Oh So Sinfully Delicious...

This week's special is two for one! Two great cookie recipes in one amazing entry. One of our goals in creating this blog was to make desserts from different countries around the world. Well this week, we've decided to make Greek Almond cookies. According to Nancy Gaifyllia from about.com, these shortbread cookies, known in Greek as Kourabiethes, are usually made for special occasions or religious holidays. These cookies are not only super easy, but more importantly super quick to make, and will surely be a hit at any special event.
The second set of cookies are Jam Drops. There really isn't any special background info on Jam Drops but the reason why this recipe was chosen for this week is because the ingredients are very similar to Greek Almond cookies, and the finished product is an array of button shaped cookies that look like they are embedded with gems. Both recipes were taken from Donna Hay's book Modern Classics 2. Any changes to the recipes are written in italics. Happy Baking!

Greek Almond Cookies

250g (8oz) butter, softened

3/4 cup icing (confectioner's) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour

100g (3 1/2 oz) chopped toasted almonds

Icing sugar to serve

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC (325ºF).

2. Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat with electric beaters until light and creamy.

3. Add the flour and almonds and mix to form a smooth dough. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until the dough is firm.

4. Roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into a crescent shape and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

5. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks. To serve, sprinkle liberally with icing sugar. Makes 35.

Jam Drops

180g (6oz) butter, softened

1 cup caster (superfine) sugar

1 egg
2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Jam/Jelly to decorate


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF).
2. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy.
3. Add the egg and beat well.
4. Stir through the flour and baking powder and mix to a dough.
5. Roll 2 teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room for the biscuits to spread, and flatten slightly (Oops, we forgot this step.).
6. Press a finger into the middle of the dough to make an indent.(We used the back of a 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon) Fill the hole with jam.
7. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Add a little more jam to the holes while the biscuits are hot (Ours had a lot of jam, so we skipped this step.). Cool on racks. Makes 60.

Ann's Thoughts

When I was checking out info on the almond cookies, I noticed from the images shown on google search pages, the Greek almond cookies took on multiple forms, from your typical circular cookie, to s-shaped biscuits. Although in Ms. Hay's recipe she instructs her readers to form the cookies into little crescents, you can shape them in whichever way you desire - as long as they look good, kay?

Between the two cookies that we baked, I preferred the Jam Drops. The Greek cookies were tasty, but being allergic to nuts - horrible but true - we made a batch of almond cookies sans almonds. Because this part of the ingredient was missing, they technically weren't almond cookies. Oddly enough I'm not allergic to almond extracts. So now I'm wondering how these cookies would taste by replacing vanilla extract with almond extract. It's something worth trying in the future.

The Jam Drops were so pretty they kind of remind me of Fruit Creme cookies from Peak Frean, minus the cream filling in the middle. Ana and I used mix berry and strawberry jams, but if you have a ton of different types of jam then use 'em for this recipe and you'll end up with a batch of jewelled cookies, which your family and friends will enjoy.

Ana's Thoughts

This week on OSSD we have cookies. Delicious cookies. Melt- in- your- mouth cookies. And not just one kind of cookie, but two. Double yumy-ness! They are both super easy to make and, with the exception of the almonds - which you can ommit - with day-to-day ingredients.

As I said, the process of making these cookies is pretty simple and straight forward. Even if you don't have a mixer, which is our case, you still can make them. And they will taste as good, I can assure you. The Greek almond cookies were my favorites. The icing sugar sprinkled on top melts in your mouth and it gives a hint of sweetness to the cookie; the toasted almonds gave them a crunch-crunch. Hmmmm I could eat them all if I could. hehe

The Jam Drops were very good, too. Not too sweet, very light and smells wonderful before, during and after baking. I didn't taste the jam, though, so it tasted just like a plain shortbread cookie. Ann told me she did, so maybe it's just me. It was good, nonetheless, so try it, you won't regret. ;)

See ya!

Receitas em Português


Biscoitinhos Gregos de Amêndoas
250g de manteiga, em temperatura ambiente
3/4 xíc. de açúcar de confeiteiro
1 colher (chá) de baunilha
2 1/4 xíc. de farinha de trigo
100g de amêndoas tostadas e trituradas
Açúcar de confeiteiro para decorar


Modo de Preparo
Pré-aqueça o forno a 160ºC
Bata a manteiga, o açúcar e a baunilha até ficar cremosa. Nós não usamos a batedeira.
Acrescente a farinha e as amêndoas. Leve à geladeira por 10 minutos, ou até que a massa esteja firme.
Enrole 1 colher (sopa) de massa em formato de meia lua. Asse por 15 min. ou até dourar. Deixe esfriar e espalhe açúcar de confeiteiro por cima. Rende 35.


Biscoitinhos de geléia (Goiabinhas)
180g de manteiga, em temperatura ambiente
1 xíc. de açúcar
1 ovo
2 xíc. de farinha de trigo
1/2 colher (chá) de fermento em pó
geléia ou goiabada para decorar


Modo de Preparo
Pré-aqueça o forno a 180ºC.
Bata a manteiga e o açúcar até formar um creme claro e cremoso. Adicione o ovo e bata bem.
Acrescente a farinha e o fermento e bata até obter uma massa.
Enrole 2 colheres (chá) de massa para formar bolinhas e coloque na assadeira. Achate um pouco com a palma da mão e faça um buraquinho com o dedo. Encha com geléia ou goiabada.
Asse por 10 minutos ou até que esteja dourado. Acrescente mais geléia se necessário, após retirar do forno. Rende 60 biscoitinhos.