Friday, September 30, 2011

Chocolate Euphoria Bars

I made these for the first time today and apparently they live up to their name. They are an expensive cookie to make, so I'm glad we weren't disappointed! With Oreos, marshmallows, Coco Puffs and 3 kinds of chocolate, they are really rich. I can't eat chocolate, so I have no first-hand knowledge, but Casey tells me that they are not like anything else he's ever eaten - and also that they are now his second-favorite dessert ever (nothing will ever come before his favorite carrot cake!) This recipe is another one from The Devil's Food Cake Murder, by Joanna Fluke.According to her website, she plans to publish a cookbook compiling of all the recipes from her books sometime this fall. Maybe I'll find a copy in my Christmas stocking (hint, hint).

CHOCOLATE EUPHORIA BARS

1/2 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 cups of Oreo or chocolate wafer crumbs (I recommend using a food processor to get them fine enough to spread across the entire pan)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows
14-oz. sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 cups CocoPuffs or other crunchy chocolate cereal
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray; set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together chocolate cookie crumbs and melted butter. Spread evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle semi-sweet chocolate chips evenly over the crumb layer, then spread the marshmallows evenly over the chips. Pour sweetened condensed milk over marshmallows, as evenly as possible. Spread the white chips over the existing layers, then spread the CocoPuffs on top of that. Sprinkle milk chocolate chips over all. Push down firmly with at wide spatula; don't be concerned if the cereal gets a bit crunched. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. When the pan comes to room temperature, cut the cookies into brownie-sized pieces,while they are still in the pan. Refrigerate to set firmly, Makes 2 dozen bar cookies.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Fruitcake Yes, you read that right - I said Fruitcake

Fruitcake is possibly the most maligned edible in the U.S., and definitely so around the Christmas holiday. I love fruitcake. I firmly believe that most people who think they hate fruitcake have never tasted a decent fruitcake. I know that no commercially-produced fruitcake I have eaten comes anywhere close to the subtle flavor of this fruitcake recipe. In fact, most of them taste like citron held together with library paste (for those of you who are too young to have experienced library paste, think Elmer's thickened to the consistancy of the margarine that comes in a tub). If you only count commercially-produced fruitcake, well then, I hate fruitcake too. But this fruitcake is an entirely different animal - the candied fruit is held together by a batter that tastes like a rich spice cake. This recipe makes a very large fruitcake, about the size of a bundt cake. So why am I including it as a cookie recipe? Since it freezes very well, I've started to bake mine in muffin and tassie pans. The tassie-sized fruitcakes are just the right size for adding to a cookie tray. The muffin-sized fruitcakes let me dole out the goodies in limited portions, so I'm not tempted to eat more than I should!

MOM'S FRUITCAKE

Melt 3/4 cup butter; cool. Sift together into a large bowl:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Add 2-1/2 cups of chopped candied fruit (mixed), 1/2 cup candied pineapple, chopped fine, 1-1/4 cups whole candied cherries, 1 lb. raisins, 2 cups pecans, 1-1/4 cups chopped dates.   (I use only the candied fruit, raisins, and whole cherries, upping the quantity of candied fruit a bit). Mix to coat with dry ingredients.Beat 4 eggs until foamy. Gradually add 1-3/4 cup packed brown sugar to the eggs. Mix well. Blend in 1 cup milk or juice (I use OJ). 1/4 cup molasses, and the melted butter. Add liquids to the flour mixture. Grease one 10" tube pan, or two 9x5x3 loaf pans, or 4 1-lb. coffee cans well and line with wax paper (I use cupcake tins and tassie pans, spraying them well with Pam, no wax paper). Fill the selected container(s) 2/3 to 3/4 full and bake in a slow oven (275 degrees) for 2-1/2 to 3 hours, or until a toohpick inserted into the cake comes out dry. (Cupcake pans take about 45 minutes, tassie pans even less).

Chocolate Mint Dreams


This cookie is another find from the Taste of Home magazines I've scavenged. If you make cookie trays that include these or the Mint Meltaways, be careful where you position them and don't put them on the tray until you are serving. Otherwise their potent mint flavor will envelop every cookie they touch, making for some odd tastes (mint-flavored pecan tassie, anyone?)

