Cookies & Square
Gelatine No-Bake Cookies
These cookies will separate into two layers, a clear bottom layer and a foamy top layer
Servings: 64
1 cup fruit juice concentrate, thawed
4 envelopes plain gelatine
1-1/2 cups boiling water
Add gelatine to fruit juice concentrate; allow gelatine to soften for 5 minutes. Pour mixture into a blender; add boiling water. Blend until gelatine dissolves and mixture is frothy, about 2 minutes. (If you do not have a blender, mix gelatine mixture and water in a large, deep bowl. Use caution.) Pour into an ungreased, 8-inch square pan. Chill until firmly set. Cut into desired shapes using deep cookie cutters. Serve.
Sugar Cookies
Servings: 24
1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon soy flour, heaping
2 tablespoons water
2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 350oF. Mix sugar, margarine, vanilla, and soy flour well. Add water; mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Add to first mixture; mix well. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface 1/8-inch thick. Cut into rounds using a 2-inch cookie cutter. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
Kid's Tips
To make placecards, cut rolled dough into rectangles. Decorate as desired. "Glue" to a graham cracker base with icing.
Graham Flour Cookies
Servings: 48
1/2 cup margarine
2/3 cup brown sugar
2-3/4 cup graham flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
Preheat oven to 350oF. Grease two cookie sheets. Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, combine graham flour, salt, and baking powder. Slowly add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture until thoroughly combined, mixing at low speed. Slowly add the water to the mixture, mixing at low speed. Form the dough into 4 balls. Roll each ball out on a floured table to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. (Hint: I used a puzzle piece from one of my toddler's shape sorters as a cookie cutter. See what other shapes for cookies are hidden in your toddler's toy chest.) Prick each cookie with a fork to make pretty patterns. Make more cookies from leftover dough. Place cookies on cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes.
Kid's Tip
Use these cookies as the basis of other treats. Put jam or peanut butter in between two cookies. For a hot summer's day, put a small scoop of ice cream in between two cookies. Coat the sandwich with melted chocolate. Let your imagination go wild.
Date Squares
Date squares is a recipe that you should try now if you disliked it as a child. I hated date squares as a child. These squares also sell well at bazaars and flea markets.
Servings: 16
1 250 g package dates
2/3 cup hot water
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup quick rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup margarine
Preheat oven to 375oF. Grease an 8-inch square pan. Cook dates, hot water, and brown sugar over medium heat until soft. Mix flour, oats, baking soda, and salt well. Cut margarine into flour mixture, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press half the flour mixture into the bottom of the pan. Cover with the date mixture. Top with the remaining flour mixture. Press top down lightly and evenly. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve when cool, if desired.
Prize Bars
Make bars relatively small. These bars are rich! Mr. Michael O'Leary, my junior high school French teacher, made this recipe and awarded the bars as prizes for a French contest.
Servings: 16
1/2 cup margarine
1-1/2 cups graham wafer crumbs
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350oF. In a 13 x 9-inch baking pan, melt margarine in oven; add crumbs. Mix and spread evenly in pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts. Press mixture down firmly. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool well before cutting. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Yield depends on size of bars.
Mocha Almond Fingers
This has to be one of my favourite recipes. The fingers are simple and elegant. Both kids and adults enjoy them. Best of all, they are fun to make and your kids will enjoy helping you.
Servings: 48
2-1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
6 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped almonds, optional
Cream margarine and sugars together. In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Dissolve coffee in milk. Add flour and milk mixtures alternately to creamed mixture, mixing thoroughly. Form dough into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour. Using your palm, roll out sections of dough on a lightly floured surface 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 2-1/2 inch fingers. Bake at 375oF for 10 minutes. While the cookies are cooling, melt chocolate in a small bowl placed in a wide, shallow saucepan filled with boiling water. If chocolate resists melting, add a teaspoon of either shortening or margarine. Dip fingers in chocolate. Roll chocolate-covered ends of fingers in almonds, if desired. Chill. Store in covered tins with waxed paper between each layer of cookies.
