Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Prepare the almond shortbread crumbs by rolling the almond shortbread between sheets of wax paper. Or place a little at a time in a blender or in a food processor at low speed until finely crushed.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Slowly add the whole eggs and the egg yolks to the butter mixture.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine cake flour, almond meal, cinnamon, almond shortbread crumbs and lemon zest.

Add this to the eggs and butter mixture and blend. The mixture should be well blended but not over mixed.

Using a spatula, spread the mixture on the base of the tart mold about 1/4' thick.

Spread a thin layer of Bonne Maman Apricot Preserves over the crust, leaving 1/4' around the edges free of preserves. Fill a pastry bag with a medium star tip and pipe criss-cross decoration over the preserves. To finish the crust, pipe a border around the edge of the mold.

Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream.

You may also make individual tarts or cookies. To make cookies, fill a pastry bag with the mixture and use a medium star tip to pipe small round circles onto a baking sheet. Fill the center with Bonne Maman Apricot Preserves and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Directions

Shortbread Cookie Crust:
Grind shortbread cookies in a food processor or crush until very fine with a rolling pin. Mix cookie crust ingredients together and pat only on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Almond Praline Cheesecake:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. The temperature is correct. The Almond Cheesecake batter is made using a different recipe than most cheesecakes, and therefore needs a lower baking temperature.

Take a 9" springform pan apart, line the bottom plate with aluminum foil, then reassemble the pan. Pull the excess foil up and around the pan to prevent any batter from leaking into the oven. Spray sides and bottom with vegetable spray.

Place a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven and close the door.

In a mixing bowl on medium speed, beat cream cheese until smooth for approximately 2- 3 minutes. Scrape down sides. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat again, scraping a few times during mixing. The batter should be smooth. Add almond extract and eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition until creamy. Add flour, and beat only until the batter is lump-free and filling is nice and fluffy. Scrape as needed.

Pour batter into prepared pan on top of the shortbread crust, and bake at 300 degrees for 55-65 minutes.

When completely chilled, and removed from the pan, carefully spoon the Almond Praline Topping over the top of the cheesecake. Likewise, the Praline Topping can also be spooned on each individual slice just before serving.

Almond Praline Topping:
Mix brown sugar and cream together in a small saucepan. Bring to a slow simmer until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for 5 minutes longer stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in almonds and brandy. Let cool until ready to top the cheesecake.

Makes one 9" cheesecake. Serves 12 - 14. Wrap and refrigerate any leftovers.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, pour the bourbon or apple juice over the raisins and microwave on high for 45 seconds. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Combine the raisins, apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, cookie crumbs, pecans and butter in a large bowl.

Remove the phyllo dough from the box, unfold, and cover with a damp towel. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on the work surface and brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat with the remaining sheets, brushing each with melted butter, stacking when done, being sure to keep the unbuttered phyllo covered.

Place the apple mixture on the nearest third of the phyllo stack, being sure to leave a 2-inch border. Gently lift the bottom edge of the phyllo stack to cover the filling and fold the side edges over. Continue to roll the stack away from you until the filling is completely sealed in and the seam is on the bottom. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Pour over the glaze and sprinkle with cinnamon and confectioners' sugar. Pass warm caramel sauce, to drizzle over the strudel.

For the Glaze:
Mix ingredients thoroughly.

*Cook's Note: If too thick add a little bit of milk. If too thin add a little bit of confectioners' sugar.

Directions

First, make the crust. In a blender or food processor, pulverize the Walkers' shortbread fingers until they turn into fine crumbs. In a large bowl, mix the shortbread crumbs with the flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt until well blended. Cut the butter into pea size pieces over the bowl or use a dough scraper to chop the butter up in the bowl with the flour. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough just sticks together when you squeeze it. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, you can make the fruit filling. In a medium sized bowl, toss together all of the ingredients until the pieces of fruit are well-coated in the mixture. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and pat it out into a rough circle on a well-floured surface. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll it out to a 1/2 inch thick circle. Transfer the circle onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Empty the fruit filling into the center of the circle, spreading it out a little bit so it's not all in a tall heap, and fold the edges of the dough over the filling to create a 2-3 inch deep crust. Brush the exposed crust with the whisked egg and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the crust is deeply golden and the filling is soft. If you find the crust is browning too quickly, tent the galette with tinfoil. Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Score the apples around the middle. Place in an ovenproof dish. Fill the cored apples with a mixture of marmalade, shortbread crumbs and raisins. Pour the wine over the filled apples and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for one hour, basting occasionally. Peel the orange with a potato peeler, squeeze it and save the juice. Cut the rind into slivers. Transfer the cooked apples to a serving dish. Reduce the orange juice and the cooking liquor in a pan. Decorate the apples with the orange rind. Serve with the sauce and yogurt.

Directions

Blend 1/2 and 1/2 blue cheese and cream cheese. Serve as a spread on top of the Mini Oatcake with a slice of apple and toasted walnuts.

Directions

Make the pastry:
In a food processor combine the cookies and almond paste and process until the mixture turns into fine crumbs. Add the egg and continue processing until the mixture starts to come together in a ball. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch fluted metal tart tin with a removable rim and press the dough evenly in the bottom and up the sides of the tart tin (the dough will be very soft). Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove the tart tin from the fridge and press the dough again to even it out in the tart tin. Place a sheet of foil on the inside of the tart shell and fill it with pie weights (or rice or dried beans). Bake the tart shell on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake the shell for an additional 5 minutes or until it is golden. Transfer to a cake rack and let it cool completely while you make the filling.

