Brownie Points Cooking & Recipes Blog

As grown up kids, we often have family flavor favorites that we cling to our chests like worn out teddy bears. My Mom’s marzipan-raspberry Ribbon Cookies are one such item. I remember seeing them in our kitchen growning up, being pressed flat under weights. Each colored cake layer combining with the others to form such a tight wonderful cookie. I loved the permission to squish the dickens out of these as part of their making! These cookies have also informed my adult sweet tooth, contributing to my craving for the combination of almond, raspberry and chocolate swirled together in a single bite.

My grown up palate has also brought newer cherished flavor combinations to my holiday celebration, alcohol flavors I didn’t appreciate as a youngster. Chocolate Rum Balls are a favorite that Judah and I made, in our first steps of attending parties as grown ups, delivering these little booze bombs into the unsuspecting hands of our hosts.

Both of these cookies are delights in my holiday repitoire, ones I’m glad to contribute to this years Holiday Cookie Swap…

Chocolate Rum Balls

This recipe is such a straight forward classic. This version is found on the epicurious website, yet is easily altered to form a myriad of different variations. A nice feature of this cookie is that it doesn’t require oven time… oh yeah, and the rum is a nice feature too.

Over a double boiler or in a microwave with gentle heat, melt 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate. When melted, stir in:

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 3 Tbs corn syrup
• 1/2 cup of rum
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• one pinch of salt

In a food processor, bash together into tiny bits:

• 10 ounces of vanilla or chocolate wafers
• 1 cup of walnuts

Mix this cookie nut mixture into the melted chocolate mixture and thoroughly combine. Pour 1/2 cup of granulated sugar onto a plate. Roll the rum ball mixture into 1 Tbs sized balls and give a finishing roll in the plated sugar.

Makes approximately 45 Rum Balls.

As one can see the variations on this recipe can go wild…
- White Chocolate Peppermint Balls: substitute white chocolate and peppermint schnapps.
- Ginger Spice Balls: substitute crunchy ginger snaps and use spiced rum.
- Biscotti Rum Balls: substitute crushed biscotti cookies and your favorite almond liquer.

Ribbon Layer Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Blend together till smooth:

• 8 ounces almond paste
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs

Mix in to the above mixture:

• 1 1/2 cups softened butter
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

When the above mixture is smooth and all the ingredients incorporated, mix in:

• ~ 2 cups flour

Divide the batter into three equal parts, approximately 1 3/4 cups of batter each. Leave one part naturally colored, and color the two remaining parts: one with green food coloring, and the other with red food coloring.

Bake each batter color separately in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish lined with wax paper. Spread the alloted batter thinly and evenly in the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes each at 350°F. Lift out the wax paper lined cakes and cool on a wire rack.

Assembly: place the green layer of cake on a foil covered cookie sheet that has been turned upside down, (making it seemingly without sides). Spread approximately 2-3 Tbs raspberry jam evenly on the cake layer. Next, carefully place the white cake layer on top of the jam covered green layer and cover its top with 2-3 Tbs raspberry jam. Lastly place the red layer of cake on top of the white layer creating a red-white-green jam layer sandwich. Place foil or wax paper over the top red layer, and cover with a cookie sheet. Weigh down the layered cakes with 2 -28 ounce cans of tomatoes (or something equal in weight) and refrigerate over night.

Icing: in a sauce pan over low heat, melt:

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 Tbs butter

Whisk in 2 cups of icing (powdered) sugar, and slowly add 3-6 Tbs hot coffee until a smooth consistency is achieved. Cool slightly and pour over the top of the layered cakes. allow to set up approximately 30 minutes before slicing into 1 inch square shaped bites (trust me, tiny is better).

These are such tempting sweet little bites. I should warn you, there will be no resting while they are in the house!

Enjoy!

Tagged with SHF/IMBB Cookie Swap