Sweet-Dream Mints
Sweet-Dream Mints
Servings: 36
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
Any flavour extract
Food colouring
Preheat oven to 275oF. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually beat in sugar. After each addition, beat until meringue is not gritty when rubbed between your fingers. Continue beating until whites are stiff and glossy. Beat in 1 drop of peppermint (or any flavour) extract and several drops of red (or any colour) food colouring. Pipe through a pastry bag with a star tip to form rosettes onto a greased and floured cookie sheet, 1-inch apart, and bake for 25 minutes. Turn off oven; leave in oven for 1 hour to harden (do not open oven!) Store in an air-tight container. Makes about 3 dozen.
Variation
Divide white meringue into 4 equal portions. Colour each batter with a different colour of food colouring
Kitchen Tip
If you do not have a pastry bag, improvise a pastry bag by wrapping waxed paper around your hand into a cone. Secure with tape. Make a "tip" by cutting a w-shape out of the tip.
Cut Glass Squares
6 oz. pineapple juice
1-1/2 envelopes plain gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 package Dream Whip
1/2 cup milk
3 3 oz. packages Jello
1 6 oz. can thick cream
3 cups boiling water
Graham wafers
Dissolve a package of Jello in 1 cup boiling water. Pour dissolved Jello into a loaf pans. Repeat procedure with each remaining package, pouring mixture into a separate pan. Let Jello set until firm. Cut into 1-inch squares. Bring pineapple juice to a boil; remove from heat. Add to gelatin which has been dissolved in the cold water; stir well and cool. Beat Dream Whip with milk until stiff; add cream and beat well. Fold in Jello squares. Line 9-inch square pan with graham wafers. Pour filling into pan and chill. Garnish as desired.
Biscotti
Biscotti, an Italian cookie, is sold at national and local coffee shops at a premium price. The cookie is made to be dipped in a beverage, such as milk or coffee. I had Biscotti first at a Starbucks coffee shop in Back Bay, Boston, Ma near the Berkley School of Music. Biscotti was being sold at the same rate that doughnuts are sold at our Tim Horton's coffee shops. Good news: Starbucks is expanding into Canada. Biscotti is made from very inexpensive ingredients and is remarkably simple to make.
Servings: 14 slices
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
3-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350oF. In a food processor, process sugar, margarine, and 2 eggs until uniform, about 30 seconds. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Process until a uniform dough forms, about 1 minute. You may have to stop the processor and scrape down the sides. (Dough may become too stiff for your processor to handle; if so, turn out dough into a small bowl and knead with hands.) Mound the dough into a heap on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press into a rectangular block 11 inches long by 3 inches wide by 1 inch high. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Remove from oven; let cool 15 minutes. Slice horizontally into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices cut side down on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for another 15 minutes. Let cool on racks.
Variation
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup silvered, toasted, and chopped almonds
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus 1 teaspoon shortening
Add any of the first four ingredients listed above, either singly or in combination, to the mixture of sugar, margarine, and eggs. If desired, drizzle with semi-sweet chocolate chips melted with shortening.
Chocolate Mocha Biscotti
Servings: 14 slices
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract, if desired
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon coffee, 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder, or 2 teaspoons instant coffee beverage mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped, if desired
Preheat oven to 350oF. In a food processor, process sugar, margarine, eggs, almond extract, and vanilla extract until uniform, about 30 seconds. Add flour, cocoa, coffee powder, baking powder, and salt. Process until a uniform dough forms, about 1 minute. You may have to stop the processor and scrape down the sides. (Dough may become too stiff for your processor to handle; if so, turn out dough into a small bowl and knead with hands.) Turn out dough into a small bowl and knead in hazelnuts. Mound the dough into a heap on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press into a rectangular block 11 inches long by 3 inches wide by 1 inch high. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Remove from oven; let cool 15 minutes. Slice horizontally into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices cut side down on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for another 15 minutes. Let cool on racks.
Optimized for Netscape 2.0 or better. Last Updated June 10, 2003.
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Copyright Rexanna M. Keats 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. All Rights Reserved.
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