Strawberry Almond Bars...

Over the weekend, I wanted something sweet. So I found this recipe, given to me in the early '80s by a dear friend who lived in the same apartment building in New York City. Everyone seems to have it but the filling is usually apricot. I've never come across a recipe like this, using Solo Almond and Strawberry filling. The almond, while very sweet, seems to cut the richness of the dough. This recipe is definitely party size, but it can be cut in half with no loss in quality. I have never tried to freeze these bar cookies, so I do not know how they would be, if you did.



Strawberry Almond Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large egg yolks
4 cups flour
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
1 8-ounce Solo Almond Paste
1 12-ounce Solo Strawberry pie filling
Confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add yolks and mix well. Add flour and nuts and mix until well incorporated.

Divide dough in half. Wrap half in plastic and put in freezer while you make the base. Pat the remaining half of dough into a 15 ½ inch by 10½ inch jelly roll pan with slightly dampened hands, if necessary. Spread almond paste over surface to within ¼ -inch of edges. Top with strawberry filling and spread in the same way.

Remove dough from freezer and using a large grater; grate the dough evenly over entire surface of filling. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown.

Cut into 9 horizontal rows and 6 vertical rows (to make 54 bars) while still warm but cool completely in pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar and transfer bars to paper cups and a pretty serving tray or store tightly covered.

Makes about 54 bars

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George’s notes:

• You may substitute any brand pie filling, but I have always used Solo, as Caroline instructed in her original recipe.
• I have served these delectable bar/cookies cut in larger squares, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, as a dessert after a dinner.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies...

I made some banana oatmeal cookies with dried blueberries yesterday morning. They are lower fat cookies with only 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 egg whites (instead of 1 egg) and ¾ cup sugar, because the blueberries are sweet themselves and one mashed ripe banana. With a tender crumb due to its soft, flaky oats, this treat was not super sweet, unlike regular oatmeal cookies or breakfast banana muffins. Give these a try, I know you will enjoy!



Banana Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 medium ripe banana, mashed
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups oats
1 cup dried blueberries


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugars with a mixer. Beat in the egg whites and banana, then the vanilla extract. Gradually add in the flour mixture on low speed.
Stir in the oats and dried blueberries.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. You can flatten the tops a bit with moistened fingers or leave them domed shaped (which are more moist and muffin like - I did both, but the ones pictured are the non-flattened version).

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degree F, until set and lightly browned about 10-13 minutes, if you flatten the cookies. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

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George’s notes:

• After reading THIS, you'll NEVER look at a banana in the same way again!
• Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

‘Twas the Night Before Sugar Plums...

As a child, I only knew of sugar plums through The Nutcracker and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Several years ago when I had a subscription to Gourmet, I jotted down a recipe for sugar plums, mostly because I had never tasted one before. These sugar plums are confections, not the fruits that you can read about on Wikipedia. They are quite easy to make and tend to be a huge hit with people who either don’t care for chocolate or just enjoy spices and dried fruits in a delectable bite. It’s a terrific aroma that floats through your house when you make a batch: the smells of orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, toasted almonds, honey.

I usually dust the sugar plums with confectioners’ sugar before serving. They stay fresh for sometime, thus making them perfect for the holidays. I sometimes tie them up in small little packages and give them as gifts with a copy the famed Sugar Plum story!

‘Twas the Night Before Sugar Plums

Ingredients:
12-ounce package pitted prunes
8-ounce package chopped dates
6-ounce package dried apricots
½ cup pecans, finely chopped (optional)
¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
⅔ cup sugar

In the bowl of a food processor, process the prunes, dates and apricots until finely chopped, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.

Transfer to a large bowl and add pecans, graham cracker crumbs and the orange and lemon zest. Mix completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

Using your palms, shape into ¾ -inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar and place on a baking sheet. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

You may then want to put the balls in small paper cups. Store in airtight container, refrigerated. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 5 dozen


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George's notes:

• Wrap these delectable bites in small festive boxes and give as gifts.
• These Sugar Plums freeze well, so you can make them early and bring out for Christmas Eve.

Never Fail Divinity...

There are some things that always remind me of the Christmas holidays. One that stands out is an old southern traditional Divinity. My mom always makes this time-tested recipe, so I pass it on to you. As the name say, it never fails the cook nor fails to please the recipient of this delicious confection.



Mom's Never Fail Divinity

Ingredients:
1½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 pint marshmallow crème
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine sugar, water and salt; bring to a boil. Cook to syrup thickens. Place marshmallow crème in a mixing bowl; beat in sugar syrup until candy hold a shape. Fold in nuts and vanilla.
On a greased baking sheet, drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture and let cool.
To keep divinity fresh, store in an air-tight container in a cool place.

Makes about 24 pieces


George’s notes:

• Divinity is a classic! It's also a bit temperamental when the weather is hot and humid, so it is best to attempt divinity in low-humidity conditions.
• Divinity can be poured into a 9-inch square pan, cooled, and cut into small squares instead of being dropped from a spoon.

