Recipes 32: Raspberry Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

¾ cup butter at room temperature
¾ cup seedless raspberry jam, can use
black raspberry
3 tablespoons Chambord or other
blackberry liqueur; you may omit this.
1 ¼ cup cocoa
1 ½ pounds confectioner's sugar
¼ to ½ cup half-and-half as needed

DIRECTIONS:
Cream together the butter and the jam and use a flat spatula to get out the lumps now or
else they will never come out later. Add the optional liqueur and cocoa and blend in. Then add
the confectioner's sugar in 3-4 bunches to blend it in slowly.
I use a mixer for all of this but you can mix it by hand if you like. Use the half-and-half, or whole milk, to add in enough liquid to keep the consistency just right. You need to keep the frosting easy enough to spread without making it too runny. Everyone's kitchen seems different to me as far as how much moisture you
will need so keep an eye on this.

Any homemade frosting beats store bought frosting by a mile. And even if you put it on a

cake made from a box mix, the cake will taste great because the frosting is so important. Not
many people make anything like this from scratch so if I take a cake with this frosting to a party I always get rave reviews, "you made this from scratch?!!," etc. And it's really very easy to make.

Recipe 31: Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups white table sugar
4 eggs, scrambled

Melt these two ingredients gently on very low heat so that they don't scald:
¼ cup butter
4 ounces (4 squares) baking chocolate

2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)

½ cup confection sugar for the decoration

DIRECTIONS:
Mix the eggs and the white sugar to combine them well. Then add the melted butter and

chocolate after they cool down a little. Then add the flour, baking powder, nuts and salt and stir
to combine. You may want to use an electric mixer just because this batter gets very stiff. You
don't want to beat the batter hard enough to incorporate air into the batter; you just want to mix it completely.

Chill the batter for a few hours or overnight, so that it will handle easily for the next step.

Roll the dough into small balls of 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter each. Then roll each ball of batter
across a plate dusted with the confection sugar to cover the entire ball.

Place each ball on a greased cookie sheet and bake in a slow oven (300 degrees) for 18-

20 minutes. You need a slow oven because a hot oven would discolor the confection sugar

Recipe 28: Italian Hazelnut Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups hazelnuts, toasted and skinned (see Tip)

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Tip: Toast whole hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 7 to 9 minutes. Let the nuts cool for a few minutes, then rub together in a clean kitchen towel to remove most of the papery skins. DIRECTIONS: 1. Position 2 racks as close to the center of the oven as possible; preheat to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. 2. Pulse nuts and sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Scrape into a large bowl. 3. Beat egg whites and salt in another large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the nut mixture. Add vanilla and gently but thoroughly mix until combined. 4. Drop the batter by the tablespoonful 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. 5. Bake the cookies until golden brown, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. When the baking sheets are thoroughly cooled, repeat with the remaining batter.

Recipe 27: Mini Greek Pizza Muffins

All the flavors of a Greek pizza make these savory muffins bite-size treats for adults and kids alike.
Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Serve at room temperature or reheat at 350°F.
Equipment: Mini-muffin pan with 24 (2-tablespoon) muffin cups.

INGREDIENTS:

For Mini Greek Pizza Muffins :

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2/3 cup finely chopped onion

2/3 cup finely chopped red bellpepper

1/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup low-fat milk

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 large egg, well beaten

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives DIRECTIONS: 1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 10 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray. 3. Whisk whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, oregano, sugar, garlic powder and salt in a medium bowl. 4. Stir milk, feta, egg, tomato paste and olives into the onion mixture. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fill the prepared muffin cups two-thirds full. 5. Bake the muffins until lightly browned, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe 26: Hearty Twice Baked Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:

8 large baking potatoes

1/2 pound bulk pork sausage

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups diced fully cooked ham

6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Scrub and pierce potatoes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-60 minutes or microwave, uncovered, on high for 12-14 minutes or until tender. 2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

3. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-in. shell. In a large mixing bowl, mash the pulp with butter. Stir in the sausage, cheese, ham, bacon, sour cream, salad dressing, salt and pepper.

