Fruit And Nut Confection Recipes

MIXED FRUIT-AND-NUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Put butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until smooth. Add sugars, and mix until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs one at a time until combined; mix in vanilla.
• Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in coconut, apricots, dates, macadamias, and pistachios.
• Drop batter, 2 heaping tablespoons at a time, onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven; transfer cookies on parchment paper to a wire rack to cool completely.

TORRONE (ITALIAN NUT AND NOUGAT CONFECTION)

Steps:

• Line an 8x11-inch baking dish with plastic wrap, allowing ends to hang over the sides. Place 1 sheet of 8x10 wafer paper in the bottom of the pan. Keep the roasted almonds and pistachios in a warm place until ready to add at the end. This makes it easier to mix them in.
• Pour honey into a heavy-bottomed pot. Add sugar. Mix and stir over low heat with a spatula, stirring constantly until mixture turns from grainy to silky and smooth, about 30 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
• Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl; add a pinch of salt. Whisk until whites form soft peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. Place pot back on low heat. Gradually whisk about a quarter of the whipped egg whites into the honey/sugar mixture; whisk in the remaining egg whites in 3 more batches.
• Continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until mixture turns a brighter white and a ribbon of the mixture does not immediately incorporate back into the rest of the mixture and stays intact on the surface for a while. This will take about 40 minutes. You can add a few drops of the mixture into a small bowl of ice cold water to test the consistency; ideally it should feel like soft clay.
• Whisk in vanilla and lemon zest. Add warm almonds and pistachios and stir to incorporate evenly.
• Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Even out as best you can with a clean oiled spatula. Top with 2nd sheet of wafer paper, shiny side up. Cover with plastic wrap and press down evenly, tamping mixture down gently but firmly. Remove top layer of plastic.
• Allow torrone to sit at room temperature until cool, firm, and ready to cut, 1 or 2 hours. Lift torrone from baking dish with the edges of the bottom layer of plastic wrap. Invert and remove plastic from the bottom. If the plastic wrap is difficult to remove from the edges of the torrone, you can trim off the edges.
• Cut torrone into 1-inch squares using a sharp serrated knife.

FRUIT AND NUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Place prunes, apricots, raisins, and currants in a medium bowl; pour bourbon over fruit. Cover with plastic wrap, and soak overnight.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over moderate heat; add apples, onions, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and celery is tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat; add nuts. Toast them, stirring constantly, until golden.
• Transfer sauteed onion mixture to a large bowl. Add brioche and broth; mix until incorporated. Add macerated fruit, toasted nuts, cranberries, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, parsley, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Using 2 large spoons or your hands, gently mix stuffing until evenly blended. Set aside while turkey is prepared for roasting.

FRUIT 'N' NUT STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, cardamom and salt. In a small saucepan, heat milk and 1/2 cup butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. In a small bowl, combine the dried fruits, nuts and extract; set aside., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead fruit mixture into dough. Divide into thirds. Roll each portion into a 10-in. x 8-in. oval. Melt remaining butter; brush over dough. Fold a long side over to within 1 in. of opposite side; press edges lightly to seal. Place on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Bake at 375° for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm loaves.

FRUIT CONFECTIONS

Steps:

• (My favorite combination is Orange Juice with Dates and Walnuts, but also good with Cranberries and Pecans, or use mango juice with dried pineapples and macadamia nuts for a tropical taste.) Grind nuts and then also mince dried fruit very, very finely in blender or food processor.
• Set aside.
• Mix together melted margerine/butter, vanilla, juice and confectioners' sugar.
• Stir in ground nuts and fruit.
• Stir in as much of the flour as needed to make a fairly stiff dough.
• Turn dough out onto floured board and knead a few times to make sure all flour is integrated.
• Will be VERY sticky.
• Roll with floured rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick (or as thick as desired) Cut into squares or diamonds with butter knife.
• Roll each square or diamond in powdered sugar.
• Let sit in cool spot or refrigerator until dry.

FRUIT-NUT TREATS

Steps:

• Make Rice Krispies Treats as the label directs, adding 1/4 cup sesame seeds and 1/2 cup each dried fruit and sunflower seeds with the cereal.

FRUIT AND NUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the celery, apples and onions and cook, stirring, until fragrant and softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley, sage, thyme, fennel, salt and pepper and cook for 1 more minute. Add the chicken broth and scrape up any brown bits that have formed on the bottom of the skillet, cooking for an additional minute. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
• In a large bowl, combine the cooled mixture with the stuffing, apricots, cherries, pecans and beaten eggs and mix well. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
• Bake until golden brown on top, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

EASTER FRUIT AND NUT EGGS RECIPE - (5/5)

Steps:

• In a medium size mixing bowl, combine butter, vanilla and salt, mix well with electric mixer. Beat in the confectioners' sugar gradually. Stir in the chopped cherries, pecans and coconut. Add just enough sweetened condensed milk to moisten and hold the mixture together. Knead the mixture until it is well blended. It should be easy to handle and shape, but not sticky. Use the palms of your hands to roll the mixture, a small amount at a time, into egg shapes. (The amount depends on the size and number of eggs you want to make. Use additional confectioners' sugar to prevent it from sticking to your hands.) Place the candy egg shapes on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Melt the chocolate in a microwave oven or in a double boiler. Dip each egg in the melted chocolate to coat, then lay on a waxed paper lined tray and allow the chocolate to harden. Place the eggs in paper candy cups.

FRUIT AND NUT CONFECTION

Steps:

• Chop sunflower seed, dates, and raisins in blender or food processor until fine. Add wheat germ, honey, and optional lemon juice (taste before adding) mix well. Form into 1-inch balls and roll in coconut. These keep well in a covered container.

FRUIT 'N' NUT SPREAD

Steps:

• In a blender or food processor, combine the cottage cheese, lemon juice and allspice; cover and process until smooth. Stir in fruit and nuts.

FRUIT-NUT CONFECTIONS

Steps:

• Place almonds in a food processor bowl fitted with the metal blade cover. Process until finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl set aside.Place apricots and raisins in food processor bowl fitted with metal blade cover. Process with on-off bursts until finely chopped. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, almonds, sesame seeds, egg white, honey and cinnamon cover. Process until blended, scraping bowl. Add remaining 1 cup powdered sugar and process until well mixed.Divide mixture into four equal portions and form each into a 4-inch roll. Or form mixture into 1-inch balls, using about 1 teaspoon for each ball. Coat rolls or balls with sugar. Dry on a wire rack overnight. Wrap rolls in plastic wrap. Place balls in an airtight container with waxed paper between layers. Store in a cool dry place. With a sharp knife, cut rolls into 1/4 -inch slices to serve.

FRUIT AND NUT CONFECTION

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl combine brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, dates, mixed peel cherries, pineapple and raisins.
• In a separate bowl Sift flour, baking powder and salt.
• Stir in the sugar.
• Add to fruit and nut mixture.
• In a separate bowl combine vanilla essence, brandy and eggs, mixing until smooth.
• Add the fruit and nut mixture, stirring to combined.
• Spoon mixture onto a well greased 18cm ring tin.
• Smooth the top surface.
• Bake at 150 degrees celcius for 1 hour. If the cake browns too quickly, cover top with foil after the first half hour.
• Leave to stand in the tin until cool before turning out onto a cooling rack.
• When cold, wrap in tin foil and store in the refrigerator.
• When ready to serve, dust with icing sugar, cut into small fingers or thin slices for serving.