Roasted Cherry Brownies

Using fresh fruit in baking, as I have mentioned previously, can be really difficult. It’s cherry season, and I really wanted to get some cherries. I am never a big fan of pitting cherries, but it’s not that bad if the quantity isn’t too much. I bought cherries, but with some other baking I didn’t get the cherries pitted and the brownies made for a couple of days. 

I got the cherries roasted, which wasn’t difficult. I’m not sure how much that changes the nature of the cherries, but it felt like it was an important step. You don’t use all of the roasted cherries in the brownie, as you top the brownies with additional cherries. Of course I forgot to do that, but the brownies were fine. That’s what I get when I have ten minutes to cut and photograph the brownies!

You could make this recipe by hand, but it’s a lot easier to use the mixer. You do have to be careful not to deflate the whipped up batter when you add the roasted cherries and chocolate chips. There is a little bit of deflation of the brownie batter, but not a lot. These brownies, as you bake them until they are still a little undone in the middle, are very fudgy. They aren’t over-the-top sweet, but you do get bites of chocolate chips that add a nice sweetness. I like the addition of cherries, and I am curious how I can incorporate other fruit in my baking. 

Roasted Cherry Brownies
2 cups cherries: washed, pitted and cut in half
Sugar

1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs + 1 yolk
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the cut cherries over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with some sugar. Bake for 10 minutes and then allow the cherries to cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Line an 8” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the sugar, eggs and egg yolk on high for 5 minutes. Add the slightly cooled butter, then the vegetable oil and vanilla. Stir until the mixture comes together.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture. Fold in 1 cup of the roasted cherries. Spread the brownie batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until set but may be slightly soft in the center. Cool completely. Top the brownies with additional cherries then freeze for 15 minutes before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Stephanie’s Sweet Treats

Chocolate Cherry Cinnamon Pistachio Cookies

Another recipe that I found where I could use the cinnamon pistachios was this chocolate chip cookie recipe with dried cherries and pistachios. This comes from a blog that focuses on bread and sourdough items. I edited this recipe a little, based on the ingredients that I had and the attempt to make a fairly standard cookie.

This recipe initially called for sourdough starter discard, which was not something that I had on hand. I have never had good luck with sourdough starter! Later I found out that this is something that my friend at work has, since her husband bakes sourdough bread. Of well, it was not a large quantity, so I omitted it from the recipe. I am not sure what the sourdough discard would add to the cookies, maybe a little more flavor? It wasn’t something that you traditionally see in a recipe.

This cookie started as a chocolate chip cookie, and the original recipe had you sprinkle the cookies with chopped pecans and then top them with dried cherries. I decided to add the pistachios and dried cherries to the cookie dough, which makes for a very chunky cookie, but they were great. A couple of cookies really spread around the edges, but that was just a few. The rest baked up without issue, and just looked wonderful. The cookies are chock full of add-ins, but that just makes these cookies interesting.

Chocolate Cherry Cinnamon Pistachio Cookies
1 cup butter, melted
200 grams sugar
70 grams brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
275 grams flour
300 grams chocolate chips
50 grams cinnamon pistachios, chopped
1 cup dried cherries

In a large mixer bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Once the mixture is cohesive, add the eggs and vanilla, beating on medium-low to combine. Stir in the flour and the chocolate chips. Once the dough is almost uniform, add the pistachios and dried cherries and stir in low until the dough comes together.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and shape the dough into 1-1/4” rounds. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between the cookies.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies are browned around the edges and set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Art, Bread, Love

Paradise Slice

I have waited and waited to make these bars! Any recipe with “slice” in the title usually tells me that the recipe originated in Australia or Scotland, and these bars are from Scotland. My friend was asking me about Scottish cookies, and while shortbread immediately comes to mind and maybe a few tiffin recipes, it is hard to think of other recipes. This recipe is from a Scottish blog, and I am really interested in exploring more of the site.

