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Gourmet Almond Cranberry Squash Bake Recipe

Celebrate this Christmas with enchanting Almond Cranberry Squash Bake, a healthy gourmet recipe. It is quick and easy to make. Mashed cooked butternut squash with top filling of whole-berry cranberry sauce makes it delicious treat for family and relatives. It is special dish for Autumn as squash and other gourds fill farmer’s markets in the fall & using the squash’s thick shell as an innovative serving bowl dresses up.

75% would make again

This Recipe is
Quick

8 Servings
Prep: 20 min. Bake: 50 min.

Almond Cranberry Squash Bake Recipe
Ingredients
4 cups mashed cooked butternut squash
4 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 can (14 ounces) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
Directions
  • In a large bowl, combine the squash, 2 tablespoons butter, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Stir cranberry sauce until softened; spoon over squash.
  • Combine the almonds, brown sugar and remaining butter; sprinkle over cranberry sauce.
  • Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Yield: 8 servings.
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Almond Butter Stuffed Pears Christmas Recipe

Are you looking for Christmas desserts? Try this delightful Christmas desserts, A Gourmet Almond Butter Stuffed Pears Recipe.A formal dinner but an elegant dessert with stuffed pears. A mild nutty filling pairs well with the tender, sweet fruit.


50% would make again

12 Servings
Prep: 1 hour Bake: 30 min.

Ingredients
2 cups unblanched whole almonds, toasted
1/4 teaspoon salt

Almond Butter Stuffed Pears
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups pear juice
3 cups sweet white wine, divided
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split
12 medium pears
Directions
  • Combine almonds and salt in a food processor. Cover and process until almonds are finely chopped. Add oil; cover and process until blended. Set aside.
  • In a large saucepan, combine the pear juice, 1 cup wine, brown sugar and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; remove vanilla bean. With a sharp knife, scrape the bean to remove the seeds; stir into sauce. Discard bean. Return to a boil; cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 50-55 minutes or until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon.
  • Meanwhile, slice 1-in. off the top of each pear and set aside. Core pears, leaving bottoms intact. Fill with reserved almond mixture. Place pears in a shallow roasting pan; replace tops. Add remaining wine. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until pears are tender, basting occasionally. Serve with sauce. Yield: 12 servings.
Nutrition Facts:
  • 1 stuffed pear equals 309 calories, 15 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 62 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 6 g protein.
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Holiday Baking #1: White Chocolate Macadamia Brownies

I'm so excited to announce the launch of my "Baking through the Holidays with Recipes Dream", where each day in December we'll post a new delicious goody recipe!  It'll be me, my family, and some baking friends all collaborating together to make it the most delicious December yet here at the Recipes Dream.  Thanks to my new blogging friend, Kari at the Virtual Goody Plate , for the idea.  She's been posting a cookie recipe every day in December for the last few years on her baking blog. 

Here's my first recipe of December....White Chocolate Macadamia Brownies.  My hubby has a soft spot for the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies at Mrs. Fields, but I've always been a little intimidated to make them at home for him.  One day I stumbled across the macadamia nuts on sale and decided to make him a special treat.  I can't remember exactly where I found this recipe, but it was love at first bite.  They had a very nice texture which was much smoother and moister than your average cookie bar.   These would be great for a bake sale or for a plate of holiday goodies!
Don't forget to grab my button (either on the sidebar or on the bottom of this post) and spread the word! 


Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:

6-ounces fine-quality or premium white chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips)
5 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, toasted lightly and chopped coarsely
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch square baking pan. 

In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, melt white chocolate and butter together, stirring, until smooth.  Remove from heat and allow chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. 


In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until thickened and pale and beat in white chocolate mixture.  Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and beat into chocolate mixture just until batter is combined well.  Stir in nuts and white chocolate chips and spread batter evenly in pan. 

( I used an 11x7-inch pan, since my square pan was in use that day) 

Bake brownies in middle of oven 30-35 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. 

(They turned out a little browner than you'd want most cookie bars, but these were PERFECT just the way they were--still moist and chewy and not overdone a bit)

  Brownies will cut better if allowed to cool first, but they were so, so good warm and fresh from the oven.  Serve with ice cream!  Makes 16 brownies.  Enjoy!


