In top of double boiler, melt choc. over hot water. Stir in condensed milk
and vanilla. Spoon into small shallow dish; refrigerate 10-15 minutes or
until firm enough to shape. Place nuts in pie pan. With a teaspoon, scoop
chilled choc. mixture. With another teaspoon, push mixture from spoon into
nuts. Quickly roll in nuts, shaping into a rough ball. Place in small
bonbon paper cups. Repeat with remaining choc. mixture and nuts. Quickly
arrange on tray. Refrigerate. To make ahead: When truffles are frozen in
single layer, place in freezer bags. Freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in
refrigerator. Remove 15 minutes before serving. JUDY GARNETT/NC

An adult will need to make the gingerbread and cut the frame shapes, but
children as young as four years old can decorate and assemble the frames.

Make a template by cutting a piece of cardboard into a 5-inch X 7-inch
rectangle. Center and cut an opening 2 3/4-inches X 4 3/4-inches for the
picture. The dough is edible, so you can bake any scraps left over from
making the frames.

COMBINE first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan (both sugars, honey and
butter); bring to a boil, stirring until sugar melts. Remove from heat;
stir in lemon juice. Pour into a large bowl, and cool to room temperature.

COMBINE flour and next 6 ingredients (baking powder, salt, ginger,
cinnamon, cloves and allspice). Stir 2 cups flour mixture and eggs into
sugar mixture. Gradually add remaining flour mixture, mixing well. (Dough
will appear dry.) Shape dough into a ball; knead on a floured surface
until smooth, adding paste food coloring, if desired.

ROLL half of dough into 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly greased cookie
sheet. (Placing a damp towel under cookie sheet will keep it from slipping
as you roll.) Using template, cut out 1 frame front (with opening) and 1
back; remove excess dough and set aside.

BAKE frame pieces at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until firm. Loosen
gingerbread with a spatula, and let cool 1 minute on cookie sheet. Remove
to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat procedure with remaining dough.

TO ASSEMBLE FRAMES: Spoon Decorator Frosting into a decorating bag or a
heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag; snip off end or small corner of zip-top
bag. On the back of each cutout frame, pipe frosting on three sides.
(Leave 1 side open for inserting photograph.) Push 3 peppermint sticks into
frosting. Pipe frosting on top of peppermint sticks, and attach solid
frame back. Let dry.

DECORATE frames with frosting and assorted candies, as desired. Let dry.

TO MAKE STAND: Carefully attach 2 candy canes to back of each frame with
frosting (the hook of the cane will be the bottom of the stand that
supports the frame). Let dry before standing. YIELDS: 8 frames.

DECORATOR FROSTING: Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl; beat at high
speed with an electric mixer 10 minutes or until stiff peaks form. cover
with a damp cloth to prevent drying. YIELDS: 1 1/2 cups.

This recipe is from CHRISTMAS WITH SOUTHERN LIVING 1994 pg. 128-29.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. In
large bowl combine fruit and dates with champagne, let stand 5 minutes. In
large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and nuts. Beat eggs, vanilla
and orange extract, and butter until foamy, pour into fruit mixture
stirring well. Add dry ingredients, mix until all combined. Pour into pans.
Bake about 45 to 60 minutes or until toothpick placed in center comes out
clean. Cool on wire rack. Place in cloth soaked in champagne. Store in
refrigerator or freezer. ThePoet102

Preheat oven at 350. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a
mixing bowl, combine margarine, lemon juice, and lemon peel. In
another mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Mix wet
ingredients with dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon dough
into a cookie press with fitted template of desired shape. Press
cookies 2″ apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes,
or until golden brown.

The following information comes from King Arthur Flour
“A Short Course in Cooking With & Keeping the Elusive
Wild Yeast”.

What is a Sourdough Starter? “A sourdough starter is a
wild yeast living in a batter of flour and liquid.
Yeasts are microscopic fungi related distantly to
mushrooms. There are many varieties of these tiny
organisms around us everywhere. Wild yeasts are rugged
individualists which can withstand the most extreme of
circumstances. Some will make delicious loaves of
bread; others will create yogurt and cheese out of
milk; still others will turn the juices of grains and
fruit into beer and wine.” “Active dry yeast, the kind
we can buy in packets at our grocer’s, is a
domesticated descendant of these wild relatives, one
which has been grown for flavor, speed of growth and
predictability. But domestic yeasts are much more
fragile and can’t be grown at home without eventually
reverting to their original wild state.”

