walnuts

Chocolate Blood Orange Parfaits

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By: Co+op, welcome to the table

Recipe Information
Total Time: 50 minutes, plus 2 hours refrigeration; 30 minutes active
Servings: 8

This two-in-one recipe builds a delicious dessert that celebrates some of our favorite sweet flavors. Looking for a shortcut? Grab a couple of cookies from the Co-op and substitute for the made-at-home variety. We recommend the soft and delicious gluten-free chocolate chip cookies our Bakery is famous for.

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 1/2 teaspoons blood orange zest

  • 3/4 cup cocoa

  • 1/2 cups powdered sugar

  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

  • 4 large egg whites 2 teaspoons vanilla

  • 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Parfaits

  • 6 cups nonfat Greek yogurt

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

  • 2 blood oranges

  • Mint sprigs, for garnish

Preparation

  1. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Heat oven to 350°F. Zest one orange into a small bowl, reserve. In a large bowl or stand mixer, whisk cocoa, sugar and salt. In a glass measuring cup, combine egg whites and vanilla, then slowly beat into dry ingredients on low speed. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, until glossy. Mix walnuts and zest into batter. Drop scant quarter-cup mounds 3 inches apart on the prepared pan, and use a spoon to spread the batter out to half-inch thick cookies.

  2. Put sheet pan on the middle oven rack and reduce heat to 325°F. Bake cookies until thin cracks appear, about 15 to 17 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan, peeling off the parchment paper if necessary.

  3. Place yogurt in a medium bowl and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla; reserve. Cut an orange in half and squeeze juice from one half into a small cup. Use a knife to slice the rind and pith away from the remaining orange and half-orange, and then use a paring knife to remove segments from the white membranes. Cut segments in half crosswise.

  4. To assemble, use eight wine glasses or glass ramekins. Break each cookie into 4 pieces. Place one-third cup of yogurt mixture in each glass or ramekin, then add 2 pieces of cookie. Top with another one- third cup yogurt, add 4 orange pieces and 2 more cookie pieces, then drizzle blood orange juice around the edge of glass. Repeat process.

  5. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and garnish with sprigs of mint before serving.

Tips & Notes

It’s simple to cut this recipe in half when entertaining a smaller crowd, or to double the cookie recipe to have extras for snacking later! If you're not a fan of walnuts or absolutely love chocolate, you can substitute chocolate chips for all or half the walnuts in the cookies.

Snowball Cookies

By: Robin Asbell

Recipe Information
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 30 (60 cookies)

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It’s cold outside, so warm up the oven and settle in with a classic recipe - snowball cookies, just like grandma used to make. With vanilla on sale now at the Co-op, it’s a great time to stock up on ingredients for this beloved traditional cookie.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup walnuts or pecans

  • 1/2 pound butter, softened

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

  • 2 cups unbleached flour

  • powdered sugar for coating, about half a cup

Preparation

Toast the nuts on a sheet pan for 10 minutes at 350⁰F, then move to a rack to cool completely. Use a food processor to grind to a fine mince, being careful not to over-process into nut butter. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and reserve.In a stand mixer, or a bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, salt, vanilla and powdered sugar until very fluffy. Add the nuts and mix, then sift the flour over the top and stir in. Form 1-inch balls of dough and place on prepared sheet pans. Bake in the 350⁰F oven for 12-15 minutes, switching the position of the pans between upper and lower oven racks halfway through.Cool on racks on pans until the cookies are firm enough to transfer to racks to cool. When cooled completely, roll in powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Tips & Notes

For a chocolate version, substitute 1/2 cup cocoa for 1/2 cup of the flour and proceed.