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My creative space: Counting down

Not only is the Boy Wonder an identical twin (all superheroes need a sidekick, though his would probably argue that he was the hero), but his birthday is on December 25. He has plenty of woeful tales of neglect as a result, like the year he got a pyjama top for Christmas and pyjama bottoms for his birthday.

Since we've been together I've instigated a scheme that makes December a kind of birthday month, with a series of advent-style calendars filled with various treats. One year I strung film canisters along a ribbon, the next I made little scrolls woven into a piece of scarlet fabric. The year after that I think the treats were hidden around the house.

Then I found this little red house, which has tiny drawers that are just the right size for a chocolate or a note. I think the BW likes it, or at least he's amused by the pleasure I get from doing it. Of course, there are days when I am really struggling for ideas but I've been newly inspired by reading about Sonia's 'activity' calendars - I think they'll be great when the Small Girl is a bit bigger.

I'm sure there are lots of other clever ones here. How are your Christmas plans coming along? And do you have any ideas for things that can fit in the drawers of a tiny red house?
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Never-Fail Pie Crust

This is the best, most trustworthy pie crust recipe ever. It has never failed me. It's easy to put together and crowds go wild over the flaky, melt in your mouth crust. The shortening in the key. I know, I know, butter is better. But not here, my friends. Trust me.

STP65093


Never-Fail Pie Crust
Makes two (2) two-crust pies (use only half of this recipe for one apple pie)

Ingredients
2 cups shortening (this is the key!)
4 cup flour
dash of salt
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup cold water

Directions
Mix shortening, flour and salt with a fork or pastry blender or stand mixer until crumbly.
In a small bowl, mix together egg, vinegar, and water. Pour the liquid mixture into flour mixture. Mix with flour until dough forms. If dough is too wet to handle, sprinkle in additional flour and stir to combine.

After dough is complete, divide the dough into 4 equal parts (or 2 if you halved the recipe) and flatten each portion slightly into a circle (approx. 5 inch round).  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  This allows for much easier rolling.

If you need additional tips for rolling out the dough, feel free to ask.  I've learned a lot of lessons!

While crust is chilling, start on your pie filling of choice and follow the pie recipe's baking directions.
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Snowflake Cupcakes



How about some pretty Chocolate cupcakes to get you through the week? 
These are Chocolate cupcakes (recipe HERE) with Vanilla Cream Cheese frosting (recipe HERE), made extra special with some royal icing snowflakes.  I piped on the frosting with a Wilton 1M tip (the tip I use the most often) and added some pretty sprinkles (white non-pareils and silver dragees).


The roayl icing snowflakes are pretty easy to make, and will last a very long time (stored in a airtight container).  Make a nice stiff consistency batch of royal icing (recipe HERE) and pipe a snowflake shape onto a piece of waxed paper.  Allow to dry completely (this will take about 1 day) before trying to remove from the paper.  Be prepared... many WILL break as you try to move them from the waxed paper, so you need to make at least twice as many snowflakes as you think you want.  The thicker the line of royal icing you make, and the longer you let them dry, the better your chances of avoiding breakage, but they are still very delicate, and you are bound to have some break. 


Happy Cupcake Decorating!

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Dinner Knots

Iam trying to make breads or work with yeast since 2008 december, thats when i bought my Microwave Convection Oven. I was not at all satisfied baking breads in convection mode. then i got my OTG, which did'nt disappoint me. I keep on trying stuffs with yeast, rather than cakes. On one of my try, these dinner knots came out so so so Perfect for me. They turned out so soft and Flaky. Now its here to be presented for you All..

Dinner Knots

Ingredients:

Active Dry Yeast - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Warm Water - 1/2 cup
Warm Milk - 1/2 cup
Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
Egg - 1 beaten
Sea Salt - 1/2 tsp
All Purpose Flour / Maida - 3 and 1/4 cup (divided)

Egg Glaze:

1 egg
1 tbsp of water
Sesame seeds for topping

Dinner Knot

Method:

Warm half a cup of milk and dillute half a cup of warm water. Mix Sugar and Yeast with the dilluted milk and mix with a spoon. try to mix as much so that the yeast and sugar gets dissolved. close it and keep aside for 5 - 10 minutes, till frothy layer is developed due the activeness of the yeast.

