Looking for a well-traveled recipe

[shimmer]

My sister is turning 20, and when she has her birthday she'll be in the middle of working at a camp, and she can't leave. She is also 2500 miles away.

However, I want her to be able to celebrate her birthday, and was looking for recipes that would travel well and still be almost as good by the time they get there.

She tends to have traditional tastes- chocolate, caramel, and fruity, but not too many flavors blended together.

Since she is a camp counselor, it might also be good if it could be something she could share.

I was hoping for suggestions beyond the typical chocolate chip bar cookie.

What do you think?

~~Shimmer~~

 

[isa]

I have this great ginger crunch bar recipe. It's not too spicy and has a shortbread base. It could be made with anything else really. Even chocolate just replace the ginger by cacao. Or how about something like Panforte? That should travel well. More suggestions:

From Nick Malgieri's Cookie Unlimited:

Orange Shortbread Squares
Chewy Almond Bars
Honey Pecan Squares
Hungarian Apricot Bars

From Rose Levy Beranbaum's Rose's Christmas Cookies:

Chocolate Caramel Chews
David's Dreambar (Chocolate Cinnamon Bar)
The Ultimate Lemon Butter Bar

From Nancy Baggett's The All American Cookie Book:

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch Bars
Caramel Swirl Blondies
Congo Bar
Turtle Bar
Hazelnut Honey Caramel Bars
Caramel Apple Crumb Bars
Apricot Almond Bars
Iced Lemon Shortbread Fingers
Raisin Pockets

If none of those appeal to you, try:

All Recipes Cookie Recipes

Epicurious.com

Martha Stewart

GINGER CRUNCH

For shortbread base
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
For topping
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Lyle's Golden Syrup (British cane sugar syrup)
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan.

Make shortbread base:
Sift together dry ingredients and blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press evenly into bottom of pan (base will be thin). Bake in middle of oven until golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

Make topping just before shortbread is done:
Melt butter in a small saucepan and whisk in remaining ingredients until smooth. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring, 30 seconds.

Pour topping:
Remove shortbread from oven and pour topping over, tilting pan to cover shortbread evenly. Cool in pan on a rack, then cut into small rectangles (8 rows lengthwise and 8 crosswise).

Makes about 5 dozen.


Gourmet

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT PANFORTE


This Italian version of fruitcake is dense, chewy and candylike. Wrap it in brightly colored cellophane for giving.
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted


1 1/2 cups hazelnuts (about 7 1/2 ounces)
1 cup whole unblanched almonds (about 5 ounces)
1 1/2 cups lightly packed chopped dried Calimyrna figs (about 9
ounces)
1 1/2 cups lightly packed chopped dried apricots (about 9 ounces)
1 cup diced candied citron (about 5 ounces)
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
3/4 cup unblanched all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 scant teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 scant teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey


6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate,
melted


Additional unsweetened cocoa powder

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Brush two 8-inch-diameter cake pans with melted butter. Line bottoms with parchment paper. Brush parchment generously with butter. Reserving remaining butter.

Place hazelnuts on small cookie sheet; place almonds on another small cookie sheet. Toast in oven until nuts are brown and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes for almonds and 14 minutes for hazelnuts. Cool. Gather hazelnuts in dish towels. Rub in towel to remove husks. Transfer hazelnuts and almonds to large bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Add figs, apricots, citron, orange and lemon peels to nuts in large bowl. Combine flour, 3/4 cup cocoa powder and spices in small bowl. Add to nuts.

Combine sugar, honey and remaining melted butter in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture is smooth and sugar is mostly dissolved, about 5 minutes. Bring to boil. Continue cooking until candy thermometer registers 248°F. (firm-ball stage). Immediately pour over mixture. Stir to combine thoroughly.

Divide batter between prepared pans, using back of buttered spoon to spread evenly. Bake until tops and edges just begin to brown and tops feel dry, about 1 1/4 hours. Cool slightly on wire rack. Run small sharp knife around edges of pans to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto work surface; peel off parchment. Cool cakes completely.

Arrange cakes top sides up on 8-inch cardboard rounds. Spread half of chocolate over each. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.

Brush tops of cakes with cocoa powder. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap decoratively with colored cellophane. Tie ribbon with gift tag around cellophane to secure. (Panforte can be prepared up to 1 month ahead. Store at cool room temperature.)

Makes 2.


Bon Appétit

 

[alexia]

My one suggestion is so plebian after Isa's wonderful array of goodies, and I don't make it myself, so have no tested recipe to offer, BUT: it travels really well and a is a favorite of the young and still slender. Homemade fudge. Especially chocolate fudge and even more especially with nuts and/or marshmallows. (Homemade marshmallows? )

 

[mezzaluna]

I have a simple, fat free recipe of my mom's for lebkuchen. It's in the form of a dense spice cake that gets chewier as it "ages". It's even good if it dries out a bit.

