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Austria
LINZER COOKIES
(Note: This recipe uses the Ducan Hines Golden Sugar Cookie Mix that comes with a butter packet. If your mix doesn’t have the butter packet, simply add the amount of butter that is specified in the directions on the box.)
Ingredients:
1 package Duncan Hines Golden Sugar Cookie Mix
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 finely ground almonds
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon seedless red raspberry jam, warmed
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine cookie mix, contents of buttery flavor from mix, flour, almonds, egg and water in large bowl. Stir with spoon until blended. Roll dough 1/8 thick on lightly floured board. Cut out 3” shapes with cookie cutter. Take half those cookies and cut out the centers with a smaller cookie cutter. Place the whole cookies 2” apart on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 8-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Place the hollow cookies on another baking sheet (or if you use the same baking sheet, make sure it has cooled completely before placing the cookies on it) and bake them for 6-7 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely. Dust the hollow cookies with sifted powdered sugar. Spread warm jam over whole cookies almost to the edge and place the hollow cookies on top, powdered-sugar side up. Press lightly. Fill the hole with 1/4 teaspoon jam. Store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.
England
ENGLISH TOFFEE SQUARES
Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 275 F. In large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Separate egg, then beat yolk into butter mixture; cover and reserve the egg white. In another bowl, stir together flour and cinnamon; add to butter mixture. With your hands, spread dough evenly over bottom of a greased 10×15-inch rimmed baking pan. Beat egg white lightly, then brush over dough to cover evenly. Sprinkle pecans over top; press in lightly. Bake for 1 hour or until firm when lightly touched. While still hot, cut into 1/2-inch squares. Let cool in pan on a rack. Store airtight.
France
CINNAMON MADELEINES
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Spray madeleine molds with non-stick spray. In a double boiler, heat eggs and sugar stirring constantly, whipping in as much air as possible. Remove from heat, let cool. Stir in flour, then add remaining ingredients. Fill madeleine molds with a generous amount of batter, but don’t spread it out. Bake until lightly browned – approximately 15 minutes. Cool one minute then remove to racks to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or dip in chocolate.
Germany
STOLLEN
Ingredients:
9 cups warm milk
1 cup margarine
12 eggs (small to medium sized)
2 cups sugar
5 packages dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
25 cups flour
rind of 1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
1 lb candied red cherries
1 lb candied pineapple
1 lb candied green cherries
1 lb raisins
3 cups nuts (hickory, pecans, and/or walnuts)
Preparation:
Heat milk till skin forms. Add margarine, sugar, salt, lemon juice and rind. Dissolve yeast in part of the cooled milk mixture. Stir to dissolve sugar and add beaten eggs when mixture has cooled. Stir in 10 cups of flour with wooden spoon. Add all the fruit and nuts, then knead in the rest of the flour. This will take some time as the dough should not stick to your hands. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover with cloth and place in a warm place until double in size. Grease 10 loaf pans, shape into loaves, and let rise again till double its size. Preheat oven to 325 F. Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush tops of loaves before baking. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Makes 10 loaves.
Italy
CRANBERRY ALMOND CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated
sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
powder
2 teaspoons baking
soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup sliced almonds
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat liner. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs and melted butter into the dry ingredients. Stir in the cranberries and almonds. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Flour your hands so the dough won’t stick to them, and divide the dough into 3 equal 8x2x3/4-inch logs. Place one log on the baking sheet and bake 24 minutes or until firm and dry to touch. Remove from oven. Reduce oven to 325 F. Transfer baked log to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until dry and dark. Transfer to racks and let cool. Repeat with the other two logs. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler. Dip each biscotti into the chocolate at an angle coating the end. Return to a cooled baking sheet and chill about 20 minutes or until chocolate is set.
Spain
PASTEL DE NAVIDAD
Ingredients:
Frozen or homemade pie pastry dough sufficient for 1 pie shell
5 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup raisins
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll pastry thin and cut into 12 4-inch circles. Fit each round into muffin cup and press in gently. Beat eggs until they are light; add sugar and mix well. Add butter, salt and vanilla; mix well. Combine walnuts and raisins and fill each cup 1/2 full. Add egg mixture to fill each cup three-quarters. Bake filled cups 20-25 minutes.