Now in a wide bowl, add 1/4 cup of Olive Oil, add beaten egg to the oil and keep whisking with a whisk. add sea salt and whisk vigorously. Now add the yeast mix and keep whisking.
Now add 1/2 cup of flour and whisk, keep adding the rest of flour as half cup at a time. when the whisk clogs with the dough, shift to a wooden spoon and mix. then start mixing with hands and knead the doough for atleast 5 minutes. add little olive oil in the end and knead it once.

Take a Bowl, grease it with olive oil and place the kneaded dough and cover it and rest it for 1 and half hours atleast so that the dough gets doubled in size.

Line the baking tray with baking sheets. Pinch a small portion of the raised dough and roll it like a rope about 7 inch long and 1 inch wide.Now Cross one side of the rope over the other to form a Loop. Now take a tip of  the rope that is on top and tuck it under and through the centre hole to tie loosely into a knot. One of the rope should pop up through the loop hole.

Place the knots on the greased tray, each 2 inches apart from each other and cover loosely with a plastic wrap and let it rise for 10 minutes.

Pre-Heat the oven at 190C for 10 minutes and bake the dinner knots for about 18-20 minutes. Beat a Egg with 1 tbsp of water and with the help of a brush, brush it on top of the knots. and sprinkle some sesame seeds over then keep them on oven in broil mode for 3-4 minutes to get the browning effect on top.

Then Remove from the oven and let it cool and Serve.

Hot Bun

I served these Dinner Knots with Jam to my kid and we had it with Soup. It was all together a New Dinner Experience for us on that Day!


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Middle eastern fig pastries


The Middle Eastern Food Kitchen (The home of delicious Middle Eastern Food Recipes) invites you to try Middle eastern fig pastries Recipe. Enjoy tasty Middle Eastern food and learn how to make Middle eastern fig pastries.

Cooking Time 30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

55g (1/3 cup) pistachio kernels
60g (3 tbs) butter
80ml (1/3 cup) honey
7 sheets filo pastry
250ml (1 cup) water
1/2 tsp rose water essence
220g (1 cup) caster sugar
12 fresh figs, thickly sliced
260g (1 cup) Greek-style natural yoghurt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Spread pistachios over 1 lined tray and cook in preheated oven for 5 minutes or until toasted. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Roughly chop. Place butter and 60ml (1/4 cup) of honey in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until butter melts and mixture is well combined.

2. Place the pastry on a clean work surface and cover with a damp tea towel. Brush 1 sheet of pastry liberally with the butter mixture. Top with another sheet of pastry and brush with butter mixture. Continue layering with the remaining pastry sheets and the butter mixture.

3. Cut the pastry into twelve 6 x 12cm rectangles. Place the rectangles on the lined trays and bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.

4. Meanwhile, place water, rose water essence, sugar and remaining honey in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Place fig slices in a heatproof bowl and pour over syrup. Place in the fridge until cool.

5. Place 1 pastry rectangle on each plate. Spread each with 1 1/2 tbs of yoghurt. Top each with about 4 fig slices. Repeat layering with rectangles, yoghurt and figs, finishing with a pastry rectangle. Spoon about 2 tbs of syrup over each stack. Sprinkle with pistachios and serve immediately.

Source
Good Taste - March 2002, Page 76
Recipe by Rodney Dunn

More Middle Eastern Bakery & Pastry Recipes

Middle Eastern spiced lamb pizza 
Turkish Pide Bread 
Spinach Pie Triangles 
Pita Bread Recipe 
Middle Eastern pastries
 
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COCONUT SWEETS

COCONUT SWEETS
2 cups scraped coconut
2 ½ cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon butter or ghee
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
½ teaspoon food colouring (pink or green)

Take a thick -bottomed vessel and heat the sugar and ¼ cup water on high heat. When the sugar melts, add the cocoanut, vanilla essence, ghee or butter and the milk. Cook on medium or low heat till the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the vessel. Drop a teaspoon of the mixture in a cup of water and if it forms a ball when rolled between the fingers, the right consistency is reached. Grease a flat plate well and pour the mixture on to it. Cool and cut into shapes.
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