Matzav Mazon: Matzav Mishloach Manos Desserts

By www.GourmetKosherCooking.com

Everyone loves opening up mishloach manos and finding something deliciously sweet that was lovingly baked by a friend. The homemade goodies below taste fabulous and no one will know how easy they are to prepare! And if you like to coordinate your Purim baskets, they also lend themselves to many different themes, for example, the biscotti can be packaged in a mug along with gourmet coffee or tea, and the cupcakes work well as part of a black and white motif.

For more fabulous recipes, visit www.GourmetKosherCooking.com.

Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients:

½ cup margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons soy milk or nondairy creamer
½ cup cocoa powder
2-3/4 cups flour
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (regular or miniature)
½ cup chopped toasted almonds (optional)
1 egg white
1 teaspoon water
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together margarine and sugar. Add baking powder, eggs, yolk and creamer. Mix well. Beat in cocoa and flour. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if using. Divide dough in half and shape into logs. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Combine egg white and water and brush on top of logs. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes and cool slightly. Slice and return to oven for about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Yellow Cake Mix Hamantashen

Ingredients:

Dough:
1 box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix
1 cup flour
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons water, approximately

Filling Suggestions: Favorite jams, poppy seed or prune filling (from can), chocolate morsels, white chocolate chunks, colored sugars, chocolate and rainbow sprinkles, marshmallows, chopped candy bars, gummy bears, candy hearts, or any other fun treat you dare to try!

Directions:

Coat two cookie sheets with shortening or vegetable spray. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, combine cake mix, flour, beaten eggs, and water until batter is well moistened, and holds together. If dough is dry and crumbly, add water a few drops at a time. (Hint: After starting with a fork, I used my hands to finish mixing and added one teaspoon more water.) On flour surface, roll out dough to 1/8 thickness. Cut circles with four inch round and/or two and one-half inch round cookie cutter or cup, to make both large and small hamantashen. Place circles on prepared cookies sheets and spoon fillings or candies in center of each. (Hint: the more you put in the center, the trickier it is to get folded corners to hold together during baking-but we do it anyway!)
Fold into triangles by pinching tops together first, then bottom. Make sure top corners of triangle lean inward over filling so they won’t come apart during baking. If dough is dry, moisten hands with a few drops of water while working or spray dough sparingly with water mister. After folding, sprinkle edges with more toppings or chocolates, as desired.
Bake for 5-7 minutes, until slightly golden. Do not over bake. Smaller hamantaschen take less time. Remove from tray to cool.

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

¼ cup peanut butter
1-1/2 cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup margarine, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon nondairy creamer or soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda. Cream together the margarine, sugar, brown sugar and 1/4 cup peanut butter until fluffy. Beat in egg, soy milk and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour mixture. Batter will be thick. Form the dough into 32 balls and set aside.

For filling, stir together powdered sugar and ½ cup peanut butter. Shape this mixture into 32 balls also.

Slightly flatten each chocolate ball and top with peanut butter ball. Pull chocolate dough over peanut butter to cover completely and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake for 8 minutes or until just set. Cool on pan 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.

Marble Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) margarine, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons cocoa

Frosting:
1/3 cup margarine, room temperature
1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoons cocoa
1-2 tablespoons nondairy creamer
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper baking cups. Cream together margarine and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the flour and baking powder. Divide the mixture in half and place one half in another bowl. Stir vanilla into one half and cocoa powder into the other. Place a spoonful of vanilla batter, then a spoonful of chocolate in the paper cups until they are 2/3 to ¾ full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely. When cool, prepare frosting.

Beat together margarine, powdered sugar, cocoa and nondairy creamer until smooth and fluffy. If it’s too dry, add some more nondairy creamer, a little at a time. Spread over cupcakes and sprinkle with both types of chocolate chips. (Let the kids do both of these steps.)

Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:

1 package Duncan Hines Lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¾ cup coconut
Powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat together cake mix, eggs, oil and lemon juice until no lumps remain. Stir in coconut. Shape into balls and drop onto ungreased baking sheets (I use silpat mats on top of my baking sheets). Bake for about 7 to 8 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet and then remove to wire rack to finish cooling. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

{By www.GourmetKosherCooking.com for Matzav.com}