“If you can imagine a world without any packets of
active dry yeast, you can imagine how important your
sourdough starter would be to you. Without it, you
would be doomed to some pretty awful eating. It is no
wonder that sourdough starters were treasured, fought
over, and carried to all ends of the earth. To the
early prospectors, it was such a valued possession
(almost more than the gold they were seeking), that
they slept with it on frigid winter nights to keep it
from freezing. (Ironically, freezing won’t kill a
sourdough starter although too much heat will.)”

-BUTTER ICING-
1 lb Sweet butter; (do not
-substitute)
1 lb 10X sugar
4 tb Sifted cocoa; (up to 6)
1 ts Vanilla or rum

Notes: 1988 Honorable Mention. Gloria Rimm, Tamaqua. The Times News, PA

Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Add sugar, 2 T. at a time,
beating a few minutes after each addition. Add vanilla. Sift flour with
baking powder. Sprinkle flour into egg yolk mixture and blend in well. Beat
whites stiff but not dry, then fold into batter. Lastly, fold in ground
nuts. Grease and flour two (9×2″) pans. Bake at 325? for 35-45 minutes.

Butter Icing for Hungarian Walnut Torte: Cream butter thoroughly. Add sugar
and cream well. Add cocoa and cream until blended. Add flavoring.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 1/2 sheet pan. In a mixing bowl,
combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar together.
Add the butter, and with your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture
until the mixture resembles a coarse cornmeal. Stir in the sweet potatoes
and pecans. Add the cream, a little at a time until a soft dough is formed.
Lightly flour a surface. Place the dough onto the surface and dust the top
with flour. Lightly press the dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using a
2-inch biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rounds. Place the biscuits on a
greased baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until the biscuits
are golden-brown. This recipe yields 3 dozen biscuits.

FILLING
3 c XXXXX sugar
1 ts Vanilla
3 Egg whites
1/4 c Lard

Mix all till smooth.

drop on greased baking sheet about a large serving spoon full at a time.
Bake each full for 8-10 min. Remove to rack and let cool.

Filling: whip till all is smooth.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 x 5inch loaf pan. In a mixing
bowl, cream 6 tablespoons of the butter with the sugar and the vanilla
until light and smooth. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and
nutmeg and toss together until evenly mixed. Add half of the flour mixture
and the egg to the butter mixture and mix well. Add the rest of the flour
mixture and the buttermilk, beating them in well. Fold in the pears and the
pecans. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45
minutes, or until the center is firm and golden and a skewer inserted into
the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out of
the pan and finish cooling. When cool, invert onto a serving plate and cut
into slices.

If you blanch your own almonds, place in oven for a few minutes to
dry, then chop them finely. Place in deep bowl. Add sugar. Beat egg
whites lightly in another bowl, and add to the almonds. Add farina or
bread crumbs and the vanilla, and knead well. Pinch off small pcs.
and roll each into a ball. Press half a cherry on top of eac. Place
on well-buttered baking sheet and bake in preheated 250 F. oven for
abt. 20 min. Place cookies on a plate, sift confectioner’s sugar on,
and transfer to platter to serve.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together into a bowl and cut
in shortening until mixture is the consistency of cornmeal. Mix in the
sweet potatoes. Add the milk and mix well. Turn out on a floured board and
knead lightly. Roll out to 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a 2-inch biscuit
cutter. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in 475F oven for 12 to 15
minutes. Serve hot with butter.

From: jills@vnet.IBM.COM

Date: Tue, 22 Feb 94 16:39:19 EST
A friend of mine developed a wonderfully moist, fat-free banana bread
recipe and gave me a loaf. I have been after her for some time to give me
the recipe. I finally received it today, and thought you would enjoy making
it as well. This recipe makes either 1 regular size loaf, or 3 mini-loaves
or 12 muffins.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix applesauce and brown sugar together. Mix in
Eggbeaters egg substitute Add everything else and mix together. Spray loaf
pan(s) or muffin tin with low/non-fat cooking spray.

