Dessert: Meringue Topped Chocolate-Chip Bars
Here’s a festive treat to put the HO HO HO in anyone’s Holiday spirit!
Ingredients:
1 500 gram, 18 ounce package of refrigerated chocolate-chip cookie dough (Pillsbury)
3 egg whites
1-half cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1-half of a cup of nuts
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius, 350 Fahrenheit. Cut cookie dough into 1 & 1-quarter centimeter, 1-half inch slices. Arrange the slices on a 33 by 23 centimeter, 13 by 9 inch un-greased pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. In another bowl, mix egg whites, and gradually stir in the brown sugar. Remove the pan from the oven, spread the meringue over the hot bars, and sprinkle with the nuts. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. Store the bars in the refrigerator. This recipe makes about 30 bars.
Dessert: Sensational Brownies
Yummy! Chocolate-mint! Here is a recipe for a festive treat to make you and yours very merry indeed!
Ingredients:
1 & 1-half cups of melted butter
3 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 cup of cocoa (i.e. Hershey’s)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
24 small York mint patties
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius, 350 Fahrenheit. Grease a 23 by 33 centimeter, 9 by 13 inch pan. In a bowl stir together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs and stir until well blended. Mix in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, and blend well. Reserve 2 cups of batter. Spread remaining batter in the bottom of the baking pan. Arrange mint patties in a lair, about 1 & 1-quarter centimeters, around 1-half an inch apart on the batter. Spread reserved batter over the top. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
This recipe makes a few dozen brownies.
Breads: Scottish Shortbread
This is sweet biscuit type recipe. Scottish Shortbread is famous in many parts of the world and although it is traditionally eaten at Christmas and Hogmanay, it is enjoyed the year round.
Ingredients:
115 grams or 4 ounces of flour
57 grams or 2 ounces of rice flour or ground rice
115 grams or 4 ounces of caster sugar
115 grams or 4 ounces of butter
some extra caster sugar for sprinkling.
Directions:
Sift the flour and rice flour or ground rice together. Add the sugar and rub in the butter. Lightly knead the dough on a floured board until smooth. Press the dough into a floured mould or into a greased and lined baking tin. Prick the dough with a fork and bake at 190 Celsius or 375 Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes or until it is beginning to turn brown. Remove from the oven and cut the shortbread into fingers but leave it in the tin or mould to cool. Sprinkle with caster sugar to serve.
Shortbread Recipes
Ah, shortbread! For many, no Christmas Season’s baking efforts would be right without at least one variety of this old-time standard.
Recipe 1
Ingredients:
2 cups of salted butter (no substitutes)
1 cup of fruit sugar
1 cup of rice flour
3 cups of all-purpose flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in rice flour until well blended. Add all-purpose flour. Remove the dough from bowl. Knead it for 5 minutes. Roll the dough out and place in a greased and floured 23 by 33 centimeter, 9 by 13 inch pan. Prick the top with a fork. Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cut into bars and allow to cool in the pan. This recipe makes 2 dozen.
Recipe 2
Ingredients:
1 cup of butter (8 ounces)
2 & 1-half cups of flour (8 ounces)
1-half of a cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon almond essence
Directions:
Cream the butter until soft. Add sugar gradually; add almond essence and then stir in sifted flour. Knead with hands until dough is well blended. Divide into halves and press into two buttered baking trays. The dough should be 1 & 1-quarter centimeters or 1-half of an inch in thickness. Score with a knife into finger-sized portions for easy cutting later. Bake in oven at 175 to 205 Celsius or 350 to 400 Fahrenheit, for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Don’t over-bake! Cut while warm, then place on racks to cool.
Recipe 3
Equipment:
a medium mixing bowl
Vegetable pan spray
35 by 50 centimeter or 14 by 20 inch Aluminum Cookie Sheet
bell, holly Christmas tree and candy-cane Cookie Stamps
Ingredients:
1 cup of butter
2-thirds of a cup of confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1-eighth of a teaspoon of salt
2 & 1-quarter cups of flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 175 Celsius or 350 Fahrenheit. In a medium mixing bowl cream butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until dough is smooth. If the dough feels sticky add additional 1-quarter cup flour as needed. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Roll into 3 centimeter or 1 & 1-quarter inch balls and place onto ungreased cookie sheet. Spray cookie stamp with vegetable pan spray. Dip the stamp in flour; shake off excess (repeat flour as needed). Gently but firmly press dough with desired cookie stamps. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on sheet, cool completely on wire rack. This recipe makes 2 or 3 dozen.