Almond Pear Tart

Ingredients
For Crust
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup margarine, cold and cubed
~1/4 cups ice cold water
For Filling
3 pears
4 Tbs almond paste
3 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
For Glaze
1 tsp lemon or lime juice
2 Tbs honey
1 1/2 Tbs margarine
1 Tbs cooking sherry
1 tsp sesame seeds

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, salt, sugar in large mixing bowl. Rub in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add ice water bit by bit until dough just comes together. Grease tart pan and press dough into pan (you can roll out the dough with a rolling pin first if need be). Place pan in freezer for ten minutes. Remove from freezer and use a fork to make holes in the bottom of the crust. Bake for 8 minutes.

Cut up almond paste into small bits and sprinkle over crust. Peel, core, and slice pears. Set in pan on top of almond paste. Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over pears.
Combine ingredients for glaze in a small microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 30 seconds. Drizzle glaze over pears/ Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until crust is a light golden brown.

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Crust taken from a Martha Stewart Recipe.

Vegan Dias Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp flax seed

3 Tsp water

1 Tbs banana
3/4 cup butter flavored crisco
2 Tbs vanilla
2 Tbs coconut milk
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup oatmeal
>1 cup vegan chocolate chips
>1 cup broken walnuts

Procedure

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Crush flax seeds with a mortar and pestle. Simmer crushed seeds with 3 Tbs water on medium heat for 2 minutes. Cream together crisco, flax seed water mixture, and brown sugar. Add vanilla and cocnut milk. Stir. Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Add oatmeal, chocolate chips, and nuts. Mix. Bake for 9-11 minutes on a greased non-stick pan or cookie sheet until the tops just turn golden brown. They will look like they are not done yet but they will harden on as they dry. Let sit on pan for 5 minutes before transfering to a cookie rack.

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Adapted from a Dias Family Recipe.

Healthful Oaty Fruity Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup oats

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp salt

zest of one orange

6 Tbs cold butter, cubed

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup mixed dried fruit (anything goes: cherries, raisins, cranberries, this time we used a papaya, pineapple raisin mix...yummm)

1 egg

4 tsp lime or lemon juice

enough milk to make 1 1/3 cup (when added to citrus juice)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flours, sugar, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and zest. Add cold cubed butter, and rub in with hands until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add dried fruit and chocolate chips. In a liquid measuring cup, combine lime or lemon juice with enough milk to make 1 1/3 cups. Whisk milk and juice mixture with egg, and add to dry ingredients. Stir. Spoon dough into greased muffin pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

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Adapted from this.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup room temperature butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

sprinkles

Procedure

Beat butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix. Stir in flour, cocoa powder, salt, and cinnamon. Roll dough out to 1/8th - 1/4th inch think in between to sheets of plastic wrap. Lay wrapped dough on baking sheet and place baking sheet in freezer for 20-30 minutes. Remove dough from freezer. Remove plastic wrap. Use cookies cutters to make shapes in the dough and place on greased cookie sheet. Decorate with sprinkles. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool before eating.

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Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

Rosemary Cornmeal Cookies

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup room temperature butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup dried berries

2 Tbs fresh finely chopped rosemary

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about three minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing in between. Add flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. Add in dried berries and rosemary. Mix sparingly. Spoon out dough onto greased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

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Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

Coffee Brownie Cake

For Brownie

6 oz bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 Tbs cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbs espresso

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

For Topping

3/4 cup cream

1/8 cup cold strong coffee

1 Tbs powdered sugar

Chocolate, peppermint to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat chocolate and butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until evenly melted. Remove from heat. In mixing bowl combine eggs, sugar, cocoa, vanilla, espresso, and salt. Add melted chocolate and flour. Mix until evenly incorporated. Pour batter into greased round 9 inch baking pan. Bake for 25- 30 minutes.

Remove form oven and let cool to room temperature. Whisk cream until soft peaks form. Add

coffee and powdered sugar. Whisk to desired consistency. Dollop onto cake and garnish with topping of your choosing.

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Adapted from a CHOW recipe.

Oatmeal Walnut Scones with Maple Glaze

For Scones

1 1/2 cups rolled or quick oats

3/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

1/4 milk

1/4 cup cream

1.4 cup maple syrup

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

10 Tbs cold butter, diced

For Glaze

3 Tbs maple syrup

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread oats and walnuts out onto a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 8 minutes, or until visibly browned. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Increase oven to 450 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together milk, cream, syrup and egg. Put flour, baking powder, and salt in the workbowl of a food processor and mix just enough to mix up the dry ingredients evenly. Add butter to food processor and mix until the consistency reaches that of coarse sand. Transfer the mixture into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add in room temperature oats and walnuts. Fold in wet ingredients. Gently mix and knead to evenly incorporate all ingredients. Turn out onto lightly floured surface, and form desired scone shapes. Place scones on greased baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes.

Once finished scones cool, whisk together maple syrup and powdered sugar and dizzle over scones. Let set for a minutes or so before serving.

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Adapted from a Cook's Illustrated recipe.