Chile Pepper Christmas Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Soften the butter. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter and add the egg, lemon zest and vanilla. Beat until blended. Whisk together the flour and salt and gradually add them to the creamed mixture, on low speed. Add some water, a few drops at a time, until the dough starts to come away from the side of the bowl.
• Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out chile pepper shapes, using a cookie cutter or freehand. Transfer shapes to greased or nonstick cookie sheets.
• Using a few drops of food coloring at a time, color the egg yolk in each cup, as desired. Using a small, clean paint brush, paint the chile pepper red and its stem green.
• Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown around the edges. Dust with red or green sprinkles if desired.

Steps:

• For the popcorn garland: Thread 10 feet of unflavored, unwaxed dental floss through a sewing needle. Knot one end of the floss. Thread the needle through the softer part of each piece of popcorn, avoiding the harder shell. (Threading through the shell may cause the popcorn to break.) Slip off the needle and knot the other end of the floss to make a popcorn string.
• For the pepper garland: Poke a hole in one side of a pepper with a chopstick about 1/2 inch from the stem end, taking care not to pierce through the other side of the pepper. Twist the stick to slightly widen the hole. Repeat with the remaining peppers.
• Mix together the goat cheese, thyme, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl until combined. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with an 1/8-inch round tip. Carefully pipe the cheese filling into each pepper through the hole; do not overstuff the peppers or they may split. Refrigerate until ready to use. (This step can be done a day ahead.)
• Separate the kale into small, medium and large leaves. Using the largest leaves, start at the bottom of a 24-by-6-inch Styrofoam cone and begin to cover the cone with the leaves stem-end up. Overlap each leaf slightly and secure with a toothpick through the widest part of the stem, leaving about 1/2 inch of the toothpick showing. Work your way up the cone in rows, going from the larger leaves to the smaller leaves and overlapping the leaves and rows slightly, until only about 1 row of the cone remains exposed. To make the last row, position the kale leaves stem-end down, forming the top of the tree and covering the tip of the cone. Cover any thin areas or exposed Styrofoam with the remaining leaves. Chill until ready to decorate.
• Cut twenty 18-inch-long pieces of narrow decorative ribbon. Tie each piece around the stem of a pepper in a secure knot.
• Wind a 12-foot-piece of wider decorative ribbon around the tree, starting at the bottom and working your way up. Attach a pepper to the wider ribbon on the tree using the narrow ribbon to tie a decorative bow, so the pepper dangles from the wider ribbon (it should be secure but also be easy to untie and remove). Continue with the remaining peppers, spacing them about 6 inches apart on the wider ribbon. As you're working, hook each pepper bow to a toothpick end for support, adding additional toothpicks if necessary, until the tree is covered on all sides with the peppers. Decorate with the popcorn strand. Carefully transfer to a gold foil-covered 12-inch cake plate.

Steps:

• Mix cream cheese, cookie crumbs and 1 Tbsp. chile powder until blended.
• Shape into 34 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan. Sprinkle with remaining chile powder.
• Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Heat currants and coffee liqueur in a saucepan over low heat until it begins to simmer, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Combine unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, and butter in bowl. Place bowl on top of a saucepan filled with 1-inch of water set over low heat. Stir chocolate mixture occasionally until melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Mix flour, black pepper, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper in large bowl and set aside.
• Whisk sugar and eggs in a small bowl until light, fluffy, and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in vanilla and melted chocolate mixture.
• Fold flour mixture into sugar and chocolate mixture until combined.
• Stir in dark chocolate chips and liqueur-soaked currants.
• Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are almost set, about 12 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and leave on baking sheets to cool, 5 minutes.
• Transfer to cooling rack and allow to finish cooling, 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Shape beef into four patties.
• Mix chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper
• In a skillet over medium heat, brown patties on both sides.
• Top each with mixed spices and then the onion.
• Reduce heat, cover, cook slowly for 5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
• Top each patty with chilies and a slice of cheese.
• Cover and cook 2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
• In a small bowl, combine salsa and ketchup. Place burgers on buns. Serve with the salsa mixture and sour cream.

Steps:

• Finely grate lime zest into a small bowl. Stir in salt and chile powder. Cut lime into wedges.
• Arrange crudités on a platter. Squeeze lime juice over, then sprinkle with some spiced salt mixture. Serve remaining spiced salt mixture alongside.

Steps:

• Place beef, onions and bell peppers in large Dutch oven.
• Sprinkle with 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, and basil.
• Using a wooden spoon, blend together and brown very slowly.
• You may drain if desired, but mine didn’t have a lot of grease, so I didn’t bother.
• Place tomatoes in food processor and process just long enough to cup up large pieces.
• Put tomatoes, beans and beer in with meat and bring to a low simmer.
• Add remaining chili and garlic powder.
• Add pepper.
• Cook slowly for at least 2 hours.
• Serve with cheese and onion.