Another reason that I had to wait to make these was due to the fact that they used glacé cherries. When I order products from the UK, I often buy candied or glacé cherries, since they are so difficult to find in the States. I didn’t order anything this year, so I was at the mercy of American grocery stores, and they finally carried some glacé cherries. They are crazy neon red, but I figured mixed in with other ingredients they wouldn’t be quite so glaring.

These are interesting bars, or perhaps they are more of a dessert? You make pastry for the base, top it with jam, and then top it with a cherry, current, and almond flour filling. I don’t make pastry often, but I used to, so I have that down to a science. I used cherry preserves since the filling also contains cherries. The filling goes together well, although glacé cherries are very sticky. I baked them for 25 minutes then topped them with a generous amount of sugar, which partially melted into a lovely topping. These bars are great; a fabulous mix of festive flavors!

Paradise Slice
200 grams flour
100 grams cold butter, cubed
30 grams sugar
4-5 tbsp cold water
100 grams berry/cherry preserves

200 grams butter, room temperature
200 grams sugar
2 eggs
100 grams ground almonds
100 grams flour
120 grams currants
100 grams glacé cherries, halved
Additional sugar

Make the pastry: add the flour and butter to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and pulse to combine. Add about three tablespoons of water, mixing and adding additional water until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 390 degrees. Line an 8” or 9” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured surface until it is about ¼” thick. The pastry should roughly be the size of your baking pan. Place the pastry into the prepared pan and trim away any excess. You do not want the pastry stretching up the sides of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork, then cover with parchment and pastry beans.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool partially before proceeding.

While the pastry is cooling, make the topping: in a large mixer bowl, mix the butter and sugar at medium speed to combine. Stir in the eggs. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the ground almonds and flour. Stir in the currants and glacé cherries.

Spread the raspberry jam over the partially cooled pastry base. Spoon the topping over the jam, smoothing with a spatula as needed.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with additional sugar. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe from Scottish Scran

Black Forest Fudge

 As part of holiday baking, I have started making fudge as well, to honor my Dad who had been the family fudge maker. While Dad usually made 20 types of fudge and lots of each type, my offerings are more modest and will fit in my 12 Days of Holiday Baking. I had selected four different fudges to make this year, plus I will inevitably make some of the favorites from before, like Irish Cream Fudge. Yum!

I love cherries and Black Forest Cake is a favorite of mine, so when I came across this recipe I was very excited. I have found that fudge recipes are often very easy to make, and this was true for this recipe as well. My only challenge is that I had the heat too high when I was bringing the butter, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk to a boil, requiring me to start over. I had to use a smaller saucepan, so I put the chocolate chips in a separate bowl and poured the butter/condensed milk mixture over them, then added the cherry preserves, marshmallow fluff, and dried cherries. It worked great.

I let mine chill for quite a while, and got back to it a few days later. Fudge is good to work with as it assembles fairly quickly and then it is happy to chill in the refrigerator. It is best that it’s very cold when you cut it, so time in the refrigerator is good. This fudge is substantial, and takes some energy to cut, but you are rewarded with chocolate fudge dotted with dried cherries and a subtle swirl of marshmallow.


Black Forest Fudge
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup cherry preserves
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
1/2 cup dried tart cherries

Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil then spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and salt. Continue to heat over medium, stirring frequently, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat.

Off of the heat, stir the chocolate chips, cherry preserves, marshmallow fluff, and dried cherries to the saucepan. Stir until the chocolate chips melt and the other ingredients are incorporated. You may have slight streaks of marshmallow fluff, but that looks interesting.

Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared 8-inch pan. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.

Once the fudge is set, remove from the pan and cut into squares. Store the fudge in the refrigerator.

Recipe from bell’alimento via Dixie Crystals

Cherry Almond Cookies with Chocolate

These cookies are described in the original recipe as Cherry Garcia cookies, and they do have the elements that you find in that ice cream: cherries, almonds, and chocolate. I have made a version of Cherry Garcia cookies, but they were a little different. I also made some changes to the recipe, so it felt a bit strange calling them by the same name as the other cookies.

