Holiday Baking With A Regional Twist
(NAPSA) – Bakers everywhere are dusting off their rolling pins and gathering up their measuring cups. Every corner of the country has its own unique spin on holiday cookies and candies, with recipes that are often inspired by local ingredients or a reflection of traditions unique to the people who live there.
Wherever you may live on the map, there is a recipe-or two-to add to your holiday cookie plate, such as:
Almond Butter Buckeyes, buttery and nutty chocolate confections inspired by the nuts that fall from Ohio’s famous buckeye trees. Come holiday time, they are produced-and consumed-in mass quantities in ‘The Buckeye State,’ as well as in neighboring states throughout the Midwest.
Ingredients
Candies:
- 1 cup butter softened, 2 sticks
- 1 1/4 cups almond butter
- 3 tablespoons dark rum or 1 1/2 teaspoons rum extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 3/4 to 4 cups Confectioners sugar sifted
Coating:
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Candies:
- In large bowl, combine butter, almond butter, rum, almond extract and confectioners' sugar using electric mixer. Dough will be smooth and firm. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place on parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Coating:
- Melt chocolate in shallow, microwave-safe dish. Heat 30 seconds; stir; then continue in 10-second intervals, stirring after each cook time. Chocolate should be melted and smooth.
- To dip balls, insert a toothpick about 1/2 inch into the ball, dip into melted chocolate, leaving a small circle of dough visible at the top, and place on parchment paper to dry until chocolate is firm. Repeat with remaining candies. Store in airtight container for up to three days.
- *You may substitute peanut or cashew butter for almond butter; omit almond extract if you use a substitution.
Notes
Visit butterisbest.com for more regionally inspired recipes, from Mount Rainier Macaroons to Apple Cider Buttons. While there, sign up for the daily holiday cookie e-newsletter, 'Better Baking with Butter,' available to subscribers from Nov. 27 through Dec. 24.
Be the first to comment