‘Tis the season to make cookies….

The coming of Christmas and Hanukkah brings many days of preparation and one of those days is making cookies. What is the holiday without a variety of your favorite cookies? I know that we each have a special cookie recipe, hand down from generation to generation that is always on our cookie tray.

One cookie that we all make is the Classic Rolled Sugar Cookie. Here is the recipe I use, that was used by a premier caterer in the Greenwich, CT area. A few years ago, I freelanced with them during the days leading up to the holidays. My assignment was to make 10,000 decorated sugar cookies. Each day I would prep dough and then start cutting out the chilled dough from the day before.

Here are a few tips I learned to help make the prefect Classic Rolled Sugar Cookie:

• Roll the dough out before chilling and then chill. I roll out my sugar cookie dough right after it is mixed up between 2 sheets of waxed paper, place it on to a flat baking sheet and put it in the fridge. Continue until all the dough is rolled out, stacking the dough sheets on top of the first one. You will go through a lot of waxed paper, but the convenience is worth it for me. When you're ready to cut them out, take out one sheet at a time, peel off the top waxed paper, lightly rub some flour onto the dough, replace the waxed paper and flip the dough sheet over. Peel off the now top sheet of waxed paper and you're ready to cut out your cookies. Collect the dough scraps in a plastic baggie so they don't dry out; re-roll when you have enough for a large sheet. I reuse some of the waxed paper sheets for re-rolling the scraps. A couple tips..... If the waxed paper slips on the counter while rolling, wipe the counter with a damp cloth. And while rolling the dough, sometimes the bottom waxed paper wrinkles, flip over the dough and waxed paper, release waxed paper and re-roll. This method of rolling out cookie dough has been a real time and mess saver for me.
• Decorating with colored sugars ~ Always prepare cookies by brushing with heavy cream or an egg white slightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of water. Sprinkle with decorative toppings.
• Decorating with food colors ~ Mix 1 egg yolk and ¼ teaspoon water. Divide mixture among several ramekins. Tint each with different food color to make you desired colors. Paint designs on cookies with small paint brushes. If paint thickens while standing, stir in a few drops of water.
• Decorating with icing ~ see directions below

There are so many wonderful cookie cutters, some handed down by relatives, some found at flea markets and some found on cooking websites. Whatever shape cookie you want to make, it is available. I like to use a variety of shapes & sizes to give your cookie tray a creative decorative look. Now lets get baking…


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Classic Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter. Add sugar and beat until smooth and light. Beat eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix until blended.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture and mix well.

Working the dough in ¼ batches, on a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Then place rolled dough sheets on wax paper lined baking trays; separating the dough with wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until completely chilled or overnight.

When ready to bake, cut out cookies with cookie cutter. Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment and lightly greased.

Bake at 400 degrees F for about 8 minutes or until just golden. Transfer cookies to a wire rack until cooled.



Sugar Cookie Icing

Ingredients:
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Milk, as needed

In a bowl, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla; cream with an electric mixer. Gradually enough milk to allow icing to spread or pipe through a pastry bag.

Divide icing into separate bowls and add drops of food coloring to color your icing.

If icing is too thick, add milk or if too runny, add confectioners' sugar.


Store in airtight containers in a cool place until you use them.

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George’s notes:

• Un-cut rolled dough keeps for several days in the refrigerator.
• Cooked, un-decorated cookies freeze well for several weeks. Just thaw before decorating.
• Photographs from Christmas past.

Coconut-Cranberry-White Chocolate Macaroons...

The other day, a friend emailed me a list of top foods people either love or hates. Two items on the dislike list that really surprised me were coconut and white chocolate. Well, I am definitely in the group that loves them both. But a better way to enjoy them is in one delicious macaroon. Here is my recipe using coconut and white chocolate together, with a few dried cranberries thrown in for good measure.


Coconut-Cranberry-White Chocolate Macaroons

Ingredients:
1 (14 ounce) package Baker’s Angel Flake® Coconut
3 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
⅔ cup sugar
6 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
½ cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 ounces dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine coconut, white chocolate, sugar, flour and salt in large bowl. Add egg whites, chopped cranberries and almond extract; mix well.

Drop by tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto lightly greased and floured baking sheets. Bake 20 min. or until edges are golden brown. Immediately remove from baking sheets to wire racks. Cool completely.

Dip a portion of each macaroon into the melted chocolate and let them set on a piece of parchment paper. Store is a cool place.

Yield: about 18

Best method for melting chocolate:

Using a double boiler, or if you don't have one, use a bowl over a saucepan, follow these tips.

• Fill bottom of double boiler with water and place on low heat.
• Place chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate in the top of double over hot (not boiling) water and allow it to melt. Do not cover.
• When most of the chocolate is shiny, stir until smooth.
• Remove top of boiler from heat and start using.

These delectable Coconut-Cranberry-White Chocolate Macaroons are delicious with your afternoon coffee or tea and they make an excellent gift for that special friend, who needs a pick-me-up!