These little melt in your mouth Russian Tea Cakes make great gifts for the holidays. With just a few ingredients they are quick to make and are so pretty wrapped up in bright, cheery packages. I made these vegan using Earth Balance Buttery Sticks. They turned out great.
The tea cakes are tossed in powdered sugar after cooling for a short time then tossed once again before serving.
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together. Add flour and salt, stir to combine. Stir in walnuts.
Shape into small balls and bake at 375 degrees about 15 – 20 minutes until edges are very lightly browned (check for doneness after 15 minutes). Do not let cookies brown too much.
Allow cookies to cool slightly, about 15 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar while still slightly warm. Toss cookies in powdered sugar once more. Let cool completely before storing in an air tight container.
Summer has come and gone and so have most of the mangoes on our two trees. I haven’t had to buy fruit for months since we’ve had fresh mangoes every day. What a dream! Well we have just a few of those glorious golden orbs left and as it happens they all ripened at the same time. I couldn’t let this opportunity pass: time to break out my mango bread recipe.
I adore these exceptionally sweet mangoes as do my family and friends. They don’t have a very long shelf life, they ripen a day or two after they’re picked. A quick chill in the refrigerator and they are ready to eat.
The White Pirie mango has a deep orange color and is delightfully fragrant.
Though mango is the star of this recipe, the combination of raisins, walnuts, coconut and cinnamon bring it all together to make a moist and luscious cake. Thanks to my friend Tamoe who shared her recipe with me.
Toasting a thick slice of mango bread and serving it with a pat of butter takes it to another level.
Maui Mango Bread
Adapted from Tamoe’s Mango Bread recipe
Makes two loaves
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar (or up to 1 1/2 cups sugar if your mangoes are not on the sweeter side)
Place flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Mix in the oil, beaten eggs and vanilla. Add the mangoes, walnuts, raisins and coconut. Pour into loaf pans and bake for 55 – 60 minutes. If using demerara sugar, bake the bread for 10 minutes then sprinkle the sugar over the tops of each loaf. (If you add the sugar before baking the bread, it will dissolve into the batter). Continue baking for another 45 minutes. Since oven temperatures vary, it’s a good idea to check the bread after it has baked for 53 minutes. If it needs more time, check again every 2 minutes to prevent over baking.
Note: If you are using dark pans the bread will bake quicker than in light pans so check for doneness at 50 minutes.
Whew! It’s been awfully hot this summer and we still have 4 more months of this sweltering heat. A swimming pool would be nice this time of the year. My step-daughter Jessica lives in Portland where the temperatures soared to 98 degrees so she bought a kiddie pool for her dog but ended up in the pool with her pet! Here is a cooling treat for those warm summer nights.
If you’re like me and love citrus desserts that are a snap to make, you’ll love this recipe. I’ve been making these tart lemon squares from Cooking Light magazine since their March/April 1994 issue was published.
Bake the crust until lightly browned then set aside while you mix the lemon filling. Keep the oven set at 350 degrees.
These lemon squares keep well if made a day in advance. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve then cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is a perfect accompaniment.
Tart Lemon Squares
Adapted from Cooking Light magazine
Ingredients ~ Crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 x 8 inch Pyrex baking dish.
1 cup flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
dash of salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon chilled butter
Preparation
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly and evenly into the baking dish. Bake 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Set aside while you prepare the lemon filling.
Combine sugar, flour, lemon rind, baking powder, salt, whole eggs and egg whites in a medium bowl. Stir with a wire whisk until blended. Whisk in lemon juice and food coloring if using. Pour mixture over prepared crust and bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes or until set.
Cool on a baking rack then chill for about 3 – 4 hours before cutting into squares. Sift powdered sugar over the lemon squares before serving.
Who in the world comes up with these recipes and what’s with the name?!! In any case, this is absolutely addicting. Sweet and salty crackers covered in chocolate. It’s hard to imagine a saltine cracker can be turned into something so delectable, but it can.
I made half of the recipe on a trial basis however I will be making the whole recipe next time. They make tasty little gifts and are so pretty wrapped in cellophane bags.
Heavy duty foil made a perfect custom pan.
After melting the butter and brown sugar the mixture is spread on top of the crackers and baked for about 5 minutes until the butter and sugar begins to bubble.
Once removed from the oven chocolate is scattered over the buttery sweet crackers where it slowly melts and is easily spread into a smooth and even topping.
Chill in the refrigerator so the chocolate firms up. You can break the chocolate crack up into random sized pieces or cut the crackers into uniform pieces.
12 oz high quality semi sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate (60% or greater) chopped into pieces the size of chocolate chips.
Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch jelly roll pan with heavy duty foil. Place crackers salt side up, side by side in the pan as tightly as possible without overlapping. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat stirring frequently with a spatula. Once the butter has melted, add brown sugar and vanilla stirring to combine. Cook for about 3 – 5 minutes or until the mixture is an even dark brown color and has begun to bubble. Remove from the heat and pour over saltines using a spatula to spread sauce.
Bake the crackers for 5 minutes or until the butter mixture begins to bubble (watch carefully). Remove from the oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate allowing the heat to melt the chocolate. Spread the chocolate evenly with a spatula so all the crackers are completely covered. Refrigerate until chocolate sets and hardens. Break apart and serve.
***If you live in warm climate like I do, store the chocolate crack in a plastic container in the refrigerator. These are so good served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
If I recall correctly, I found the recipe for these “Foggies” on the internet many years ago. The name of the recipe caught my attention. First, because I am very fond of San Francisco, and second, because of the ingredient list. Barbara Feldman of San Francisco submitted this recipe and won first place in the chocolate confection category in Chocolatier Magazine’s The Great Chocolate Challenge back in 1986.
One pound of chocolate…
And coffee too…
Four eggs and two cups of chopped nuts…
The original recipe calls for walnuts however I had a big bag of pecans so I used them in place of the walnuts. Pecans are so tasty and I generally prefer them to walnuts. They substitute nicely in most recipes.
San Francisco Fudge Foggies
Adapted from Chocolatier Magazine
Ingredients
1 pound bittersweet chocolate – chopped
2 sticks unsalted butter cut into tablespoons
1/3 cup strong brewed coffee
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup flour
8 ounces (about 2 cups) coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with heavy-duty foil. Let the foil extend 2 inches over the edge of the pan. Butter the bottom and sides of the foil.
Melt chocolate with butter and coffee over medium low heat. Cool for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl using a handheld mixer at high-speed, beat the eggs for 30 seconds until foamy. Gradually add the sugar. Beat 2 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the chocolate mixture until just blended. Using a wooden spoon or spatula stir in the flour, then add the nuts.
Transfer mixture to your prepared pan and bake 28 – 30 minutes or until just set around the edges. Test for doneness at 28 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center of the Foggies. The toothpick should have a few wet crumbs clinging to it (moist in the center) but not uncooked batter. It’s important to check the Foggies before you think they will be done so there’s no chance of over baking them (if your toothpick comes out clean they are over done). If they are not quite done, test again at 1 minute intervals. Cool in the pan for 1 hour or longer, cover tightly with foil and refrigerate at least 6 hours or over night. Using the extended foil to lift the Foggies out of the pan and cut into squares.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Leftover Foggies can be frozen (wrap them individually in plastic and place in a freezer bag).
I love tart lemon and lime bars and other citrus desserts. Along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, sweet and tangy desserts are the perfect way to end your meal. I was looking for a recipe that included sour cream. I had exactly 1 cup that I wanted to use up and voila! I found this in my recipe box tucked away behind the “cake” section. I wish I could remember who it belonged to so I could thank them.
Besides the sour cream, the recipe includes 1 full cup of lemon/lime juice. Part of the juice goes into the cake and the other half in the syrup that you drizzle over the cake when it’s done baking. Not enough zing? There’s citrus zest too.
Citrus Sour Cream Loaf
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup each, fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice
1 teaspoon each, lemon and lime zest
1/2 cup melted butter
Citrus Syrup
1/4 cup each, fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon citrus zest
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with waxed paper. Butter the pan (or spray with Pam).
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, briskly stir the sugar with the eggs. Whisk in sour cream, citrus juice and zest. Whisk gently to combine. Fold dry ingredients into wet, then whisk in melted butter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until done (check at 45 minutes).
While the cake is baking bring the lemon and lime juice to a simmer in a small saucepan. Mix in the sugar and zest and simmer for about 4 minutes until slightly thickened.
Cool loaf in pan for 15 minutes then remove to a cake rack and pierce the top of the loaf thoroughly with a long skewer. Drizzle the warm syrup over the cake letting it soak up the citrus syrup.
***The original recipe calls for an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan. After pouring the batter into the pan and seeing how little space there was at the top of the pan I was afraid that it might overflow so I switched it out for a 9 x 5 inch pan.
These little melt in your mouth Russian Tea Cakes make great gifts for the holidays. With just a few ingredients they are quick to make and are so pretty wrapped up in bright, cheery packages. I made these vegan using Earth Balance Buttery Sticks. They turned out great.
The tea cakes are tossed in powdered sugar after cooling for a short time then tossed once again before serving.
