Italian Spumoni Towers Food

ITALIAN SPUMONI COOKIES ("SPUMOOKIES")

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined. Add in the whole egg, egg yolk and almond and vanilla extracts. Mix until incorporated.
• Slowly fold the flour mixture into the sugar-egg mixture with a rubber spatula until even. Fold in the chocolate chips, pistachios and cherries.
• Divide the batter into about 1/4 cup balls and space about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the sheets 180 degrees, switch racks and then bake until slightly golden brown, an additional 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool, and eat on Christmas morning with a hot cup of coffee and amongst piles of wrapping paper and elated pajama'd kids.

VALERIE'S SPUMONI

Steps:

• Lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch aluminum loaf pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with plastic wrap on all sides, leaving a 2-inch overhang; the cooking spray will help the plastic stick directly to the sides of the pan.
• In a food processor, pulse the chocolate wafers until very fine, like sand. Add the chocolate sauce and pulse a few more times until the mixture comes together. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and firmly press into the bottom of the pan to create a crust. Freeze for 30 minutes to set.
• Meanwhile, remove the chocolate-chocolate chip gelato from the freezer to soften. After 30 minutes, remove the loaf pan from the freezer and spread the chocolate gelato over the crust; use a small offset or rubber spatula to spread the gelato into a flat, even layer. Return the loaf pan to the freezer for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, let the vanilla bean gelato soften at room temperature.
• When the vanilla gelato has softened, transfer it to a bowl and stir in the sliced Amarena cherries, the Amarena syrup and the red food coloring if using. Mix until the cherries are evenly dispersed and the food coloring is completely incorporated. Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and evenly spread the cherry gelato over the chocolate gelato. Place back in the freezer for at least 1 hour more; it takes longer for the cherry layer to set.
• Thirty minutes before the cherry layer is set, remove the pistachio gelato from the freezer to soften. When softened, spread in an even layer over the cherry gelato; the pistachio layer should come up nearly to the top of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
• When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap from the top of the pan and invert the spumoni onto a cutting board. Gently lift the loaf pan away and remove the remaining plastic wrap. Slice the spumoni into 3/4-inch slices, using a chef's knife dipped in warm water; dip the knife in the warm water between each slice. Serve immediately.

ITALIAN SPUMONI TOWERS

Steps:

• Using a round cookie cutter or small can, trim the sliced pound cake into disks. Layer, starting with a slice of pound cake, then a small scoop of chocolate ice cream, a slice of pound cake, then pistachio ice cream, a slice of pound cake, and strawberry ice cream, finishing with a slice of pound cake to form spumoni towers. Individually wrap and freeze to set. To serve, place on a rack set over a baking sheet, and pour sauce over top to cover. Transfer to dessert plates and serve.

SPUMONI (ITALIAN ICE CREAM LIKE DESSERT)

Steps:

• Chill a 1 quart spumoni mold well.
• If you don't have a spumoni mold, a 1 quart gelatin mold will work very well.
• First Mixture: Combine milk, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in a sauce pan.
• Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickend (like a pudding).
• Cool mixture.
• Place cooled mixture in a freezer tray and freeze until medium hard (about 2 hours).
• It should be soft enough to spoon out easily, but hard enough to hold its shape.
• Second Mixture: In Bowl, beat heavy cream and sugar together until stiff.
• Gently mix in the cherries, orange peel and almonds.
• Chill the second mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.
• Filling Mold: When first mixture is ready (semi-frozen), remove from freezer tray and line the inside of the chilled mold with it.
• With the back of a spoon, shape a hollow in the middle of the first mixture.
• Fill the hollow with the second mixture.
• Cover the top of the mold with plastic wrap or waxed paper, and freeze for about 2 hours (until very firm).
• To serve, dip mold briefly in warm water and unmold onto a serving plate.
• Cut spumoni into 6-8 portions.

ITALIAN INN SPUMONI

Steps:

• Soften the ice creams in a large bowl. Fold in 1 cup dried fruit of choice, pecans and brandy.
• Just barely fold together so that the ice creams.
• do not mix with each other completely.
• Refreeze. Cook time is estimated freezer time.