The original recipe called for chopped maraschino cherries, but I didn’t have as many as I needed. One of the commenters on the original blog asked if you could use dried cherries, and she thought that would work. I ended up using dried cherries, which is just a little different. I didn’t want to add chocolate chips, so I added chocolate by way of the melted chocolate on top of the cookies. I think they turned out just fine and I used up ingredients that I had on hand.

These cookies are not difficult, but chopping dried fruit is never easy. I was trying to find equivalent volume measure for the maraschino cherries, but I gave up and eyeballed about 1 ½ cups. The dough starts fairly wet and runny, but that dissipates when you add other ingredients. Finally, my main issue was that my kitchen was really warm, and the chocolate wasn’t setting, so I did have to refrigerate the cookies to help the chocolate set. These are very tasty cookies, with good chocolate and cherry flavor, with a hint of almond, and with the chocolate drizzle they look very fancy!

Cherry Almond Cookies with Chocolate
1 ½ cups dried cherries, chopped
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon cherry extract
2 ¼ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt

About 1 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Chop the dried cherries into small pieces and set aside. In a large mixer bowl, add the butter, oil, sugar, and powdered sugar. Mix on medium until the ingredients are well mixed. Add the egg, almond and cherry extracts and mix again on medium to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix until the flour has almost disappeared into the dough. Add the chopped dried cherries and stir to distribute them throughout the dough.

Shape the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, place the chocolate chips and vegetable shortening in a medium bowl. Microwave, in 30-second increments, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
    
Drizzle some of the melted chocolate over the cookies and then dip them partially in chocolate. Allow the chocolate to set before serving.

Recipe from Crème de la Crumb

Black Forest Cookies

I knew I wanted to bake, and my husband and I had one of those random trips to the grocery store where we picked up the 2-3 items we needed, but then we pick up this and that. I kept thinking that there are a couple of baking items I should get, so I picked up a lemon and also a jar of maraschino cherries. I knew I had recipes that used either, so I knew they would be good choices. These contain cherries, obviously, so now I need to figure out which of many recipes I want to make with the lemon I have!

I halved this recipe, but the recipe below reflects the full quantities. This recipe called for a lot of butter (1-1/4 cups), and I should have followed my instincts and used less butter. I didn’t do that, so my cookies spread a lot and were quite flat. I figured that would be ok, but I think that I would like to try these again using a reduced amount of butter. The recipe below reflects less butter, but it still might be too much. I would need to do some experimenting.

The dough for these cookies is sticky, which isn’t uncommon for chocolate cookies. When you flatten the cookies, make sure that your hands are slightly damp, otherwise you’ll just have a mess. As I said, my cookies were very flat and very fragile. They got better once they cooled, but were still delicate. I thought about switching to a powdered sugar glaze, but I used the white chocolate glaze and it worked great. I’d had bad luck the last time I made a white chocolate glaze, but this time was fine. These cookies were so good. The rich chocolate was wonderful with the cherries and the sweet white chocolate glaze. I need to experiment with these, but I’m looking forward to that!

Black Forest Cookies
2 cups flour
¾ cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped

White chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Heat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again on medium to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. When the flour has almost disappeared into the dough, add the chopped maraschino cherries, and stir on low until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Slightly flatten the cookies with the palm of your (damp) hand.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack with a metal spatula. The cookies will be fragile until they cool.

Once the cookies are cool, melt the white chocolate chips with the vegetable shortening. Do not over heat. Once the white chocolate is smooth, drizzle the white chocolate over the cooled cookies. Allow the white chocolate glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from Celebration Generation

Pistachio Cherry Meltaways

Christmas Cookie #2! I have a couple of recipes planned this holiday season that are variations of the Russian Teacake/Mexican Wedding Cake, which is a shortbread cookie with nuts, covered in powdered sugar. Russian Teacakes are one of my favorite cookies ever, but they are so easy to make. This is a variation, with chopped maraschino cherries and pistachio pudding mix. Yum!

