Robot Heart Recipes Test Kitchen: 10 Holiday Appropriate Vegetarian Main Dishes

Here is a collection that I put together of Robot Heart Recipes Test Kitchen approved vegetarian main dishes that will work well for the holidays. They range in difficulty—some are more time consuming than others, but any of them will make your holiday table take a trip to Yum City!

Baked Tomatoes, Squash, and Potatoes

Herb, Spinach, and Ricotta “Pasta”

Magic Roasted Tomatoes, Fennel, and Grapes with Farro

Nut-Crusted Asparagus, Leek, and Gruyère Quiche

Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans, and Tofu in Tomato Curry

Spaghetti Squash with Mixed Herb Pesto and Green Vegetables

Spelt-Crusted Orange Tomato, Red Onion, and Fresh Basil Pizza

Spinach and Mushroom Enchiladas with Toasted Corn Sauce

Twice Baked Potatoes

Zucchini and Eggplant “Lasagna”

Robot Heart Recipes Test Kitchen: 10 Easy Vegetarian Side Dishes

Here is a collection of easy and tasty vegetarian side dishes that have all been Robot Heart Recipes approved and are perfect for holiday dining…

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes from Cooking Light

Asparagus and Mushroom Sauté from Robot Heart Recipes

Citrus Green Beans with Pine Nuts from Cooking Light

Easy Herb Salad from Robot Heart Recipes

Honey Roasted Butternut Squash from Robot Heart Recipes

Lemony Brussels Sprouts from Robot Heart Recipes

Raw Kale Salad with Root Vegetables from Vegetarian Times

Roasted Delicata Squash and Onions from Eating Well

Sweet Potato and Turnip Mash with Sage Butter from Eating Well

Sweet Potatoes in a Snap from Robot Heart Recipes

Robot Heart Recipes Test Kitchen: 6 Holiday-Appropriate Cookies

Here is a collection of six cookies that all come Robot Heart Recipes Test Kitchen approved! All of these delights have been baked by either myself or my mom and have been tasted by my very own greedy, cookie gobbling mouth. Any of these little ditties will make a great addition to your holiday cookie tins. I have included a mix of flourless and “regular” recipes…

Chewy Flourless Chocolate Cookies from Relish

Chocolate Cookies with Toffee Chips a Robot Heart Family Recipe

Flourless Almond Butter Cookies with Mexican Flair from Robot Heart Recipes

Flourless Holiday Monster Cookies from Sweet Anna’s on Tasty Kitchen

Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Cookies from “Everyday Food”

Honey Spice Snaps a Robot Heart Family Recipe

This post is from this time last year, when I was only a month into blogging and didn’t really know what I was doing yet—but the recipes are great all the same. It features a roundup of some of my all-time favorite holiday cookie recipes for folks who aren’t worried about silly things like eating flour! In the spotlight are: Candy Cane Cookies, Thumbprint Cookies, Lime Meltaways, Honey Spice Snaps, and Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies. Joyeux Noël!

(Photo Credit: MarthaStewart.com)

By far some of my happiest and most treasured holiday memories involve baking cookies with my Granny. Like everything that she did when it came to caring for her family, entertaining, and making events special…she went above and beyond. Each holiday season overflowed with tin upon tin of delightful baked goods. There were items that became tradition and appeared year after year, but with her fingers constantly flipping through a cookbook or cooking related magazine, new treats were certain to appear each year as well.

Since Granny’s passing, I have taken the helm and tried my best to keep the spirit of Granny’s cookie baking magic in tact. However, this year I am going to try my best to adhere to my medically advised flourless diet, which sadly means none of the traditional cookies. So, instead I am sharing the recipes in the hopes that you will indulge in my place!

I have included some of the old faves that Granny and my mom, and I baked together, as well as a couple of others. A word of warning that many of our favorite holiday cookies hail from rather old origins, largely from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book, which was originally published in 1963, so they are certainly not “health conscious.” There is a lot of use of shortening and food coloring, and other things that I would not agree with under normal circumstances…but convince myself that it is okay since it’s only once a year…right!?! Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!!

CANDY CANE COOKIES

Makes about 4 Dozen Cookies

These cookies are the epitome of childhood Christmas for me. They are really fun for kids to help with…I speak from experience! Kids will enjoy jobs like crushing the candy canes (easy to do by placing them into a paper bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin), coloring the dough, and forming the canes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup shortening (half butter or margarine)

1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy

1/2 cup granulated sugar

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Step One: Heat oven to 375°F.

Step Two: Mix shortening, sugar, egg, and flavorings thoroughly.

Step Three: Measure flour by dipping method or by sifting. Mix flour and salt; stir into shortening mixture.

Step Four: Divide dough in half. Blend food coloring into one half.

