Ingredients:

cooled cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe)
white icing
large marshmallows
waxed paper
pretzel sticks
decorators’ gel
orange slice candy
junior Mints
thin Mints
fruit leather

Procedure:

Frost a cooled cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe) with white icing. Flatten a large marshmallow on waxed paper with the palm of your hand. Cut a second marshmallow in half horizontally, then stack the halves on the first marshmallow to form a torso and head. Push a thin pretzel stick down through the snowman (this will help him stand up), then set him on the cupcake. Use decorators’ gel to create a mouth, eyes, and buttons, then add pretzel stick arms and a wedge cut from an orange slice candy for a nose. Accessorize with a candy hat (a junior mint secured to a thin mint with icing) and a fruit leather scarf.

Ingredients:

3 bosc pears (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
4 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 sheets phyllo dough
2 tablespoons finely chopped toasted almonds
confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
creme fraiche or whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Procedure:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Toss pears with the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Set aside to cool, then skim the white foam off the surface and discard. Spoon the melted butter into a bowl, leaving behind the solids at the bottom of the saucepan. Heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pear mixture and cook until pears start to give off juices. Add cranberries, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until pears are crisp-tender, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of the bread crumbs; cool the mixture slightly. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar with allspice and ginger in a small bowl. Cut a piece of parchment paper slightly longer than the phyllo sheets and lay it with a long edge parallel to you. Set the stack of phyllo sheets beside it and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Transfer one sheet of phyllo to the parchment with a long edge facing you. Brush with some reserved butter and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon each of the nuts and sugar mixture. Repeat with each remaining phyllo, replacing the towel as you work. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons bread crumbs over top sheet of phyllo. Spoon the pear mixture across the phyllo about 1 inch from the edge closest to you to make a mound, with a 2-inch border at each end. Using the parchment to help you get started, roll the phyllo tightly over the filling to make a log, seam-side down. Lift the parchment with the strudel onto a baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer on the baking sheet to a rack to cool. Trim ends with a serrated knife. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve warm or at room temperature with creme fraiche or whipped cream, if desired.
Style: Cut the strudel into thirds, then cut each one of the pieces in half on an angle. This way, you get beautiful portions that stand at attention, showing off the layers and the filling.

Ingredients:

150 grams (5 ounces) sugar
1 pinch of salt
250 grams (9 ounces) grind almonds
¼ tea spoon cinnamon
1 pinch of clove powder
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of flour
2 fresh white of egg (about 70 grams)
100 grams (3.5 ounces) bitter chocolate
2 tea spoons of kirsch

Procedure:

Mix sugar, salt, almonds, cinnamon, clove powder, cocoa powder and flour in a bowl. Add white of egg and stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Cut chocolate in real small pieces, pour hot water over the chocolate, let rest for about 5 minutes, then pour off all water except about half a tablespoon, stir until even. Now immediately proceed with the next step. Add melted chocolate from the previous step and the kirsch, knead to a soft dough. Roll out dough on a flat surface (it may be slightly covered with sugar), approximately 10 mm (0.4 inches) thick. Put out different shapes and put them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Let them rest for about 5 to 6 hours or over night in a dry place. Bake for about 4 to 6 minutes in the center of the pre-heated oven at 250 °C (480 °F). Let cool completely before serving.

Ingredients:

1 bundle red radish, cut into slices
2 carrots, cut into slices
100 grams (0.22 pounds) emmentaler cheese, cut into small pieces
100 grams (0.22 pounds) greyerzer cheese, cut into small pieces
100 grams (0.22 pounds) tilsiter cheese, cut into small pieces
3 cervelas (pork sausage, not cooked or grilled, just raw), cut into slices
½ cucumber, cut into small pieces
4 potatoes, cooked, cut into small pieces
pepper
1 tablespoon mustard
1 onion, hacked
1 piece of garlic, pressed
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon spices
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons vinegar
5 tablespoons oil
1 or 2 eggs, cooked hard
2 tomatoes
chive, cut into small

Procedure:

Put the vegetables and the cheese in a bowl and mix them well. Make the sauce with all the ingredients mentioned above, from pepper to oil and stir well. Pour the sauce over the salad and mix well.Peal the eggs and cut them into slices. Cut the tomatoes and use them together with the eggs for decoration. Pour the chive over the salad.

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Crunch Topping:
1 1/2 cups pecans or walnuts
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Sour Cream Cake:
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

Sweet Glaze:
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Procedure:

Butter a 9- by 13-inch cake pan. Dust the pan with flour and remove the excess by turning the pan upside down and tapping the bottom. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. To prepare the Cinnamon Crunch Topping, first coarsely chop the nuts, or have your child put them in a sealable plastic bag and lightly tap them with a rolling pin to break them into pieces. Then combine the nuts, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl, using clean hands to mix the ingredients. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. To make the Sour Cream Cake, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set it aside. Using an electric mixer, preferably a large stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high speed, gradually adding the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract and blend briefly. Whisk together the sour cream and milk. Mix about a third of the mixture into the creamed ingredients until smooth. Then blend in about a third of the flour mixture. Continue alternately beating in the liquid and dry ingredients by thirds. Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Evenly sprinkle half the topping on it, pressing it lightly into the batter. Spread the remaining batter evenly over the topping. Then cover that layer with the remaining topping. Bake the coffee cake on the center oven rack for about 40 minutes, until nicely browned. A toothpick inserted at the center should come out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely. For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and milk in a large bowl and whisk until smooth and suitable to drizzle. If needed, you can make the glaze thinner or thicker by adding a little more milk or sugar, respectively. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze on the cooled coffee cake. Makes 12 or more servings.

Ingredients:

5 slices bacon, chopped
3 pounds boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 medium onions (about 1 1/2 pounds), chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons paprika (preferably Hungarian sweet*)
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 cups beef broth
5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 red bell peppers, chopped fine

Procedure:

In an 8-quart heavy kettle cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. In fat remaining in kettle brown chuck in small batches over high heat, transferring it as browned with slotted spoon to bowl. Reduce heat to moderate and add oil. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in paprika, caraway seeds, and flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Whisk in vinegar and tomato paste and cook, whisking, 1 minute. (Mixture will be very thicky.) Stir in broth, water, salt, bell peppers, bacon, and chuck and bring to a boil, stirring. Simmer soup, covered, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Add potatoes to soup and simmer, covered, occasionally until tender, about 30 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper. Soup may be made 3 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Reheat soup, thinning with water if desired.