Second Day of Christmas – Nanny Florida’s Shortbread Squares

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12 Days of Christmas, 2nd day of Christmas, Christmas, cookie, food, foodie, recipe, second day of Christmas, shortbread, tradition, twelve days of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas, Young Wifey shared with me: Nanny’s Florida’s shortbread and chippers recipes.

Nanny Florida’s Shortbread Squares

Ingredients:
1 lb. butter, 1 1/2 c. sugar, 2 egg yolks, 5 c. unsifted flour

Directions:
Preheat oven 325°F. Cream butter until soft and smooth, gradually beat in sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, Gradually add flour, working it in until throughly blended. Knead in the bowl for 1 minute. Divide and pat dough into four 9″x13″x1/2″ baking pans. The dough should be 1/4 inch thick. Cut each pan of dough into 24 squares. Prick with fork (or use your favorite attachment on your pastry wheel to create fancy patterns). Bake for 20-30 minutes. Do not let brown, they should be pale yellow. Cut into squares again while hot, cool.

XOXO,
Young Wifey

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Flag Day Fruit Pizza

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blueberry, cookie, cream cheese frosting, dessert, food, foodie, fruit, fruit pizza, postaday2011, raspberry, recipe, red raspberry, strawberry, sugar cookie, vegetarian

Happy Flag Day Everyone!

Flag Day Fruit Pizza

Get fruit pizza recipe here.

Strawberry Pizza

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berry, brunch, cheese cheese frosting, cookie, cookie pizza, cream cheese, dessert, food, foodie, fruit pizza, pizza, postaday2011, recipe, strawberry, sugar cookie, summer desserts, summer recipe, vegetarian

This weekend we had picnics on Saturday, Sunday and Monday… and yesterday was the picnic for my classes! What did I plan it the day after a full 3 day weekend? Each marking period I have a competition between my three classes, and one section has won every single marking period this year! Their final prize? They wanted me to make them some of my fruit pizza. I’m not sure how the word of mouth reached my students, but I willingly agreed. So yesterday, they gobbled down this delicious Strawberry Pizza.  I used my trusted fruit pizza recipe, appropriate since I was harassed this weekend for not bringing this dessert to our family & friends’ picnics.

Strawberry Fruit Pizza

What is your go to summer dessert recipe?

Cappuccino Biscotti

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biscotti, brunch, cappuccino, chocolate, cookie, espresso, food, foodie, gourmet, hazelnut, postaday2011, recipe, white chocolate

Happy Valentine’s Day!

When you can’t get a cappuccino, what better to have with your coffee, than a cappuccino biscotti?

Cappuccino Biscotti

Ingredients:
6 Tbs. fresh whipped heavy cream, 1 c. sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 Tbsp. instant espresso, 2 tsp. hazelnut liquor, 2 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp, salt, 1/3 c. white chocolate chips, 1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chunks, 1/3 c. chopped hazelnuts, 1 beaten egg white

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together whipped heavy cream, sugar, egg, egg yolk, espresso, liquor together. In a small mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, chunks and hazelnuts. Roll dough on a floured surface and separate into two balls. Roll each ball out into logs and place on parchment paper lined baking tray. Pat logs to flatten and then brush beaten egg white on tops and sides. Sprinkle with additional crushed hazelnuts and pat into dough. Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F, let cool for 15 minutes and slice diagonally. Bake for 10 minutes more.  Decorate and serve.

*I didn’t have enough hazelnuts, so I mixed in a few almonds to stretch it further.

What are your plans for today?

Dark Chocolate Shortbread

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baked goods, biscuit, breakfast, brunch, chocolate, cocoa, cookie, dark chocolate, dessert, food, foodie, pie crust, postaday2011, recipe, shortbread, snack, sweet, tea, treat

The other day I made classic shortbread that is also really great dipped in dark chocolate. Last night, I modified my recipe and made chocolate shortbread, which would be really great dipped in white mint chocolate. These make a tasty after work snack or a brunch treat.

Dark Chocolate Shortbread

Chocolate Shortbread Ingredients:
2 c. flour, 1 1/4 c. butter softened, 1 c. sugar, 1 tsp. almond extract, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 c. dark cocoa baking powder, 1/2 tsp. fresh ground sea salt, extra sugar for sprinkling

Chocolate Shortbread Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Cream together butter, sugar and extract. In separate bowl combine flour, cocoa and salt. Stir flour into butter mixture 1/4 cup at a time. Chill dough for about an hour (it’ll help the flavors richer and make the dough more manageable). Press dough into pie dish or roll out on floured surface and use cookie cutters. Use prongs on fork to make designs on shortbread. Sprinkle with sugar before baking. Depending on thickness, bake for about 20 minutes. It’s hard to tell when it’s done due to the dark color of the dough. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. If you used a pie tin, cut shortbread into fantails before cooling. Serve at room temperature with hot tea or coffee.

I have a few of these tucked aside, to help me get through a busy weekend…
What does this weekend have in store for you?

Chocolate Covered Pirouettes & Pretzels Rods

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back up plan, Candy, cookie, cookies, dessert, luncheon, party snack, pot luck, pretzels, snack

When All Else Fails

There are good days and there are bad days. Then there are perfect days and epically bad days… Yesterday, was the latter…

I’m still not feeling 100% and today is our holiday luncheon at work… I like to make tasty and beautiful desserts.

Plan #1
Make a butter rum pound cake topped with dark chocolate ganache and garnished with crushed peppermints… I only have half the ingredients I needed… and I didn’t have time (or energy) to run out to the store…

Plan #2
I had planned to make an almond angel food cake with chocolate ganache… I’ve made it many times before. I was whipping my egg whites and soft peaks had formed, but I wasn’t getting the stiff peaks I needs before I added my flour mixture. My metal bowl was completely grease-free… yet still no stiff peaks… Then I went for my bundt pan… ah, it’s in storage. I quickly grab my baby bundt pan and attempt to make mini angel food cakes. I couldn’t figure out the timing, and teh texture of the cake was all wrong.

Plan #3
Melt dark chocolate in double boiler and dip in pretzel rods & pirouette cookies. Easy? Normally yes, but my double boiler is also in storage… So I have to place my small sauce pan in my larger one, keeping it balanced with my left hand… if it were to tip and get a drop of water in the chocolate, it would be ruined… Once chocolate hardened I placed the chocolate dipped pirouettes (I had chocolate pirouettes and vanilla) and chocolate dipped pretzel rods in a glass bowl… and headed to bed.

Chocolate Dipped Pirouettes & Pretzel Rods

Normally, I’d make these a little more gourmet by sprinkling with crushed pistachios or drizzling stripes on with white chocolate… but tonight it was the perfect balance or sweet and salty and easy…

Here’s to today being a better day…