4. Spoon into potato shells. Place on two ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe 24: Chocolate Macaroon

INGREDIENTS:
70 gr butter non-salt
50 gr almond (almond which been sliced soft and dried.
4 teaspoons cocoa butter (non-sugar)
50 gr soft flour
3 teaspoons granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Let butter in the warm room . Mixed in the cup stirred until joined became cream.
2. Mixed that all the materials with turned, then put in the middle of and stirred flatten. Continued stirred until hardened.
3. The very round form until formed the measuring ball 3 cm. Firstly took the material with one hand, then the fist and turned-turned in a second manner the hands.
4. The cake that has been covered was placed above roaster. In order to not cling mutually during compiled arranged with the distance 3-4 cm in a hot manner 180 degree for 15 minutes
5. If being ripe, adopted and hushed until cold.

Recipe 23: Brownie Cakes

INGREDIENTS:

2 Canning jars (wide mouth)
1 c All-purpose flour
1 c Sugar
1/2 teaspoons Baking soda
1/4 teaspoons Ground cinnamon (optional)
1/3 c Butter or Margarine
1/4 c -Water
3 tablespoons Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c Buttermilk
1 Egg beaten
1/2 tablespoons Vanilla extract
1/4 c Walnuts finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Here's one you can start out with, it makes 2 jars. Every recipe technique is the same, just different ingredients.. Sterilize, two 1-pint straight-sided wide-mouth canning jars specifically made for canning jams and jellies lids and rings by boiling for 10 minutes (keep the lids and rings in the hot water until ready to use) set aside. In a small bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon, if desired. Set aside. In a medium saucepan combine butter or margarine, water and cocoa powder; heat and stir until butter or margarine is melted and
mixture is well blended.

2. Remove from heat; stir in flour mixture. Add buttermilk, egg and vanilla, beat by hand until smooth. Stir in nuts. Pour mixture into the prepared canning jars; place jars onto a cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 325-degrees.

3. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a pick inserted deep into each cake comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven, one at a time. Place a lid, then a ring onto the jars and screw down tightly. USE HEAVY-DUTY MITTS, the jars ARE HOT!! Place jars onto your counter to cool. You'll hear a plinking sound. If you miss the sound, wait until the cakes are cool and press on the lids, they shouldn't move at all, that means they've sealed.

4. Store cakes in a cool, dark place. They should last up to a year--I don't know, they've never lasted that long around here! If you'd like to decorate them, place a wad of cotton in the center of each lid, then place a piece of decorative cloth, about 3-inches larger in circumference than the lid, (cut with pinking shears) on top of the cotton. Screw the ring back on (by this time the rings can be removed as the lids should be sealed). Use your imagination when decorating--a hot glue gun works wonders (dried flowers, ribbon, etc).

Recipe 7 : Chocolate Pistachio Sandwich Cookies

Some specialty or natural foods stores carry shelled pistachios in bulk, which makes cooking with them cheaper and easier on the fingers than having to shell them at home. RECIPE INGREDIENTS For Cookies: 1 cup butter or margarine, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cup ground pistachios, almonds, or pecans For Filling: 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 cups sifted powdered sugar 2 tablespoons milk 3/4 teaspoon vanilla milk

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKIES: In a large mixing bowl beat the butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and nutmeg; beat till combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill for 30 minutes, or till dough can be shaped into rolls. Shape dough into two 8-inch rolls. Roll in ground pistachios, almonds, or pecans to coat. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Chill dough for 2 hours, or till firm. FOR FILLING: In a bowl beat butter or margarine till fluffy. Beat in cocoa powder. Gradually add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in the milk and vanilla. Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar. Beat in additional milk, if needed, to make a mixture of spreading consistency. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or till edges are firm. Remove cookies and cool on a rack. Spread 1 to 2 teaspoons of the filling over the bottoms of half the cookies; top with remaining cookies, bottom sides down.

Recipe 4: Christmas Cookie

The materials :
1. Wheat flour 100gr
2. Sugar 80gr the small measurement
3. Egg 1 pellet
4. Butter 100gr

How to make it:
1. Stir flour and butter with the wood spoon until mixed. Add sugar and stirred came back.
2. Put the egg that has been destroyed and stirred equitable.
3. Put flour that has been stirred in the cup. Stirred until level until batter was mixed.
4. Pack with plastic and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Placed on the plank and flattened with the batter mill until the thickness approximately 8 mm
6. Printed with the cake edition was begun from the edge part.
7. Compiled in the plank baked the cake and roasted with the temperature 180 levels for 12-13 minutes. If already ripe spread cake sugar and cool down.