Festive Florentine Crescents Recipes

CRESCENTS

Steps:

• If using butter it must be cold. Mix butter with flour until it resembles fine crumbs. Add white sugar, nuts, and salt. Mix well, adding ice water till you make stiff dough.
• Add vanilla extract and knead lightly. Roll out on floured board 1/4 inch thick.
• Cut into crescent shapes using a whiskey glass coated with flour.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) until bottoms are lightly browned. While hot, roll in confectioner's sugar, (I usually use a brown bag or baggie bag to roll the cookies in with the powdered sugar).

FANCY CRESCENTS

Steps:

• Combine flour and butter in large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
• In a separate bowl beat egg yolk and sour cream together with spoon. Add to flour mixture. Mix together well. Chill covered in refrigerator at least 4 hours. If you make this in the evening, store overnight.
• Stir sugar and cinnamon together to use instead of flour for rolling dough. Sprinkle some over working surface. Roll about 1/4-1/3 of dough into circle about 10 inches in diameter, sprinkling with sugar-cinnamon mixture on both sides as needed both to roll and for taste. Cut in 16 pie shape wedges. Beginning at outer wide edge, roll toward center. Arrange on ungreased baking sheet close together, not touching.
• Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until browned.

CHICKEN CRESCENT WREATH

Steps:

• Arrange crescent rolls on a 12-in. pizza pan, forming a ring with pointed ends facing the outer edge of pan and wide ends overlapping., Combine the remaining ingredients; spoon over wide ends of rolls. Fold points over filling and tuck under wide ends (filling will be visible). , Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Freeze option: Securely wrap cooled wreath in plastic and foil before freezing. To use, remove from freezer 30 minutes before reheating. Remove wreath from foil and plastic; reheat on a greased baking sheet in a preheated 325° oven until heated through.

FLORENTINE SQUARES

Steps:

• Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-x-15 1/2-x-1/2-inch baking sheet with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang at each short end.
• Batter: Pour the cream, corn syrup, and sugar into a 1 1/2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir to combine, then add the butter. Stir over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Then raise the heat to medium, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon--especially toward the end of cooking--to prevent scorching. Cook until the mixture reaches 238 degrees F, the soft-ball stage, on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes; the mixture will appear between ivory- and straw-colored. Remove from heat, and stir in almonds.
• Pour the mixture onto the center of the foil-lined baking sheet, and spread it in as thin a layer as possible. A pool about 8 inches in diameter is fine. Bake for 3 minutes; then spread the more liquid mixture evenly over the baking sheet. If the mixture still does not completely cover the baking sheet, bake another minute, then tilt the baking sheet to allow the mixture to spread evenly. Bake for about 5 to 6 minutes total, or until golden but not dark brown. Though the mixture bubbles while baking, the bubbles form more slowly toward the end of baking time than at the beginning.
• Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and cool for 2 to 3 minutes. While the mixture is still warm but no longer liquid, cut 1 1/2-inch squares using a ruler and a pastry wheel. If the mixture is too warm, it will not cut cleanly. If it is too cool, it will splinter or not cut; in that case return it to the oven for a few seconds to soften it a bit.
• Decoration: When the squares are completely cool, place the chocolate in a bowl over water at about 120 degrees F. When about two-thirds of the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the water. With a dry rubber spatula, stir until the liquid chocolate melts the soft or unmelted chocolate that remains. Fill a small handmade paper cone with the chocolate and snip off the tip. Pipe thin lines of chocolate back and forth over the squares' surface. Refrigerate the squares briefly, just to set the chocolate. Remove from the refrigerator and set aside in a cool, dry place.
• To store, remove squares from the foil and place them in layers, separated by strips of aluminum, in an airtight metal or plastic container in a cool place up to 1 week.

