Prunes In Wine With Toasted Almond Cookies Recipes

PRUNES IN WINE WITH TOASTED-ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Stir together all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, gently stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by half, about 25 minutes.
• Remove from heat and cool until barely warm or room temperature. Discard vanilla bean.

PRUNES POACHED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Place prunes in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 5 minutes, then drain.
• Meanwhile, combine wine and honey in a medium saucepan. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape seeds from the vanilla bean halves into wine and add pods. Add cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
• Add prunes to wine and bring back to a simmer. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add zest. Remove cinnamon stick.
• Cover and let sit for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled. Prunes will keep for 1 to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

ALMOND-STUFFED BACON-WRAPPED PRUNES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees F/230 degrees C.
• Stuff the prunes with the almonds. Cut the bacon in half and wrap a piece around each prune. Set on a baking sheet and broil until the bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes, turning once. Serve hot with cocktail picks for spearing.

TOASTED-ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Blend together egg whites, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, and salt in a food processor just until smooth.
• Put liner on a baking sheet. Using 2 teaspoons batter per cookie, make 6 mounds, spacing them 3 inches apart, then spread into 4 1/2- to 5-inch rounds with back of a spoon (they will be very thin but try to spread batter as evenly as possible). Sprinkle each round with about 1/2 tablespoon almonds.
• Bake cookies until golden-brown, 7 to 9 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 1 minute, then, working quickly, remove each cookie with a metal spatula and drape over a rolling pin or a wine bottle (you will need 2 pins or bottles) to form a curved shape. Let stand until crisp, about 20 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Cool liner and baking sheet before making more cookies.

PRUNES POACHED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Tie the orange zest and peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth and place in a large saucepan. Add the orange juice, wine and sugar and stir to combine. Place over medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the prunes. Refrigerate overnight. Serve at room temperature, spooned over vanilla ice cream.

COUSCOUS WITH PRUNES AND TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place almonds on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes until golden brown (break open to check). Let cool.
• Combine almonds with couscous, prunes, clarified butter, lemon juice, chives, and cinnamon; season with salt.