Dolci di Noci or Italian Nut Cookies

 

Italian Nut Cookies/Dolci di Noci

2 room temperature egg whites

½ teaspoon of cream of tartar

pinch of salt

¾ cup white sugar

3 cups finely ground nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, etc)

a few drops of both vanilla and almond extract (optional)

1 tablespoon corn starch

powdered sugar for the balls, about ¼ cup

Whip the the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt until just starting to inflate, don't whip until stiff. Stir in the remaining ingredients (except powdered sugar) until well mixed and the egg whites are well incorporated. You can either bake now or chill for a while.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Take about 1 tablespoon of the dough and form into a ball. Roll the ball of dough in the powdered sugar and place on the cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the sides are just lightly browned. Remove the parchment sheet to a rack to cool. Do not attempt to remove the cookies until completely cooled. Store in a tight container. This should make about 2 dozen cookies, according to how big you make the balls.

For the nuts, place whole or pieces of nuts in a food processor and process until it looks kinda like wet sand. Do not over process or you will end up with nut butter. You can also use premade nut flours, but the freshly ground ones will have a better flavor.

Almond Macaroons

 

Almond Macaroons

 

4 egg white whites

2 cups white sugar

½ tsp cream of tartar

3 cups fine almond flour

a few drops almond extract

a few drops vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Whip on high speed until the whites begin foam and turn white. At a tablespoon at a time, add the sugar as the whites continue to whip. When you add the last bit of sugar, add the extracts and continue to beat until fairly stiff. At this point, fold in the almond flour until it is well incorporated. Chill at least an hour.   Using a tablespoon or a scoop that hold about that much, place balls of the dough about two inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven about 10-15 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and appear to be dry and cracked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the parchment a few minutes, giving them time to set, before removing to a rack to finish cooling.

 

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

 Choose your favorite sugar cookie recipe, replace 1 cup of the flour with cocoa powder, if you have the dark cocoa powder even better.   Also use half brown sugar for the white sugar and add 2 tsp instant coffee granules.   These cookies will turn out tasting a lot like a chocolate brownie.   They are very good.  

Cream Cheese Cookies

 1/2 cup softened butter

8 oz softened  cream  cheese

2 cups white sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

2 eggs

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Cream the butter, the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the  eggs and extracts.   When well mixed, add the flour, salt and baking powder.  Mix until well blended.   Place in a covered dish and chill at least three hours, overnight is better.   The dough will be very sticky.  When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  With wet hands, form the dough into balls and flatten slightly. Place the balls on a cookie sheet about 2-3 inches apart.   Bake for 11-12 minutes, until the bottoms are just slightly starting to brown.   Cool slightly on the cookie sheet, then place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.   Enjoy!   These are addictive!

Browned Butter Peach Bars

 I love peaches and grew up eating lots of peaches.  We lived not too far from Campbell, MO, which grows some the absolute best peaches you ever tasted.   During peach season we would make the trek over there and buy 3-4 bushels of over ripes.   I think the variety was Elbertas.   They were big, dead ripe, juicy freestones.   They would be canned (my dad loved home canned peaches), frozen and Grandma Casey still dried some.   And there would be lots of home made peach cobblers too.    So we all grew up eating and loving peaches in any form.   We all still do.   In the past couple of years I have rekindled a love affair with dried peaches.  I love to simmer until tender, using water and a couple tbsp. of cider vinegar.   Then mash with a potato masher, as some cinnamon, not too much, just enough for a bit of fragrance, some brown sugar and some white sugar, tasting so they aren't too sweet.   Then allow to simmer uncovered until thickened.   It is a good substitute for peach butter on toast, used as a pie or cobbler filling or in this case, used in peach bars. 

I have a liking for peach bars, but too many of them are most just sweet than having any real peach flavor.  The shortbread also tends to be a bit bland and boring.   I decided I wanted some thing that was neither bland nor boring.   Also having a good peach flavor.   I decided to try using my cooked dried peaches for the filling and they were perfect, peachy, but not too sweet.   For the shortbread, I decided to kick things up a bit using browned butter, a bit of almond extract and some almond flour.  It was a hit!   If you don't have almond flour or choose not to use it, just use an extra cup of all purpose flour.  

Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup browned butter, cooled
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Crumb topping:
1/2 cup browned buttter
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup almond flour (or another 1/2 cup of all purpose)
1 1/2 cup sugar

 2 cups of cooked dried peaches as above, or a can of peach pie filling or a jar of peach jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch cake pan.    Make the crust by mixing all of the crust ingredients until well blended and no lumps.  Press evenly over the bottom of the cake pan and about half way up the sides.   Spread the peaches evenly over the crust.   Mix together all the crumb topping ingredients until they are crumbly.   Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the top of the peaches, then bake at 350 degrees about 40 minutes, until the bottom and the crumb topping are both golden brown.    Cook completely before cutting into serving sized pieces.    

No reason you can't use other types of fruits for the topping.   They just need to be cooked and not too runny or two sweet.    You could also add some chopped nuts to the  crumb topping as well. 

Frosted Chewy Molasses Bars

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup molasses (I use and prefer sorghum)
1/3 cup water
.
Frosting
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1-2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoon molasses
water as needed
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then butter and flour a 9x13 inch cake pan. Cream the butter, sugar and molasses together, then beat in the water and egg. It will look curdled. Then beat in the remaining dry ingredients until just barely blended. Scrape into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or a toothpick comes out clean. Remove pan from the oven and cool on a rack. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat together the butter and molasses until smooth, then stir in the powdered sugar until you have a smooth, easily spread frosting, adding small amounts of water as needed. Spread it over the slightly cooled, but still warm cake. When completely cooled, cut into small squares with a very sharp knife.
Feel free to vary the spices, according your personal taste. And if you are a fan of raisins and/or nuts, they would be good added with the dry ingredients. I would use about a cup to a cup and a half total of which ever or a combination of the two.

Toffee Cookies

Toffee Cookies

1 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3  cups flour
1 6-oz pkg toffee chips, with or without chocolate

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Cream the butter and sugars until fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.   Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well blended.   Form into 1 tablespoon balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.   Bake about 13 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges.   Allow to cool on the cookie sheet about 3-4 minutes, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.     

Enjoy!

Another Chocolate Sugar Cookie

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling


Cream together butter and brown sugar with a mixer until fluffy. Beat in the eggs  and then vanilla. Combine cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix well.  Refrigerate dough for one hour.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough and place into granulated sugar, roll around to coat. Place sugar coated dough on lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet, space cookies 2 inches apart. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 9-10 minutes.
Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely

Oatmeal, Raisin and Pecan Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp, cardamom (optional)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
4 cups rolled oats
2 cups flour
2 cups raisins (or other dried fruit and increase if you like lots of fruit)
2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Beat the sugars and butter together until smooth and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.   Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well blended and the dough sticks together well.  Form the dough into balls with about 1 1/2 tbsp of dough, then place on an ungreased cookie sheet about two inches apart.   Bake 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned.   Allow to cool on the pan a few minutes, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.  Makes about 5-6 dozen, depending on the size of the cookies.

Dried cherries and almonds in place of the raisins and pecans is very good.   If you like, you can also just leave out the nuts and fruits.   If doing that, I would add another 1/2 cup of rolled oats.    

Pineapple Sugar Cookies

I love pineapple and wanted a sugar cookie type cookie with a pineapple flavor.  All the pineapple cookie recipes I have found were more like a cake style cookie and that wasn't what I wanted.  They also tended not to have much of a pineapple flavor.  So I did some experimenting and came up with the perfect recipe.  It uses dried pineapple juice powder, but not sure if it really adds that much to it.  So feel free to leave it out if you can't find it.

1 cup softened butter
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. pure pineapple extract
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup died pineapple juice powder (leave out if you can't find it)
1/2 cup or more finely diced dried pineapple

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.   Then beat in the egg, milk and flavorings.  Mix all the dry ingredients together and mix into the butter and egg mixture.    Blend well, then cover and chill for a couple of hours.    When well chilled, form into balls using about 2 tbsp. of dough.  Place a few inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet, bake at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.   The bottoms of the cookies should just barely start to brown.   Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a rack to continue cooling.   Makes about 3 1/2 to 4 dozen cookies.  

If you want a crunchy sugar coating, mix some white sugar with some of the pineapple juice powder and a couple drops of the pineapple extract and mix well, before baking roll each of the dough balls in the sugar mixture and bake as usual. 

Enjoy, I know I do!

Pineapple Cookies

I have a very good friend who loves anything with pineapple.  I have been trying to find a good recipe for a pineapple cookie that is more chewy than cakey, with a good pineapple flavor.  So far this one is the best I've some across.  There are many variations of it, but this is the basic recipe that hits the high points of all of them.  Not quite as chewy as I'd like and the pineapple flavor isn't quite as strong as I'd like, but for now it is a very good start.   And the cookie is a very good cookie.   I can recommend it even it isn't exactly what I was hoping for.  I will keep looking, but until then I will be using this one. 

