Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Raspberry Star Cookies

My oldest is in preschool. Today she got to take snack to school, and it needed to start with the letter "r." I asked her what she wanted to take. She thought for a bit and then said raspberry cookies! So I found this recipe and they turned out pretty good. I skipped the glaze this time since they were for a bunch of preschoolers. That's just too much mess for them. :) I do have to say that the dough had a hard time staying together. It seemed like there was a little too much flour, so maybe next time I will add a bit less flour.

Raspberry Star Cookies
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 (8 ounce) jar raspberry preserves

  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Dough will be stiff. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into star shapes using a cookie cutter. Set cookies 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place a teaspoon of jam onto each cookie and spread out towards the points of the stars. Roll out remaining half of the dough and cut into stars the same size. cut holes in the center of each star, then place them onto the jam stars.
Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden around the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and almond extract to form a glaze. Add water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too thick to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

**Note: this can be made as white chocolate or chocolate. To do white chocolate, omit cocoa from crust and change chocolate chips to white chocolate chips.

4 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
Mix together.
Add:
¾ tsp. almond extract
¼ tsp. raspberry extract
Mix, then add:
4 eggs, 1 at a time
Mix well. Add 2 c. chocolate chips, melted. Pour over graham cracker crust in spring-form pan. Add decorator’s lines of raspberry sauce. Bake 55-60 minutes at 350. Top with raspberry sauce when serving.
Graham Cracker Crust
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. cocoa (optional)
1/3 c. melted butter
Bake 360 for 6 minutes
Raspberry Sauce
10 oz. frozen sweetened raspberries
2 Tbsp. sugar
Mix in blender, and then strain seeds out.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Orange Berry Granola

The first time I looked at this recipe, it really seemed daunting. It was just so LONG. I finally tried making it. It was a LOT easier than it seems.

Granola

(There are eight variations to the master recipe. You can double the recipe, just bake it in two pans. 1 ½ recipe works on a sheet pan.)

Master Granola Recipe (makes about 1 quart)

Adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 275°. Coat a 9x13 metal pan with cooking spray, then set aside. Mix oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, salt, and extra ingredients (except not dried fruit or anything that gets added after it's cool such as chocolate chips) in a bowl. Bring syrup, oil, water, and any flavoring indicated below to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Drizzle over oat mixture and stir to combine. Pour mixture onto prepared pan. Working a handful at a time, squeeze cereal to form small clumps. Bake for 30 minutes. Stir in dried fruit. Continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool. (Granola can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks.)

2 cups old-fashioned oats (don't use quick oats!)

1/2 cup wheat germ (store this in the fridge or better yet the freezer so it won't go rancid)

2 T. dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup extra ingredients (see complete list below)

1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey or molasses or a combination)

3 T. flavorless oil, such as vegetable or canola oil

1 T. water

flavoring (see below)

Granola Variations:

1. Classic Granola

Extra Ingredients: 1/3 c. chopped walnuts, 1/3 c. sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 cup dark or golden raisins

Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

You can replace the 1/4 c. maple syrup with 2 T. each of maple syrup and molasses.

2. Crunchy Granola

Extra Ingredients: 1/4 c. slivered almonds, 1/4 c. sunflower seeds, 2 T. sesame seeds, 6 T. currants

Flavoring: none

3. Granola with Tropical Flavoring

Add the coconut along with the cashews and banana chips.

Extra Ingredients: 1/4 c. chopped roasted unsalted cashews, 1/4 c. chopped banana chips, 1/4 c. sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 c. chopped dried pineapple

Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

4. Granola with Cherries and Almonds

Extra Ingredients: 1/3 c. sliced almonds, 1/3 c. sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 c. dried cherries

Flavoring: 3/4 tsp. almond extract

5. Trail Mix Granola

Extra Ingredients: 1/4 c. chopped roasted unsalted peanuts, 1/4 c. sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 c. dark or golden raisins, 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips*

Flavoring: none

*Stir chips into the granola only after it has completely cooled.

6. Orange-Berry Granola with Pecans

Extra Ingredients: 1/2 c. chopped pecans, 1/4 c. dried cranberries, 1/4 c. dried blueberries

Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest

7. Pear Granola with Hazelnuts and Vanilla

Extra Ingredients: 1/2 c. chopped hazelnuts, 1/4 c. chopped dried cherries, 1/4 c. chopped dried pears

Flavoring: 1 tsp. vanilla extract

8. Orange-Flavored Granola with Pistachios, Mangoes and Dates

Extra Ingredients: 1/2 c. chopped roasted pistachios, 1/4 c. chopped dates, 1/4 c. chopped dried mangoes

Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest and 1/4 tsp. allspice