Cookie Gift Baskets Tip & Recipe Blog

Archive for January, 2008

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons molasses
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon ginger

Cream shortening and sugar. Blend in egg and molasses. Mix dry ingredients together and add to wet ingredients and mix well. Roll dough in small balls and roll in sugar. Do not press down, cookies will flatten while cooking. Bake 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes.

• 1 box of brownie mix (preferably the kind with the extra package of syrup)
• 12 blue M&M's

Follow directions on the box for preparing the brownie batter.

1. After you have prepared the batter and poured it into the baking pan, hide about 15 M&M's inside the batter (the cook can then eat the rest of them).
2. Bake brownies following the package instructions.

Cut and serve.

For the cookies

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract, beating well.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder and add to the creamed mixture, 1 cup at a time, until thoroughly combined.
3. Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll to 1/4-inch thickness . Using a cookie cutter or plastic bottle cap, cut out 1 1/2 inch circles. You can also use a cookie press to make the circles.
4. Place the cutouts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.
5. Cool the cookies on the sheet for several minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling

• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cream soda
• Several drops red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1. Fill a medium saucepan three-quarter full with water and heat on burner set to high
2. In a large metal bowl, beat the egg white, sugar, cream soda, food coloring (enough to turn frosting desired pink color), and corn syrup with a handheld electric mixer until well combined.
3. When the saucepan of water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Set the metal bowl over the simmering water and beat with an electric mixer on high speed 5-7 minutes, until stiff, glossy peaks form. (Humid weather may necessitate additional beating time.)
4. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and continue beating 6-10 minutes, until frosting is cooled and very thick. Frosting can be made 4 hours ahead of time and chilled, covered.
5. To assemble the cookies: Spoon 1 teaspoon of the filling on the cookie, cover with another cookie and press down to make a sandwich. Repeat with the remaining cookies and filling.

• 1 cup rice flour
• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 cups finely ground blanched almonds
• 6 tbs. soft butter
• 1 tbs. ice water
• 30 almonds

Sift the rice flour and brown sugar into a bowl. Mix in the almonds, and then work in butter with the hand. Stir in the ice water. Break off tablespoon-size pieces of dough and shape into balls. Arrange on a greased cookie sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between each. Flatten slightly and place an almond in the center of each. Bake cookies for 12 minutes, or until delicately browned.

If you enjoy these almond cookies? Try making White Chocolate Cookies with almonds!

Cake falls:

1. Flour may be stale, or incorrectly measured.
2. Cake did not bake long enough, or oven was opened before center was firmly set.
3. Oven temperature out of regulation.

Cake is flat and insufficiently risen:

1. Pan used was too large for amount of batter.
2. Not enough leavening or leavening was stale.
3. Wrong oven temperature.

Cake has a coarse-grained texture:

1. All-purpose flour used; use cake flour.
2. Check carefully the measurements of all ingredients; possible error in proportions of ingredients used.
3. Excess leavening or too many egg yolks.
4. Oven temperature too low.
5. Ingredients not mixed together smoothly enough.
6. Sugar is not fine enough.

Cake is too soft and falls apart:

1. Excessive sugar, leavening, shortening; check measurements.
2. Not enough eggs or stale eggs.
3. Oven temperature too low; or cake removed from pan before cooled.

Cake pulls away from the sides of cake pan:

1. Ingredients not at room temperature when combined. (This is particularly   important for egg whites and liquids which should be at room temperature, not cold.)
2. Ingredients improperly mixed together.
3. Too much liquid used; check measurements of ingredients.
4. Oven temperature wrong; probably baked too long for temperature used.
5. Insufficient amount of batter for size of pan; measure size of pans.

Cake is too heavy:

1. Excessive amounts of sugar, flour or fat; check amount specified against amount used.
2. Oven temperature wrong-probably too hot.
3. Too much mixing of batter; air bubbles may have broken down in over mixing.
4. If egg whites used, may not have been gently combined with other ingredients.

What about cookies? Well we've got answers for that too, read this Troubleshooting Common Cookie Baking Problems article.

• 6 eggs
• 3 tbs. granulated sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. orange flavor
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tbs. butter
• 1 tsp. almond flavor
• 3 cups peanut oil

Beat eggs lightly; add granulated sugar, salt, and flavoring; blend thoroughly. Place flour on board; cut in butter; add egg mixture. Knead until smooth ball is obtained. If dough is too soft, gradually add a little flour to make it firm but not hard. Set aside for 30 minutes. Then cut dough into 4 sections.

Roll on well floured board until wafer thin. Cut with pastry cutter into strips 6 inches long by ¾ inch wide. Tie in individual bow-knots. Fry bows about 3 minutes or until light brown in deep hot peanut oil. Drain on absorbent paper; cool; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes about 6 to 7 dozen bow-knots. These are wonderful to put in cookie tins for holiday gift baskets.

• 1 1/2 lbs. chestnut
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup blanched chopped almonds

Make a crisscross cut on the top of each chestnut. Cook in boiling water 20 minutes. Drain, cool, and peel. Mash the chestnuts very smooth; blend in the sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. Shape into walnut sized balls. Dip in the honey and roll in the gourmet nuts.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 3 cups flaked coconut

Boil the sugar and water until a thread is formed when fork is dipped in and raised. Stir in the coconut; cook over low heat, stirring frequently until a soft ball is formed when mixture is dropped into cold water.

Drop by tablespoon onto a greased surface.

If you are making these to put into holiday gift baskets, make sure they have ample time to cool before they are packaged.

• 2 tbs. butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tbs. sifted flour
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups coconut cream
• 6 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Cream the butter; gradually beat in the sugar. Mix in the flour and cinnamon. Add 1 egg yolk at a time, beating after each addition and until light and fluffy. Gradually add the coconut cream. Fold in the egg whites. Divide among 8 buttered custard cups. Set in a shallow pan of hot water. Bake 45 minutes or until set. Chill and turn out.

This dessert is much different from the typical coconut cookies or other desserts.

You're probably thinking that almonds belong in cookies or other types of nutty desserts, but you're thinking wrong. These bars are delicious and the gourmet nuts find themselves right at home in this dessert.

• 1 lb white almond bark

• 1 cup chunky peanut butter

• 1 tsp. almond extract

• 1 cup salted peanuts

• 4 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Melt the almond bark and peanut butter in a double boiler. Stir in the almond extract and remove from heat. Pour over the rice krispies and peanuts that have been previously mixed together in a large bowl. Stir until the peanuts and rice krispies are completely coated with the melted mixture. Press into a greased 9”x13” pan and cool. Cut into squares and serve.