Category: Desserts

Popcorn Balls

Ingredients

6 quarts popcorn popped and cool on large parchment paper covered cookie sheet.

1 cup Karo® Light syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

1 t vanilla

Directions

Candy thermometer ideal

Add syrup, sugar, and salt in heavy sauce pan and combine. Cook until it reaches soft ball stage* or 235 to 240º. Remove and add butter and vanilla stir and then add to popcorn and toss to evenly coat. When cool enough to handle roll into popcorn balls.

*Softball stage description:At this temperature, sugar syrup dropped into cold water will form a soft, flexible ball. If you remove the ball from water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few moments in your hand.

Note: Can add nuts or cinnamon candies when tossing syrup into popcorn.

 

Date Treats

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 T milk

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups Rice Krispies®

Sweetened coconut flakes

Directions

Melt butter in large skillet. Add sugar. dates, egg, salt, and vanilla and cook until thick. Remove from heat, add Rice Krispies and  walnuts.Cool slightly and hand shape into balls. Roll in coconut.

Serve.

Note: Goes well with blue cheese or Gorgonzola and grapes on a cheese tray.

 

 

Red Velvet Cake Recipe with Creamy Icing

Ingredients

Cake

1/2 cup butter softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 t white vinegar

1 t vanilla

2 t Hersey®’s Natural Unsweetend Cocoa

2 ounces red food coloring

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

Directions

Oven 350º 2 9inch by 2 inch cake pans gresed and floured

Mix flour, baking soda , and salt in bowl and set aside. Combine red food coloring and cocoa in small bowl and set aside.. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time mixing well.  Add cocoa paste mixture and vanilla to butter sugar egg mixture  and mix until incorporated. Add flour, baking soda, and salt  alternately with buttermilk and blend until  combined. Add vinegar and  mix. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 25-30  minutes. Remove from oven and run knife around sides of pan to loosen cakes and then invert them on wire rack to cool..

Frosting Ingredients

5 T flour

1 cup milk

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1-2 t vanilla

Directions

Combine milk and flour in sauce pan over medium heat and whisk aggressively until thick. Cool to room temperature. (If not cooled thoroughly the butter sugar mixture will melt.)

Add butter and sugar to large bowl and with electric  hand mixer beat until light and fluffy. Add flour milk mixture and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and frost cake. Kitchen Aid® mixer with paddle attachment is recommended for this step.

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Chip Macademia Nut Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups flour plus 2 T

3/4 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 cup butter softened

1 cup white sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 t vanilla

1 package of chocolate or white chocolate chips

1 cup macadamia nuts coarse chop

Directions

Oven 375º Parchment paper covered cookie sheets

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and incorporate. Stir in vanilla. Add dry ingredients, chocolate chips, and macadamia nuts and mix. Use 1 1/2 T cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheet. Yields about 2 1/2 -3inch cookies. Bake 9-12 minutes. Cool couple minutes on cookie sheet then remove and place on wire rack to cool.

Spritz Butter Cookies

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups flour

1 t aluminum free baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 cup butter softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1/2 t almond extract

Directions

Oven 350º Cookie press  Ungreased cookie sheets

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and flavorings and mix. Add dry ingredients in thirds until combined.

Fill cookie press with dough and then disc of choice. Press onto cookie sheet and decorate with sprinkles. Bake 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Notes:

Food coloring can be incorporated for the different designs.

Occasionally I have had to chill the dough for 15-20 minutes.

Read cookie press reviews before buying a cookie press. They do not always perform equally.

Pecan Snowball Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened

1/2 cup powder sugar

1/4 t baking powder

2 cup chopped pecans

1 t vanilla

Powder sugar sifted in quart plastic bag

Directions

Oven 350º  Parchment paper covered cookie sheets.

Beat butter until fluffy. Add dry ingredients and pecans. Mix until incorporated. Roll* into  1 inch balls. Bake until light brown about 15 minutes. Cool then place a few at a time in bag with powder sugar. Gently toss until coated and place on wire rack.

*Note: Tried 1 inch cookie scoop but still ended up rolling the cookies into tighter balls.