Rosetta's Lebkuchen :lips:

1 cup pitted dates, chopped
1 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Soak chopped dates in the juices about 4 hours. To the beaten egg add brown sugar, honey, and molasses; beat. Add the nuts. Sift together all dry ingredients and combine with wet. Pour into a greased 10x15x1 non stick jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 until pick comes out clean. Cut into 1x2" bars. Dust with powdered sugar. May be frozen.

I've also added candied citron or orange peel. Raisins might be good too. Since it contains honey, I often make this for Jewish New Year.

 

[mudbug]

These ship well:

Applesauce Cookies
Ê
1 1/2 Cups Shortening
2 Cups Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Cloves
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
4 C Flour
1 C Applesauce
1 C Nuts, chopped
1 C Raisins
Ê
Cream shortening and sugar together. Add egg beat thoroughly. Mix all Remaining dry ingredients together. Fold gradually into creamed mixture alternately with appplesauce. Add nuts and raisins. Mix into a stiff dough. Drop by teaspoonfull on greased cookie sheet. (I use cooking spray it works great). Bake in 375¡ oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 8 dozen cookies.

----------------------------------------------------

Cheesecake brownies

4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
5 large whole eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan; line with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt together chocolate and butter; or melt in microwave oven. Remove from heat.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together 3 eggs and 1 cup sugar on high speed until thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On low speed, add reserved chocolate mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. When combined, add flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan. Set aside.

Clean the mixer bowl. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, and in the bowl, beat together cream cheese, remaining eggs and yolks, remaining sugar and remaining vanilla on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Pour over chocolate mixture. Bake until cheese mixture is golden and set, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 1-by-1 1/2 -inch pieces.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

----------------------------------------------------

Linzerteig Cookies

A wonderful cookie, with a hint of lemon and butter rich beyond belief. It makes a cookie that will ship well if you make them about 1/3 of an inch thick.

*10 cups of flour
*2 1/4 lbs. of soft butter (not melted)
*2 lemon rinds zest grated
*16 egg YOLKS only
*3 cups sugar

Recipe can be doubled for big batches:

*20 cups flour
*4 1/2 lb. butter
*5 lemon rinds zest grated
*30 egg YOLKS
*6 cups sugar

Mix all ingredients in a big bowl, I use my pastry cutter (as though I were making pie crust).

If your Cuisinart can handle a large amount use it. Mix until ingredients are blended and mixture can be molded in your hand.

Divide mass into 3 large thick disks of dough, wrap each in saran wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours to 2 days.

When ready to bake cookies, dust counter surface with flour and place one of the dough disks on flour and roll out with floured rolling pin to 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick.

Cut with cookie cutters, brush top with beaten egg white wash (Egg White Wash is the white of an egg beaten with 1/2 teaspoon of water till mixed).

Use a pastry brush or an European goose brush (made for this use) and sprinkle well with ground walnuts mixed with sugar.

Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Cookies can also be decorated with green or red sugar, multi sprinkles, etc. Just use the egg white wash to make them stick. Do not use whole nuts, they will burn.

You can also roll out dough to fit in a greased baking pan, spread thick rasberry jam or apricot Lekvar over the cookie dough, and cut thin serrated strips of more dough to make a lattice design on top of the jam.

Brush with egg white to give nice gloss. When the cookie dough is baked, the sheet of latticed Linzerteig is cut into 2 inch x 2 inch squares.

Bake in a moderate oven. About 325 degrees. The time depends on how thick the dough is rolled out and what kind of pan you are using. Try 10 min. Do not let them burn, lightly golden is okay.
These cookies can be stored in a cool place or freezer.

----------------------------------------------------

Chewy carrot raisin and nut bars

Bottom layer
(Serves 4-6)

*1/2 cup butter
*1/2 cup sugar
*1 cup flour

Top layer

*2 eggs
*1 cup grated carrots
*1 cup brown sugar, packed
*1 1/2 cups raisins
*1/2 cup chopped nuts
*1 tsp lemon juice
*2 Tbsp flour
*1/2 tsp baking powder
*dash salt

Procedure

1.Preheat oven to Cream together the butter and sugar.
2.Add the flour and mix well. Form into a ball, then press it down into a uniform layer in a 8-inch square baking pan.
3.Bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes).
4.Combine ingredients for top layer, mixing well. When bottom layer is done, pour on top and spread evenly.
5.Bake for 25 minutes.

 

[jill reichow]

I may be too late, and it's sooo common, but what about a homemade angel food cake? They travel soo well.

 

[isa]

In Alfred Portale's Twelve Seasons there is an angel food cake with almond flour, it's very good specially with raspberries.