Key bakers offer taste of favorite holiday treats

Andy Youngs
Andy Youngs enjoys making sand tarts every holiday season. She has been using the same recipe for more than 45 years and even gives them as gifts to friends at Christmas. Youngs has two baking tips to make these sand tarts just right: Do not let them brown, and roll them in powdered sugar while still warm.

These cookies last for the entire holiday season — but only if there are any left.

Sand Tarts
4 cups flour
3 sticks butter, softened
2 cups finely chopped pecans
12 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
Powdered sugar

• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until blended well.

• Using your hands, take a small amount of dough and roll it with your hands to form an 1.5-inch log. Make ends slightly pointed. Place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 325 F, or until lightly browned.

• Remove from the oven, and roll in powdered sugar. Add powdered sugar to the bottom of a cookie jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add cooled cookies to jar.

Jan Herman
Jan Herman’s Christmas memories, filled with her mother’s baking, inspire her to carry on the tradition. Herman’s favorite solution for her holiday sweet tooth is cherry coconut bars. She bakes these bars every year for family and friends.

One important tip: Only use butter in the recipe. Any substitutions and the bars will not turn out as intended. This recipe for cherry coconut bars makes about three dozen, so you can enjoy them all season.

Cherry Coconut Bars
Crust:
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons confectionary sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

Filling:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, quartered
1/2 cup flaked coconut

• For the crust, combine flour and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press it into greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 F until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

• For the filling, combine the beaten eggs, sugar and vanilla in another small bowl. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together, then add to egg mixture. Stir in walnuts, coconut and cherries. Spread over the baked crust. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Judy Marsh
If you’re searching for a recipe to satisfy even the pickiest holiday guest, Judy Marsh’s chocolate and raspberry cake could be your answer.

“It’s been a family favorite,” Marsh said. “It’s kind of a ‘wow’ cake. People take a bite and just have to say, ‘wow.’”

Marsh is a fan of raspberries, but her family loves chocolate, so this cake is her own rich and flavorful creation. As long as the baker follows the directions closely, a small piece will be enough for holiday guests to taste the full quality of the cake. There’s even an added bonus during preparation: “The grandkids love to help put the raspberries on top,” Marsh says.

Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
Cake:
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted
butter, room temperature
2 cups golden brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
16 ounces fresh raspberries
20 ounces slivered almonds
1 jar red currant jelly

Frosting:
1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1 1/3 cups sugar
16 ounces cream cheese

Chocolate ganache:
2 cups (16 ounces) high-quality dark or semisweet
chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream

• Position the rack in the center of oven; preheat oven to 325 F. Generously butter a 6-inch pan.

• Dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Sift cake flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. With an electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat for approximately two minutes, until well blended.

• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour 2 cups of batter into the pan. Use the rest for cupcakes.

• Bake the cake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

• Run small knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Invert the cake onto the rack; lift the pan off of cakes. Cool completely.

• Mix cream and chocolate in a one-quart double boiler and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Beat with a hand mixer for one minute. Refrigerate for one hour.

• Slice your cake in half so you have two equal layers. Set one layer on an 8-inch flat plate. Take enough ganache to ice the top of that layer with 1/3 inch of ganache.

• Starting from the outside edge, gently press raspberries on top until it is covered. Put the second layer on top and repeat the same procedure. Then ice the sides of the cake with ganache and press in slivered almonds.

• Refrigerate for 15 minutes before serving. Warm 2 tablespoons of red currant jelly and lightly brush on top of raspberries. Enjoy!

Contact Kelsey Grau at [email protected]