These cookies are not difficult to make, but the dough is quite sandy. Trying to gather the dough together into a whole in order to wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate was challenging. The dough did firm up and was less crumbly when shaping into balls, but it’s a strange balance between the cold dough and the slipperiness of the cherries. The cherries retain some moisture, no matter how much you drain them.

I shaped the dough into balls, the best I could, but they flatten/spread while baking. They had a little too much butter, which you can see when the cookies come out of the oven with lacy edges. I let my cookies cool about 10 minutes before covering with powdered sugar, and that’s best. The warmer the cookies are, the more the powdered sugar melts into the cookies. These cookies are soft, but they are so good! The pistachio flavor is a favorite, and paired with the cherries is so seasonal. If there was ever a time when I wanted a Grinch Christmas plate, this was it, but I had to make do with the green plate I had.

Pistachio Cherry Meltaways
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3.4-ounce package instant pistachio pudding mix
1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
Green food coloring (about 2 drops)
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, dried and chopped finely
Additional powdered sugar

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter until light. Add the powdered sugar, pistachio pudding mix, and flour. Stir on low to combine. Add the almond extract and food coloring and stir to incorporate. Fold in the chopped maraschino cherries, taking care not to over mix.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Roll in additional powdered sugar after the cookies have cooled 10 minutes, and then place on a wire rack.

Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Cherry Pie Cookies

It seems like I would be missing something if I didn’t make some sort of cookie cup for this month of cherry recipes! I have had this recipe saved for a long time, and I’m not sure why it has taken so long for me to make them. These cookies are very simple, and none of the ingredients are unusual. I happened to have sour cream in the refrigerator already, so all I picked up was the cherry pie filling. Sure, I love making cherry pie from scratch, but let’s be honest: I’m not going to pit that many cherries.

Cookie cups vary a bit in how they are made. Some recipes make a small amount of dough that you have to shape around the mini muffin pans. I like these cookies, but it can get tedious. This recipe has you place the dough in the pan, bake, and then make an indentation. This method doesn’t make a huge area for filling, but it is very easy. In retrospect, I believe that I could have used slightly less dough per cookie, but I still had no problem.

The only change that I did for this recipe was the glaze. The original recipe called for a white chocolate glaze, but I didn’t feel like doing that. White chocolate can be very fussy. I ended up making a simple powdered sugar glaze, which looked perfect but the glaze melts into the cookies, so it is less obvious. That’s not really much of a concern, in all honesty. I like the soft cookie combined with the sweetness of the cherry. My husband thinks they would be even better with a layer of cream cheese filling, and I’ll have to try that!

Cherry Pie Cookies
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅓ cup sour cream
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1 can cherry pie filling

¾ cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin pan (24 mini muffins) with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on medium again to combine. Combine the sour cream, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Add the flour and the sour cream mixture and mix on low until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough between the 24 mini muffin cups, using about 2 tablespoons dough per cookie. There’s no need to shape the dough in the pan.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden. Immediately after removing from the oven, make an indentation in each cookie with a teaspoon, tart tamper, or similar device. Allow the cookies to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cool, use a fork to fill each cookie with cherry pie filling, using about 3 cherries per cookie. Finally, make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled and filled cookies.

Recipe from Butter with a Side of Bread

Coconut Cherry Drops

I had the greatest plan to make these cookies early and take them to work on Valentine’s Day. Well, that didn’t happen, which is too bad as these are the perfect Valentine’s cookie. I know that some folks don’t care for maraschino cherries, but in a month where I am baking with berries or cherries, it seems wrong to not use them in a recipe. For the record, I like maraschino cherries and am happy to use them at any time.

I realized that these cookies have the same coconut and cherry combination as last week’s cookies, but they are very different. The original recipe called for walnuts, but I prefer pecans, and I have those on hand. I wonder if there are regional differences in the preference between walnuts and pecans? Maybe it is just easier to find walnuts at the store, I’m not sure.

