Mandel Kranser Almond Crowns Food

MANDELBROT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In an electric mixer beat eggs well and then add and beat well the oil, sugar and vanilla. Sift together salt, flour and baking powder, add to egg mixture and beat until just incorporated. Add nuts and any other additions at this time, fold in but don?t over-mix. The dough will be sticky, refrigerate for a few hours or longer, if needed. Coat hands with flour and then divide dough into thirds and shape each into long rolls 3 inches wide on a cookie sheet. They can be left straight or shaped into half moons. Bake for 30 minutes or until a little golden.
• Remove from the oven, slice into 1/2-inch slices with a serrated knife and return to cookie sheet. Either lay them flat on the cookie sheet or stand them on their ends. They may be sprinkled with cinnamon sugar at this point. Return to the oven and turn off the heat. Leave them in oven until oven cools or overnight. The longer one leaves them in the oven the harder they will become.

ALMOND BURFI

Steps:

• 1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, chopped finer
• In a heavy 4 quart pot, combine the sugar and water and boil together until candy thermometer registers 225 degrees F and a small amount of the syrup forms a thin thread between the thumb and forefinger when carefully sampled from the stirrer.
• Reduce heat to medium and stir in the almond paste with 1/4 cup Ghee. Stir in the rest of the Ghee in 1/4 cup increments until all of it has been absorbed. Keep stirring over medium to medium-low heat; the mixture will become a single mass and will roll around in the pan. If the mixture begins to brown, lower the heat. Continue stirring until the mixture becomes porous and starts to appear drier -- this can take up to 10 minutes.
• Spread the mixture in an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan and press into 1/2 inch thickness. Immediately sprinkle with the almonds, gently pressing them into the surface. While still warm, cut into 36 squares or diamond shapes.
• Serve at room temperature.
• In a heavy skillet, over medium to medium-low heat, heat the butter until it is completely melted. Watch as the butter boils, first with large bubbles and white milk solids floating on the surface, then with only a fine white foam filling the entire surface. Stir occasionally.
• Soon, small patches of golden brown will appear on the surface, and the overall color of the butter will change from yellow to golden. Push aside the foam periodically to check the color of the sediment. When the sediment turns light brown, remove from the heat. (see note)
• Decant into a jar with a tight lid. Warm, if desired, for serving over rice.

CHALLAH CROWNS

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, sugar, and yeast together in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
• Whisk the water and honey with 1 whole egg, all the yolks, olive oil, and salt in a small bowl and pour into the well. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon to make a soft, shaggy, moist dough. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead by hand, adding up to 3/4 cup more flour as needed, until the dough is soft and supple, about 8 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball.
• Brush a large bowl with oil and turn dough around in bowl to coat lightly. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set aside until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead briefly to release excess air, re-shape into a ball and return to the bowl. Cover and set aside until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Line 2 baking sheet pans with parchment paper. Divide the dough in half. Lightly dust hands with flour and roll each portion of dough into a 30-inch-long log. (If dough resists, then cover and let rest for 5 or 10 minutes before shaping). Spiral each length of dough around itself to form a coiled round loaf on the prepared pans. Lightly stretch the end of the coil and moisten it with water; gently press the end into the side of the round to seal the coil into a loaf. Press down on the loaves gently, cover with a kitchen towel and set aside until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Beat the remaining egg with a tablespoon of water and brush loaves evenly with it; sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired. Put the loaves in the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 400 degrees, and bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the crown registers 190 degrees F, about 30 to 35 minutes.

MANDEL KRANSER ALMOND CROWNS

Steps:

• Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and orange peel. Add flour, don't over mix. If the dough is too crumbly, add a little water. Chill the dough until firm enough to roll out. Make almond paste, or mix prepared almond paste (such as Odense brand) with egg white. If the paste is too hard to mix, grate it into the egg white and add enough water to achieve a spreadable consistency. After the dough is chilled, roll out dough nice and thin. Cut the dough into 3-inch strips. Gather extra dough, repeat until dough is used up. Spread almond paste mixture on dough, leaving 1/4-inch free at the top edge. Gently roll up the dough, and place on a cookie sheet, refrigerating until firm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Slice roll into 2-inch pieces, and arrange these on the cookie sheet, leaving a little room for spreading. Slice each 2-inch roll every 1/4-inch or so from the top down leaving about a 1/4-inch uncut at the bottom. Gently pull down the ends to form a crown shape. Brush each cookie with an egg wash, and sprinkle with almonds. If you prefer, use parl suukar, or edible pearl sugar, for a glittering effect. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until pale golden in color, remove and cool.
• The recipes for this program, which were provided by contributors and guests who may not be professional chefs, have not been tested in the Food Network's kitchens. Therefore, the Food Network cannot attest to the accuracy of any of the recipes.