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained and juice reserved

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

For the icing:(if using)

reserved pineapple juice

2 cups powdered sugar

I didn’t have any crushed pineapple, so I ran a can of pineapple chunks through the blender.  It worked, but crushed is better.

Iin a mixer bowl cream the butter with the sugars.  Add the eggs, pineapple and vanilla.  In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  Blend into the wet ingredients.  Drop by teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

I like them without the icing, although it might give them a hit of pineapple flavor.   

For the icing: Gradually add pineapple juice to the powdered sugar by the tablespoon.  You want the consistency to be a bit thick, but still stream off the spoon.  While the cookies are still warm, spread the icing on the tops.

This recipe makes about 8 dozen soft, delicious cookies.

Peanut Butter and Jam Bars

Peanut Butter and Jam Bars

1 cup softened butter

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups peanut butter

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1-2 cups jam of any flavor

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch cake pan. Cream the butter, sugars, peanut butter and vanilla. When fluffy, beat in the eggs. Gently fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. Evenly pat at about 2/3 of the dough into the pan, then spread with the jam, adjusting amount as you please. I like it pretty jammy so use 2 cups. Scoop spoonfuls of the remaining dough and scatter on top of the jam. Bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.

"Healthy" Christmas Candy

Take about 3 cups of dried fruit,  a mix of more than one kind is best.   Place in a food processor with about 1 cup of nuts, almonds are good.    Process until coarsely chopped, then put in a bowl and add 2 tbsp. of honey.  Mix well and then form into balls, then roll in powdered sugar or more ground nuts.    You can also line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper, then press the fruit and honey mix in the prepared pan and cover with  3 ounces of melted chocolate.  Chill in fridge until firm, then cut into squares.  

You can also add a bit of cinnamon or a drop or two of vanilla or almond or pineapple extract depending on what fruits you are using.   My personal favorite mix is 2/3 diced dried peaches, 1/3 diced dried apricots, almonds and a drop of almond extract, with the honey, then the balls rolled in chopped roasted almonds.  

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

14 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. instant coffee granules
about 1/2 cup sugar, either granulated or powdered (for rolling the dough balls before baking)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 
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Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.    Fold in the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.   Take teaspoons of the dough and roll into balls, then roll those in the granulated or powdered sugar.    Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 9-12 minutes.  When done the tops of the cookies will look dry and they will be covered with cracks.   Allow to cool on the pans about 8-10 minutes before moving to a rack to finish cooling.    Makes 4-5 dozen cookies, depending on size. 

Maple Pecan Bars

I never was a big fan of maple syrup, as I had only had the stuff from the grocery store and it tends to be very thin and not have much maple flavor.    Last spring I had the pleasure of trying some syrup made by an online friend, Max Lown and family. 

His syrup is incredible!  I am constantly trying to find new things to use it on.   Max still has some syrup from this year, so if you want some of the best syrup you've ever tasted, contact him.  His prices are very reasonable, even with shipping still cheaper than grocery store stuff and twice as good.   The secret to the better flavor of Max's syrup is that he cooks it down to a thicker consistency and that also gives it a richer maple flavor.   I can't praise it highly enough.   And if you are honey fan, ask Max about some of his dad's honey.   I have never tasted any honey as good as what I've gotten from Max.   I have both my family members and coworkers addicted to it.   Be sure to tell Max you heard about him from me.  

1 cup softened butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 
1 1/2 cups broken pecan pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.   Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, beat in the vanilla, egg and maple syrup until well mixed.  The mixture will look curdled.   Now beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and pecans.   Mix well and then spread in the bottom of a greased and floured 9x13 inch cake pan.   Bake about 20-25 minutes, until it is lightly browned and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.   Remove from oven and cool completely.   Frost with a very simple maple frosting of maple syrup and powdered sugar.   Beat powdered sugar into maple syrup until you have a well spreading frosting.  Spread over the cooled bars and allow to set.   Then cut the bars into squares and serve.   Enjoy!

Maple Pecan Scones

I was able to buy some of Max Lown's syrup this year and it is fantastic! So I keep looking for ways to make use of the delicious flavor. I did some researching and came up with several recipes for a maple pecan scone. I did some tweaking and this is the recipe I came up with. They turned out quite delicious!

