Polvorones Sevillanos

Our family tradition is to make Polvorones Sevillanos in Christmas, this tradition comes from Spain.

You can wrap them in all kind of Christmas decorated tissue, and maybe offer them in little boxes as presents.

Ingredients
2 kg all purpose flour
•1 kg good quality lard
•1 kg powdered sugar
• 4 Tbsp ground cinnamon
•1/2 cup powder sugar

How to do them
Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
Measure and pour flour out onto a cookie sheet. Place in oven and "toast" the flour. Occasionally move the flour around on the sheet, so that it toasts evenly. Leave in oven for about 30 minutes. Remove and set aside.
It has to be completely cool to start working.
Cream lard, sugar and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour .
Place a sheet of waxed paper on a cutting board or other flat work surface. Press the dough together to form a ball. Then press the dough onto the waxed paper. Carefully flatten it down to about 1/2 inch. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies the traditional one is round
Use a small spatula to carefully move the cookies from the waxed paper to a cookie sheet for baking they are very delicate
Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet for 25-30 minutes at 300ºF.
Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow cookies to cool completely before removing them.
Sprinkle with powder sugar when ready to serve.
Makes approximately 150 polvorones
ready to wrap
wrap them with tissue paper

Chocolate Cake with double Cheese Cream Frosting

What can I say, I just love chocolate and imagine a great chocolate cake combined with cream cheese frosting, irresistible I think, you can marble both frostings or just cover the cake with your favorite one, its just the combination of colors that makes it more appealing

FOR THE CAKE
1 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
200 grs. semi-sweet chocolate or milk chocolate melted
1/4 cup milk
6 egg whites
6 egg yolk
FOR THE FROSTING
Do one batch of plain vanilla and then divide it into 2
PLAIN vanilla
1 (3 oz package cream cheese)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter
2 cups sifted powder sugar
CHOCOLATE
Take the 1/2 vanilla frosting and add:
2 tbsp of cocoa
1 tbsp milk

FOR THE CAKE
Preheat oven 350 degrees,
Cream the butter until it has a lighter color, then add sugar, egg yolks, beat for one minute, then melted chocolate, give this 2 minutes and add milk.
In another bowl whisk the egg whites untill soft peaks form, then add it to the cake batter with soft revolving movements.
Grease a pan, medium size.
Put the cake in the oven for 35 to 45 min. or until it's done.
FOR THE FROSTING
beat the cream cheese at room temperature until softened, add butter, vanilla and then powdered sugar.
Divide into two parts.
take one part and mix in the cocoa and milk.
DECORATION
Use both frostings and use your creativity.

Chocolate Almond Torte

This season of the year is great talking about what kind of desserts you can make, ingredients such as chocolate and almonds have a special place, this is a simple tart, easy to do and a crowd pleaser of course.
Decoration plays a very important role, you can cover it with white chocolate ganache, with 3 chocolate shavings, or just serving it with a little scoop of whipped cream.

This time I chose powder sugar sifted over a paper pattern, you can even design your own, I really hope you like it and enjoy this season!!!

...

1 pie crust (your favorite recipe)

Filling
150 grs butter
1/2 cup sugar
150 grs. milk chocolate
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
8 eggs
200 grs. chopped almonds

Decoration
powder sugar

paper pattern

Line the dough for the crust and refrigerate for a couple of hours..
In a saucepan melt butter, and add sugar till it dissolves, then add chocolate and move until it dissolves too.
In the blender put the syrup, vanilla, and salt, then add the eggs one by one until perfectly blended.
Arrange the chopped almonds all over the crust.
Pour the mix.
Bake for 45 min.
Let it stand until completely cooled.
Decorate with any pattern you like, using powder sugar.
place it on the top, sift powder sugar
ready !!

Color Banderillas

I did this banderillas once for a birthday, they are so easy, they turned out not just colorful, but crispy and delicious!

INGREDIENTS

500 grs. puff pastry
1 egg well beaten
200 grs. sugar
color sugar crystals

HOW TO MAKE THEM

preheat oven to 300 f. grease several baking sheets with butter
Roll puff pastry on a floured surface.
with a brush spread enough egg
sift some regular sugar and then the colored sugar
with a knife make straight long lines
or you can cut them into any shape
arrange them in the baking sheets giving a good separation
here we call them banderillas because they are cut long and narrow,
hope you like them!

Pumpkin-Cream Cheese Jell-O

I just love Halloween, spending time with friends and sharing our own recipes and treats

I had some pumpkin puree left, so I thought of jell-o, the results were impressive, great consistency and flavor, everyone liked it, its something different to enjoy, Happy Halloween!

INGREDIENTS

cream cheese LAYER

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup water
1 pkg. cream cheese
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin
pumpkin LAYER
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup of water
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 Tbsp, cinnamon
3 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin

HOW TO MAKE IT
Beat cream cheese with sugar.
Add pumpkin puree
Add cinnamon
mix unflavored gelatin with water and take into the microwave for 30 sec.
add slowly to the pumpkin mixture.
Pour into a mold
Refrigerate and let it set
Do exactly like the first part of the recipe, only without the cream cheese.
Pour the second layer of the jell-o.
Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
Unmold, and enjoy!!!

My Best Pumpkin-Cinnamon Cheesecake

Cheesecakes are my favorite kind of cakes, I just love them, they´re so versatile and creamy, this pumpkin cheesecake is easy to make and delicious to taste hope you like it

CRUST

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup firm butter cut in small pieces
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
FILLING
1-1/2 lb. cream cheese softened
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. cinnamon
TOPPING
1/2 cup white chocolate
3 drops orange food coloring
white and orange sugar crystals

HOW- TO

CRUST
To prepare crust, sift flour into a large bowl, add sugar and vanilla and cinnamon add butter cut in squares, add and mix until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
Place dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate 30 min.
Preheat oven to 475F. Grease a 8-inch spring form pan.
On a lightly floured surface roll dough to a 1/4 inch thickness.
.line greased pan with dough. Set aside.
FILLING
Beat cream cheese, sour cream,sugar, flour and egg yolks and whites in a large bowl.
Stir in vanilla and cinnamon and beat until smooth.
add pumpkin puree
Spoon filling into prepared crust..
Bake for 50 minutes or more if necessary.
Let it cool completely
DECORATION
microwave white chocolate until completely melted.
add orange food coloring
pipe the orange chocolate doing lines or a free patern and pipe some little dots or kisses all around the cake.
add colored and white sugar.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Sables

I love Halloween treats, thinking about all the season just makes me happy

Pumpkin cookies are just a nice way to enjoy and share with friends and family

cookies

1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2finely ground almonds
1/2 tsp.cinnamon
1/3cup butter softened
2egg yolks
filling
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
150 grs. cream cheese
3 tbsp sugar
decoration
1 or 2 egg whites
sugar crystals, (green and orange)

How to make them
Grease several baking sheets with butter.
Stir flour, salt and sugar in medium size bowl
mix in cinnamon
Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
Add egg yolks and mix to form a soft dough.
Roll out dough on a floured surface, using a pumpkin cookie cutter .
and cut out the figures.
Place slightly apart
with a brush apply some egg white to each and sprinkle with the green and orange sugar crystals
Refrigerate unbaked for 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 350F

Bake pumpkin Sables for 15 to 20 min.
Remove, when cool
Spoon some filling and cover with another cookie.
Enjoy