Gluten-Free Lemon Bars

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup lentil flour (sold in Indian stores as besan)
• 1/2 cup confectioner sugar, divided
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• juice of 1 or 2 lemons, depending on how sour you like them

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt butter.
3. Place melted butter, lentil flour, and 1/4 cup confectioner sugar in a bowl. Stir until mixed.
4. Press into a 9x9 baking dish.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. While it bakes, place eggs, white sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk until frothy.
7. When the crust is done baking, pour the liquid over it and return to the oven for another 20 minutes.
8. Allow to cool completely, then shake the remaining confectioner sugar over the bars with a sieve.
9. Slice and serve. I like to use a pizza cutter and wipe it off with a paper towel between cuts.
   
   My kids actually like these lemon bars even more than the standard flour gluten-full ones! The lentil flour makes a beautifully yellow crust.

Pumpkin Decorator Cookies

These soft cookies yield to the tooth, but are still solid enough to decorate. Yum! They do spread, so they're not right for cutters that require definition. Circles are ideal.

3 cups flour

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup unflavored vegetable shortening

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large egg yolks

2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger for 20 seconds, set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, shortening and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg yolks one at a time. Mix in pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until combined.
3. Roll, cut and bake in preheated oven 11 - 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Cookies for Decorators

I considered just linking to Sweet Sugar Belle's recipe, but if her site were to go down, I'd be lost without this recipe, which is perfection for royal icing art.

• 1 c unsalted butter
• 1/3c granulated sugar
• 1/2 c light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 - 2 ½ c all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ c semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Cream together the butter and sugars. To that add the vanilla and egg yolk. Sift together the flour and salt, and add it one cup at a time until completely incorporated. Then, BY HAND fold in the chocolate chips. You can do it with your mixer, but it might break them up, so I would really just do it the old fashioned way.
2. MEANWHILE, PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350°
3. While you wait for the oven to warm, wrap your dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least thirty minutes. When it is chilled, roll out cookies on lightly floured parchment and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.
4. These cookies roll and cut SO WELL!

http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2011/01/in-the-mood-for-chocolate-chip/

Copyright © 2012 SweetSugarBelle.com

Decorated Cookies

I've been on a cookie decorating roll of late. They just make such excellent gifts.

Wedding gifts, for instance.

 

 

Peppermint Delight

Chocolate Graham Crust

1 10-oz box chocolate teddy grahams
2 tbsp sugar
1 stick butter, melted

Peppermint Ice Cream Filling

8 oz red-and-white striped peppermint candies or candy canes
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 cups chilled whipping cream

Ganache Topping 

1 cups chilled whipping cream
1/2 cup light corn syrup
12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips

Garnish

1/2 cup whipping cream
Mini candy canes or mint sprigs

Steps

1. Prepare the crust
1. Finely grind cookies and sugar in processor.
2. Add melted butter and blend with a fork until crumbs begin to stick together.
3. Press crumbs firmly onto bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides.
4. Place in freezer.
2. Prepare the filling

1. Grind half the candies finely and set aside. (If you have some stale candy canes, this is where you want them.)
2. Grind the other half of the candies roughly, leaving some small pieces.
3. Whisk the yolks, sugar and water in a medium metal bowl to blend.
4. Set the bowl over saucepan of rapidly simmering water. Do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water). Whisk constantly until your candy thermometer registers 170°F, about 10 minutes.
5. Remove bowl from over water, and immediately add the finely ground candy.
6. Whisk until the candy is melted.
7. Let the mixture stand until cool, whisking occasionally. (About 5 minutes.)
8. Mix in the remaining candy and the peppermint extract. This batch of candy will not melt.
9. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream to stiff peaks.
10. Fold the cream into the yolk mixture.
3. Spoon the filling into the crust and spread into an even layer to the edges of the pan.

4. Wipe off the sides of the pan.
5. Cover and freeze at least 6 hours.
6. Prepare the topping.
1. Bring cream and corn syrup to a simmer in a heavy saucepan.
2. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips.
3. Whisk until smooth.
4. Cool until just lukewarm and slightly thickened, whisking occasionally. This takes about 20 minutes.
7. Pour the topping over the frozen filling.
8. Tap the pan on a counter to dislodge air bubbles and even the surface of the ganache.
9. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
10. Keep the cake frozen until serving. It melts!*
11. Garnish

1. Whip cream to stiff peaks.
2. Fit a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake.
3. Decorate with candy canes, mint sprigs and/or remaining cream.

This recipe is the All-American Peppermint Stick Torte with Fudge Topping from Epicurious. I made enough modifications to the original recipe not to want to store all changes in notes on the Epicurious site.

I recommend starting this two days before you expect to serve it. Prepare the crust and the filling on the first day. On the second day, take care of the ganache. Freezing overnight makes life easier.

*You can garnish the cake before you remove the springform pan side. That's what I do if I'll be transporting the cake. It needs to be in a cooler, on ice.

Easy orange marmalade

4 lbs oranges*
5.5 cups granulated sugar
5.5 cups brown sugar
juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Boil oranges, in enough water to allow them to float away from the bottom in pan, for two hours.
2. Remove from the water, wipe off, and allow to cool until they can be safely handled.
3. Cut each orange in half, remove seeds, and squeeze the juice into a saucepan. (This is simply to keep the juice from squirting all over your cutting board! If the flesh is still firm, you can just chop it.)
4. Finely slice the rind and roughly chop the pulp.
5. Add orange solids, sugars, lemon juice and vanilla to the orange juice.
6. Bring to a boil.
7. Run about half the mixture through a blender at this point if you want fewer peel shreds, and return to the saucepan.
8. Bring back to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
9. The jam is ready to can. Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.

* I've tried this recipe with grapefruit and orange, and I suspect that lime would work equally well. To cut the bitterness of the grapefruit, I added a teaspoon of baking soda with the sugar. Another way to decrease the bitterness is to separate the membranes from the citrus fruit before chopping, tie them in cheesecloth (for the pectin) and remove the pouch from the marmalade before canning. I'm looking forward to combining orange and lime for a combo marmalade.

If-Shepherds-Had-Sweet-Potatoes Pie

1 frozen pie crust
1 large sweet potato
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb ground beef
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
3 slices bacon, chopped
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 can (8 oz) low-sodium tomato sauce

1. Bake pie crust according to package directions.
2. Prick the sweet potato several times with a fork.
3. Bake the sweet potato at 350° for 45-55 minutes.
   
4. When the potato is cool enough to handle, peel.
5. Add butter and salt, and mash.
6. Spread half the mashed sweet potatoes in the pie crust, and set aside.
7. Brown beef and remove from pan.
8. Add carrots and parsnips to the pan and saute for 5 minutes.
9. Add bacon and onions. Saute until onions are translucent.
10. Add beef and Worcestershire sauce and bring up to heat.
11. Add tomato sauce, and bring up to heat.
12. Place meat mixture on top of the sweet potato layer.
13. Top with the remaining sweet potatoes.
14. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are browned.

This was a hit at a recent pie potluck.