chocolate mint meltaways

Chocolate Mint Meltaways

1 1/2 cups mint chocolate chips
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups unbleached flour

Glaze
1/2 cup mint chocolate chips
1 1/2 tablespoons shortening
2 tablespoons almonds, toasted, chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt over hot (not boiling) water, 1 cup of mint chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine butter, confectioners sugar and egg yolk. Beat until creamy. Add melted chips and flour; beat until well blended.

Drop by heaping teaspoonsful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before removing from cookie sheets. Cool completely on wire racks.

Glaze: Combine over hot (not boiling) water the remaining 1/2 cup of mint-chocolate chips and vegetable shortening. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Drizzle each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon of the glaze; sprinkle with almonds.

Chill until set. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

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peppermint pattie cookies

Peppermint Pattie Cookies

Shared with recipegoldmine.com by Renee Full

2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon milk
1 (13 ounce) package York Peppermint Patties

Beat butter and sugar; add egg and vanilla extract.

In separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture alternating with milk. Refrigerate dough 1 hour.

Lightly grease cookie sheet. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove wrappers from Peppermint Patties and cut the candy in half. Shape a small portion of dough around the peppermint pattie. Place on cookie sheet and lightly flatten.

Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool 3 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.

Makes about 36 cookies.

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rum raisin cheesecake

Rum Raisin Cheesecake

1 cup old fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1/4 cup chopped nuts
3 tablespoons margarine, melted
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour, divided
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons rum
2 tablespoons margarine
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts
2 tablespoons old fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked

Combine oats, nuts, margarine and brown sugar; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Combine cream cheese, granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons of the flour, mixing at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in sour cream and rum; mix well. Pour over crust.

Cut margarine into combined remaining flour and brown sugar until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins, nuts and oats. Sprinkle over cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan.

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liqueur pound cakes

Liqueur Pound Cakes

Pound Cake
1 1/2 cups butter (at room temperature)
    DO NOT USE MARGARINE
1 pound confectioners sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups Soft As Silk cake flour

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sifted confectioners sugar to butter, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract. Gradually mix cake flour into creamed mixture.

Prepare 4 loaf pans, each about 3 1/2 x 7 inches. Butter each loaf pan, then dust lightly with flour. Scrape batter mixture evenly into pans. Smooth the top surfaces. Bake at 300 degrees F for 50 minutes, until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes.

Turn cake out and immediately return cake to pan. With a slender wooden skewer, wooden pick or fork, poke 1 inch deep holes, about 1/2 inch apart, all over the top of cakes. Immediately pour an equal amount of syrup over each cake. It will soak in. Let cool on rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pan and serve, or wrap securely and store in a cool area.

Can store for up to 1 month in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Liqueur Syrup
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup water
1 1/4 cups Amaretto (rum, almond, hazelnut
    or orange-flavored liqueur)

In a 2- or 3-quart saucepan, combine sugar, light corn syrup and water. Over medium heat stir slowly until mixture simmers. Continue heating without stirring until mixture boils. Cover and boil for 1 minute until sugar dissolves and liquid is clear. If you don cover the pan and if you stir while the syrup boils, crunchy sugar crystals will form in the finished cake.  Remove from heat and uncover. Let stand to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the liqueur. Ready to pour into pound cakes or can store (can even be frozen!).

Makes 3 1/2 cups syrup.

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cranberry vanilla cheesecake

Cranberry Vanilla Cheesecake

Crust
12 vanilla sandwich cookies, broken into pieces (i.e. Vienna fingers)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Filling
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 ( 8 ounce packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
4 large eggs

Topping
1 ( 12 ounce) bag fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup frozen cranberry juice cocktail, thawed
1/4 cup water

Crust: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Wrap outside of 9-inch springform pan with 2 3/4 inch high sides with foil. Blend cookies, butter and sugar in processor until crumbs stick together. Press crumbs on bottom and halfway up side of prepared pan. Bake crust 10 minutes. Set aside.

Filling: Using tip of small sharp knife, scrape seed from vanilla beans into small saucepan; add beans. Add cream. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Set aside uncovered, and cool to room temperature. Discard beans. Blend cheese, sugar and slat in processor until very smooth, stopping often to scrape down sides of work bowl. Add vanilla cream mixture, blend. Add eggs; process 5 seconds. Transfer filling to crust. Bake cake until sides puff slightly and center is just set, about 50 minutes. Place uncovered hot cheesecake directly into refrigerator and chill 6 hours or overnight.

Topping: Stir all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil 3 minutes. Press mixture through sieve over large bowl. Spoon warm topping over cold cake. Spread evenly. Cool until topping is set, at least 2 hours.

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