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Let’s ring in this season with this lovely Christmas duet featuring Cyndi Lauper and The Hives.
Ho Ho Ho. Bring it Christmas, I’m ready.
:]
-Cara
The Last Time I Made Them
It been a hot second since I’ve done a recipe and with the Holidays upon us (and today being Thanksgiving), it’s baking time. These Organic Cheesecake Thumbprints are a sweet delicacy. I love them.
What You Need
4 ounces organic cream cheese, make sure it is room temperature
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus an additional pinch
2 large, organic, free range egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons organic sour cream
1/8 teaspoon pure organic vanilla extract
2 sticks (1 cup) organic unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups all purpose organic flour (I recommend King Aurthur Flour’s organic all purpose flour)
What To Do
In an electric mixer bowl using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until it looks light and fluffy, about 3 to 6 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds or so to scrape the sides of the bowl and let the motor rest for a second.
Once light and fluffy add 1/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of sea salt and beat 3 to 5 minutes until smooth. Add one egg yolk, sour cream, and vanilla; beat until smooth again. Transfer to a small bowl, and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, with the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them to the side. In the bowl of the electric mixer use the paddle attachment to beat the butter and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, on medium speed, till everything is good and mixed, for about 1 to 2 minutes I’d say. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl now and again. Add the rest of the sea salt (1/4 teaspoon) and egg yolk; beat till mixed. Put the mixer on low and gradually add the flour, mixing until it is just combined.
Take a level tablespoon of the dough and roll into a ball about 30 times or until you are out of dough, placing each on a prepared baking sheet, about an inch apart. Use your CLEAN thumb and make an indentation in the center of each ball, this is where the magic gets put into each mini cheesecake.
Bake the thumbprints for 10 minutes, then remove them from the oven. Make another indention, rotate the baking sheets, return to the oven. Bake for about 7 to 9 more minutes or until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown. Once done remove from oven and place on a wire rack until completely cooled.
Take a teaspoon and fill the center of each cookie with about one teaspoon of cream cheese filling, in a hill shape. Put the cookies back in the oven, baking them until the filling is firm, about 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Put them in an air tight container, layered between wax or parchment paper in the refrigerator for at least four hours before serving and to store any leftovers.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
-Cara
Marine and I have just launched an awesome eco, green, super fresh, organic t-shirt company, “be nice”, and thankfully just in time for the Holidays. : P You can check out our web site at http://ubenice.com . The designs are original and we do the screen printing in our very own Spanish Harlem 5 floor walk-up.
We are just starting out, and doing it all manually, which it turns out is a lot of work. :] We definitely put a part of ourselves into each shirt we create. I even invented two of the colors, one is a soft blue used on the “benice” shirt and the other is a rich green I use on the “Certifiably Organic” shirt.
I’ll miss the shirts, but it is cool knowing someone is out there wearing something you put your mojo into. That should be our slogan, “For some good ass mojo, buy yourself a super fresh shirt”
Be nice.
-Cara
In previous Friday shopping entries I would list three items you could buy, but I have decided I would rather focus on just one product per shopping entry. The reason is it’s easier to focus and provide more information one one product, in comparison to three. OK, now that we have discussed the changes, lets move on.
Here is a really cool idea from Desert Sweet Organic.
In a pristine high desert farm in Arizona, 141,000 certified organic apple trees (Choose from Gala, Red, Golden, Granny Smith, or Fuji apple tree) are up for sale.
You can send 10-lb gifts boxes that contain certified organic apples from your very own apple tree to whoever, for $11.50 plus shipping, plus the one time cost of the tree and yearly horticulture. Prices of the trees range between $200-$250 depending on the tree and yearly horticulture is $45 a year.
Simply send them your gift list and they’ll do all the work for you. They take care of your tree and send the apples to your gift recipients every year it produces fruit, for as long as it lives. These trees have approximately 20 more years of fruit producing life.
If anyone cares I love Gala apples. ;)
-Cara
The Day After An Inconvenient Truth 
What Did You Say?