Recipe of the Month with Helen Austin |
| My, how time flies. It hardly seems a year since I shared a wedding reception recipe from the book Somebody Is Going to Die if Lilly Beth Doesn't Catch That Bouquet. But here it is wedding season again. In the South, we don't usually go in for sit-down meals at wedding receptions the way they do up North. Pickup food is the norm, partly because we also differ from the Yankee way of doing things by inviting everybody we know (not just close friends and family members) to weddings. And these days, weddings cost enough without spending upwards of $25 a head to feed a couple hundred people at a reception. An assortment of cookies is popular not only at receptions, but at any kind of party. When planning a cookie platter, I like to think in terms of different forms - round cookies, bars or squares (such as brownies and lemon squares) and cookies cut in fancy shapes. There's another type of cookie that looks fancy as all get out but is really easy and fun to make. Rolled cookies, shaped like little cigars, make an attractive addition to a cookie platter. I've served the following recipe for teas in years past and people always ooh and ah over them. When you make these they won't turn out exactly like the pirouline cookies you get in packages from the store. They're thicker, for one thing, and sometimes they fan out larger at one end. It doesn't bother me if they don't all look exactly alike; that's how you can tell they're homemade. |
| Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in small saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and stir in flour, toasted almonds, lemon peel, and both extracts. Return to stove and keep warm over low heat. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet(s), baking about 4 to a sheet (they spread). Bake 8 minutes or until golden. Remove cookie sheet from oven and let sit about 2 minutes. Loosen each cookie with a spatula and turn upside down. Roll around a wood spoon handle (or other round object); when firm, carefully slide off. If cookies have become too firm to shape, return to oven for a few seconds to soften. Makes about 3 dozen. NOTE: Toast slivered almonds in dry skillet over medium heat, stirring until they start to turn golden. Remove from heat; when cool enough to handle, and chop finely. If you have a food chopper or coffee grinder, you can use that. |
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup butter
½ cup light corn syrup
1 cup flour
1 cup slivered blanched almonds,
toasted
and chopped (see NOTE)
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (may be
found in spice section of
supermarket)
½ teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup butter
½ cup light corn syrup
1 cup flour
1 cup slivered blanched almonds,
toasted
and chopped (see NOTE)
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (may be
found in spice section of
supermarket)
½ teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Helen Austin was food editor at the Arkansas Democrat for six years and has since been a
contributor to Active Years and the Arkansas Times. Having no formal education in either
journalism or home economics, she credits any expertise in these fields to a lifelong interest in
food and writing.
Helen's food philosophy consists of getting the best, freshest ingredients available, then cooking
them in the simplest manner possible. She and her husband, Jerry, prepare most of their meals at
home.
contributor to Active Years and the Arkansas Times. Having no formal education in either
journalism or home economics, she credits any expertise in these fields to a lifelong interest in
food and writing.
Helen's food philosophy consists of getting the best, freshest ingredients available, then cooking
them in the simplest manner possible. She and her husband, Jerry, prepare most of their meals at
home.
| Lacy Almond Cookies |
| www.marymaywrites.com |
