Mad About Maida

Texas Cowboy Bars Source:  Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 150 . I had plenty of oatmeal in the pantry as well as dates that I didn't use for the holiday baking. I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try. These are quite scrumtous, a little crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I thought they were better the next day. The recipe says that it makes about 24 bars but if you cut them into bite sized pieces, you will get much more than that. Make the filling first: Filling 8 oz. (1 cup) pitted dates 1 cup water 1 cup sugar Finely grated rind of 1 lemon Cut the dates into small pieces, put them in a saucepan with the water and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let it boil for about 10-12 minutes until thick. Keep stirring occasionally and reduce the heat if it starts to splatter. Stir in the lemon rind and set aside. Crust 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. salt ...

Sponge Roll with Bittersweet Chocolate Filling and Icing Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.) , pg. 47. This is a soft, delicate sponge cake filled with chocolate icing that isn't too sweet. I had a few problems with the recipe and it was partly due to not following the rules. Do use butter for the pan as instructed as the cake doesn't come off the foil easily with cooking spray. This wasn't a complete disaster but I had to be very careful when removing the foil. Butter would have probably made this easier. I also had problems with the filling getting to the right consistency but I just returned it to the heat and started over again and it turned out fine.  I didn't use the chocolate shavings as I didn't have enough chocolate so I just used chocolate chips.  Sponge Layer 1/4 cup sugar 4 large eggs, separated 3 TBS. sifted all-purpose flour Pinch of salt 3 TBS. confectioners sugar...