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Recipes

Pepper Jelly-Stuffed Pimento Cheese Cookies

January 17, 2014

This photos and baking finesse of this post come from my mother. The commentary is mine.

Yes, I know the title sounds strange, and you’re probably thinking “there’s no way those taste good,” but believe me, oh, ye of little faith, they’re actually pretty yummy. I adapted a Southern Living recipe to make these based on what I already had lying around the house. There’s only 5 ingredients (6 if you count the parchment paper), and they’re pretty easy to easy to make.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup refrigerated Palmetto cheese, original flavor (or your favorite pimento cheese)
  • 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 4 tablespoons One Screw Loose raspberry merlot cracked pepper jelly (or whatever your favorite it)

 Instructions

1. Gather all of your ingredients. I also grabbed a nice craft beer to drink while I was baking. This isn’t integral to the baking process, but it sure makes time go by faster.

Ok, so the beer isn't "technically" an ingredient.

Ok, so the beer isn’t “technically” an ingredient.

2. Beat together flour & pimiento cheese at medium speed for about 1 minute.

I use the food processor for pretty much everything.

I use the food processor for pretty much everything. But a mixer would work, too.

3. Use a food processor (or a knife if you don’t have one) to chop up your pecans super fine. If you like nuts in cookies, then you can probably leave them a little coarser, but I like it better like this.

I like that beer even better.

I like that beer even better.

4. Add pecans and butter to the flour & pimento cheese mixture and beat until blended.

This is pre-blend.

Is this blended enough? Idk. Drink!

5. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours. If after 2 hours it still isn’t very doughy, you might want to add a little more flour or stick it in the freezer for a hot minute.

tick tock tick tock

tick tock tick tock

6. While the dough is chilling, this is a good time to do the dishes and finish your beer (and maybe pour yourself another while you wait)

The beer is the important part. I can't stress that enough.

The beer is the important part. I can’t stress that enough.

7. Preheat oven to 400°. Place dough on a well-floured surface, and roll to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough into equal-sized rounds with a 2-inch round cutter (or a wine glass if you don’t have one of those).

cutting the dough

Yes, that is 2 open cans of beer in the background. Don’t judge.

8. Arrange half of rounds 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

arranging the dough

Am I strategically placing the beers in every shot? Yes. Yes I am.

9. Spoon 1/2 tsp. of whatever jelly you’re using onto center of each round, and top with remaining rounds.

Pimento Cheese cookies

LIKE A LITTLE PIMENTO CHEESE JELLY SANDWICH, YOU GUYS.

10. Press the edges together to seal.

I used a fork. Cuz I'm cool (read: lazy) like that.

I used a fork. Cuz I’m cool (read: lazy) like that.

11. Bake at 400° for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes; transfer to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).

They kind of look like those meat pies from Sweeney Todd...

They kind of look like those meat pies from Sweeney Todd…

My only complaint about these is that they end up tasting a lot like Cheese Straws, so they’re a little dry, even with the jelly-filled inside. Maybe I added too much flour? …I was drinking, so I don’t remember clearly. I’ll continue playing with it in the future. I might even try the jalapeno Palmetto cheese next time! 

The faucet was integral in my baking process, as it was way easier to wash my hands when I had dough all over them. If you haven’t entered to win a free Delta Touch2O Faucet yet, head on over the the giveaway page to get started. This thing is awesome! You have 2 more days left to enter, so go for it.

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 1/13/14

January 13, 2014

So I think 2014 is going to be a good year. I’m feeling very optimistic–it’s been awesome so far, so I’m hoping that trend will continue in the coming months. Also, it’s restaurant week in Charleston. Remember last week how I said I was going to start my diet? Yeah, that’s not happening. I have a reservation literally every night this week at a different restaurant in Charleston. So, there’s that.

On a personal note, this weekend was really exciting for me because I’m officially in a relationship with a really cute boy that I’ve know for a while (who said you can’t get out of the friendzone?!). So if you see me on the street smiling like a crazy person, that’s why.

ICYMI, I’m giving away a free Delta Touch2O Faucet. Enter to win now! You have 1 week left. Good luck!

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.”

–Voltaire
Not gonna lie, I'd totally party with Voltaire.

Not gonna lie, I’d totally party with Voltaire.

Random Fodder

Delta Touch2O® Faucet Review & Giveaway!

January 10, 2014

In September of 2013 I was given the amazing opportunity to attend Southern Living’s Taste of Charleston festival as a blogger correspondent for Delta Faucet. In exchange for them paying for my ticket, the cost of transportation, and giving me a Delta Touch2O® faucet to try out, all I had to do was show up, eat a bunch of delicious food, and then tell you guys all about it, which I did in my Taste of Charleston a couple months ago. It’s definitely one of the best quality kitchen faucets, especially for a messy cook like me!

Does this jog your memory?

Does this jog your memory?

I’ll also be posting a recipe next week that I created after being inspired by all I saw and ate at Taste of Charleston. Cooking and cleaning have become so much easier with my new faucet, and I’m so spoiled now that sometimes I forget that most faucets require you to use a handle in order to work.

MAKE THE WATER WORK

My mom called a plumber friend of hers to help install it, because we didn’t want try and install it ourselves and end up flooding the whole house (which really wouldn’t have been all that unlikely). He installed it in a snap, and we stood around playing with it for a really long time.

Like... way longer than we should have.

Like… way longer than we should have.

Mom was having her Christmas party that evening, so she was excited to show it off to all of her friends, who were super jealous. Basically everyone should have one of these faucets, because they’re as much fun to play with as they are convenient and useful.

Tina is so festive!

Tina is so festive!

But don’t take my word for it! I’m giving you an opportunity to win one of these awesome faucets for yourself.  You can choose the style & finish (up to a $638 value). The only exclusion is that Delta can only ship to the United States. So if you’re in Canada, Mexico, or Europe, you can still enter as long as you have a friend or relative in the US who is willing to receive it for you!

All you have to do to enter is leave a blog comment below saying which Touch2O® faucet you’d choose if you won. You get extra entries for:

  • Liking my page on Facebook
  • Following me on Twitter
  • Tweeting about the giveaway (this can be done once per day for extra entries!).

Be sure to visit Delta’s facebook page and comment there that you are entered in Queen of the Food Age’s giveaway (this isn’t extra points, it just makes me look good). The winner will be announced Monday January 20th, so you have 9.5 days to enter. Good luck!

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