Pour the mixture in the pan(s) and bake:

1 regular loaf pan – 1 hour

3 mini loaf pans – 1 hour

12 muffins – 30 – 40 minutes

Bread is done when the edges pull away from the pan.

REC.FOOD.RECIPES

Mix all ingredients well and refrigerate ovedrnight for best flavour. This
can be used on all seafood. Tastes good also, to. Sauce can be stored in
the refrigerator for some time.

Compliments of:

Heat oven to 375. Beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, milk,
and vanilla; beat well. Add flour, baking soda and salt, mix well. Stir in
oats, chocolate morsels and nuts; mix well. Drop by rounded measuring
tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. (for easy bar cookies press dough
instead into bottom of ungreased 13 X 9 inch baking pan.) Bake cookies 9 to
10 mins for chewy and 12 to 13 for crispy (bake bar cookies 35 to 40 mins
until light golden brown). Cookies: cool 1 min on cookie sheet; move to
wire rack. Cool completely. ABout 5 dozen cookies.

GREASE a steel plate or a baking sheet. Melt the ghee in a non stick pan.
Swirl the pan to completely coat the bottom of the pan with the ghee. Add
the milk and stir constantly to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Cook until almost dry. Add sugar and keep stirring till the sugar is
dissolved. Add the nuts and the raisins. Pour the mixture into the greased
plate. Level with a spoon or a katori. Using a sharp knife cut the barfi
into diamonds. Cool in the refrigerator. When cool, cut the fudge pieces
with a heated knife. Store in the refrigerator.

Grease yer sheet. Mix the buttermilk and sweet potato until smooth. Sift
the dry stuff together. Cut in the lard until you get a coarse meal. Fold
in the sweet potato. Blend but don’t mix it hard. Roll out the dough, cut
into rounds and bake at 450 until done, about 12 minutes. If you’re paying
attention, switch the pans to a different rack midway.

(From Texas Home Cooking. My wife is now mocking me for using a “recipe”
for what she does by second nature.)

Combine milk, 1/2 cup of the water, and the butter in a small
saucepan and heat until butter melts. Set aside to cool.

Sprinkle the yeast over remaining water in a small bowl.Set aside to
proof and soften. Place 1 3/4 cups of the flour, the sugar and salt
in a large bowl.

Using an electric mixer, gradually add the liquids to the dry
ingredients and beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping the sides of
the bowl occasionally. Add cheese, egg and 3/4 cup flour, or enough
to make a thick batter.

Beat on high speed for 2 minutes, again scraping bowl occasionally.
Gradually stir in just enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff
batter so it leaves the sides of the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth
and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Adjust rack in the lower third of oven; preheat ot 375oF. Using a
wooden spoon, stir the raised batter down until it is almost its
original volume. Beat for 1 minute.

Spoon batter into 2 deep, well-greased, round, 1 quart casseroles.
Bake 40-50 minutes, or until golden. Cool 5 minutes, then remove from
casseroles and cool, rounded sides up, on wire racks.

Per slice of Bread: Calories: 105, Protein: 4 g, Carbohydrate: 15 g,
Fat: 3 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 15 mg, Sodium: 245 mg.

TART SHELL
1 c Unsifted all-purpose flour
2 tb Sugar
1/3 c Butter or margarine,
-softened
1 lg Egg

-CUSTARD FILLING-
1/2 c Sugar
1/3 c Cornstarch
1/4 ts Salt
2 c (1 pint) half-and-half
2 lg Eggs
1 1/2 ts Grated orange rind

1. Prepare Glazed Oranges: Cut unpeeled oranges across into thin
slices; cut slices in half. In medium-size skillet, heat marmalade
and orange juice. Add half of oranges to marmalade; cook until
glazed, turning once-15 to 20 minutes in all. Remove oranges to
lightly oiled plate; chill. Repeat with remaining oranges. Reserve
marmalade mixture.

2. Prepare Tart Shell: Heat oven to 400′F. In medium-size bowl,
combine flour and sugar. Stir in softened butter and the egg until
mixture forms a ball. Press into 9-inch fluted tart pan with
removable bottom. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.
Bake 10 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool shell completely
on wire rack.

