Holiday Skeleton Bones (cookies)
Ingredients & Directions 4 lg Egg whites 1 3/4 c Sugar 1 t Grated orange peel 1/2 t Baking powder 1 1/2 c Salted almonds 1 3/4 c Flour With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites and sugar with orange peel and baking powder until blended. Gradually add nuts and flour, beating until mixture is thoroughly mixed. Cover and chill until firm enough to handle, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day. Lightly flour your hands and pinch off a 3-Tbsp-size piece of dough. On a lightly floured board, use the palms of both hands to evenly roll an 8-inch-long rope. Cut rope in half; roll each half out again to 8 inches. Fold 1 inch of each end back onto rope; pinch ends to make bone-end shapes. Repeat to shape all the dough. Place bones 1 inch apart on buttered and flour-dusted 12×15 inch baking sheets. Bake in a 325 oven until cookies are lightly browned on bottoms, about 20 minutes. (If using 2 pans in 1 oven, switch positions halfway through baking). With a wide spatula, transfer bones to racks to cool. Serve or store airtight up to 3 days. Makes about 2 dozen. Notes: Be sure to use *only* the 3-Tbsp-size dough to size bones. Any bigger and you’ll end up with clubs, not bones. The finished shape looks like a femur (thigh-bone). Also, try rolling the dough out and use bone-shaped cookie cutters. Don’t place cookies closer than 1-inch apart – they spread during baking! Yields 1 servings
Lavender Shortbread
Ingredients & Directions 1 1/2 c Butter (3 sticks)* ;room temperature 2/3 c Sugar 2 tb Lavender florets, chopped 1 tb Fresh mint, chopped 2 1/3 c Flour 1/2 c Cornstarch 1/4 ts Salt GARNISH Lavender powdered sugar** *No substitutes. **To make lavender powdered sugar, put a few lavender flowers in a sealed, pint jar of powdered sugar for a day before using sugar. Preheat oven to 325 F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment or brown paper. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, lavender and mint; mix until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour, cornstarch and salt; beat until combined. Divide dough in half. Flatten into squares and wrap in plastic. Chill until firm. On a floured board, roll or pat out each square to a thickness of 3/8″. Cut the dough into 1 1/2″ squares or rounds. Transfer to baking sheets, spacing cookies about 1″ apart. Prick each cookie several times with the tines of a fork. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until pale golden (do not brown). Cool slightly, then transfer to a rack. Sprinkle with lavender powdered sugar. Store in tin cookie boxes or sealed containers. Yield: About 4 dozen. Shepherd writes: “A lovely rich shortbread with a hint of sweet lavender fragrance and flavor. Perfect to serve with tea in the afternoon.” From 1994 “Shepherd’s Garden Seeds Catalog,” pg. 61. From Yields 48 Servings
Easter Bread (paska)
Ingredients & Directions 1 Cake or pkg. yeast 2 c Lukewarm milk 9 c Flour 1 c Butter; soft 1 c Sugar 4 Eggs 1 ts Salt Crumble yeast into bowl; add 1 cup milk and 1 cup flour. Mix and set aside to rise in warm place. Cream butter; add sugar and eggs and mix well. Add remaining milk. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Set aside in warm place until double in bulk. Form into desired shapes. Allow dough to rise in double buld in pans; bake at 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes. Halfway through baking, brush top with beaten egg yolk to which a little milk has been added. Tip: If you melt 1 stick butter and knead into dough it will keep paska soft. “Our Favorite Recipes” St. Anthony Croatian Catholic Church Yields 1 Recipe
Hydrox Cookie Dessert
Ingredients & Directions 1/2 c Milk 2 Egg Yolks; Large 24 Marshmallows; Full Size 2 Egg Whites; Lge,Beaten Stiff 1 c Heavy Cream; Whipped 36 Hydrox Chocolate Cookies 8 tb Butter; Melted Mix milk, egg yolks, and marshmallows. Heat to custard consistency, cool. Add beaten egg whites and whipped cream. Mas cookies thoroughly and add melted butter to make crumbs. Place all but a couple of Tbls of the crumbs on the bottom of a 9 X 13-inch pan. Spread custard mixture neatly over crumbs. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over the top. Chill until firm. NOTE: Oreo Single filling and Hydrox cookies are about the same. If you can’t find Hydrox you can substitute Oreo singles for the Hydrox. From Yields 8 Servings
