Fruit And Nut Confection Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with orange juice. Stir in the candied fruit, coconut, raisins and nuts., Press into a greased and waxed paper-lined 10-in. tube pan. Bake at 300° for 80-90 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar and sprinkle candied fruit or nuts.

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.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add egg; mix well. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to cream cheese mixture, beating until well blended after each addition. Stir in dates, chopped walnuts and cherries.
• Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto greased baking sheets. Top each with a walnut half.
• Bake 9 to 11 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets to wire racks. Cool completely.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, dates and nuts. Add the eggs, butter and vanilla; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be very stiff). , Spread in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool bars on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar. ,

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.

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.

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.