|
Cookies Of The Soul: Chocolate Raspberry Squares and the Unwanted Present |
|
|
|
|
Written by Rachael
|
Cecilia's mom's birthday was a great event every single year. It was great in Cecilia's eyes anyways. No lavish parties or anything, but it was full of family and they were together. Nothing suited Cecilia better than a party full of people she loved and knew well. Everyone had their favorite things to talk about and she knew their subjects all very well.
There was another great side effect to the whole party, the unwanted present. Cecilia's step-dad every single year got her mom these absolutely out of the world chocolate raspberry bars to go with her main present. The only problem is that Cecilia's mom hated raspberries. Some how Cecilia's step daddy had gotten his lines mixed and he had the idea that her mom absolutely loved raspberries. So, every year Mom got some of those bars and every year Cecilia was given the important and delicious job of consuming them.
They always knew he would find out sooner or later, but Mom just didn't want to hurt his feelings so they were going to hide it as long as they could. So continuing to hide the bars they did....that was until he saw it. It was that little piece of chocolate on the corner of her mouth. It was the perfect crime gone wrong. It was her fault. She had forgotten to remove the evidence before she emerged form the closet.
Much to her amusement he wasn't upset or didn't seem overly sensitive. It was quite the opposite in fact. He, in fact, began to laugh. Come to find out that Cecilia's mom hadn't been the only one getting rid of the unwanted birthday presents. Those chocolate Oranges that mom got him every birthday were quickly consumed by Jeremy, Cecilia's little brother in the same said closet.
From that year on there was twice as many chocolate raspberry bars on Mom's birthday and twice as many chocolate oranges on Cecilia's step dad's birthday. Twice as many laughs too.
"Chocolate Raspberry Squares" *
Ingredients: ½ cup of whole wheat flour, ½ cup of all-purpose flour, 2 tbs of flake almonds, 2 tbs of cocoa powder, ½ tsp of almond extract, ¼ tsp of salt, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of Splenda, ½ cup of margarine softened, 4 egg whites, ½ tsp of vanilla extract, 1 and ½ cup of finely ground almonds, ½ cup of raspberry preserves, 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips, and 1 tbs of raspberry liqueur.
1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with foil, letting the edges overhang.
2) Mix the flours, cocoa, and salt in a bowl. Beat the margarine, ½ cup of sugar, ½ cup of Splenda, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Mix in the dry ingredients. Press the mixture into the prepared pan in an even layer. Prick all over with a fork. Bake for about 15 minutes.
3) Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Then mix the preserves and liqueur in a bowl and spread over the base. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Process the ground almonds, egg whites, remaining sugar, remaining Splenda, and almond extract in a food processor until blended well. Spread over the preserves and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Bake for about 20 minutes.
4) Using the foil as handles lift onto a rack and let cool. Remove the foil and cut into squares.
5) Enjoy the deliciousness.
* Base of recipe from Cookies and I molded it from there.
|
