Very flavourful, crumbly and shortbread-like cookie. Great with a cup of tea.
1/4 lb. candied orange peel (1/3 cup) chopped finely
1/4 lb. currants (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup rum
Soak fruit in rum overnight, stir and shake occasionally.
1 lb. unsalted butter
1/3 lb. (1 and 1/2 cup) blanched almonds
1/2 lb. (1 cup packed) muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar
1/4 lb (1/2 cup) white sugar
1 tbsp orange extract
2 XL eggyolks
1 lb. (3 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
1/4 lb. (3/4 cup) cake flour
Grind almonds with white sugar until very fine. Food processor does this very quickly or used a nut grinder or alternatively buy almond flour. Mix nut mixture, butter, sugars, eggyolks and extract together for 2 minutes. Add flour and stir to combine, 1 minute. Fold in the fruit. Chill dough for 1 hour. Scoop out with 1 1/4 inch cookie schoop and gently roll into a ball with your palms, and place 1″ apart on a lined cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 20-22 minutes until light tan in color. It should not spread but will be dome like when cooked. Transfer to cookie racks and cool completely. Ice.
Icing:
3/4 lb (1 and 1/2 cups) confectioners sugar sifted
2 tbsp. triple sec, cointreau or rum
1 tbsp light corn syrup
Mix in a small bowl until smooth and runny. If it is too thick add a tbsp. of water. Drizzle cookies or dip tops in icing, you should just have a very thin glae. Dry for an hour. Place each cookie in a paper cup. Store in tins. Makes about 50 cookies and can be kept for up to two weeks.
Marketman’s Note: I know the holidays just about over, but I am publishing these recipes and photos so that they will be permanently recorded on the blog, and won’t disappear into my voluminous mailbox and pending folders… Many of sister’s cookies were baked for the holidays, but I suspect these would be brilliant at any special or not so special occasion at any time of the year… Enjoy!
Recipe by Sister. Photos by Nephew.
14 Responses
Sounds like a cookie recipe keeper. Has all the elements of a good cookie – almond, butter, candied orange, currant and of course the rum. Between Thanksgiving up to New Year’s Day, I gain 14 lbs. as I was struggling with my jeans. I thought I left it too long in the dryer and shrunk and pinched myself and it was all the food and booze I enjoyed much over the holidays. I will be on a rabbit diet on weekdays and weekends will be my floating days. I wish myself luck with my diet.
maria clara…forget dieting, just “jump for joy” it’s the best exercise and weight-loss activity. Biro lang!!
Maria Clara, I got on the scale yesterday after a month of cookie baking and eating and I lost FIVE pounds. Of course the labour included wrestling with a 200 lb. tree, carrying tons of boxes back and forth to storage and shlepping probably 500 lbs. of groceries home. Every year I am the only person in the neighborhood who loses weight during the holidays and quickly gains it back in January so this year’s resolution is not to gain those five lbs. back!
There is something seriously unfair going on when someone loses weight over the holidays…
myra_p, It’s just a question of how much energy one expends versus the number of calories consumed…
thanks for the recipes, MM. they’re certainly for holidays and anytime one feels like declaring a holiday :-)
I too lost some weight over the holidays….perhaps due to worrying more about whether my ensaumada would rise or not. In any case , I never baked and cooked so much in my lifetime and now I am scrambling to do my packing for a 3 month holiday in Pinas . I really hate this website, he, he.
With all theses cookie recipes coming online after the holidays, I think I know in which direction my scale will be going this January!
myra and sister, I am happy to report I lost a good 4-5 pounds in December as well due to so much activity. But I gained back two pounds in the last week! :)
I saw on the Today show that an average weight gain over the holidays is 6 lbs. No one mentioned loss, hehe. So while I still consider it unfair that MM and sister have lost some lbs., I understand. I can’t keep still when I’m in the kitchen cooking/baking. I forget to eat too! But darn, didn’t lose any. As long as we enjoyed the holidays, it was worth it. =)
The best Christmas vacation for me is not to do anything!
Thank you Sister for the lovely cookie recipes! This one is so inviting!
MM,on another note, I made the porchetta using the recipe in your blog. It was sooo good! I had it once in Bologna and the one I made came close…8/10.
If you want to ramp up the flavour even further add 1 tbsp. of ground cardamon and 1 tbsp. of freshly grated nutmeg.
Hi sister! you replied to me before regarding where you get your supplies. I just want to ask you if the paris gourmet you are talking about is the one in Carlstadt, NJ. My aunt and I are planning to go there. Thanks again
Yes, Ann, Paris Gourmet is in NJ. You can access their website http://www.parisgourmet.com.
However, you might also try Sahadi, 187 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11201 http://www.sahadis.com for well priced good fruit and nuts and spices.