1. Almond Amaretto Loaf

This is a special gift for a friend or a tasty treat for your family. Almond Amaretto Loaf is a lightly sweetened bread, flavored with Amaretto and filled with almonds, then drizzled with an Amaretto Glaze.

Bread

1 cup milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup Amaretto liqueur
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Description

Recommended Cycle: Basic/white bread cycle; light or medium/normal color setting. Add ingredients to bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer, adding almonds with flour. (If the dough is too dry or stiff or too soft or slack, adjust dough consistency). Remove bread from pan; cool on wire rack.

Amaretto Glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
1 to 2 teaspoons milk
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Combine confectioners' sugar, Amaretto liqueur, and enough milk to make a glaze of drizzling consistency. Drizzle with Amaretto Glaze and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Yields: 1 1/2 pound loaf

2. Cherry Almond Jelly

Source: The Canning Board - Canning and Preserving the Harvest by Eulaine

3 1/2 cups cherry juice (Cherry Juicy Juice works fine)
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 box pectin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (I used a little extra )

Description

Bring 1 cup cherry juice, vanilla, and almond extract to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Add remaining juice and pectin and return to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Add sugar and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Pour up in jars, seal, and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.Yield: 5 cups

If you like maraschino cherries, you'll love this super easy recipe. Am going to plant cherry trees so I'll have my own juice, but until then . . . . . . .

3. Strawberry-Almond Muffins

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepares muffin tins by lightly greasing, spraying with nonstick vegetable oil, or lining with paper.

Thoroughly rinse the fruit and remove the stems. Slice strawberries and place them in a measuring cup until you have about 1 cup of prepared fruit. In a small bowl, combine strawberry slices, 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until blended. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Add milk and melted butter and thoroughly combine with the whisk. Then, with as few strokes as possible, blend the milk, butter, and egg mixture with the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the large mixing bowl.

Lightly fold in the strawberries and almonds and spoon batter into each muffin well, until each is about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until browned and a wooden pick or knife comes cleanly out of the center of a muffin. Remove muffins from the pan immediately and cool on a wire rack. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Store in an airtight container or wrap to freeze for up to 30 days.

4. Chocolate-Raspberry-Almond Muffins

Makes 12 large or 24 small muffins.

Chocolate Mixture

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup butter

Pan Coating

2 tablespoons melted butter for preparing pan
2/3 cup sliced almonds (additional almonds may be sprinkled on top of the batter)

Remaining Ingredients

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen, dusted with 3 tablespoons cocoa

Description

Combine cup brown sugar with 1/4 cup milk, 3 squares bittersweet chocolate, and cup butter in a small saucepan. Heat and stir over very low heat until chocolate and butter melt. Cool. Prepare muffin pans with melted butter, coating thoroughly with sliced almonds while the chocolate mixture cools. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat together the cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 eggs until fluffy. Sift the dry ingredients. Add the two mixtures, along with the 1/2 cup milk, blending just until combined. Fold in the raspberries. (If using frozen berries, do not let them thaw.)

Place batter into prepared muffin pans, and position pans in the center of a preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the muffins. Larger muffins will require a little more time to complete baking. Variation: Dust buttered pans with oatmeal and omit raspberries. Serve muffins warm with seedless raspberry jam to enjoy the flavor combination of chocolate and raspberries.

5. Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

10 average Nabisco reduced-fat Oreo(s), or other similar reduced-fat, cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
8 ounces fat-free cream cheese
8 ounces light cream cheese, tub-style
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
2 teaspoons almond extract
6 large egg whites
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Description

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly coats a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Crush cookies and sprinkle cookie crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheeses at the lowest speed until well blended. In a small bowl, combine sugar and flour. Add to cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. In a food processor or blender, pur

6. Newman's Own Paul's Picture Show Popcorn Crunch

1 cup whole almonds
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup cashews or walnuts
1 bag Newman's Own Oldstyle Picture Show Microwave Popcorn (about 10 cups) or your favorite
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Description

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Coat a large heatproof mixing bowl (16 cups or larger) and a 15 x 10-inch baking pan with margarine or nonstick cooking spray. In another 15 x 10-inch baking pan, combine the almonds, pecans, and cashews and toast for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the oven and cool the nuts to room temperature.

Pop the popcorn following the package directions. Pour the popcorn into the prepared bowl. Add the nuts and mix well. Melt the margarine and butter in a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup of water. Mix well and stir often. Continue to cook over medium-high heat until it reaches 275 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly stir in the vanilla extract. (Stir carefully because the vanilla extract will spatter when added to the hot syrup.)

Pour the hot syrup over the popcorn-nut mixture and mix until evenly coated. Immediately pour the popcorn into the prepared baking pan. Let cool for one hour. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

7. Candy Apple Jelly

7 cups apple juice
1 cup red cinnamon candies
8 cups granulated sugar
1 box Sure-Jell Fruit Pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter or margarine

Description

Measure apple juice and cinnamon candies into a 6 or 8-quart saucepan. Prepare jars by placing jars on a rack in a canner or large saucepot of boiling water. The water should cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Cover the canner and bring water to a boil; boil for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the canner. Let jars stand to cool. Check seals.

Measure sugar into a separate bowl. Stir fruit pectin into fruit juice in a saucepan. Add butter. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in all sugar. Return to a full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon.

Ladle quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Seal and put into a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

8. Palisade Peachy Peach Ice Cream

Here on the Western Slope of Colorado, just a few miles east of Grand Junction is the small town of Palisade, Colorado. This town is well known in this State and others for its wonderful "Palisade" peaches. People come from many, many miles away just to get these peaches.
Anyway, here is an original Ice Cream recipe from Carolyn Friesen, of Grand Junction, Colorado.

4 cups finely chopped peaches (in the processor)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt Heat above ingredients to boiling. Cook until thickened. Cool completely.Add to the cooled mixture and set aside:
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
Beat in a separate bowl:
4 eggs until lemon-colored

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