These cookies are easy to make and draining and drying the cherries takes the most effort. I was curious about the baking temperature, as cookies often bake at 350 degrees. I baked one tray at 375 and another at 350. While 375 is a different temperature, it worked better for these cookies. At the lower temperature, the cookies spread more and browned too much along the edges. These cookies have nice nooks and crannies, with the pecans, coconuts, and cherries, but overall the cookies remain soft.

Coconut Cherry Drops
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, dried and chopped

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the coconut, pecans, and maraschino cherries with a spatula.

Scoop the dough by tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden around the edges. The cookies will set as they cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Mother Thyme

Cherry and Coconut Flapjacks

I’ve made a couple of different flapjack recipes, but they are not at all common in the states. They are simply an oat-based bar, typically made on the stove and then cooked in the oven. Occasionally you find ones that aren’t baked, but I don’t like those as much. There are some differences between the British ingredients that the recipe specifies and what you can get in American shops, but you can substitute as needed. I keep a decent supply of British baking items on hand, which helps tremendously.

Flapjacks are quick and easy. They are naturally gluten free and by using vegan butter they are also dairy free. Thankfully I had just received a shipment of glacé cherries from the UK, but you can find candied cherries in the states. If you don’t have desiccated coconut, which is more finely ground, you can always use the shredded coconut you can find at the store. I suspect their oats, which are “porridge oats” are different than what I used, but they worked!

The biggest challenge for these flapjacks was this statement from the original recipe, “grease a suitable baking tin.” I had no idea what size of pan that means, but looking at the photo I guessed a 7” x 11” pan. Your flapjacks could be made in any pan, I suppose, but the thickness would vary as would the baking time. Mine were nice and golden after 25 minutes, and I scored/partially cut the bars while still warm. I will say that these bars are incredibly sticky, and I had problems getting them out of the pan. Still, if you don’t mind a little stickiness, these are quite tasty!

Cherry and Coconut Flapjacks
150 grams butter or vegan butter
150 grams brown sugar
90 ml golden syrup
300 grams oats
200 grams glace/candied cherries
40 grams desiccated coconut

Heat the oven to 320 degrees. Spray a 7” x 11” baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and golden syrup and stir, until the mixture comes together. Add the oats, cherries, and coconut and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Remove from the heat and spread evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the bars are golden. Allow the bars to cool for 10 minutes before scoring into bars. Cool completely and then remove the bars from the pan.

Recipe from What the Redhead Said

Bakewell Blondies

Welcome to February! I thought that for this month I would pick recipes that include cherries or berries in some form. I have some great items picked out. I actually have more recipes than I need for this month, but it is always nice to have options. I’m surprised that many of the cookies are listed as Christmas cookies, but I don’t think so at all. If you make a Christmas cookie in February, is it still a Christmas cookie?

This blondie is not one of the recipes that described itself as a Christmas cookie. The Bakewell Tart is one of my favorites, and when I visit the British shop, I almost always buy one of their Bakewell Tarts. I have made another cookie version of the Bakewell Tart, but not a blondie like this one. As it is a British recipe, the measurements are in grams, which is actually easier to work with as long as you have the appropriate scale.

For the Bakewell Blondies, you can use any type of jam. I suppose that raspberry jam is the most classic choice, but I ended up using cherry jam as I really like cherry jam. The original recipe called for three medium (British) eggs, so I changed that to two large (US) eggs. I don’t think that I would have wanted any more than that. I baked these for 30 minutes, and when I cut them, I think they could have baked slightly longer. None the less, they cut beautifully and taste great. They have all of the great flavors of a Bakewell Tart: the jam, ground almonds, and the sliced almonds. I’m also a big fan of icing, so perhaps that is the only way I could improve these, but maybe that would just be too much.