Maple Pecan Scones

3/4 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. maple syrup (preferably Max's!)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
12 tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Mix together the buttermilk, vanilla and maple syrup. In another large mixing bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into the dry mixture until it is well blended. You can leave a few small lumps of butter. Stir in the buttermilk mixture and pecans, then mix lightly with a fork until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Form into a ball, place on a floured tabletop and knead quickly 3-4 times. Roll out into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and cut into strips, then the strips into rectangles about 1x2 inches (or any size and shape you wish). Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart and then bake in the preheated oven, about 10 minutes or until well risen and brown. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet a few minutes before removing to a rack to finish cooling. When cool make a glaze with maple syrup and powdered sugar, just thick enough to drizzle easily off a spoon, but not too thin or it will all run off. Drizzle the scones with the glaze and then allow them to sit until the glaze has dried/firmed up. Eat and enjoy!

Honey Cookies

This is cookie for the person who likes a very strong honey flavor.   It is crispy on the outside and very moist and chewy inside.   It would be very easy to vary the flavors of this cookie by adding various spices or some grated citrus peel.

1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking soda
4 cups flour
sugar for rolling the dough balls in

Beat together the oil, sugar, eggs,  honey and vanilla.   Then stir in the dry ingredients to make a heavy, slightly sticky dough.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   For the dough into balls, using about a tablespoon of dough, roll each ball of dough in sugar (I like to use a coarse turbinado sugar, but plain white sugar works well too).    Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, about an inch apart.   Bake about 10 minutes until lightly browned and they look dry.   Allow to cool on the cookie sheet a few minutes before removing to a rack to finish cooling.   Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Variations:   Decrease vanilla to 1 tsp. and add various spices to taste:  cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, whatever you prefer.

Decrease vanilla to 1 tsp. and add the finely grated rind of two lemons or three limes.    Add more grated rind to the sugar you roll the balls of dough in.

Latvian Gingerbread

My friend Karlis Streipes lives in Latvia, but many years ago lived in Topeka for a time.   He used to make a delicious traditional Latvian gingerbread cookie and yesterday offered to give me the recipe to post on here.   Here it is.   These aren't that difficult to make, just a bit time consuming.  Here is Karlis' recipe as he sent to me on Facebook.   They cookies are quite tasty!   Enjoy!

Hi, Don! You will need 1/3 cup molasses, 1/3 cup honey, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter and 3 tbsp. of lard (don't be afraid of it -- it'll just make sure the gingerbread doesn't stick to the pan). Put all of these in a pot and heat, stirring frequently, until melted together (you can soften the butter and lard in the microwave first). When melted, take off the flame and add 2.5 cups of flour and the following spices: 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/2 tsp. ground cloves, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. cardamom, 1/2 tsp. coriander. Stir together and let rest for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Beat two eggs thoroughly, add to the mixture, stir, and allow it to cool completely. Now sift together 2-1/4 cups of flour with 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder. Gradually add the dry mixture to the dough, stirring until you can no longer stir and then kneading. At first the dough will stick like glue. Keep kneading, adding more flour bit by bit if necessary. Eventually the dough will become dark and shiny.  Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and rest for an hour. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Liberally flour your work surface. Roll some of the dough quite thin. Press out shapes, put on the pan, and bake until gingerbread is golden brown and lightly browned along the edges. This will not take more than 4 or 5 minutes if you have rolled the dough thinly. When the cookies cool, they will slide right off the pan. Enjoy!

Almond Cracker Treats

Last night I had dinner with my old friend Mary.   Mary and I worked together for many years and we are close friends.   Mary fed me a delicious chicken vegetable soup, but she also had this sweet treat to nibble on besides.   It is incredibly easy and incredibly tasty, slight salty and sweet at the same time.   It would make a welcome addition to any holiday table.

48 Keebler Townhouse Crackers
1 1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar or turbinado sugar

Arrange the crackers on a baking sheet with them touching one another.   Sprinkle the almonds evenly on top of the crackers.   Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sugar.   Bring to a boil and then pour over the crackers.   Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.   Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then break apart.    And as always, enjoy!

Butter Tarts

Another very rich bar cookie, but very delicious.   It would be perfect for special occasions like Christmas, family gatherings or anything out of the ordinary.    But be warned, they are addictive!



The bottom crust:

3/4 cup softened butter
3 tbsp. sugar
2 1/4 cups flour

Cut the butter into the flour and sugar, then press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch cake pan.   Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat together the following:

3 eggs
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla

Beat together until smooth, then stir in 1 cup dried cherries and 1 cup chopped pecans.   Pour over the prebaked crust and return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes.   The bottom will  be browned and the topping with be bubbly and set.   Remove from the oven and cool, slice into bars while still slightly warm, but allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.   Refrigerate leftovers.