Step Five: Roll a 4” strip (using 1 teaspoon dough) from each color. For smooth, even strips, roll them back and forth on a lightly floured board. Place side by side, press lightly together and twist like rope. For best results, complete cookies one at a time. If all the dough of one color is shaped first, strips become too dry to twist.

Step Six: Place on ungreased baking sheet. Curve top down to form handle of cane.

Step Seven: Bake about 9 minutes, until lightly browned. While still warm, remove from baking sheet with spatula and sprinkle with mixture of peppermint candy and sugar.

Source: Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book. Here it is on Amazon.com.

THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Makes about 3 Dozen

These cookies certainly have a very old-fashioned feel with their jelly filling. Granny always used red currant jelly in half and and mint jelly in the other half to put the Christmas colors into effect. I was never a big fan of the jelly, but I love the cookie itself. They would be yummy filled with chocolate frosting. A Hershey’s Kiss would also fit well into the indent. I also personally think that coconut would be a great addition to these puppies!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup shortening (part butter or margarine)

1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 egg, separated

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts

jelly or tinted confectioners’ sugar

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Step One: Heat oven to 350°F.

Step Two: Mix shortening, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla thoroughly.

Step Three: Measure flour by dipping method or by sifting. Blend together flour and salt; stir in.

Step Four: Roll dough into balls (1 teaspoon per ball).

Step Five: Beat egg white slightly with fork. Dip balls in egg white. Roll in nuts.

Step Six: Place about 1” apart on ungreased baking sheet; press thumb gently in center of each. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until set.

Step Seven: Cool. Fill thumbprints with jelly or tinted icing. (I would advise only filling the amount that you are planning to serve. Keep the rest stored unfilled until ready to use).

Source: Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book. Here it is on Amazon.com.

LIME MELTAWAYS

Makes about 10 dozen

This is a cookie that Granny and I both fell in love with in more recent years and it became a new holiday tradition. This recipe comes from my good friend Ms. Stewart. It is an ice box cookie, which always comes in extra handy during the holidays because you can make the dough in advance, pop it in the freezer and simply slice cookies and plop them onto a baking sheet when you are ready. A note on the recipe says that the dough will keep in the freezer for up to two months.

This is a HUGE recipe, so unless you have a very large family or are baking for a big event, you will likely want to half it. Also, these cookies are very fragile, so if you want to travel with them, the storage idea shown in the photo is a great one. Lots of them will likely break if just stacked into a cookie tin.

INGREDIENTS:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Grated zest of 2 limes

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Step One: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.

Step Two: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.

Step Three: Between two 8x12 inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least one hour.

Step Four: Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice into 1/8-inch thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.

Step Five: Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss GENTLY to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Source: Martha Stewart. View recipe on MarthaStewart.com.

HONEY SPICE SNAPS

Makes 3-4 Dozen

This is one that I do not know the true origin of. I think it has just been passed down through the family. It is a cookie that my mom has made forever and is absolutely one of my favorite cookies of all time! The warm spiciness of these treats makes them a perfect fit for the holiday season. If you enjoy ginger snaps or molasses cookies…these will be right up your alley!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup honey

2 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Step One:Heat oven to 350°F.

Step Two: Mix first four ingredients in large bowl.

Step Three: Mix together dry ingredients; add to shortening mixture, stirring well.

Step Four: Chill dough.

Step Five: Form teaspoons of dough into balls. Moisten in water and dip half of ball into sugar.

Step Six: Place sugar side up on baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Place in airtight container to store.

Source: A Robot Heart Family Recipe.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE ICE BOX COOKIES

Makes 48 Cookies

I made these a couple of years ago for a ¡Feliz Navidad! themed holiday potluck at work. They were very popular. I love the chocolate/cinnamon combo. They are also easy to make and are another cookie that allows for the dough to be made ahead and kept in the freezer.

A note on the original recipe reads: “Mexican chocolate such as Ibarra or Abuelita is available at Latino grocery stores. It comes in disks. If you can’t find Mexican chocolate, you can approximate the flavor by using 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 2 cups coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate. Add the cinnamon to the dry ingredients.” I was able to find Ibarra in the “Hispanic Foods” section of my local Albertson’s. I live in Hickville, U.S.A., so if I didn’t have trouble finding it, most people shouldn’t.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, room temperature

2 cups finely chopped Mexican chocolate, such as Ibarra

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Step One: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a medium mixing bowl to aerate the mixture and break up any lumps. Set aside.

Step Two: Combine butter and sugar in bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add milk and vanilla and blend well. Scrape down bowl, add egg, and mix well. Reduce mixer to low, add flour mixture, and mix until just incorporated. Fold in chopped chocolate.

Step Three: Turn dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a log (approximately 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter), and wrap tight. Place in the refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour but preferably 8 hours.

Step Four: When ready to bake the cookies, heat oven to 350°F and arrange rack in the middle. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and slice into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake until golden brown on the bottom, about 12 minutes.

Source: Chow.com. View the recipe on Chow.com.