Bakewell Blondies
250 grams butter, melted
125 grams sugar
125 grams brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
100 grams ground almonds
200 grams flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
200 grams white chocolate chips
250 grams berry Jam
50 grams sliced almonds

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium until smooth. Add the eggs and almond extract and beat again to combine. Add the flour, ground almonds, and cornstarch and mix on low until the dough comes together. Stir in the white chocolate chips with a spatula.

Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Top with dollops of jam and lightly swirl through the blondie mixture. Top with sliced almonds.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until there are baked but still have a slight wobble in the center of the blondies. Cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Jane’s Patisserie

Christmas Chocolate Tiffin

What is a tiffin? I have had multiple people ask me what a tiffin is, and the short answer that it is a no-bake bar cookie whose main component is biscuits (or cookies, as we call them in the states). This is a great recipe in that it combines the ease of the tiffin with the flavors of Christmas such as brandy, chocolate, and candied cherries. Now I find all sorts of tiffin recipes that sound good, and I can’t wait to try some once the weather is warmer.

As is often the case with British recipes, I don’t convert grams to ounces or volume measure. In a way, I think this is easier as I have my scale and a single cup to measure. It makes for less washing and right now that is appreciated. I did buy glacé cherries and the Rich Tea biscuits from the UK, and golden syrup is also British in origin. The British cherries looked so much better than the weird, bright red candied cherries that we get here in the states. I also wonder if the topping could be any sort of chocolate, or some sort of semi-sweet chocolate? I’m sure it would work.

I was slightly delayed in making this tiffin as I kept forgetting gallon sized Ziplock bags at the store! After what seemed like the twentieth trip to the store, I finally got them home with me. I had already soaked the candied cherries and raisins in brandy, but I figured that they would be just fine if they were in the brandy a little bit longer. Oh, and as sticky as candied cherries are, don’t forget to cut them in half. That was not fun when they were both sticky and soaked with brandy. This tiffin needs some time to chill in the refrigerator, to make sure it sets properly, so this isn’t the recipe to make at the last minute. These squares are very rich, with chocolate and candied cherries, but I love the bites with little bits of crushed tea biscuits!

Christmas Chocolate Tiffin
200 grams glacé/candied cherries
125 grams raisins
80 ml brandy
300 grams Rich Tea biscuits
150 grams butter
40 grams brown sugar
200 grams golden syrup
25 grams cocoa powder

100 grams dark chocolate
100 grams milk chocolate

Line an 8” square pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Cut the candied cherries in half and place in a small microwaveable bowl. Add the raisins and the brandy and microwave for 30 seconds. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before proceeding.

Put the biscuits in a large ziplock bag and bash with a rolling pin or similar object until the biscuits are a combination of powdery bits and larger pieces. The powdery pieces help the tiffin stick together, so don’t be concerned with pulverizing the biscuits too much.

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, brown sugar, and golden syrup and heat on medium until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the crushed biscuits and the cocoa powder, mixing until the tiffin has an even color. Add the fruit/brandy mixture and mix.

Press the mixture into the prepared pan and refrigerate until set.

Make the topping: remove the tiffin from the pan and remove the foil. In a medium bowl, microwave the dark and milk chocolate, stirring frequently, until smooth. Top the tiffin with melted chocolate, spreading evenly to ensure complete coverage. Allow the chocolate to set before cutting the tiffin into squares.

Recipe from Everyday Cooks

Eggnog Sugar Cookies

 

When I think about the cookies I want to make and post in December, I do plan quite extensively. I try to vary flavors and cookies versus bar cookies, and I make sure that the recipes right around Christmas day are very Christmassy (and often British). This year, I had planned an eggnog frosted ginger cookie for today, but when it came time to make them, I just wasn’t interested. With not a lot of extra time, I needed to find something else to bake.

I had been looking online, already thinking about how to approach the recipes I’ll make next year. I started by looking at recipes that I had already marked, and first found a sugar cookie topped with a cherry, but then I found this recipe that was virtually the same with the exception of the addition of eggnog. That sounded festive and it was in some ways similar to the original eggnog recipe that I had planned to make.

