Divine Molded Almond Cookies Food

CHINESE ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking soda and salt together into a large bowl. Whisk any bits of almond flour left in the sifter into the sifted flour mixture.
• Combine the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the almond extract and 1 egg yolk and beat until the mixture is smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Reduce the speed to medium low, add the flour mixture and beat until no streaks of flour remain, about 2 minutes.
• Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• When ready to bake, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Whisk together the remaining egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Scoop the dough by tablespoons (you can use a 1/2-ounce ice cream scoop) and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Roll each scoop into a ball and return it to the baking sheet. Flatten each with your palm into a 2-inch round. Gently press an almond onto each and brush with the egg wash.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown on the edges, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 10 minutes.
• Store the cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Reserve about 28 almonds (1/4 cup) for garnish. Place remaining almonds in a food processor; pulse just until finely ground (do not overprocess). Set aside.
• With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add whole egg, orange zest, and almond extract (if using), scraping down sides of bowl as necessary; beat until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to the butter mixture,beating just until incorporated. Mix in ground almonds (do not overmix).
• Using 1 level tablespoon per cookie, roll dough into balls. Place on prepared sheets, at least 1 inch apart. Using the floured end of a thick wooden spoon handle (or your thumb), press lightlyin the center of each cookie. Place an almond in each indentation. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg white with 1 teaspoon water; brush over cookies.
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly; transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

LITTLE ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3 and roast the almonds for 5-10 mins until they are a pale golden colour. Cream together the butter, sugar, rum and a pinch of salt, then add the flour until the dough just comes together - it will be soft. Roughly chop the almonds and add them to the dough. Carefully roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to a 4-5mm thickness and cut out small cookies roughly 3-4cm across. Freeze the cookies on a baking sheet for 20 mins to harden.
• Bake the cookies in the oven for about 20 mins until just set - they will still be very pale. Lay out on a wire rack and dust icing sugar on both sides while they are still warm, being careful not to break them as you turn them. The icing sugar will melt. When they are cool, sprinkle them extremely generously with more icing sugar so that they are completely white. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

DIVINE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°f.
• Take out butter, egg and egg yolk to let warm up then set aside.
• Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl wisk together brown sugar and granulated sugar until well blended.
• Add butter to sugar mix (butter should still be slightly firm still but maliable) and use a hand mixer on low till well mixed.
• Add vanilla, egg and egg yolk to sugar mixture and mix on low till blended.
• Add flour mix to sugars and mix on low till just combined, careful not to overmix ( dough should seem 'dry' ).
• Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Place cookie dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Using a large silverware spoon take spoonfuls of the cold dough and form semi balls around 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Put on lined cookie sheet around 2 inches apart fitting 6 -8 on at a time. Press them down slightly with fingers.
• Bake for 7 minutes in the middle of the oven.
• Turn the baking sheet 180° and cook for an addtional 7 minutes.
• When done baking remove from tray immediately and place cookies on cooling rack.
• Tip: Use a cooled baking sheet for every batch (a warm baking sheet will cause the dough to start cooking to quickly), and place the dough back in the fridge between uses. Dough needs to be chilled for optimal cooking temperature.
• Let cookies cool 3-5 minutes.

SWEET FILO CIGARS

Steps:

• In a food processor, mix the almond and pistachio into a fine paste. Place the nuts in a frying pan and add 4T of water and the sugar. Cook over low heat unit the sugar has dissolved, about 4min. Remove from heat and stir in the egg yolk and lemon zest.
• Put 1 sheet of pastry on a clean surface. Spread 1T of the nut mix in a thin strip along the edge closest to you, leaving 3/4 of an inch on the left and right side. Fold the two sides over the paste and roll away from you to create a compact cigar. Tuck the top edge in and seal with a bit of the beaten egg white. Repeat with all the pastry and filling.
• Pour enough oil into a frying pan to come 3/4in up the sides. Heat oil over medium-high heat and fry cigars for 10 seconds each side, until golden.
• Place the cigars on a plate lined with paper towels and allow to cool. Place the honey and remaining 1T water in a small saucepan and boil. When it is hot, lightly dip the cigars in the syrup for a minute and stir gently until well coated. Remove and arrange on a serving place. Sprinkle with crushed pistachio garnish.

INDIVIDUAL SHERRIED EGGS (MINI CASSEROLE)

Steps:

• Spray four ramekins or individual casseroles with nonstick cooking spray.
• Combine half and half, sherry, pepper, and Worcestershire, set aside.
• Layer the following into ramekins: Canadian Bacon, two eggs, 2 T. combined sauce and then bake for ~7 minutes at 350.
• Top with cheese, bake again for another ~7 minutes or until cheese is melted and eggs are done to your liking.
• Serve immediately!

DIVINE MOLDED ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• NOTE: After the dough is made, I cut it in half and use the butter wrapper to keep the dough from drying out when I'm rolling the dough into balls. The dough will feel very gritty, as if there were sand in the dough. When you roll each ball, it will be ready to be stamped when the grittiness disappears and the dough is very soft and pliable. I only use enough dough so that when it is stamped down, the stamp completely covers the cookie.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Measure out the almond paste. Take it manually out of the measuring cup and tear it into tiny bits of almond paste, about the size of the pad on your thumb. Scatter it around the soft butter.
• Beat butter and almond paste in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. This will not mix "by hand". It takes the beaters to pulverize the almond paste enough to mix it into the dough.
• Beat in sugar.
• Stir in flour with a wooden spoon. If necessary, knead in remaining flour with your hands. The dough initially appears very crumbly. However, the heat from your hands when you knead it and then roll each ball makes it very smooth and workable. Once dough is made, divide into two equal parts and cover with the butter wrappers to keep pliable and moist while you roll out each ball.
• Stamped Cookie instructions:.
• Form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll dough into your hands until it feels very pliable. At first, it will feel very gritty but the warmth from your hands will blend the butter and almond paste. When it feels smooth like Playdoh, it is ready to be stamped.
• Arrange balls on a parchment-lined cookie sheets 3 inches apart.
• Using a 1.5 inch or 2 inch cookie stamp dipped into granulated sugar, press firmly into each cookie to flatten dough and make patterns on the top.
• NOTE: When I use a stamp at first, I will touch dough to it to transfer "fat" onto the surface so the sugar will stick. Then, after each and every cookie that is stamped, place the stamper back into a shallow dish of sugar so it is coated each time.
• Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or only until the edges become the slightest shade of light brown. It takes a long time for these cookies to bake; begin checking for the slight brown edges after 10 minutes.
• Slide cookies off of the baking sheet, onto your counter, still attached to the parchment paper. Allow to cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• NOTE: These are one of the BEST keeping cookies that I've ever made. I had "misplaced" some of these in the kitchen for a month, opened the container they were stored in and was ready to toss them. DH stopped me, tried one and exclaimed, "They're as great as the day you first made them!".
• If you have the time and really want to amp up the volume on these cookies, you can use a small brush and apply cookie paint or cookie glitter to the raised surfaces of the cookie.