Almond And Candied Orange Zest Bars Recipes

ITALIAN ALMOND-ORANGE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix egg whites, sugar, orange zest and honey with a whisk until smooth.
• Add the almond flour and baking powder and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until moist and all of the dry ingredients are absorbed into the wet and combined.
• Cover and refrigerate for one hour and as long as 24 hours. I made my dough the night before then baked the next morning.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees F with two racks in top two positions.
• Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl.
• Roll the dough on your counter with your hands into a fat log and cut it into two equal pieces.
• Roll each piece out into logs and cut in half then each piece in half again. Then cut each piece into three. This will give you 24 pieces.
• Roll each piece into a ball then roll in the powdered sugar then onto the cookie sheets, 12 per tray.
• Bake both together for 15-17 minutes, rotating the pans half way through.
• The cookies are done when they start to crackle and flatten out and are slightly browned on the bottom. The centers will be very soft so don't go by the feel of the cookie and don't lift off the cookie sheet yet.
• As they cool on the cookie sheet, they stiffen up and have a crisp outside and a chewy center.
• Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

ALMOND-ORANGE FINANCIER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush the inside of a 13 1/2-by-4-inch tart pan that has a nonremovable bottom with melted butter; transfer to freezer.
• Using a food processor, pulse almonds until finely ground. In a large bowl, combine ground almonds, confectioners' sugar, flour, salt, and orange zest. Add egg whites, and whisk to combine. Slowly stir in butter.
• Remove tart pan from freezer. Pour batter into pan; place on a baking sheet. Bake until dough just begins to rise, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees and continue baking 7 to 8 minutes more, until financier begins to brown. Turn off oven, and let cake stand in oven until firm, about 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Invert financier onto rack; reinvert, and slice into 6 pieces. Garnish top with candied orange peel, and dust with confectioners' sugar.

CANDIED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Spread out the almonds in an even layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Set aside.
• In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt together the butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, allspice and salt. Bring to a boil and cook, still boiling, for 1 minute, or until the mixture reaches 190 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Pour over the almonds and let cool completely while the sugar mixture sets. Serve immediately.

GINGER AND ALMOND BARS

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line the pan with baking parchment, letting the parchment hang over the sides. (This will make it easier to remove the dessert once baked.)
• Prepare the base:
• In the saucepan, melt the butter. Add the almond meal, fresh ginger, honey, egg, salt, and vanilla. Stir until well combined. The mixture should be thick and sticky.
• Turn the mixture out into the prepared pan. To help make a level and even base, place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the base. Using a flat-bottomed glass (or your fingers), smooth out the base by pressing gently to evenly cover the bottom of the pan. Remove and discard the plastic wrap. Bake until the base is slightly firm, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the topping:
• In the same saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the almonds, candied ginger, honey, salt, and vanilla. Stir just until the ingredients are incorporated.
• When the base is baked, spread the topping evenly over the base and bake until the topping is dark and sizzling, 12 to 15 minutes. Do not underbake.
• Transfer the pan to the baking rack to cool. When the dessert is completely cool, remove it from the pan using the overhanging parchment as handles and cut it into 16 even squares.
• Do Ahead
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
• Variation:
• Chestnut Honey Squares: For the base, replace 1 cup (90g) almond meal with 3/4 cup (120 g) unbleached, all-purpose flour and use a strong honey, such as chestnut, in place of the mild honey. For the topping, replace the candied ginger with organic candied orange or lemon peel, cut into tiny cubes.

CANDIED ORANGE ZEST

Steps:

• Heat the 1 cup of sugar and water to a boil. Add peels and simmer until they are transparent, about 12 minutes. Syrup should be thick. Remove from syrup and toss in sugar, let dry, away from humidity. Store in an airtight tin.
• TIP:
• RED ORANGES
• Use blood oranges in your favorite recipes as you would regular oranges. Taste for sweetness, you may have to add a bit more sugar in some recipes

ALMOND SPICE BARS

Steps:

• Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang; coat with cooking spray. Bring the honey and granulated sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg; let cool slightly, 10 minutes.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Quickly stir the beaten egg into the honey-sugar mixture with a rubber spatula, then add the almonds, orange peel, vanilla, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon liqueur. Stir in the flour mixture until combined (the dough will be stiff and dry). Scrape into the prepared pan. Lightly coat a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and use to press the dough into an even layer. Set aside 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the bars until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few crumbs, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, orange juice and remaining 1 tablespoon
• liqueur in a bowl until smooth. Brush the warm bars with some of the glaze; cover the remaining glaze and set aside. Let the bars cool 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a cutting board. Cut into 1-by-2 1/2-inch bars and let cool completely on a rack.
• Drizzle the bars with the remaining glaze; top with candied orange peel.

ORANGES WITH AMBER CARAMEL AND CANDIED ZEST

Steps:

• Slice the ends off the oranges, and discard. Working from the top to the bottom, slice the peel off in strips, to reveal the orange flesh. Cut the white pith from the back of the peel with a sharp knife, and discard. Slice the orange peel into fine julienne strips, put it in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Drain, and rinse under cold running water. Repeat this process three times. Blanching the orange peel like this removes much of the bitter taste.
• Cut out the sections from the oranges into a bowl, squeezing any juice out of the membrane before discarding. Set aside.
• Pour the sugar into a saute pan or large heavy saucepan. Melt the sugar and let it develop a deep amber color, without letting it burn. Pour over 1 cup water/250 ml water and any juice that has pooled around the orange slices. The caramel will seize up, so leave the pan on the heat until the water and juice dissolve into the caramel. Add the drained julienne of zests and boil until they turn translucent, become candy coated and a dark amber color, 5 to 10 minutes. The zests will be sweet and chewy with a faint hint of bitterness and intense orange flavor.
• Add about 4 spoonfuls of this caramel with candied orange zest to the fresh orange slices, and toss. Cover, and set aside in a cool place until serving.
• (Cool the remaining caramel and orange zest. If too thick, simply thin out with a bit of water to achieve a thick syrup. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator; it will keep for at least 6 months.)
• Serve the oranges with their caramel and candied peel sprinkled with lightly toasted almond slivers and slightly sweetened whipped cream.

FLOURLESS ALMOND COOKIES WITH CARDAMOM, ORANGE ZEST, AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream sugar and oil in a large bowl until mixture resembles texture of wet sand, about 3 minutes. Add egg and orange zest and beat until just combined.
• Whisk almond flour, potato starch, cardamom, and salt in a medium bowl. Fold dry ingredients into oil mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.
• Spread pistachios in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Divide dough into 2 balls. Roll each ball into 1 1/2" wide logs, then roll logs in pistachios to coat; reserve remaining pistachios for decorating, if desired. Wrap logs in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 1/2 hours.
• Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Using a sharp knife, slice dough into 1/4"-thick rounds and arrange on baking sheets (about 12 per sheet). Sprinkle with reserved pistachios, pressing lightly to adhere (alternatively, drizzle with melted chocolate after cookies are baked, see below).
• Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until undersides are golden, 8-12 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks. Let 1 sheet cool completely before lining again with parchment and baking third batch.
• If you didn't sprinkle the cookies with pistachios, melt chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a medium pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring in between bursts, until chocolate is smooth. Drizzle cooled cookies with chocolate and let set before serving.
• Do Ahead
• Dough can be formed into logs 3 days ahead; keep chilled. Cookies can be baked 3 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

CANDIED ORANGE ZEST FOR CRANBERRY TRIFLE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add zest of 1 orange (peeled into long strips with a vegetable peeler); simmer, swirling occasionally, until zest is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and transfer to a plate. Dredge zest in sugar, and thinly slice.