This recipe is easy to make, which is great this time of the year, when there is so much happening. The cookies call for ingredients that you likely have, and I had already purchased eggnog for some other recipes. I didn’t have maraschino cherries, but I picked some up while I was at the grocery store. The cherries came in a plastic jar which was fantastic as I know I have broken a glass jar of cherries at least once! These cookies are simple but have a good eggnog and cherry flavor, perfect for the holidays.

Eggnog Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon rum
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
24 maraschino cherries

1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2-3 tablespoons eggnog

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the eggnog and rum and mix again on medium to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together. The dough will be soft.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using about 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Press a maraschino cherry into the center of each dough ball.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set and just barely beginning to turn golden around the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons eggnog until the mixture is smooth. If required, add additional eggnog to thin the glaze to a drizzling consistency.

Drizzle the glaze over the cookies and allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from Everyday Shortcuts

Cherry Garcia Cookies

Since it’s the summer, I eat quite a bit of ice cream to try and keep cool. Let’s be honest though, I like ice cream pretty much any time of year, unless it is very cold. I like just about any ice cream with cherries, and one that I can consistently get is Cherry Garcia Ice Cream. Some other brands will make cherry ice cream in the summer, but Cherry Garcia is available all the time.

When I came across this recipe for Cherry Garcia Cookies, I knew I had to make them. It’s a cookie based on a favorite ice cream flavor! Additionally, it is awfully similar to a chocolate chip cookie, and I often get requests to make those! When I mentioned to my husband that I would need to get maraschino cherries, he said he knew which ones to get. He got some Orasella Maraschino Cherries, which are made in Seattle and are simply cherries and maraschino liqueur.

The maraschino cherries that I used are darker, so the cookies look a little different than the ones pictured in the original recipe. I did chill the dough, but because the cherries are a little different, the dough seemed wetter than expected. The first batch did spread a little, but not too bad. They are darker, but they had to get nice and golden to bake through. I used dark chocolate chips and chunks, which changes the flavor slightly. They are extremely chocolatey with cherry, and you get a hint of almond. I’m not sure the first thing I think of is ice cream, but they are excellent cookies!

Cherry Garcia Cookies
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup maraschino cherries drained and chopped

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter sugar, and brown sugar on medium until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and stir to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour. With a spatula, stir in the chocolate chips and maraschino cherries.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using about 1-1/2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Leave space between the cookies as they may spread while baking.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until browned along the edges. The cookies may be soft in the middle but will firm up as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from My Heavenly Recipes

Cherry Bon Bon Cookies

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and I thought that I would find something festive to make. I figured that I had some cherries on hand, so that was my starting point. I came across many recipes that I had already made, as I suppose the selection out there isn’t the greatest. Many cherry cookies are for Christmas, and while I do make Christmas-like cookies frequently, I wanted to avoid that here. I found these cookies, stuffed with cherries, and thought they would be great.

My only issue was that I had candied cherries instead of maraschino cherries. I figured they would work well enough, although they are sticky! I didn’t have the cherry juice for the icing, but I knew I would figure something out. The cherry juice is for color and a little flavor, and I could use some food coloring to have it at least look correct. I’m not certain there is much of a better substitution, unless you used cherry extract. While cherry extract does exist, I didn’t have any on hand.

Any cookie that you mold dough around a center is going to be a little bit fussy, and this is no exception. It doesn’t make the biggest batch, so that’s a relief! The cookie is very simple, basically a shortbread-type cookie with no additional leavening. The cherry adds the sweetness, as does the icing. In the end, I replaced the cherry juice with milk and added some food coloring. It’s a bit darker than I had planned, but it is still festive. If you are having a plethora of sweetness this weekend, these cookies add all the festivity and just a little bit of sweet.