Marshmallow Treats

Ingredients

5 cups Rice Krispies®

1 package of regular marshmallows(10 ounce size)

4 T butter

M&M® Milk Chocolate 11 ounce

Directions

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add marshmallows and stir until all are melted. Add in Rice Crispies® and begin incorporating. Add in M&M®s and gently combine. Pour onto parchment paper. I butter my fingers and pat them into 10″ by 8″ rectangle. Cut and serve.

Nut Goodie Bars

Ingredients

12 ounce pkg. of butterscotch chips

12 ounce pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups Jif Natural peanut butter

16 ounces dry roasted lightly salted peanuts

1 cup butter

1  3 ounce package of vanilla pudding mix(not instant)

1/2 cup evaporated milk

7 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 t maple flavoring

Directions

Line 15x10x1 inch sheet pan with parchment paper,

Place chips in glass bowl and microwave* about 45 seconds and stir; then reduce to 20 second microwaving intervals and stir until a few lumps left; then finish at 10 seconds.  Remove and stir in peanut butter until blend.Pour 1/2 mixture into parchment covered sheet pan and spread. Place in freezer to set-up. Stir peanuts into remaining chocolate mixture. Set this bowl into larger bowl of heated water to keep mixture spreadable.

In small saucepan melt butter over low heat then gradually add in evaporated milk. Stir in pudding mix and cook until mixture thickened but not boiling. Remove from heat. Pour powdered sugar into large bowl. Add pudding mixture and maple flavoring and beat until smooth. Spread this mixture over chilled chocolate layer. Refrigerate until set about 30 minutes.  Spread with set aside chocolate peanut mixture and refrigerate. Cut into small squares for serving.

* My Mom always melted her chips with 1/8 inch of food grade paraffin on the stove top. Apparently the paraffin would give the chocolate a better glazed look and not melt in your hands as fast?

 

 

 

Mandel Bread

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 cup canola oil

1  t almond extract

1 cup sugar

3 cup flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 cup slivered almonds

3/4 cup white chocolate  chips

2 T sugar

2 T cinnamon

Directions

Oven 350º  Parchment paper lined on 2 cookie sheets

Add flour,baking powder,and salt in bowl mix and set aside. Beat eggs and oil until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla  mix until combined. Add flour mixture in thirds and mix. Add white chocolate  chips and slivered almonds and combine. Place plastic wrap over dough and chill 1-2 hours.

Make 2 rectangles per  cookie sheet. Log should be about 3-4 inches wide and leave 2 inches along the long sides as the cookies spread. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Reset oven to 250º .Cut into 3/4 inch slices and return to oven for 1-2 hours  until crisp. Remove cookies to wire rack and cool. Store in air tight container.

Note: Similar to biscotti

,

Linzer Almond Raspberry

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Ingredients

3/4 cup blanched almonds

1 3/4 cup all-purpose

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/4 t cinnamon

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter diced and cold

1 egg

1 t vanilla

12 ounce jar of seedless raspberry preserves

1/4 cup powder sugar sifted

Directions

Oven 350º Cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Doughnut cutter with removable center ring.

Place almonds and flour in food processor. Process until almonds finely chopped 45 seconds to a minute. Add sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to flour mixture and process.  Whisk egg and vanilla until blended in small bowl. Add to flour mixture and process until dough comes together. Divide dough in half , wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for  1 to 2 hours.

Divide chilled dough in half  and place half on lightly floured surface. Put remaining half of dough back in refrigerator.  Roll dough to about 1/8 inch thick and cut using a doughnut hole cutter with center ring removed. Place on prepared cookie sheets and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and cool onto wire rack.  Roll remaining half of dough from refrigerator and place on lightly floured board. Roll until about 1/8 inch thick and cut with doughnut cutter with center ring attached. Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake about 10 minutes. Remove and place on wire rack. Repeat these steps with remaining dough. Left over dough scraps can be formed in ball, refrigerated, and rolled out one time only.

Spread lightly about 1/2  to  3/4 t of raspberry  preserves on cookies without holes. Dust cookies with holes lightly with powder sugar. Place the cutout cookie on top of preserve covered cookie.

Note: This dough is delicate. I have also rolled it out onto  lightly dusted waxed paper and had better success on transfering cut out dough to baking sheets.