3. Prepare Custard Filling: In 1-quart saucepan, combine sugar with
cornstarch and salt. Stir in half-and-half, Heat mixture to boiling
over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute longer. In small
bowl, lightly beat eggs. Quickly stir about a quarter of hot custard
mixture into eggs, then return egg mixture to saucepan and heat just
to boiling; remove from heat immediately and stir in grated orange
rind.

4. Turn filling into tart shell. Cool 30 minutes; cover and
refrigerate. just before serving, remove pan rim from tart; place
tart on serving plate. Arrange orange slices on top of filling.
Glaze=7F with reserved marmalade. Refrigerate any leftover tart.

This is another wonderful dish that I had never heard of. My southetn
friends all seem to know about it but the North has been deprived!

This is very rich stuff resembling an apple crisp. I can understand its
popularity in the South. I found the recipe in a wonderful book called
Charleston Receipts collected by the Junior League of Charleston and
published in 1950.

Beat the eggs in electric mixer until very frothy and lemon-colored. Add
other ingredients, except the whipped cream, in above order. Pour into two
well-buttered baking dishes about 8X12 inches. Bake in 325? oven about 45
minutes or until crusty and brown. To serve, scoop up with pancake turner
(keeping crusty part on top), pile on a large plate, and cover with whipped
cream and a sprinkling of the chopped nuts, or make individual servings.

Preheat the oven to 350~. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter,
sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Sift together the flours, salt, baking powder,
and baking soda. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate
chips. With your fingers, place golf-ball-size dough portions 2″ apart on
an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes, or until edges are light
brown. Note: Do not exceed baking time even if they look underbaked.
Finished product should be soft in the middle and crunchy around the edges.
Variations: Substitute milk chocolate for the semisweet and/or add 1-1/2
cups of chopped walnuts or macadamia nuts to the recipe before baking. For
the best cookie, don’t substitute margarine for the butter. SOURCE: Todd
Wilbur’s Top Secret Recipes

Preparation 10 min, standing time 4 hours.

In small saucepan, combine milk and cocoa. Whisk until there are no
lumps of cocoa. Cook over medium heat, stirring for about 5 min or
until thickened. (This cooks out the raw cocoa taste.)

In another small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand for
5 min to soften.

Heat over low heat, stirring, until gelatin dissolves. Stir into cocoa
mixture.

Stir in sweetener (artificial sweetener like SugarTwin equivalent to
1/2 cup sugar) and brandy extract. Remove from heat.

Pour into 8 inch square baking dish. Let stand at room temperature 4
hours or until firm.

To remove from pan, cut around edges with a sharp knife. Place dish in
shallow pan of hot water for about 30 seconds just to slightly soften
bottom. Loosen one corner, then quickly flip gel out onto clean
cutting surface.

With sharp knife, cut evenly in 10 one way and 10 the other way.
Place in container, cover and refrigerate. Will keep up to 1 week in
refrigerator. Makes 100 squares.

3 squares, 1 ++ extra, 2 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein,
13 calories

14 squares (about 1/8 recipe) 1 milk choice, 59 calories 7 g
carbohydrate, 7 g protein, 2 g fat

Heat the oven on 170 C, 325 F or Gas Mark 3.

Cream the butter or margarine with the caster sugar until white and shiny.

Sieve the plain flour and cornflour together, then gradually work them into
the creamed mixture with a wooden spoon. Knead until smooth.

Take about 1 heaped teaspoon of the mixture at a time and roll it in the
palm of your hand. Arrange the little balls on a greased baking tray and
bake for 30-40 minutes until they are pale golden.

Whilst the biscuits are still warm, toss them in the icing sugar or
cinnamon and sugar and then leave to cool on a wire rack.

SERVES 6

The black frying pan went on the trail as one of the main pieces of
cooking equipment. It worked well over the fire for regular cooking, and,
since you did not have an oven, it also had to act as a baking device. The
pan was filled with dough, then it was moved about the fire and angled in
such a way that the bread finally baked.

You and I can do this easy recipe in an oven. But don’t serve it without
remembering how hard times were on the Oregon Trail.

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then cut in the shortening. On
the trail, they would have used a fork to do this, but I prefer to use a
pastry blender. Cut in the shortening until the mixture has a fine, grainy
appearance. Stir in the milk. Knead the dough a few times and push it into
a greased black frying pan. Bake in a 400? oven for about 35 minutes, or
until the loaf is browned and light in weight.