Cherry Bon Bon Cookies
About 24 maraschino cherries, divided
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cherry juice

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Drain the cherries, reserving the juice. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar on medium until light. Stir in the flour, salt, milk, and vanilla. Using about a tablespoon of dough, shape the dough around each cherry, making sure that the cherry is completely enclosed by dough. Place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, until set. Allow the cookies to cool completely before adding the icing.

Make the icing: in a small bowl whisk together the melted butter, powdered sugar, and the ¼ cup of reserved cherry juice. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.

Recipe from Food Lovin’ Family

Cherry and Pecan Oaties

This week, I found a British recipe that was quite a bit different. We subscribe to a couple of British magazines and I find recipes and take photos on my iPad so I can keep track of them. I had found this recipe quite a while ago, and now it was finally the time to make them. When I read through the recipe, at first, I hadn’t realized that these were refrigerator cookies. I just looked at the yield and it said that it only made about a dozen cookies. I was appreciative that they were very easy to make since they are a refrigerator cookie.

The original recipe called for dried blueberries, and I find those to be gritty, but I figured that there would be any number of dried fruits that I could use. In the end, I used dried cherries, and they were wonderful. I think that the cherries had a good sweetness and made these cookies beautifully sweet. The original recipe called for porridge oats, which I am sure are different from the old-fashioned oats that I used, but there was no problem.

As a refrigerator cookie, these don’t really look anything like a traditional refrigerator cookie. You do want them to be very cold when you cut them, or they are too crumbly. I worried that the pecans and cherries would be difficult to cut, but there was no issue at all. I made about 18 cookies from this recipe, but that will vary depending on how you shape the dough. They are wonderfully sweet, and the cinnamon provides such a great flavor. These are a fabulous oat cookie, and the fruit adds so much!

Cherry and Pecan Oaties

175 grams flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
85 grams oats
175 grams sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
140 grams butter, cut in pieces
70 grams dried cherries, chopped
50 grams pecans, chopped
1 egg, beaten

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, oats, sugar, and cinnamon. Pulse the mixture to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture until crumbly and almost sticks together. Add the chopped cherries, pecans, and beaten egg. Pulse until the mixture comes together.

Remove from the food processor, and shape into a log, about 4 inches wide and about 10 inches long. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Slice the cookies into 1/3” slices and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until set and lightly browned along the edges. Cool completely before serving.

Recipe from BBC Easy Cook

 

Maraschino Cherry Cookie Bars

Happy Valentine’s Day! As an adult, I don’t really do that much to celebrate, but I wanted to make something festive for the day. I figured that something with cherries would be perfect (and red) and I had pinned these bars a short while ago. They seemed very straight-forward, and the cherries would add a lovely bit of color. Thankfully, they don’t call for any unusual ingredients, other than cherries, so I picked some up at the store this week.

These cookies are easy to make, and the bars are thin but cakey. The bars themselves don’t brown all that much, but the cookies will be puffy and look set when they are baked. I let mine cool overnight, as the biggest challenge with this recipe was that I needed two mixer bowls, so I needed to do the dishes! The frosting contains a small amount of cream cheese, so they have a nice tang. I found the frosting to be too thick to spread, so I added about a tablespoon of milk to make it spread easier. These bars eat like cake, and I love the extra sweetness of the frosting. Enjoy!

Maraschino Cherry Cookie Bars

16 oz jar maraschino cherries

3/4 butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp almond extract

2½ cups flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ cup butter, room temperature

2 oz cream cheese, room temperature

¼ teaspoon vanilla 

3 cup powdered sugar

About 1 tablespoon milk

Red sprinkles

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Drain the cherries and cut them into eights. Place the cherry pieces in a colander to continue to drain while you make the cookies.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the almond extract, stirring on medium until combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Once the dough comes together, fold in the chopped cherries. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, until set and lightly golden around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool before frosting.

Make the frosting: in a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar on medium low until combined. Add milk, as needed, to get the frosting to a spreading consistently. Spread the frosting on top of the cooled bars. Top with red sprinkles and then cut into bars.

Recipe from One Acre Vintage Home