Pecan and Sea Salt Cookies

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups millet flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt, for topping the cookies


Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl beat the butter, egg, vanilla extract and agave syrup. Stir the liquid mixture into the flour then stir in the nuts.

On a lightly floured surface, shape the cookie dough into a log, about 12 inches long—if the dough is not firm enough to shape into a log, refrigerate it for 10 minutes then try again. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Slice the log into 1/2-inch cookies and place them on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Makes about 16 cookies. Encrust each cookie with a small amount of sea salt. Bake until lightly golden, 11 to 12 minutes.

Flourless Orange and Almond Cake

Ingredients

3 small oranges or 2 large oranges (with unwaxed skin)
8 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
4 1/4 cups ground almond

For the Orange Syrup topping:
1 orange
3/4 cup sugar


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a round 8-inch springform pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line base with non-stick baking paper.

Place the oranges in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return to pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes (this will reduce the bitterness of the peel). Refresh under cold water. Drain. Coarsely chop oranges. Remove and discard any seeds.

Place the orange in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.

Use an electric beater to whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl until thick and pale. Add the orange puree, almonds and baking powder and gently fold until just combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 90 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the baking pan.

Meanwhile, to make the orange syrup, use a zester to remove the rind from the orange. (Alternatively, use a vegetable peeler to peel the rind from orange. Use a small sharp knife to remove white pith. Cut rind into thin strips.) Juice orange.

Place rind in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Drain. Return to pan with orange juice and sugar. Place over low heat and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens.

Turn cake onto a serving plate. Use a skewer to gently prick the top. Spoon over syrup. Cut into wedges to serve.

White Christmas Cherry-Almond Fudge

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
1 (12 oz) package white chocolate chips
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup snipped dried tart red cherries
1/2 cup sliced/slivered almonds (optional)


Directions

Line an 8x8x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Lightly butter the foil and set aside.

Butter sides of a heavy, medium saucepan. Add sugar, milk and butter to saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Once boiling, attach a candy thermometer and reduce the heat to a hair above medium low and continue to stir for 7-10 minutes until your thermometer reads 234°F.

Once your mixture hits the appropriate temperature, remove from heat and grab a wooden spoon. Add the chocolate chips stirring vigorously until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. If you like, stir in almond extract. Add the marshmallow creme and mix until well blended. Stir in dried cherries. Quickly pour into prepared pan. Chill candy overnight.

When firm, use foil to lift fudge from pan. Cut into squares. Store in a tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Candy Cane Fudge

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 peppermint candy canes, crushed


Directions

Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with two sheets of waxed or parchment paper in a crisscross manner (one lengthwise, one crosswise) so ends overhang sides of pan; coat evenly with cooking spray.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, cook sugar, salt, butter, cream, and marshmallows, stirring, until butter and marshmallows are almost melted, 5 to 6 minutes.

Bring mixture to a boil; cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chips and vanilla; stir until chips are melted. Pour mixture into lined pan. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Cool completely; cut into 1 1/2-inch squares.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Cookies n Cream Fudge

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sugar
1/2 cups butter
2/3 cups whipping cream
1 (12 oz) package white chocolate chips
1 7-oz jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla
12 Oreo cookies, broken into bite-size pieces


DIRECTIONS


In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to boil, stirring frequently, 8 to 10 minutes or until mixture reaches 234°F (use candy thermometer).

Remove from heat; add chocolate; stir until smooth. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla; mix well.  Gently stir in the Oreo pieces. Pour mixture into a 9-inch square pan lined with buttered foil. Cool completely; cut into 1 1/2-inch squares.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 cups butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


DIRECTIONS

Cream butter, sugar and salt in large bowl until well blended. Beat in vanilla.

Mix flour into creamed mixture at low speed until well blended.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Roll out dough, half at a time, on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coloured sugars and decors or leave plain to frost when cool.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until set.

Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating with icing.


This recipe is also linked to...

Crazy Sweet Tuesdays
Sweet Treats Thursdays
Sweets for a Saturday

Haselnussplätzchen (a.k.a. German Hazelnut Cookies)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cup sugar
7/8 cup butter
1 egg
2 1/3 cup ground hazelnuts (filberts)
2 cups all purpose flour


DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg. Then add the ground hazelnuts and the flour. Knead it into a compact dough, then let it cool in the fridge for 1-2 hours. If the dough isn't cold enough when you cut out the cookies, they end up melting in the oven. So make sure that the dough is nice and cold before you start rolling it out on your counter. I even put them on a cookie sheet and put them back in the fridge before baking.

Roll out dough to 1/2 cm thick. Cut bite-size round shapes with a cookie cutter and place on a parchment or silicone lined cookie sheet. Bake them for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. They should be dark brown. The darker they are, the stronger the nutty flavor, but there's a fine line between dark and burned. Let them cool off on a cooling rack.

Zimtsterne (a.k.a. German Cinnamon Stars)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) hazelnuts or blanched almonds, finely ground
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup egg whites (about 2 large)
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
About 1/2 cup additional confectioners' sugar for rolling


DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Combine the nuts, cinnamon, and zest. Beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Add the salt, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until stiff and glossy, 5 to 8 minutes. Reserve one-third of the meringue (about 1/3 cup) and fold the nut mixture into the remaining meringue.

Place a large piece of waxed paper on a flat surface and sprinkle with additional confectioners' sugar. Place the nut mixture on the sugar, lightly sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, top with a second piece of waxed paper, and roll out 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top piece of waxed paper. Using a cookie cutter dipped in water, cut into 2-inch star shapes or use a sharp knife to cut into diamonds. Reroll and cut any scraps. Place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Spread the reserved meringue over the top of the cookies and bake until the tops are lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool. Zimtsterne taste best if allowed to stand for 24 hours. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.

Thumbprint Cookies (a.k.a. Engelsaugen)

INGREDIENTS

6 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup jam (doesn't all have to be the same kind)


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Beat in oil and vanilla.
Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Stir into creamed mixture until the dough comes together.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls (smaller than a golf ball, a bit bigger than a grape). Using the end of a wooden spoon, make an indentation into the center of each ball.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or just until the bottoms are browning. Remove from the oven and use the back of a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon to re-do the indentation. Fill each indentation with 1/4 teaspoon jam and allow to cool.

Frankfurter Bethmaennchen

"Frankfurter Bethmännchen" translated: a little Bethmann from Frankfurt; the name comes from the family of Simon Moritz von Bethmann in Frankfurt

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp prepared marzipan/almond paste
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp Amaretto
7 Tbsp powdered sugar
2 eggs
3 to 5 Tbsp cornstarch
120 almond halves, reserved for decoration


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Break the marzipan dough into small pieces and mix with one of the eggs, water, Amaretto, powdered sugar, ground almonds and cornstarch.

Separate the remaining egg and beat the yolk, set aside.

Form marzipan mixture into balls the size of walnuts, placing three almond halves onto the top of each ball.

Brush each ball with the beaten yolk and place on a cookie sheet.

Place cookie sheet on the middle rack. Bake 15 minutes until golden brown.


This recipe is also linked to...

Gluten-Free Wednesdays