Benne Cakes
Ingredients & Directions 1 c Brown Sugar; Firmly Packed 1/4 c Butter or Margarine; -Softened 1 Egg; Slightly Beaten 1/2 ts Vanilla Extract 1 ts Lemon Juice; Freshly -Squeezed 1/2 c All-purpose Flour 1/2 ts Baking Powder 1/4 ts Salt 1 c Sesame Seeds; Toasted Originally from West Africa, Benne translates to sesame seeds in English. Sesame seeds were traditionally eaten for good luck and this recipe can still be found served in some parts of the American South. Try your luck on it tonight and prepare this sweet little cake as we continue our salute to Black History Month at Recipe-a-Day.com! Pre-heat oven to 325-F degrees. Spread sesame seeds out in one thin layers on a non-greased baking sheet and toast for 8 to15 minutes until lightly browned. Removed sesame seeds to cool and lightly oil or spray the same baking sheet with non-stick cooking oil. Combine brown sugar and butter in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Stir in egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sesame seeds. Mix until thoroughly blended. Drop mixture by rounded teaspoons onto oiled baking sheet about 2-inches apart. Bake for 15-minutes or until the edges are browned. Best when served warm from the oven. Yields 24 Cakes
World's Best Carrot Cake
Ingredients & Directions I.E.S.JJGF65A -PHILLY.INQUIRER- 4 Etra large eggs 1 3/4 c Sugar 1 1/2 c Vegetable oil 2 ts Vanilla extract 2 c Flour;sifted 1/2 ts Salt 2 ts Baking soda 2 ts Cinnamon;ground 1 ts Ginger;ground 1/8 ts Cloves;ground 1/8 ts Nutmeg;grated 1 lb Carrots;peeled and grated 1 c Walnut;pieces 1 lb Cream cheese;room temp. 1 Butter;stick,softened 2 c Confectioners’,sugar,sifted 1 ts Vanilla 2 tb Dark rum or brandy Beat the eggs with the sugar until fluffy.Slowly add the oil in a steady stream mixing constantly.Mix in the vanilla. Sift the flour with the salt,baking soda,cinnamon,ginger,cloves and nutmeg and mix well.Fold the carrots and walnut pieces into the batter.Pour into two greased and flourd 9″ layer pans and bake in a preheated 350 deg.oven for 45 minutes or until a tester comes out with a crumb clinging to it…. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes in the pans.Unmold,and allow to finish cooling.Meanwhile,mix up the icing by beating the cream cheese until smooth with the butter.Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until very light and fluffy.Mix in the vanilla and rum or brandy… Place one layer on a serving plate.Frost the top with a thick coat of the cream cheese icing.Top with the other layer of the cake.Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining icing,swirling the icing on top.Makes 12 servings… Yields 12 Servings
Grasshopper Cheesecake
Ingredients & Directions 1 9-in springform pan CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUMB CRUST 1 1/2 c Chocolate cookie crumbs 1/4 ts Cinnamon 1/4 c Melted butter CHEESE FILLING 1 lb Cream cheese 1/2 ts Salt -at room temperature 6 Eggs; separated 1 c Sugar 1 c Sour cream 1/3 c Green creme de menthe 2 oz Semisweet chocolate 3 tb Creme de cacao – grated to garnish 2 tb Flour – the top of the cake CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUMB CRUST: Combine chocolate cookie crumbs with melted butter and cinnamon. Toss and mix well. Press into the bottom and partially up the sides of the springform pan. Refrigerate and, while making the filling, preheat the oven to 325F. CHEESE FILLING: Put the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until light and soft. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar and mix well. Stir in the creme de menthe and the creme de cacao, flour and salt. Beat until the mixture is blended well. Add the egg yolks and sour cream, and beat until the batter is smooth and blended. Combine the egg whites and 1/4 cup remaining sugar and beat until the whites stand in soft peaks. Fold the beaten whites into the cream-cheese mixture. Pour the batter into the crust and bake for about 1 hour, or until the cake has puffed and trembles just slightly when shaken. A wooden skewer inserted in the cake should come out almost clean, with just a trace of batter or moist crumbs on it. Don’t overbake; it will settle and firm somewhat as it cools. Don’t worry if the cake cracks as it bakes. Remove and cool. Refrigerate if standing more than 4 hours. Garnish the top with grated chocolate. Yields 8 servings
