Chocolate-Almond
Yule Log
(8
to 10 servings)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 eggs, separated
• 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tablespoon almond- or cherry-flavored liqueur, optional
• Chocolate frosting (about 2 cups)
• Sliced blanched almonds, optional
• Cinnamon candies, optional
• Sliced green glace cherries, optional
Lightly
grease 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1-inch jelly roll pan. Line bottom with
waxed paper. Grease again. Set aside.
In
small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup sugar and water to boiling. Reduce
heat. Simmer 1 minute. Set aside to cool.
In
large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar at high
speed until foamy. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar, 2 tablespoons at
a time, beating constantly until sugar is dissolved (rub just
a bit of meringue between thumb and forefinger to feel if sugar
has dissolved) and whites are glossy and stand in soft peaks.
In
small mixing bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed until thick and
lemon-colored, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining
1/3 cup of the sugar until blended. Beat in vanilla, almond extract
and salt. In small bowl, stir together ground almonds and flour.
Sprinkle over whites. Add beaten yolk mixture. Gently, but thoroughly,
fold yolk mixture and almond mixture into whites. Pour into prepared
pan. Gently spread evenly.
Bake
in preheated 400° F oven until top springs back when lightly
touched with finger, about 10 to 12 minutes. Dust clean tea towel
with confectioner’s sugar. With spatula, loosen cake from
sides of pan and invert onto prepared towel. Carefully pull waxed
paper off bottom of cake. Trim all edges with serrated knife.
Stir
liqueur, if desired, into cooled, reserved sugar syrup. Spoon
evenly over inside surface of hot cake. Starting from short edge,
roll up cake, rolling towel with cake. Place wrapped roll seam-side
down on wire rack until cool, about 30 minutes.
Carefully
unroll cake. Spread with about 1 cup chocolate frosting. Reroll.
Place seam-side down on serving platter. Spread with about 1 cup
additional frosting, using small spatula to create tree-bark effect.
Garnish with sliced almonds, candies and cherries, if desired.
Note:
If prepared in advance, baked and cooled cake may be frozen without
filling. Wrap well with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. To thaw,
let wrapped cake stand at room temperature about 1 hour.
http://tinyurl.com/24hyzj
Simple,
delicious cookie recipes for your Solstice celebration
by Mary Scott
Melting
Moments
2 sticks (½
pound) butter
¾ cup cornstarch
½ cup sifted powdered sugar
1 ¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat
oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all ingredients together well
then roll into balls and press down each ball with your thumb.
Chill overnight. Brush tops of cookies with beaten egg white and
top with M&M, spearmint leaf or candied ginger. Bake for 25
minutes. Alternatively, bake first, cool and frost with frosting
of your choice.
Wreaths
aka Hard Boiled Egg Cookies
4 sticks (1 pound)
butter
½ cup sugar
6 hard boiled egg yolks, pushed through a sieve
1 raw egg yolk
4 cups flour
4 ounces brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat
oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter & sugar together until fluffy
and pale yellow, about 4 minutes using a stand mixer or 6 minutes
with a hand-held mixer. Add hard boiled egg yolks, flour, brandy
and raw egg yolk. Chill for 30 minutes. Put dough in a in cookie
press or pastry bag using star pattern and press out cookies.
Brush with beaten egg white and top with red and green decorative
sugar. Bake for 25 minutes.
Chocolate
Meltaways
2 sticks (½
pound) butter
4 ounces milk chocolate
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 cup ground walnuts
¼ teaspoon salt 2 cup flour
4 ounces German Sweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
In
a heavy saucepan, melt one stick of butter with the chocolate
until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Roll into balls and chill
overnight. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and bake 30
minutes.
Chinese
Almond Cookies
2 sticks (½
pound) butter
½ cup sugar
2 oz almond extract
pinch salt
½ cup cornstarch
½ pound raw almond for garnish.
Cream
butter & sugar together until fluffy and pale yellow, about
4 minutes using a stand mixer or 6 minutes with a hand-held mixer.
Stir in almond extract. Sift together dry ingredients and add
to butter and sugar mixture. Mix well then roll dough into tubes
2 inches wide and 5 inches long. Chill overnight. Slice into ¼
inch rounds, brush with beaten egg white and press whole raw almond
into top of each. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake
for 20 minutes.
Mexican
Wedding Cakes
2 sticks (½
pound) butter
½ cup powdered sugar plus additional for garnish
2 cups flour
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ pound whole pecans or hazelnuts
Preheat
oven 300 degrees. Mix all ingredients together then pinch off
teaspoon size pieces. Hide one nut inside each one. Bake 15 minutes
and cool. Top with powdered sugar.
Bourbon
Balls
1 cup ground walnuts
or pecans
1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons sifted cocoa
1 ½ Tablespoon corn syrup
¼ cup bourbon
Sifted powdered sugar for garnish
Mix
dry ingredients well and set aside. Mix corn syrup and Jack Daniels
then add to dry ingredients. Mix well and roll into balls, roughly
the size of walnuts. Roll in sifted powdered sugar and chill for
2-3 hours.
Greek
Cookies
2 sticks (½
pound) butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cognac
2 cup flour
sugar as needed
whole cloves as needed
Preheat oven to 325
degrees Fahrenheit. Cream butter & sugar together until fluffy
and pale yellow, about 4 minutes using a stand mixer or 6 minutes
with a hand-held mixer. Beat in egg & cognac and mix well.
Gradually mix in flour. Chill 3-4 hours. Form 1inch balls, roll
in sugar & insert whole clove. Bake 20 minutes.
http://tinyurl.com/263873
And
lastly, there's always the...
Ladyfinger
Stonehenge!
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