CHOCOLATE MINT DREAMS

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 1-oz. squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Icing
2 TBS. butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
1 to 2 drops green food coloring
1 to 2 TBS. milk

Drizzle
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. shortening

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in chocolate and extract. Gradually add in flour and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. (Dough will be soft.) Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet [or cover the baking sheet with parchment paper]. Bake at 375 degrees for 6 - 8 minutes, or until firm. Cool for 2 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely. Meanwhile, combine icing ingredients and spread over cooled cookies, [I use a pastry bag to pipe icing on top of the cookie] Let set. In microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening and stir until smooth. [Stir frequently while melting - the chips will hold their shape even when melted and are easy to overcook] Drizzle over cookies. [I dip a fork into the melted chocolate then wave it back and forth over the cookie] Yield: 4 dozen

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Baklava

Baklava is a two-person job. Without someone to hold each of the 35 sheets of phyllo dough in place while they are buttered, you have a slippin' slidin' mess. The back-up brain comes in handy, too, when you forget if this is sheet seven or nine of the phyllo. I had to make myself a little chart to keep track of the layers (N = nuts):
I've been asked if this is the "real" recipe, because it uses simple syrup rather than honey. I think it is - it's a family recipe from the kitchen of a Greek Orthodox priest.

GREEK BAKLAVA

4 cups walnuts, ground
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 lb package of phyllo dough (I use Filo brand)
1 lb. butter, melted
Syrup: 3 cups sugar, 1 TBS. lemon juice, 1-1/2 cups water. Combine in saucepan and heat to boiling. Cool to 120 degrees and cover.
 Open phyllo and cut sheets to fit in a 9 x 13 pan. Cover dough lightly with a damp (not wet!) cloth. Combine nuts, sugar and spices and blend well. Brush bottom of pan with melted butter. Lay down one sheet of phyllo, and brush with butter. Continue, brushing each sheet with butter, until you have laid down 10 sheets. Top the 10th sheet with about a third of the nut mixture. Cover with another sheet of phyllo and butter. Add 4 more sheets, then add another layer of nuts. Repeat once more. Top the final layer of nuts with 10 sheets of phyllo, buttering each. Carefully cut baklava into diamond shapes with a very sharp knife, by cutting on the diagonal. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake 45 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove from oven and re-cut, then pour cooled syrup over the hot baklava. Let it sit for a few hours to allow the syrup to be absorbed before eating.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Raspberry Vinegar Cookies

Yep, vinegar! This is another new recipe - once I saw the name, I had to try it. And contrary to what you might think, they taste nothing like vinegar. They're more like a cross between a buttery shortbread and a sugar cookie. I made a 1/2 recipe to try it, and that made about 1 1/2 dozen cookies.

RASPBERRY VINEGAR COOKIES

1 cup salted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. raspberry vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. rum extract
1-1/2 cup of flour, PACKED
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vinegar, baking soda and vanilla, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour and mix thoroughly; add nuts, if desired. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet (I use parchment paper instead). Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden. Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

This recipe was taken from Devil's Food Cake Murder, a novel in the Hannah Swenson series by Joanna Fluke (Hannah is a bake shop owner who spends remarkably little time in her busy bakery.)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Peppermint Meltaways

What's wrong with this picture? In one word: pink. These cookies looked very pretty, with their pink icing and pearlized sprinkles, but that proved to be a problem. I quickly learned how conditioned we are to think that mint = green. People were stunned to find themselves eating a mint cookie when they were expecting strawberry or raspberry or just plain sour cream. Believe me - it's important to go with green icing, or to sprinkle the top with crushed candy canes! This is another recipe I found in a Taste of Home magazine, and they do live up to their name, melting in your mouth. Not everyone likes that sensation, but those who do will love this cookie!

PEPPERMINT MELTAWAYS

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
Frosting:
2 TBS. butter, softened
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 TBS. milk
1/4 tsp.peppermint extract
2-3 drops green food coloring (optional)

In a small bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the extract. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-in.balls. Place 2-in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. In a small bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk, extract and food coloring; beat until smooth. Spread over cooled cookies. Sprinkle with crushed candies. Store in an air-tight container.