FESTIVE GUACAMOLE APPETIZERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. On an ungreased baking sheet, unroll one tube of crescent dough and press into a 13x8-in. rectangle. Prick with a fork; sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon taco seasoning. Repeat with remaining dough and seasoning., Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. , Cut each rectangle crosswise to make 4 strips (about 8x4-in.). For trees, cut each strip into 5 triangles, reserving scraps at each end for another use. For trunks, insert a pretzel piece into the base of each triangle., Beat cream cheese and guacamole until smooth; spread over trees. Halve and seed peppers. Cut 40 stars from yellow peppers using a 3/4-in. star-shaped cookie cutter. Dice and julienne remaining peppers for tree decorations. Decorate trees with pepper pieces and, if desired, cilantro. Refrigerate until serving.

FLORENTINES II

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Blend the sugar and the cream. Stir in the flour, almonds and orange peel. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a heavily creased and floured cookie sheet. Spread mixture into thin circles with a spatula.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) just until the edges are light brown about 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before removing from the cookie sheet, cool.
• Chop the chocolate up into small pieces. Melt chocolate over low heat or in the microwave on medium for about 3 minutes. Turn the cooled cookies upside down and spread the bottoms with the melted chocolate. Let cookies stand at room temperature until chocolate is firm, at least 3 hours. Store in a covered container at room temperature or refrigerate.

FLORENTINES I

Steps:

• Mix flour, soda and salt. Cream 1/4 cup butter or margarine. Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add corn syrup and egg. Blend well.
• Stir in flour mixture, coconut and vanilla. Drop by half teaspoonfuls onto greased backing sheets, leaving 2 inches between. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) about 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute, remove quickly and finish cooling on racks (if wafer hardens, return briefly to oven).
• Melt chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter in pan over very low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Enjoy!

FLORENTINES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour then add the cherries, flaked almonds, pistachios and orange zest.
• Scoop 10 flat tbsp of the mixture onto the baking sheets, leaving room for them to spread. You will need to do these in batches. Bake for 10 mins until golden. Leave to cool for 2 mins until firm enough to lift onto a wire rack. Cool completely. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering saucepan of water or in the microwave in 30 second bursts. Turn the florentines over on the wire rack. Spoon chocolate onto the base of each florentine and gently spread to the edges. When the chocolate is firm enough to hold its shape, use a fork to draw wavy lines across the chocolate. Leave to set and then store in an airtight container.

CREPES FLORENTINE

Steps:

• For crepes, in a large bowl, combine the milk, eggs and butter. Combine flour and salt; add to milk mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. , Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet; pour 2 tablespoons batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, adding butter to skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between., For filling, in a large saucepan, melt 5 tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg until smooth; gradually add the milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low; stir in the cream and 3/4 cup Gruyere cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat., In a skillet, saute mushrooms and shallot in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and egg until smooth. Beat in mushroom mixture. Add enough cheese sauce to achieve a spreadable consistency. In a large bowl, combine the spinach and 1/2 cup cheese sauce until blended. Add additional sauce if needed to achieve a spreadable consistency., To assemble, on two greased 9-in. ovenproof pie or tart pans, layer a crepe, spinach mixture, another crepe, then mushroom mixture. Repeat five more times. Pour remaining sauce over the stacks. Sprinkle with remaining Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses. Dot with remaining butter. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour., Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before baking. Bake at 350°; for 55-60 minutes or until bubbly and golden and a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Cut into wedges.

FLORENTINE CHICKEN RING

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Mix chicken, red bell pepper, spinach, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, lemon zest, salt, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Set aside. Unroll crescent roll dough, and separate into 16 triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on a 13-inch baking stone or pizza pan with the wide ends of the triangles overlapping in the center and points facing out. The center diameter should be about 5-inches. Scoop chicken mixture evenly onto the widest end of each triangle. Bring the outer point of each triangle towards the center of the circle and tuck the point under the wide end of the dough. The filling will not be completely covered.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Slice and serve.

DIABETIC FESTIVE CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Blend dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Add buttermilk, oil and eggs.
• Stir well.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Mix well for 3 minutes.
• Pour into a greased 8x8-inch baking pan.
• Bake 50 to 60 minutes.