Fruit Bread Fingers Recipes

SHORTBREAD "FINGERS"

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the flour and salt and work the mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender until all the flour is incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
• When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough until it's 1/4-inch thick. Using a small knife, cut out finger-sized strips, about 3 inches tall, rounding each finger at the top as shown. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Roll and cut the second half of the dough, and place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. You can gather together scraps and re-roll them.
• Bake for 15 minutes, until the shortbread is very lightly golden. Do not let the cookies brown. Remove to a wire rack and cool.
• When the cookies are completely cool, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in a heatproof bowl for 1 minutes. The chips may look unmelted, but stir them with a spoon to see if they have actually softened before putting them in for another minute, if necessary.
• Spoon the melted chocolate into a zipper-lock bag. Seal the bag, pressing out any air. Use a toothpick to make a very tiny hole in one corner of the bag to release a thin stream of chocolate for writing. Decorate the fingers by piping a fingernail at the rounded end, and three horizontal lines to mark the joint at mid-finger. Decorate tombstones with crosses and writing as desired. Allow the chocolate to set before stacking the cookies.

FRESH FRUIT BREAD

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and add to above mixture.
• Carefully fold in fruit.
• Pour into two prepared bread pans and bake at 350° for one hour.
• This recipe may be doubled.
• Variation: Prune Bread: Use 3/4 pound chopped pitted prunes and add 3/4 teaspoon cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 Tablespoon grated orange peel.
• Cranberry Bread: Use 2 cups whole cranberries, eliminate cinnamon, add 1 Tablespoon grated orange peel, 1 teaspoon orange extract.

FRUIT BREAD FINGERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cream the oil or butter with the honey in a mixing bowl. Gradually beat in the egg. Mix in the carrots or apples, bananas and flour (All-purpose flour may be used with 1/2 tsp baking powder); add the raisins, cherries, cranberries, or prunes and zest. Add a little extra flour, if necessary, until spoon stands upright in the mixture.
• Turn the mixture into a greased 7in shallow, square cake pan and level the surface. Bake until golden brown, about 40-45 minutes.
• Cool slightly, then lightly score into finger-shaped slices using a sharp knife. Cool completely in the pan, then cut into fingers and serve.

ALMOND BUTTER AND FINGER BANANAS ON FRUIT BREAD

Steps:

• Spread a thick layer of the almond butter over each bread slice. Top with the banana slices and serve open-faced.

BASIC SHORTBREAD FINGERS

Steps:

• Butter an 8 1/2-inch cake or springform pan; set aside. Sift together flour and salt into a small bowl; set aside. Place butter in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Cream until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, and continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, about 2 minutes more. Add vanilla, if using. Add flour mixture, and combine on low speed, scraping with spatula if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
• Pat dough into prepared pan. If rolling out dough to cut into shapes, form into a flat disk; wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Roll dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 1-by-3-inch rectangles. Score with a knife; chill. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until firm and just starting to color, 20 to 25 minutes.

FRUIT BREAD TWISTS

Steps:

• Cut each loaf of bread dough in half lengthwise. Roll each portion into an 18x5-in. rectangle. Brush lightly with water. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough. Sprinkle with fruit. Roll up each rectangle, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. , For each loaf, twist one white and one wheat rope together, pinching ends to seal. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Remove plastic wrap. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over loaves.