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These German-style spice cookies called 'specuchen,' made by Anne Therrien of Baldwinsville, won first place in the cookie category of the 2013 syracuse.com Holiday Sweets contest.
(Michelle Gabel / The Post-Standard)
Simple and old-fashioned were the keys to victory in the 2013 syracuse.com Holiday Sweets contest.
Anne Therrien of Baldwinsville took first place in the "Cookies" category with her Specuchen, traditional German-style spice cookies flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The mother-daughter team of Donna Geiger and Lisa Sousou won the "Candy" category with their four-ingredient Southern Pecan Pralines.
“I’m so surprised,” Therrien said after her cookies were awarded the top prize. “It’s a recipe that’s so old. Maybe that’s the secret.”
For the pralines, Geiger supplied the recipe while her daughter did the cooking. One secret: These are loaded with more pecans than you typically see in pralines.
"I loved the nut flavor," said Cynthia Brynien, a 13-year-old member of Solvay Girl Scout Troop 10053, who served as a guest judge for the fimnal round, held last week at the downtown offices of the Syracuse Media Group. "And they were crispy."
In the Cookie category, second place went to Patricia Wierzbicki of Baldwinsville for her Ricotta Cookies topped with a pink frosting, and third place went to Julie Files of Marcellus, whose entry was Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles.
Second place in the Candy category went to Diane Baril of Liverpool for her Cherry Almond Fudge, while third place went to Lynn Mickinkle of Lacona for her Christmas Chocolate, a version of the candy classic chocolate covered cherries.
First prize winners each received a $150 gift certificate to Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles. All finalists also received a cookbook from the syracuse.com collection.
Here are the recipes for all six finalists, along with the comments that accompanied their entries:
CATEGORY: COOKIES
First Place:
Specuchen, from Anne Therrien of Baldwinsville.
Anne's note: "I found this recipe in my Grandmothers attic years ago … clipped to it was note that read 'Please keep this recipe in our family forever' and she explained that a distant relative, who was a nun, had escaped Nazi Germany in the late 1930's and smuggled the recipe over here with her. My family loves these!"
SPECUCHEN
Ingredients
2 to 3 cups of flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon cloves
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup chopped nuts, optional
Directions
Sift 2 cups of the flour with the spices. Set aside. Cream butter. Add sugar and mix well. Add milk then sifted mixture plus enough additional flour to make a firm dough. Knead dough well to be sure all ingredients are mixed. Divide dough into two parts. Wrap tightly, and refrigerate at least overnight. (It will keep up to 2 weeks).
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Dust flour onto pastry cloth or wax paper and roll out dough thin, to approximately 1/8 inch. Cut into desired shapes. Sprinkle unbaked cookies with a mixture of 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake until lightly brown around edges, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove to racks and cool before storing.
Note: The more thinly the cookies are rolled, the more easily they burn, so watch carefully the last 3 or 4 minutes. There are folks who like them a little too brown.
Second Place:
Ricotta Cookies, from Patricia Wierzbicki of Baldwinsville.
Patricia's note: "Our family loves cut outs.They are so much work and messy. After years of making them I came up with this recipe. It is pretty/tastes so much like cut outs. So moist. These are the best. So as we all used to fight over who is making the cut outs I make these. Inexpensive to make. So delicious."
RICOTTA COOKIES
Ingredients
For the cookies
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 medium eggs
1 8 ounce ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
For the frosting
2 cups confectionery sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Vanilla, to taste
Milk
Food coloring (optional)
Sprinkles
Directions
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, ricotta,and vanilla. In another bowl mix flour, salt and baking soda. Add to mixture. Drop teaspoon of dough on cookie sheet. Place in preheated 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes. Cool.
Mix the frosting ingredients together, adding the milk a little at a time until desired thickness. Add food coloring, if desired. Spread frosting on cooled cookies, Top with sprinkles.
Third Place:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles, from Julie Files of Marcellus
Julie's note: "Every year for the last 14 years my mom and I get together to make cookies to give out as Christmas gifts. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough truffles are a real winner! I have also taken them to cookie exchanges, tailgate parties, and for my son to take to college."
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 pounds semisweet chocolate candy coating, chopped
Directions
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, milk, and vanilla; mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Shape into 1 inch balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until firm.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating, stirring often until smooth. Dip balls in coating; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, re-melt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in the refrigerator. Yield approximately 5 to 6 dozen.
CATEGORY: CANDY
First Place:
Southern Pecan Pralines, from Donna Geiger & Lisa Sousou of Liverpool.
Lisa's note: "This is our family recipe for Southern Pecan Pralines, handed down from my Nana, Clarice Geiger, who grew up in Alabama. They were a Christmas tradition when my mother was a child- she remembers that she and her three sisters always had to ask before they could eat even one, and "you nibbled them to make them last!"- because everybody loved them. … Until they moved back to NY in 2007, my Nana and Granddad used to send me hand-shelled pecans from the pecan tree in their yard in Alabama every year to use for pralines."
NANA'S SOUTHERN PECAN PRALINES
Ingredients
2 cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup water
2 cups shelled chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter
Directions
Combine sugar, water, and butter. Cook slowly, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Add pecans. Boil slowly, stirring constantly, until temperature reaches 246 F (soft ball stage). Remove from heat. Drop quickly by spoonfuls onto wax paper or a greased cookie sheet and allow to cool completely.
Second place:
Cherry Almond Fudge, from Diane Baril of Liverpool
Diane's note: "The following recipe I have made for many, many years but especially around the holidays. It always seems to be a crowd pleaser at parties, and just about any time of year. I have been told it tastes like chocolate covered cherries."
CHERRY ALMOND FUDGE
Ingredients
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 3 ounce package cherry flavored gelatin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
In double boiler over boiling water combine sweetened condensed milk, gelatin, and salt. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. add chocolate morsels. Stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in nuts and extract. Spread evenly onto waxed paper-lined 8 x 8 square baking pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Cut and serve.
Third place:
Christmas Chocolate, from Lynn Mickinkle of Lacona.
Lynn's note: "I have been making these candies for over 20 years for my Christmas trays. Recipe was handed down to me by my mother who received it from her sister many years ago. My daughter, who claims not to like coconut, says that these are one of her favorites at Christmas."
CHRISTMAS CHOCOLATE
Ingredients
¼ pound butter or margarine
3 cups chopped pecans
1 ½ cups coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
6 cups confectioner's sugar
10 ounce jar maraschino cherries, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Melt butter, mix with pecans and coconut. Add sweetened condensed milk, confectioner's sugar, cherries and vanilla.
Chill overnight.
Roll into small balls, put on wax paper and chill in freezer.
Melt chocolate chips. Dip balls into chocolate mixture, return to wax paper and chill in freezer or refrigerator till chocolate sets.
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