Egg Nog Cookies

Originally from: https://kroger.softcoin.com/programs/kroger/25merrydays/?banner=Kroger&origin=25mrydys#calendar/rumglazed-eggnog-cookies

Ingredients

Cookies:
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. ground nutmeg, plus additional for sprinkling
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 large egg yolks


Glaze:
• 1½ Tbsp. dark rum or 1½ tsp. rum extract
• 1 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. corn syrup
• 1½-2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Whisk flour and ½ teaspoon nutmeg in medium bowl. Beat ½ cup butter and sugar in large bowl at medium speed 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, until blended. At low speed, beat in flour mixture. Divide dough in half; roll into two logs. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice dough ¼” thick; place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until pale brown. Cool completely on wire rack.
3. Meanwhile; beat rum, 1 tablespoon butter, milk and corn syrup in large bowl. Slowly beat in 1½ cups of the powdered sugar, adding additional powdered sugar to desired consistency. Spread glaze over cookies; sprinkle with nutmeg; let stand until set.

Hot Mama Grade: B+

Hot Mama Notes: These cookies were good, moist and tasty, yet not overpowering.  Especially with the icing.  Without the icing, I think they would be a bit on the bland side.  It's important to put the dough in the frig for 2 hours.  And in between slicing and baking, I put the dough in the freezer.

Chocolate Pretzel Slice Cookies

Originally from: https://kroger.softcoin.com/programs/kroger/25merrydays/?banner=Kroger&origin=25mrydys#calendar/chocolatepretzel-slices

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup pretzels, crushed*
• Coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Whisk flour, cocoa and baking powder in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl at medium speed 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla.
2. At low speed, slowly beat in flour mixture. Beat in pretzels. Divide dough in half; roll into two logs. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice cookies ¼” thick; place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Lghtly sprinkle with sea salt. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool completely on wire rack.

*To crush pretzels, place in resealable plastic bag and crush with flat side of a meat mallet or rolling pin.

Hot Mama Grade: B+

Hot Mama Notes: These cookies were good.  Very good, even.  But not *amazing*.  Maybe I'm being unnecessarily hard on this recipe.  After all, it is very simple and quick to make.  The slicing is easy, though my cookies end up not being perfectly round.  The dough itself is amazing.  So tasty.  The cookies were tasty and moist.  I will likely make them again.  This time, I needed to use flat pretzel bits because that is what I had available.  But, next time I would use regular pretzels to crush.  I think the consistency would work out better.

Polenta Casserole with Green Chiles

Originally from: https://keviniscooking.com/polenta-corn-green-chilies/

Ingredients:
1 cup yellow polenta
2 crushed cloves of garlic
1 tbsp butter
2 cups low-fat milk
1 cups Chicken stock
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1½ cups corn kernels
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 4.5 oz can chopped green chilies
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ cup chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.In a large saucepan add the butter, garlic, chicken stock, milk, cumin and bring to a boil. Be careful this does not boil over, it's quite the mess. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal, stirring constantly. Bring back to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 12 minutes, stirring constantly so as to not stick. This will sputter, be careful.

2. Next, stir in the cheese, green chilies, corn, cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly to incorporate completely.

3. Butter 8 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Pour polenta mixture in. At this point you can let cool down and refrigerate if prepping ahead for later use.Bake until polenta puffs up, about 25 minutes if not chilled, or 30 minutes if chilled. Cut into squares and sprinkle the chopped cilantro on top as garnish.

4. Serve with roasted pork, grilled chicken or meat of your choice

Hot Mama Grade: B+

Hot Mama Notes: I used cilantro. I used more chilies because my can was 7 oz instead of 4.5 oz.  I did leave a couple tablespoons back in the can so that the chiles were not overpowering. But... They were. So next time only 4 oz.  Or less.  Plus, in general, I do not like to stir nonstop for 12 minutes.  I guess I am just lazy, but I get tired! Also, I thought the polenta looked pretty amazing at 6 minutes. I was ready to eat it then! I liked it more moist, versus the drier end product after 12 minutes of heat plus baking. So, less chiles and less cooking.