flavored liqueur that adds great flavor to these crispy cookies.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup creme de cassis
Coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs and creme de cassis and mix until combined. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until smooth.
Divide dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic; refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. Working with one half at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick, and cut into 3-inch squares. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Reroll scraps; repeat with remaining dough. Bake cookies until golden brown all over, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.