Thursday, May 11, 2006

Yummy Desserts!

I am sorry that I forgot to take a picture of this first recipe, this was amazingly delicious and not hard at all!

Almond-Cornmeal Strawberry Shortcakes
Serves 6 Prep-Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1 hr. 35 min.

What you'll need:
for shortcakes:
6 T. butter or margarine, room temp
1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. sliced almonds
3/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tspn. vanilla
1/4 tspn. salt
1/2 c. yellow cornmeal

for filling:
1 pound strawberries
1/3 c. plus 1 T. sugar
3/4 c. heavy cream

What to do:
1. Make shortcakes: Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour 6 jumbo muffin tins (each 1-cup capacity); set aside. (I used a regular muffin pan and cooking spray)

2. In a food processor, blend 1/2 cup sliced almonds with sugar until finely ground. Add butter, eggs, vanilla, and salt; process until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary (mixture may appear curdled at this point). Add flour and cornmeal; pulse just until moistened.

3. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin tins; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c. sliced almonds. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool cakes 5 minutes in pan; remove from pan, and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

4. Make filling: Hull and quarter strawberries. In a medium bowl, combine with 1/3 c. sugar. Let stand until syrupy, tossing occasionally, at least 20 minutes (and up to 6 hours, covered and refrigerated).

5. In another medium bowl, using an electric mixer, whip cream with remaining 1 T. sugar until soft peaks form.

6. With a serrated knife, split cooled shortcakes horizontally. Place bottom halves on serving plates. Dividing evenly, layer with sweetened strawberries and whipped cream; cover with shortcake tops.



Pecan Shortbread Bars

Makes 18 Prep-Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 1 hr. 20 min.

1 c. pecan halves

1 c. flour

3/4 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. cold butter or margarine, cut into pieces

1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray.

2. In a food processor, pulse pecans until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl; set aside. In processor, blend flour, sugar, butter, and salt until moist clumps form. Add reserved pecans; pulse 2 or 3 times, just to incorporate.

3. Press dough evenly into the bottom of prepared pan (if dough is sticky dip fingers in flour). With a floured fork, prick dough every 1/2 inch. Bake until lightly golden, 30-35 min.

4. Cool 5 minutes in pan. Cut bars while still warm and cool completely before serving.

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