Healthy Food Recipes

Ingredients :

·         8-oz. tube marzipan

·         paste colors or liquid food coloring*

·         cocoa powder or ground cinnamon, mint candies, and toothpicks for decorating candies

·         1/4 c. light corn syrup diluted with 1 tbsp. hot water (optional)

How To Make :

·         Think of your favorite fruits and vegetables. Decide which four you want to make out of marzipan. Oranges, apples, potatoes, and tomatoes work well because they are basic round shapes. Strawberries, pears, and bananas can easily be molded out of marzipan too.

·         Wash your hands thoroughly, being sure to wash the backs of your hands and under your nails. Set up a work space at a table or kitchen counter and cover it with a cloth or kitchen parchment paper. Divide the marzipan into four equal parts of about 2 ounces each.

·         Use a small bowl for each color. Add desired color to marzipan and mix well.

·         You could tint one part red for apples or tomatoes. Another part could be yellow for pears or bananas. Or, shape peas in the pod using green-tinted marzipan.

·         Leave the other two parts the natural tan of the marzipan and apply color with a watercolor brush or simply by rolling the candy in a powdered ingredient such as cocoa. 

·         Divide marzipan into 2-teaspoon clumps. Red apples or tomatoes would be an easy shape to start with. If you wish, you can add stems with bits of green mint candies.

·         Another easy shape is potatoes. Make them from untinted marzipan and roll in cocoa or cinnamon for the mottled brown outside. Use a toothpick to shape a few eyes in the sides of the potatoes.

·         It’s also easy to make strawberries since they are a rounded heart shape. Make dots all over the berries with a toothpick to resemble strawberries’ texture. Take your time and use your imagination in forming the candies.

·         Let shapes stand uncovered for several hours. If you wish to glaze them, brush them with mixture of corn syrup and water. After glazing, let stand several hours, or until glaze is set.

Preparation time: 1 hour Standing time: several hoursGlaze drying time: several hoursMakes about 12 candies

Ingredients :

·         16-oz. package hot-roll mix

·         2 tbsp. sugar

·         1 c. hot water (120°F to 130°F, or very hot to touch)

·         1 egg, at room temperature

·         2 tbsp. butter or margarine, softened

·         1/2 tsp. ground cardamom (optional)

·         1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

·         1/2 c. golden raisins

·         1/2 c. currants

·         1/2 c. cut-up candied cherries flour for kneading

·         1 c. sifted powdered sugar 2 tbsp. whole milk or half-and-half

How To Make :

·         In large bowl, combine the hot-roll mix with sugar. Mix well.

·         Stir in hot water, egg, butter, cardamom, and nutmeg. Stir until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Add raisins, currants, and cherries. Mix well.

·         Lightly sprinkle a work surface with flour. Turn dough out onto flour and knead for 5 minutes. Cover dough with a large bowl and let rest for 5 minutes.

·         Using a lightly-floured rolling pin, roll dough into an oval, 10 to 12 inches long and about 1 inch thick. Fold in half, cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

·         Heat oven to 375°F. Bake bread 22 to 25 minutes. If bread begins to brown too quickly, lay a piece of foil loosely over top. Bread is done when it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

·         Cool bread on a wire rack. Make icing by stirring together the powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle over cooled bread. Slice to serve. 

Ingredients :

·         1-lb. frozen sweet dough loaf, thawed but still cold

·         4 hard-cooked medium eggs, unpeeled

·         milk for brushing dough

·         currants and slivered almonds for faces  

How To Make :

·         Thaw dough according to package. Divide into four equal parts.

·         Working with one piece, pinch off about one-third. Shape half of this piece into a ball for the head. Shape other half into a rope for arms. Shape the other two-thirds of the piece of dough into a 4-in. long roll for body. Place roll for body on greased baking sheet. Press hard-cooked egg into upper portion of body. Place a rope of dough arms around egg. Attach head. With scissors or sharp knife, cut the lower part of body to form legs, and separate legs. Repeat with remaining dough and eggs.

·         Cover manikins. Let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Brush well with milk.

·         Heat oven to 375°F. Bake manikins for 10 minutes.

·         Remove from oven. Quickly add currant eyes and mouth and a slivered almond nose. Return to oven for 5 more minutes, or until golden brown.

Preparation time: 30 to 40 minutes (plus rising time of 30 minutes) Baking time: 15 to 18 minutes Serves 4