Gourmet Cookie Bouquets Recipe Blog

• 1 cup pearl barley
• 4 cups boiling water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 pound chopped mushrooms
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 tablespoons fat or butter
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten

Stir the barley into the water. Bring to a boil; add the salt, cover and cook over low heat or until soft. Drain.  Brown the mushrooms and onions in the fat or butter.  Add to the barley with the pepper and eggs. Taste for seasoning. Turn into a greased baking dish or casserole. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until browned and set. Serves 6 as a substitute for potatoes.

• 1/2 pound cream cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 cups cooked medium noodles, drained
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Cream the cheese with the eggs, sugar and salt. Stir in the noodles. Turn into a buttered 9 inch ring mold. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and butter. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until brown. Unmold carefully. Serves 6.

• 1 cup minced onions
• 1/3 cup chicken fat
• 2 cups cooked kasha
• 3 cups cooked broad noodles, drained
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Brown the onions in the fat. Combine with the kasha, noodles, salt and pepper. If you have any grebenes, add some. Toss until well mixed. Serve hot. Serves 6.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, or 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 2/3 cup milk

The texture of the biscuits should be light and tender. The dough should be minimally stirred and kneaded to ensure a flaky crumb.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease two 8-inch round cake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar, and sugar. Cut the butter into the flour with two knives held together or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the milk all at once and stir quickly and lightly with a fork for 30 seconds, just till the dough forms a ball around it.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 14 times. Pat to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into rounds with a 2 inch cookie cutter. (An empty 6 ounce tomato paste can also works well.)
4. Place touching each other in the prepared cake pans, about 9 rounds of dough per pan. Bake 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

• 3 eggs
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 cups cooked broad noodles
• ½ cup seedless white raisins
• ½ cup sliced blanched almonds
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons melted butter or chicken fat
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs

Beat the eggs and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the nutmeg, noodles, raisins, almonds, lemon juice and melted butter or fat. Turn into a well greased ring mold or baking dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 50 minutes or until brown. Serve with meat or poultry dishes or as a dessert with a sweet fruit sauce. Serves 6 to 8.

• 1 cup cooked rice
• 3 cups cooked spinach
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 tbs. olive oil
• 2 oz. grated Pecorino cheese
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Mix all ingredients, except oil, thoroughly until well blended. Heat oil in skillet. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of mixture into hot oil; fry about 3 minutes or until each side is golden brown. Serve very hot as a side dish or as a main dish with vegetables.Serves 4.

• 7 to 8 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 packages active dry yeast

• ¼ cup sugar

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 ½ cups hot water

• 120 to 130 degrees)

• ½ cup mayonnaise

• 4 eggs

• 2 tbsp. sesame seeds

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar and salt. Gradually beat in water until smooth. Add 2 more cups of flour, mayonnaise and 3 of the eggs; beat well. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding as much remaining flour as needed to prevent sticking. Shape dough into a ball. Place in a large, greased bowl; turn dough once to grease surface. Cover with towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; divide into three equal pieces. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each piece into 24 inch rope. Place side by side on a large greased baking sheet; loosely braid the ropes. Shape braid into circle, pinching the ends together to seal. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 ½ hours. In a small bowl, beat remaining egg; brush over surface of the dough. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in preheated o375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove to wire rack to cool.

• 3 lb. all-purpose flour

• 1 tbsp. salt

• 1 oz. yeast

• 1 tsp. sugar

• 3 cups warm water

• 1 tbsp. corn oil

Put 2 tbsp. of the flour into a large bowl, preferably wooden, and add the salt (a little more or less depending on the taste). Mix the yeast and the sugar to a smooth paste. Add the warm water and gradually add a little of the reserved flour until it becomes a thick batter. Lightly sprinkle the top with flour. Make a well in the middle of the flour in the bowl and pour the batter into this.

Cover the batter with a cloth and leave the dough in a warm place until it doubles its bulk. Add the remaining flour and knead the dough until it becomes silky and elastic. Knead for 10 to 15 minutes or until dough leaves the side of the bowl clean. Rub the top of the dough with the oil, cover it with a slightly damp cloth and let the dough rise for 1 hour to again double it’s bulk.

Turn the dough onto a well floured surface and divide into three pieces. Knead each piece again for a few minutes and make into compact shapes to two-thirds fill your loaf pans. Grease the pans with a little oil, add the shaped loaves (the top slightly raised and rounded), cover again and leave the dough in a warm place to rise to the top of the pans.

 Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 15 minutes (mark 8), then lower the heat to 400 degrees (mark 6), and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes or until the loaves are well browned and shrink slightly from the sides of the pan. Turn the loaves from the pans, tap the bottoms and if they sound hollow the bread is done. Cool on a rack.

• 2 cups warm milk (105 to 115 degrees)

• 2 packages active dry yeast

• 3 tbsp. sugar

• 1 tbsp. butter

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 6 oz. Cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

In a large bowl, combine milk and yeast; stir into dissolve yeast. Add sugar, butter and salt; stir until butter is melted. Stir in 3 cups of the flour; beat until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour and cheese; mix well. Pour batter into a well buttered 1 1/2 quart round casserole. Cover with waxed paper; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Remove waxed paper. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in dish on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen edge; remove from dish. Cool slightly on a wire rack; serve warm with butter.

• 2 extra ripe, large bananas, peeled

• 1/3 cup butter

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 3/4 cup chopped nuts

Puree bananas in blender (1 1/4 cups). Cream butter with sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in the bananas and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture alternately in thirds with buttermilk, blending well after each addition. Stir in the nuts. Pour into greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes until tests done. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack to complete cooling.