Pastry: Palmiers

Puff pastry is delicious, especially when you use it to create these delicious swirls of cinnamon and sugar. You can make your own puff pastry, or you can use frozen pastry.


Ingredients


1 recipe for Easy Puff Pastry
½ cup sugar
1½ tsp cinnamon sugar


Preparation


Heat oven to 375°F. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Divide dough in half and wrap one half and refrigerate. Roll out the remaining dough to a 10x14-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface or silicone rolling mat. Square up the corners as well as you are able.


Sprinkle the rectangle with half the sugar mixture. Press the sugar lightly into the dough. Starting from one of the 10-inch sides, roll up the dough, but stop when you get halfway. Roll up the other 10-inch side, stopping when you meet the first roll. Press the rolls lightly together, but you don't need to pinch them. Puff pastry doesn't move too much when baking.


Slice the roll into 20 ½-inch slices. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the palmiers are golden brown. Immediately remove from the baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Repeat with other half of dough.


Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. This recipe makes 40 palmiers.

Yeast Breads: Havarti Raisin Loaf

There are a lot of excellent cheeses in the world, and Havarti is among the best. But if you're not fond of Havarti, or you prefer another cheese, this bread is quite adaptable. You can use Swiss cheese, gouda, or even cheddar. The raisins are also optional, so if you don't like raisins, leave them out.


Ingredients


3 cups all purpose flour
1¼ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
⅔ cup milk
⅓ cup butter or margarine, softened
3 eggs
½ cup Havarti cheese, shredded
½ cup raisins (optional)


Preparation


Because we're not using traditional yeast, it does not have to be dissolved. So place all ingredients except raisins in a large bowl and blend until you have a soft dough. Fold in raisins. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes, until dough develops its elasticity. Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover lightly. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.


Punch down dough to remove all air bubbles. Shape into an oblong loaf on a prepared baking sheet. Cover once again and let rise until double in size, this time about 45 minutes. Heat oven to 375°F. Uncover loaf and use a bread lame or sharp knife to score the top of the dough with diagonal slashes. Three or four slashes should be sufficient.


If desired, you may coat the loaf with an egg wash. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on the pan for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Drop Cookies: Granola Bar Cookies

Granola bars are great. They're delicious and at least a little healthy. But it's even better when the granola bar becomes a cookie. A little flour, a little butter, and boom, Granola Bar Cookie. Make these for a crowd.


You can use either chocolate chips or raisins. Or do a batch of each, depending on who you're serving these to.


Ingredients


¾ cup all purpose flour
1½ cups rolled oats
½ cup wheat germ
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
¼ cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
¼ cup chocolate chips or raisins
¼ cup almonds, chopped
⅛ cup sesame seeds
⅛ cup shelled sunflower seeds


Preparation


Heat oven to 375°F. Cream together brown sugar, butter, and honey in a large bowl. Add vanilla and egg and blend well. Gently mix in all other ingredients until you have a consistent cookie dough. It may be a little dry, and that's okay.


Drop by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, until the edges of cookies are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets, cooling on wire racks. Cooled cookies can be store for up to 5 days in an airtight container.


This recipes makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on the size of the cookies.

Yeast Breads: Cracked Wheat Bread

Wholesome and delicious, Cracked Wheat Bread is excellent fresh out of the oven or toasted a couple days later. The raisins in this loaf are optional, so if you don't like raisins, leave them out.


Ingredients


¾ cup cracked wheat
½ cup raisins (optional)
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup very hot water
1¼ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
½ cup water
1 tsp salt
3 cups all purpose flour
1 egg, slightly beaten


Preparation


Combine cracked wheat, raisins, brown sugar, butter, and hot water in a large bowl. Allow to cool 5 minutes. Add water, salt, flour, and yeast. Mix well until a loose dough forms. Turn dough out onto a flour surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic ball forms. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover loosely, and let rise in a warm location until doubled in size, about 1 hour.


Punch down the dough to remove all air bubbles. Shape into a round loaf with a smooth top, about 8-10 inches in diameter. Place loaf on a prepared baking sheet and cover loosely. Let rise in a warm location until doubled in size once again, this time it will take about 45 minutes.


When the dough has fully risen, heat oven to 375°F. Using a bread lame or very sharp knife, score the top of the loaf in a crisscross fashion, creating the lattice pattern on the top. Brush entire loaf with beaten egg. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped.


Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Drop Cookies: Chocolate Raisin Cookies

The raisins in this recipe give the cookies a moist and chewy texture. You could frost these cookies, if you wanted to, but they're delicious just as they are.


Ingredients


½ cup sugar
⅓ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
Dash of salt
⅔ cup raisins


Preparation


Heat oven to 350°F. Cream together sugars and butter. Add vanilla and egg and blend well. Mix in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until all ingredients are well combined. Fold in raisins.


Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are set. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet, then cool completely on wire racks. Store for up to a week in airtight container.


This recipes makes about 18 cookies, depending on the size.

Pastry: Parmesan Pastry Twists

If you're having soup or salad, these cheesy pastries are a delightful and light accompaniment. They're also a great after school snack and are easy to pack for picnics. These are made with puff pastry, which you can make yourself or you can buy frozen at your local grocery store. Either way will work.


Ingredients


1 recipe for Easy Puff Pastry
¼ cup parmesan cheese
¼ tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp basil leaves, dried
1 egg, slightly beaten


Preparation


Heat oven to 425°F. In a small bowl, combine parmesan, garlic powder, and basil. Roll out the puff pastry dough on a floured surface until you have a 10x14-inch rectangle. Square up the corners as best you can.


Brush the dough with the egg, covering the surface completely. Don't cover the very edges. If you cover the edges (or parts where you've cut the dough) it may not puff correctly. So cover the surface fully, but don't cover the little edges. Sprinkle with the cheese mixture.


Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough so you have 2 5x14-inch rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 28 strips that are ½-inch wide. You can go a little wider if you like, but you'll get fewer strips.


Twist each strip 3 or 4 times and place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on wire racks, then store in an airtight container for up to a week. Or just eat them. That's what we do.


This recipe makes 56 strips or less, depending on how wide you cut them.

Drop Cookies: Chocolate Brownie Cookies

These cookies are completely delicious, mostly because they're basically brownie batter dropped on a cookie sheet. Delicious. They're also quite sticky, so use a nonstick liner or parchment paper to bake these cookies on. Don't be tempted to use wax paper. It might be nonstick, but it smokes when used in the oven.


Instead of using a saucepan, you can use a chocolate melter or fondue pot to melt the chocolate and butter together. It's simple and you definitely won't burn the chocolate.


Ingredients


¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
⅓ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup milk chocolate chips
¾ cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)


Preparation


Heat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan or chocolate melter, melt semi-sweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.


In a large bowl, beat sugar and eggs at a medium speed for 3 minutes. Blend in melted chocolate. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold in milk chocolate and walnuts, being careful not to crush the walnuts too much.


Drop by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, until cookies are just set. Let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then cool completely on racks. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.