Chocolate Thins

 



What a delicious little chocolate cookie this is!

I had high ambitions for Christmas-cookie-baking this holiday season, but I didn't get very far. This was the only new recipe I ended up making... but it's a winner. As opposed to the Cocoa Drop Cookies that disappointed me two years ago, this rather dull-looking wafer delivers a lovely, rich taste of chocolate. I only wish I could make them look as pretty as they taste.

It was my first attempt at slice-and-bake cookies. I guess I've always been too impatient; when I want cookies, I want them NOW. This dough needs to chill for at least 12 hours! But it was worth it.

Rolling the dough into a log was easy enough, but when it came time to slice it, I found that the slices toward either end fell apart and I had to scrunch the dough back into a disk on the cookie sheet. The lesson learned was that the dough log needs to be well-compressed from end to end so it holds its shape when sliced. I made extremely thin slices using a sharp little Pampered Chef paring knife, and ended up with more than the predicted 48... probably closer to 60. The cookies really expanded and puffed up while baking, then settled into a delicate, crisp little wafer out of the oven.

I will definitely be making these again.
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Chocolate Thins

½ cup (1 stick) margarine [I use butter] softened
⅔ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp. brewed coffee
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1¼ cups flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Beat together butter and sugar until light; beat in egg. Stir in coffee and chocolate. Combine dry ingredients and stir to mix well, then add to the chocolate batter. Mix.

Turn dough onto a double layer of wax paper and roll into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Refrigerate until ready to use -- at least 12 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut dough into 1/8-inch slices; place on cookie sheet [allow space for expansion]. Bake 7-8 minutes until cookie is crisp and dry but not too brown.

Makes 48 cookies.
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Cheese Ball (Alcott)

I wanted to prepare a cheese ball from the Yellow Tin Box for our Christmas party this year. There were several recipes, and this one sounded more interesting than most others.

I was tempted to substitute red for the green bell pepper since I am not a fan of green, but I resisted for the sake of authenticity on this first try. Besides, I figured it was only one little teaspoon, so the flavor couldn't be that overwhelming. I also diced all the veggies very, very, very small -- minced, really -- to avoid any chunky bites and to distribute the flavor as much as possible.

Because we weren't having a very big party, I decided to halve the recipe so we wouldn't have a lot of leftovers. It wasn't until after I had mixed everything together that I realized that I had halved the cheeses, but not the rest of the ingredients! D'oh! So what I ended up with was double flavoring and veggies in the cheese ball, but y'know what? I thought it tasted just fine, so I left it as it was, chilled it for a while, then formed the ball and rolled it in finely chopped pecans.

I prepared the mixture the morning of the party, so the flavors had several hours to marry, which made it even better. Unfortunately, in the flurry of trying to prepare everything else, I forgot to take a photo until about halfway through the party. Here's what I ended up with:

That little chunk on the lower right corner of the center plate is all that was left -- and it didn't last much longer.

Our party guests absolutely raved about the cheese ball. It was a definite favorite of the party spread. One friend immediately asked for the recipe, so I handed her the card from the box, and she took photos of the recipe with her phone. Everyone agreed that it was perfect with the double-strength ingredients, so if I make it again, I will do the same. I may even use green bell pepper again... maybe.
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Cheese Ball
by Alcott 12/24/71

2 8oz pkg cream cheese
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp onion, chopped fine
1 tsp green pepper, chopped fine
1 tsp pimiento, chopped fine
dash salt
dash cayenne pepper
finely chopped nuts

Cream the two cheeses. Blend in the other ingredients [except nuts] and chill. Make into ball and roll in chopped nuts.
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Lemon Squares

Funny: I was looking online for a lemon bar recipe, found one that claimed to be the "best ever," and it turned out to be almost identical to this one!

People have such different opinions when it comes to lemon-flavored treats, I don't think there can be one version of lemon bars that will please every palate. This one is more sweet than lemony, but you can definitely taste the lemon. I've made it a few times now, and started adding the zest of one lemon to give it an extra flavor boost.

For the bottom crust, the recipe I found online calls for the same ingredients, but says to blend it in a bowl using softened butter. It's simpler (requiring one less bowl) to melt the butter in the pan in the oven, but the first time I tried it, I left the pan in too long and scorched the butter a little. That could be a good thing, giving the crust the "nutty" taste of browned butter, if that appeals to you.

Two medium lemons produce approximately the 6 tablespoons of juice called for, but I've found that it doesn't have to be precisely that amount to turn out well. A bit more or less juice is fine. Plus, as I said, adding lemon zest gives it a nice kick, if you're looking for more lemon flavor. It isn't necessary, but I strained the pulp from the juice before stirring in the zest. I haven't tried bottled lemon juice, but I imagine it would suffice if that's all you have to work with.

Other than that, it's a good recipe that doesn't take much time to prepare. From the 9"x13" pan, I cut it into 12 squares.

I'd never made lemon bars before, but this recipe is going to be in my regular sweet-treat repertoire from now on!

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Lemon Squares

Crust
1 cup oleo [butter is best]
2 cups flour
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
dash of salt

Filling
4 eggs
6 tbsp. [or ½ cup] lemon juice
[zest of 1 lemon]
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

Melt oleo [butter] in 9"x13" pan; mix flour, powdered sugar, and salt, and add to oleo. [Alternatively, using softened butter, beat ingredients in a bowl until blended.] Press down firmly in bottom of pan. Bake 20 min at 350° [until lightly browned].

Beat eggs and lemon juice - set aside. Sift sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. [Add lemon zest.] Mix with eggs. Pour on top of crust while hot. Bake 25 minutes at 350° [until lightly browned].

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top while warm.
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Chocolate Scotcheroos (Mrs. Hora)

On a snowy Sunday in December, my daughter and four other teenagers were at our house working on a school project, and the Mrs. Cleaver in me felt compelled to provide them a sweet afternoon snack. I didn't have much spare time, and didn't want to worry about waiting for something to bake in the oven, so I picked out this recipe, clipped from the now-defunct Tulsa Tribune. I was short just one of the ingredients -- the butterscotch chips -- but I was pretty sure the dessert would taste just fine without them.

The process is very similar to preparing Rice Krispie Treats -- perhaps even simpler and less messy -- but the end result is more dense and chewy. The peanut butter and chocolate go well together, of course, but I would add vanilla to the sugar mixture; the flavor seemed to lack a little something, and vanilla seems the obvious fix (as with brittle). If I make these again, I will also look for butterscotch chips (Walmart didn't carry them last time I checked); I'm sure they would enhance the overall flavor that much more.

Since there were only five kids to serve, I made a half-batch:

The recipe says to "chill until top is firm," but after an hour or so in the fridge, the block was extremely difficult to cut into squares; I think I strained some muscles in my back. Instead, I might let it sit in a cool area of the kitchen for a few hours and see if it's easier to slice.

The important thing was that the plate was empty at the end of the afternoon, so the teenagers definitely approved!
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Chocolate Scotcheroos
by Mrs. Hora

1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
[1 tsp vanilla]
6 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips

Bring sugar and syrup just to a boil. Remove from heat and add peanut butter [and vanilla]. Then blend in Rice Krispies. Press into a buttered 13-by-9-inch pan.

Melt chips in the top of a double boiler. Spread over top and chill until top is firm. Cut into 48 pieces.
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