3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mace
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 lb candied pineapple
1/4 lb citron
1/4 lb candied orange peel
1/4 lb pitted dates
1/4 lb figs
1/4 cup dried or candied cherries
1 lb chopped pecans
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried currants
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp cold, strong coffee
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready ungreased or parchment-lined
baking sheet(s). Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and
spices. Cut candied fruits, dates and figs into small pieces and toss
with a small amount of the flour mixture. Combine in a large bowl
with the pecans, raisins and currants. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl of electric mixer on high
speed until light, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time,
mixing well after each addition. Mix in the coffee. Stop the mixer
and add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed just until combined.
Using a wooden spoon, fold in the fruit and nut mixture to coat all
the pieces.
3. Drop batter onto baking sheet in walnut-size mounds leaving about
2 inches between each cookie. Bake until set and tops are lightly
browned, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in
an airtight container, with a small wedge of apple to keep them
soft. The cookies may be glazed or sprinkled with confectioners'
sugar, if desired.
Third-place winner in the 1995 Chicago Tribune Holiday Cookie
Contest: by Phyllis Theodos
Servings: 6 dozen
1995 3rd Place: Christmas Rocks Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Christmas; Holiday
The History of Recipes
Recipes as a concept can be tracked way back into distant history, in fact as far as ancient Egypt, and possibly even further than that. In practice though, generally, these ancient records were just basic pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a series of ancient tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel `blissful`. Much later, in Roman times a roman called Apicius assembled a number of documents showing how to cook the recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his publication, Apicius recounts how the meals were separated into appetizers, entrees and afters, a style of dining still practiced today. He also describes how the cooks of Roman times used many different aromatic flavors, including some familiar names such as basil, rue and dill. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the upper-class families of the West strove to lay on the most exotic meals, and as a consequence, cooks and their collection of recipes were greatly in demand. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 1800s that formal cookery and recipe collections became really popular. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collating, trying out, and writing down recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. The TV revolution brings us celebrity TV chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing everybody to access thousands of recipes like those on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this 1995 3rd Place_ Christmas Rocks recipe.
