Carrot Cake Cookies

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
4 ounces(1stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
1 cup walnuts, slightly broken
1/3 cup raisins

FILLING
1 cup cream cheese
1 tbsp honey


Steps:
1.Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
2.Butter 2 baking sheets, and set aside.
3.Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
4.Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in another bowl until pale and fluffy.
5.Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins; then add flour mixture to this and beat until just combined.
6.Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total.
7.Cool cookies on sheets for 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.
8.While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth. 
9.Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between.

Piña Colada Biscotti

Ingredients


4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3 eggs

2 tablespoons rum

2 tablespoons pineapple juice

1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract

1 cup shelled pistachio nuts

1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 1 1/3 cups of sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Stir in the rum, pineapple juice and coconut extract until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the batter. Stir in the pistachio nuts, pineapple and coconut until evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two cookie sheets.

3. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Form each piece of dough into a 12 inch long log shape on a lightly floured surface. Place two logs onto each cookie sheet, and pat down until they are about 3 inches wide. There should be at least 2 inches of space between each log.

4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm but not crisp. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.

5. Place the biscotti bars on a cutting board, and use a serrated knife to cut into 3/4 inch wide diagonal slices. Return the slices to the baking sheets cut side down. Return to the oven. Bake for 8 minutes, then turn the cookies over, and bake for an additional 8 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

What if you wanted to make a Fig Newton?

This morning as we are standing around the shop polishing off the last remnants of our coffee the topic of cookies came up*. We discussed all of our favorites, and came upon the common theme that our spouses would likely never approve of our being seen consuming a box of cookies while driving around town. Cookies are after all “Junkfood”, but that stigma likely can be forgiven if the Chocolate Chips are miraculously replaced with fruit….Enter the Fig Newton, because as children we had no such thing as a choice to a fruit filling, it was fig, and we still love them today. I had one of the guys ask if I knew how to make them, and so I decided to share the recipe today….



DOUGH:
3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
6 ounces Unsalted Butter at room temperature, cut into pieces
4 Eggs

FILLING:
2 cups Dried Figs, Chopped
1 Cup Orange Juice
1 Cup Apple Juice
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
4 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon orange zest, Minced

Steps:

FOR DOUGH:

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter pieces until the dough is the texture of coarse sand.

2. Whisk 3 eggs together and add to the dough. Mix to combine. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.



FOR FIG FILLING:
1. Combine the Figs, Orange Juice, Apple Juice, Cinnamon, Sugar, and Orange Zest in a medium saucepan, and cook over medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed by the figs and the mixture is thick. Remove from heat.

2. Let the filling cool slightly, then puree in a food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to bake.

3. Preheat the oven to 375F.

4. Make an egg wash by whisking the remaining egg with 2 tsp. of water.

5. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. On a lightly floured surface roll out each portion of dough into a rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick, and cut the dough lengthwise into strips, at least 2 1/2 inches wide.

6. Brush the edges of each dough strip with egg wash.

7. Spoon the fig filling down the center of the strip and then fold the dough over to enclose the filling in bars.

8. Place the bars, seam side down, on a parchment paper lined sheet pan.

9. Press down lightly to flatten. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Brush the bars with the egg wash and bake until light golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Let cool, then cut with a sharp knife into pieces.


Note:
*This undoubtedly was a result of my week long fascination with Peanut Butter Crackers, and the fact I was only going to begin the day with 2 packages since I‘ve consumed the complete cracker inventory of the market up the road. There’s a whole bunch of energy packed into a package of these crackers, and since I’ve noticed the requirements of my time here in Minnesota leave little time for nourishment during our day I take them on the road with me.

Short Dough

Fruit Tarts
Short dough
Yield: 6 Crusts(11 inch tart pans)
6 ounces granulated sugar
14 ounces unsalted butter
One egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound bread flour

Steps:
1. Place the sugar, butter, eggs, and for now in a mixing bowl; mix at low speed with the dough hook just until combined.
2. Add the flour and mix only until the dough is smooth.
3. Place the dough on a parchment lined sheet pan; press out as flat as possible so that the dough takes up less space and cools down quickly.
4. Cover and refrigerate until firm enough to work with, about 30 minutes.
5. worked ashore to smooth with your hands, shaping it into a thick circle in the process.
6. Start to roll about 1/8 inch thick and slightly larger than the size you need. Sprinkle just enough bread flour on the board to keep it from sticking. Keep moving and turning the dough over as you roll it, first with your hands and then, as the dough gets thinner, by rolling it up on a dowel. Look closely at the dough as you roll it out. If only the edge of the dough was moving and not in the middle, the middle is sticking to the table. Let’s gently and lightly dust the table if sticking occurs.
7.Trim away all tattered edges. Reserve.
Note:
Short Dough should be trimmed approximately 1 half-inch larger than the size you will be needing. Though when made properly it will not shrink when baking, the extra size allows for the sides of the tart pan. Use a small ball of extra dough to push the crust into the corners of the pan. Lightly poke holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork prior to baking. Cover with parchment, and fill with pie weights to bake. Bake at 375°F until golden brown. Approximately 15 minutes.

Brownies Anyone?????

I thought I would share my recipes for brownies today......
Homemade Brownies

Fudge Brownies
1/2 cup Unsalted butter
2 Ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all- purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Steps:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8x2 inch baking pan.
Melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat lightly until ingredients are combined (do not over beat or the brownies will rise too much and fall over the pan).
Stir in the flour and nuts. Spread in the pan.
Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Cool then cut into bars.

Blonde Brownies
2 cups all- purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a bowl.
Mix together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter and stir until well mixed.
Add walnuts to the flour mixture. Slowly add flour mixture to the sugar mix.
Spread in the pan. Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into bars while warm.