Make the filling:
Stir together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small saucepan. Gradually stir in the water. Add 3/4 cup of the berries and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a full boil, the berries have popped, and the sauce has thickened (the mixture will be very thick). Remove immediately from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice.

Combine the thickened sauce with the remaining berries in a medium bowl; transfer to the cooled tart crust and spread the berries to fill the shell. Cool to room temperature and serve or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter the bottom of 9" pie pan. Whisk Walkers Shortbread crumbs, oats, sugar, salt and cinnamonn in large bowl. Add butter and rub with fingers until mixture sticks together in small clumps and is completely mixed.

Transfer 2 cups to a medium bowl. Mix in almonds and reserve for the topping.

Press the remaining crumb mixture evenly into the pan along the bottom and halfway up the sides. Bake the crust until golden brown and just firm to touch, about 22 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

Mix all remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes until tapioca dissolves. Spread evenly over crust in pan. Cover fruit completely with reserved topping. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake until filling bubbles thickly at edges and topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.

Directions

In a bowl, combine blueberries, sliced peaches, corn starch, lemon juice and granulated sugar. Mix to combine evenly. Pour into a lightly buttered 9' glass pie dish.

In the same bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, ginger cookies, and almonds. Stir with a fork until mixture is crumbly and evenly blended.

Spread the mixture over the berries and bake 375 degrees F for 40 minutes. Let cool before serving and top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

Directions

For the tart crusts, preheat oven to 350F and place four 4 1/2' tart pans with removable bottoms on a large baking sheet. (Alternatively, you could make one large tart in a 9' tart pan, or 12-16 mini tartlets). Process oatcakes in food processor until they become fine, even crumbs, about 30 seconds. Place crumbs in medium bowl and stir in butter and egg white until well combined.

Divide oatcake mixture between prepared pans. Using your fingers, press mixture firmly to bottom and up sides of pans. Bake in oven 10-12 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Melt butter in a large, heavy-duty skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add fresh thyme and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until onions are golden, about 15 minutes.

Divide chopped brie between tart shells, sprinkling in an even layer over each crust. Sprinkle onions evenly over cheese in tarts. Bake until brie is melted and slightly bubbly, about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir fig jam and water together. Drizzle over tarts. Once pans are cool enough to handle, remove tarts. Serve warm.

Directions

Lay the shortbread cookies out on a utility platter.

Heat the caramel topping in a small saucepan so that it is viscous and spoon some on each cookie.

Place the brandy and bananas in a saute pan and light the brandy to flambe the bananas. When the brandy has burnt off, place a banana piece on top of the caramel on each cookie.

The chocolate to coat the bananas will be tempered, a term used to describe the successive melting and cooling of the chocolate within a certain temperature range. This process allows the molecules of the chocolate to align so that it will retain a silky appearance without a chalky finish. To temper the chocolate, place half of the semisweet chocolate pieces in each of 2 stainless steel bowls which will fit over a saucepan double boiler fashion. Bring an inch or so of water to a boil in the saucepan and fit 1 of the bowls of chocolate pieces over it and heat until those chocolate pieces are just melted (about 90 to 100 degrees F on the candy thermometer). Then pour this just-melted chocolate into the other bowl with the unmelted chocolate, stir to combine, and return all of the chcolate to the double boiler and heat to about 105 degrees F. Remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the ground espresso.

You will need to work quickly to spoon the espresso chocolate over the caramel coated bananas, and sprinkle each with a teaspoon of shredded coconut before the chocolate hardens. Allow chocolate to harden, remove carefully from the utility platter using a thin bladed spatula, and serve.

Directions

For the caramel:

1. In a heavy bottomed pan over medium-low heat melt the sugar until it begins to caramelize and turn golden brown. It is important that you do not walk away from the stove while cooking the sugar, as it can turn from a solid state to burnt instantly.
2. Once it is fully caramelized remove from the heat and carefully pour in the heavy cream. Place the pot back on the heat and stir together. The caramel may seize up, in that case, just cook it out until it is liquid again. Stir in the butter, until melted and add the salt and vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.

For the crust:

1. Butter or spray your springform pan and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Using a food processor, pulse the cookies until they are completely broken down into a fine crumble and add the sugar and melted butter. Pulse a few more times until the mixture is like wet sand.
3. Dump into the springform pan and press firmly into the bottom and sides, going all the way up to the top of the pan.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes for a nice golden color. Remove to cool.

For the cheesecake:

1. Lower the temperature of the oven to 325 and bring water to boil in a teakettle.
2. Take your cooled crust and with a few layers of aluminum foil, wrap the bottom and sides, so no water will leak inside.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer or using a hand mixer with a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and brown sugar until light and airy about 3-4 minutes. Then add the sour cream and eggs one a time until well combined.
4. Scrape down the sides and bottom and with the mixer running, drizzle in the caramel, and then finally the vanilla and pinch of salt.
5. Scrape everything together again and pour into the prepared pan. Place the springform pan into a larger pan and put both into the oven. Pour the boiling water into the larger pan so that it reaches about halfway up.
6. Bake for about an hour and 15 minutes or until the middle no longer jiggles.
7. Remove and let cool completely (about two hours) before removing from the pan.
8. To top, drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup of caramel on the top and decorate with crushed Belgian Chocolate Chunk Biscuits.
9. Refrigerate before serving.