Archive for October, 2009
Frightening Witch’s Finger Cookies
Whip Up These Creepy Cookies In A Snap!
I just love this spooky time of year. Right now I’ve got little plastic bats hanging all over my kitchen to get in the mood. As with any holiday, Halloween is a time to get creative with your baking, but that doesn’t mean festive treats need to be time-consuming and difficult. I just found an easy and quick dessert from KraftCanada.com that will look nice and creepy on your table. It’s called Frightening Witch’s Finger Cookies and it’s amazing how real they look! You only need 7 easy-to-find ingredients, and about 30 minutes to create these extremities, but your guests will think you slaved over your hot cauldron for hours. Enjoy these ghoulish treats and have a Happy Halloween!
FRIGHTENING WITHCH’S FINGER COOKIES
1-1/4 cups sliced almonds, divided
125 g (1/2 of 250-g pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Brick Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups flour
HEAT oven to 325ºF.
RESERVE 60 nuts for later use; process remaining nuts in food processor until finely ground. Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, extract and salt in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in ground nuts. (Dough will be stiff.)
ROLL dough into 60 (3-inch) “fingers,” using 1 Tbsp. dough for each. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray. Press 1 of the reserved nuts into dough in 1 end of each finger for the fingernail. Use sharp knife to make 3 crosswise slits in top of each finger for the knuckles.
BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until lightly browned. Cool 3 min. on baking sheet; carefully transfer to wire racks. Cool completely. TIP: Brush nuts with red food colouring before baking.
Easy Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll
This Beautiful Dessert Takes Only 1 Hour to Complete!
Autumn is my favourite time of year. I love the crisp weather, the colourful leaves, and Thanksgiving. Oh, I get so excited when I think about a big turkey dinner with gravy, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and of course, anything pumpkin! I’m crazy about pumpkin! Just ask my brother and sister and they’ll tell you how I get obsessed with pumpkin treats this time of year. The recipe I’m going to share today, for this weekend’s feast, is an Easy Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll from LIBBY’S® found at VeryBestBaking.com. I’ve made this many times and it’s always a hit because it looks beautiful, and it tastes great. I mean, how can you go wrong with the flavour of pumpkin and cream cheese, right? While this recipe is a little more complicated than my usual easy and quick desserts, it’s still quite simple if you follow the directions and it takes about an hour to complete. Your guests will love this! Happy Thanksgiving!
LIBBY’S® PUMPKIN ROLL
Cake:
1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Filling:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.
COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.
BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.
FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.
COOKING TIP:
Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.
Easy Granola Bars
It Takes 20 Minutes To Bake This Healthy Treat!
I always like having a granola bar in my purse for those times when my hunger pains strike and I need something quickly. The downside to store-bought granola bars is all the sugar that goes in them, so I decided to make my own so that I could control the ingredients. I found this recipe for Easy Granola Bars at Allrecipes.com and it takes about 20 minutes to bake…very easy and quick! Plus I love how you can put pretty much anything you want in them. I modified this recipe according to what I had in my kitchen. Instead of almonds I used sunflower seeds; instead of dried cranberries I used goji berries…which I recently learned are a great antioxidant. So play with this recipe as you like and let me know what fun flavour combinations you come up with. Enjoy!
EASY GRANOLA BARS
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sweetened condensed milk, butter, coconut, almonds, chocolate chips and cranberries with your hands until well blended. Press flat into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, depending on how crunchy you want them. Lightly browned just around the edges will give you moist, chewy bars. Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into squares then let cool completely before serving.