Double Almond Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl beat butter and shortening until soft—add half flour and all ingredients to butter/shortening mixture and beat until mixed well.  Add rest of flour: shape dough into 2  8 inch rolls wrap in saran wrap and put in freezer for at least 2 hours.

Topping

1 8oz can almond paste

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

2/3 cup sliced Fisher almonds

In a medium bowl crumble almond paste add milk and sugar beat with electric mixer until smooth.  Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet—spread about 1 teaspoon of almond topping on each cookie and sprinkle with several sliced almonds bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes or till edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned—remove and cool on wire rack.

Take a small piece or red or green colored cellophane place 2 cookies (one on top of the other)then tie each end with curling ribbon. (cute festive packaging idea).

Photo courtesy of Liz Noffsinger and freedigitalphoto.com

These double Chocolate Chip Brownies make a great treat for snow days — or to celebrate Superbowl weekend.  Thank you to Patti from Georgia who submitted this recipe for the Handmade from the Heart Sweepstakes.

Easy Double Chocolate Chip Brownies

2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1/2 cup margarine

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup Fisher nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 13 by 9 inch baking dish.

Melt one cup morsels and butter in large heavy duty saucepan over low heat, stir until smooth.  Remove fro heat. Stir in eggs, flour, sugar, vanilla,  and baking soda. Stir in remaining morsels and nuts. Spread into pan.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Cut up in squares and place two in plastic wrapping and tie with pretty bow to give to friends and co-workers.  Enjoy!!

Photo courtesy of Liz Noffsinger and freedigitalphotos.com

Photo courtesy of Bill Longshaw

Ingredients:

1 cup Fisher Almonds; whole

8 ounces White chocolate; chopped

1/2 cup Dried apricot halves; quartered

Spread almonds in a single layer in shallow pan. Place in cold oven; toast at 350 degrees 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted. Cool. Melt white chocolate in top of a double boiler over very low heat. Remove from stove, and stir in almonds and apricots. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto waxed paper.Place in mason jars with holiday ribbon.

Photo courtesy of Bill Longshaw and freedigitalphotos.net

Spiced Nuts

Photo courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn

Ingredients:

1 egg white, beaten

2 cups mixed nuts

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup raisins

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2.Beat egg white until smooth; stir in nuts. In a small bowl combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; stir into nut mixture. Spread on a baking sheet.

3.Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.Remove from oven and stir in raisins and salt. Cool before storing in an airtight container.

teaspoon salt (optional)

Photo courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn and freedigitalphotos.net

photo courtesy of tungphoto

Tony from Alabama shared this

WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT

CHEESECAKE recipe in our Handmade from the Heart Sweepstakes.

Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,176,150171-245196,00.html

Content Copyright © 2010 Cooks.com – All rights reserved.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

CRUST:

1 1/2 c. crushed brown-edge wafers or Bordeaux cookies

1/2 c. finely chopped macadamia nuts

1/4 stick butter, melted

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

FILLING:

4 pkgs. (8 oz. each) softened cream cheese

1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

4 eggs

1/2 c. butter, softened

3/4 lb. white chocolate, melted

1 tbsp. Praline liqueur

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

Crust: Combine all ingredients. Press onto bottom and partway up sides of 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack while preparing filling.

Filling: Beat cream cheese in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in butter until well combined. Mix in melted chocolate, liqueur and vanilla. Fold in nuts. Pour into cooled crust. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Bake 1 1/2 hours or until center of filling is just set. Cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight. To serve, place on serving plate. Carefully remove sides of pan. Serve in thin wedges.

White chocolate melts best in double boiler over hot, NOT boiling water.

Photo courtesy of tungphoto and freedigitalphotos.net

Photo by Maggie Smith

Mixed Nut Brittle by Debra from Minnesota

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup water

4 cups mixed nuts

2 teaspoons plus 2 Tablespoons butter, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook over medium heat sugar, corn syrup and water, covered, to a boil. Uncover and cool until candy thermometer reaches 290 degrees.

Meanwhile grease 15 × 10 baking pan (jelly roll pan) with 2 teas butter and set aside. Warm nuts in 2 baking pans in 325 over for 10-15 mins until warm (keep warm until ready to use).

Remove sugar mixture from heat and carefully add nuts, vanilla, salt and remaining butter. Quickly spread into prepared pan. Cool completely and then break into brittle.

