Posted on 12/09/2001 5:24:55 AM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of baking soda
Preliminaries: Arrange oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease an 8-inch round or square baking pan with butter or margarine.
Procedure: Either by hand or using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Sift flour and baking soda together; mix into butter-sugar mixture. Place in greased 8-inch square or round pan. Poke holes with tines of fork all around the dough.
Bake at 300 degrees for one hour. Cool on wire rack.
Presentation: Cut into small pieces and serve, or wrap airtight and store for later use.
Yield: Makes one 8-inch square or round shortbread.
Wife #1 uses a Dacor 30" electric convection oven. This oven will bake 6 16X24 flat cookie sheets at a time. That is 12 doz or 144 cookies. At this time she only has two hands and two arms so she only does 3 sheets or 6 doz at a time in rotation. She mixes on Friday and bakes on Sat and Sun when electric is cheaper. We bought her a 550 watt Kitchen Aid mixer that hase metal gears and sound like a rock crusher! I can't say if the oven is faster but it bakes every cookie fairly even. She beleives that if a recipe calls for 350 degrees to lower it to 325 and add a little time. That was true on her coventional oven also. She uses the best vanilla you can buy.We are going to start using Penzys next year.
Cinnamon Candied Almonds
1 1/2 cups whole almonds (shelled, of course)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 scant tablespoon margarine
1 scant tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, lightly grease another baking sheet. In a pan over the stove on medium heat, combine all the other ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves. Clip a candy thermometer to pan and cook without stirring until the thermometer registers 240 degrees.
Remove from heat, add the almonds and stir until almonds are well coated and mixture starts to harden and get stiff--a good 1-2 minutes. Use a fork and spread nuts over greased baking sheet in a single layer. Let cool down and finish breaking apart any clumps of almonds. Can store in airtight container at room temp. up to 2 weeks.
Sesame Thins
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
About one hour before serving or up to one week ahead:
1. Into large bowl, measure flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissor-fashion, cut 1/4 cup butter or margarine into flour mixture just until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water and vinegar. With hands, knead flour mixture until well blended.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough into 30 small balls. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll 5 balls, each into 4-1/2-inch paper-thin circles (edges muay be ragged). With pancake turner, place circles one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
In small saucepan over low heat, melt remaining 1/4 cup butter or margarine. With pastry brush, lightly brush each dough circle with some butter or margarine; sprinkle with some sesame seeds. With pancake turner, firmly press sesame seeds into dough. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. With pancake turner, remove to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Cool Sesame Thins completely on wire rack. Store in tightly covered container. Makes 30.
I know, it seems like a lot of work for 30 crackers, but they are delicious!
Oatmeal Cookies
11 lbs margarine
8 lbs sugar
16 lbs brown sugar
38 eggs
5 ounces vanilla
10-1/2 lbs flour
5 spoons salt
7 spoons soda
2 spoons baking powder
16 lbs oats
6 cups water
8 lbs raisens
20 minutes @ 325 degrees
Makes 228 large cookies
When I asked for the recipe, I had no idea what I was asking for. Obviously, I haven't tried the recipe, although I've been tempted!
I think I'll print out lots of copies and put one in each of my Christmas cards. Nunya you should make copies and plaster them all over Dallas on trees, street signs, under windshield wipers on cars. Heck start a thread here on FR with the title something like Super Secret $250.00 cookie recpie!!!
I am horrible at baking cookies (unless they come in that bucket of Pillsbury Choc Chip dough) but I will have to make an exception for this one. FOR THE NON-SNOOTY PEOPLE!!
Thanks. Wifie makes a similar cookie with cinnamon , white & brown sugar and coconut. She uses dried cranberries instead of raisins ( at costco)
Cinnamon Applesauce Ornament Dough
1 1/2 cups ground cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup basic white school glue
Mix all ingredients together in bowl, turn out on wax paper and knead thoroughly until smooth. Let sit at least 30 minutes.
Roll out dough between 2 sheets of wax paper. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Remember to use a straw to punch out a hole (to hang ornament with ribbon later).
Let ornaments dry--takes 3-5 days depending on size, thickness, shapes. You want to turn the ornaments over several times per day to ensure even drying.When dry you can decorate with fabric paint (like white "frosting" for a gingerbread man shape). NOT EDIBLE!!! (But smell wonderful!!)
Here they are!And I'm serious about these cookies. I don't usually eat regular fruit cake, but these cookies are scrumptious!
CHRISTMAS COOKIES
1 -1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
4 large eggs
3 cups sifted plain (all purpose) flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons milk
1 pound white (golden) raisins
1 pound chopped candied cherries
1 pound chopped candied pineapple
1 pound pitted, chopped dates
6 cups pecans, chopped fine
1/2 cup orange juice
Cream sugar and butter lightly. Beat eggs, add to sugar mixture. Sift 2 cups flour with soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to creamed mixture. Add milk. Sift 1 cup flour over chopped fruit, raisins and pecans; mix well; add this mixture to other ingredients, and then add orange juice. Mix well. Drop from teaspoon by small amounts onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes in slow (325 degree) oven. Watch closely while cooking as cookies burn easily. THESE COOKIES MAY BE FROZEN AND KEPT FOR MONTHS. Yield: About 300 cookies.
My 11 yr. old son made a batch of these this afternoon. I have been eating them ever since (my bad!), but they are so good, even when you cheat and use the prepackaged candied 'fruit cake mix'instead of all the other candied fruits, skip the dates and use fewer pecans. But I did learn this afternoon that if you try to make them bigger than just the teaspoon full of dough, all they do is spread out on the pan. Thay look much nicer if you make them smaller.
OK here's the Golden Fruit Cake recipe again (sorry to glom onto the Cookie Recipe thread)
GOLDEN FRUIT CAKE
1 - 1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cups milk
1 teaspoon brandy extract (or use 1/4 cup brandy and reduce milk to 3/4 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 - 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 - 1/2 cups golden raisins
1 - 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup candied orange peel, chopped
1 cup pecans (or walnuts) coarsely chopped
Beat butter or margaarine until light and creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. Beat egg yolks together lightly and add. Combine milk, brandy (or extract) and vanilla. Mix 3 cups of the flour and salt together. Alternately add milk mixture and flour mixture to butter mixture. Toss fruits and nuts with the remaining 1/2 cup flour and fold into batter. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. fold whites into batter gently but thoroughly. Pour mixture into two buttered and floured xix cup molds or 2 9 x 5 inch loaf pans (or into a bundt cake pan) Bake at 275 degrees for 2 - 1/2 hours or until it tests done. Cool in pan, then remove from pan.
I'll be making some this week and send one down to my family's Christmas party in MS on the 23rd. I can't be there, so I'll send dessert!
My big ole wife has made fudge for a 150 years but for the last two years it has not set up! Have you got a clue what I did wrong?
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