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter and flour 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 1
1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pan with waxed paper. Finely grind
almonds with 2 tablespoons sugar in processor. Combine yolks, 2 tablespoons
sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer,
beat until thick and smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in almond mixture. Using
clean beaters, beat egg whites in large bowl until soft peaks form.
Gradually add 4 tablespoons sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Fold
large spoonful of whites into almond mixture. Gently fold in remaining
whites.

Transfer batter to pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out
clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Turn out onto platter. Remove
waxed paper.

Serves 8.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 2 1/2- to 3-quart
bundt pan.

2. In a food processor or blender, puree sweet potato, the 1/4 cup
safflower oil, vanilla, egg yolks, and honey until smooth. Set aside.

3. Sift together nutmeg, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in
ground walnuts and salt. Combine with sweet potato mixture and stir
briefly. Add orange rind.

4. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold into batter and
pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake until a knife tip inserted in center
comes out clean (about 40 minutes). Let cool for 10 minutes, then unmold.

5. In a small saucepan over high heat, boil maple syrup for 3 minutes. Pour
over top of cooled cake. Decorate with walnut halves.

Makes 1 bundt cake.

1. Prepare Pastry.

2. Prepare filling: In 3-quart saucepan, combine 1/2 C sugar, the
cornstarch, and salt. Drain liquid from canned cherries into the
saucepan; set cherries aside. Stir cherry liquid into sugar mixture
until no lumps remain. Heat mixture to boiling over medium heat,
stirring frequently; continue cooking 1 minute until mixture is
clear. Stir in reserved cherries, the dried cherries, almond extract,
and food coloring, if desired; set aside.

3. Heat oven to 400′F. Between 2 sheets of floured waxed paper, roll
out one ball of pastry to an 11-inch round. Remove top sheet of paper
and invert pastry into 9-inch pie plate, letting excess extend over
edge. Remove remaining sheet of waxed paper. Spoon cherry filling into
pastry-lined plate.

4. Between sheets of floured waxed paper, roll out remaining pastry
to a 9 1/2-by 7 1/2 inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of paper from
pastry. With fluted pastry wheel or knife, trim long edges to make
them even, then cut rectangle lengthwise into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide
strips.

5. To make lattice crust, place 1 strip in center of pie and another
at right angle to first strip. Place 2 strips, one on each side of
first strip, about 1/4 inch apart. Place 2 more strips, one on each
side of second strip. Continue in this fashion, 2 strips at a time,
moving toward edge of pie, until all strips have been used. Trim off
all strips extending more than 1 inch past rim of pie plate. Lift
edge of bottom crust over ends of strips. Pinch together and flute
edge. Sprinkle remaining 1 t sugar onto pastry strips. Place pie on
rimmed baking sheet.

6. Bake pie 35 to 40 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and the
filling bubbles. Cool pie on wire rack 15 to 20 minutes before
cutting.

Pastry: In medium-size bowl, combine 2 1/4 C unsifted all-purpose
flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 t salt. With pastry blender or 2
knives, cut 1/2 C (1 stick) butter and 1/4 C vegetable shortening
into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 1
t almond extract and 5 to 6 tablespoons cold water over flour
mixture, 1 T at a time, and mix lightly until pastry holds together
when lightly pressed. Shape pastry into 2 equal balls; flatten each
ball to 1-inch thickness. Wrap and refrigerate pastry for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and coat a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with
cooking spray. Combine the dates and water and cook in the microwave on
high, covered, until dates are very soft (about 5 minutes; check and stir
every minute). Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and puree the dates
with the vanilla in a food processor, adding cooking liquid if necessary to
make a smooth paste. Turn the date puree into a large mixing bowl and cream
in the sugar with an electric mixer. Blend in the egg whites 1/3 at a time.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour and cocoa powder. Add to the puree
and mix well by hand. Stir in chips. Spread the batter in the prepared pan
and bake on the middle rack until a pick inserted in the center comes out
with a bit of chocolate clinging to it, approximately 15 minutes. Cool on a
wire rack, chill for several hours or overnight, and cut into 18 bars. This
recipe yields 18 brownies. Variation: Add 1/2 cup butterscotch, white
chocolate, or peanut butter chips.