Raisin Squares Italian Bakery Style Recipes

RAISIN SQUARES ITALIAN BAKERY STYLE

Steps:

• Wash raisins.
• Add to the boiling water on low heat in saucepot.
• Add remaining filling ingredients, salt, sugar, flour, juice, and cook just until thick.
• Remove from heat and let cool well.
• Crust:.
• Mix egg with vanilla and add enough cream or whole milk to make one cup of liquid.
• Combine remaining ingredients flour, sugar, salt, and lard and lifting to air and rub to make a coarse pea size crumb.
• Add in liquid and just combine to make a ball of pastry.
• Divide pastry into two .
• Dust a board with the flour for rolling and roll one section to fit a 17 x 14 sided ungreased cookie sheet.
• Spread on cooled raisin filling, or canned apple filling.
• Roll second half of dough, and place nicely on the top, sealing edges.
• Prick all over top with a fork and brush with more cream.
• Sprinkle with granulated fine or coarse sugar over evenly.
• Bake 350° for 25 minutes until golden.

RAISIN SQUARES

Steps:

• Mix flour, baking powder and sugar; cut in butter as for pie pastry;
• Add beaten egg.
• Keep 1/2 the mixture to sprinkle on top and put remaining half in square cake pan and press down.
• In a saucepan, mix raisins, flour, sugar and salt. Pour boiling water over all and cook over medium heat until thickened. Cool mixture to lukewarm.
• Pour raisin mixture over the cooked mixture.
• Sprinkle with reserved mixture and bake for 1/2 hour at 350.
• Cut in squares while it is cooling.

ITALIAN EASTER BREAD (ANISE FLAVORED)

Steps:

• Mix 1 cup of flour with sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl, stir well. Place milk and anise extract into a small saucepan over low heat, and warm to about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture with your hand, and pour in the milk mixture; swirl with your hand in a circular motion to combine the flour mixture with the milk mixture. Mix in butter and eggs, one at a time, then mix in remaining flour until dough begins to pull together.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until soft but elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth, and let dough rest for 10 minutes; cut dough into halves.
• On floured work surface, roll each half into a ball, then shape the balls into 2 long pieces, about 1 1/2 inches thick and 18 to 20 inches long. Pinch the 2 top ends together, and loosely twist the pieces to form a twisted loaf; pinch the bottom ends together, and tuck the two ends underneath the loaf. (Alternately, form the twist into a ring, and pinch the ends together.)
• Grease a baking sheet, lay the loaf onto the prepared sheet, and cover with a damp towel; let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush loaf with beaten egg, and sprinkle with colored decorating dragees.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the decorated loaf in the preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Watch closely towards the end of the baking time that the bread does not begin to burn. Transfer to wire rack immediately after baking to cool.

RAISIN SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, butter, 1/2 cup of flour and oats until crumbly. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch square pan. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven.
• In the same bowl, mix together the eggs, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, salt, baking powder and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the raisins, coconut and cherries, adding a little bit of the cherry juice to keep it from becoming stiff. Spread over the baked crust in the pan.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and lightly browned. Cool and cut into bars.