Photo courtesy of Maggie Smith and freedigitalphotos.net

Photo courtesy of Arvind Balaraman

1 cup butter

1 8 ounce bag of powdered sugar

1 12ounces  creamy peanut butter

1 4 ounce bag Fisher nuts

1 package 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine butter, sugar and peanut butter Fisher nuts and chocolate in a medium bowl blend till

smooth. Roll into 1 inch balls. Put in oven on 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

Photo courtesy of Arvind Balaraman and freedigitalphotos.net

photo courtesy of Suat Eman

4 Cups all purpose flour/sifted

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound butter

1 cake yeast

5 egg yolks

1/2 pint sour cream

Sift flour, sugar and salt together. Cut butter into flour as for pie dough. Crush yeast with 1 Tablespoon sugar to make a paste. Put sour cream into yeast. Beat egg yolks well. Add sour cream mix to yolks. Blend together with flour mixture until dough is smooth. Refrigerate overnight.

Filling:

1 lb Fisher Walnut Chips

5 Egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar with nuts. Beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar-nut mixture and vanilla to egg whites. Separate dough into 3 equal parts. Roll out from 1/2 to 1/8 inch thin. Spread softened butter over dough. Put filling over this and roll as for a jelly roll. Let rise for 1 1/2 -2 hours. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Optional: when cool, or slightly warm, frost with a glaze of 1 Tablespoon butter and Confectioners sugar and water.

Gift packaging:

Wrap in a new colorful Christmas dish towel tied with ribbon. (Do not frost if you choose this option)

Photo courtesy of Suat Eman and freedigitalphotos.net

Photo courtesy of Tina Philips

Debra from Arizona tells us:

My favorite holiday treat, using Fisher cashews, are “Snowball Cookies.” I realize they are a “common Christmas cookie”, and practically EVERY family member, along with friends that I know and those I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting…yet, bakes these cookies ever holiday season, but according to my Grandmother, my family has been preparing them for almost 100 years. The original recipe calls for walnuts. My sister altered the recipe, using cashews instead of walnuts, about 20 years ago. Every Thanksgiving, my sister sends her guests away with a tin of “Cashew Snowball Cookies.” At THAT moment one knows that the holiday season has officially begun!

Snowball/Butterball Cookies

Makes 4 dozen cookies

1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature <ALWAYS use butter — never substitute margarine>

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups chopped cashews, or halves/whole cashews of you prefer

Cream the butter and the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix thoroughly. Add the vanilla.

Sift the flour and salt, and add to the mixture. Mix on low. Add chopped cashews, or halves/whole cashews. and mix just until blended. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball. Each snowball should be about one inch in diameter.) Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly golden on the bottom. Remove from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. Roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely and give them another dusting of powdered sugar.

Photo courtesy of Tina Philips and freedigitalphotos.net

Photo courtesy of Arvind Balaraman

This recipe takes the delicious seasonal fruit, pumpkin, and makes a rich and delectable delight that is sure to please any gathering. When it’s all gone (and it will go fast) the baking dish is for your friend or loved one to keep. A large Pyrex 9″X13″ glass baking dish with lid is an inexpensive and practical gift. Tie a pretty bow around it and your friend will have a useful gift for many seasons to come (and a delicious dessert for your seasonal get together).

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Ingredients:

Cake filling-

32 oz. pumpkin (either fresh and pureed or from a can – not pumpkin pie mix)

4 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/2 – 2 cups sugar (the topping is fairly sweet so I stick with the lower number)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping-

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup Fisher chopped pecans

1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter or margarine, very thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together all the ingredients for the topping. Use a whisk or hand blender to mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into the bottom of a 9″x13″ baking dish that has been greased with butter. Top this mixture with the yellow cake mix by carefully sprinkling it evenly over the top. Spread the chopped pecans over the cake mix and then top with a layer of butter pats making sure to cover every inch of the cake. Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees or until the top is toasty brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve this pumpkin delight with Cool Whip or real whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. The crunchy, rich and buttery topping are absolutely delicious and store fairly well if you have leftovers (and that is a big if). The cake is nice and large and will serve at least 12 people. A great addition to the dessert table at any large family gathering. No one will ever know you didn’t spend hours in the kitchen putting this together.

Photo courtesy of Arvind Balaraman and freedigitalphotos.net