What's for supper? Pork balls, fruity bars

Tonight's dinner menu:

Pork meatballs with barbecue sauce
Sweet potatoes
Green beans

No-bake dessert bars made with raisins, bran flakes, white chocolate chips, apple juice, and a bit of coconut, with oatmeal in the bottom of the pan and sprinkled on top

Use Em Up Cookie Balls

I do love my food processor.

Chocolate Fig Post-Christmas Balls

Ingredients:

A few ugly figs (see Christmas Dinner), hard stems trimmed off
About a cupful of chocolate chips
One container of the edges and crumbles of Christmas no-bake squares, containing a variety of coconut, chocolate, nuts, and cookie crumbs; saved in the freezer for just such as this
Orange juice to moisten slightly

Run everything through the food processor until it forms a thick, slightly sticky mass. Form into balls and roll them in coconut or whatever you want--I used rolled oats run through the food processor (good way to clean out the sticky stuff).  Don't bake, just eat.

New Year's Cookies: No-Bake Chocolate Fingers

NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE FINGERS, from Canadian Living's Family Cookbook

INGREDIENTS: 

1 pkg (350 to 400 g) digestive biscuits (For those of you who can't get digestive biscuits, you can substitute 1-3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs.)
½ cup finely chopped nuts (we use hazelnuts)
½ cup butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tbsp instant coffee granules
1 Tbsp hot water

2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla

GLAZE:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp shortening or possibly butter or cream cheese (I do not usually have shortening around so I have tried other things)

WHITE CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE (our addition): A bit of white chocolate: melt and add to the top after the rest is set. NOTE: You do not need to use as much as we did--a little drizzle is good. More than that makes them hard to cut.

INSTRUCTIONS

Line 8-inch square pan with waxed or parchment paper, leaving enough paper hanging over the edges for easy removal later.

1. Using food processor or rolling pin, crush biscuits until in fine crumbs (or use a food processor). Transfer to bowl and add nuts.

2. In saucepan or bowl set over simmering water: melt butter; whisk in sugar and cocoa.

3. Dissolve coffee in hot water; add to pan and cook over simmering water, whisking for 1 minute or until thickened and sugar is dissolved.

4. Whisk in eggs and vanilla; cook, whisking, for 4-5 minutes or until thickened slightly. Remove from heat.

5. With fork, stir in crumb mixture. Mix well.

6. Press firmly into prepared pan (lined with wax paper). Cover and refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.

GLAZE: (don’t prepare this until base is cooled and ready)

1. In saucepan over simmering water (or microwave), stir chocolate with shortening until melted and smooth.

2. Pour over base, spreading evenly.

3. Cover and refrigerate until set.

4. White Chocolate Drizzle, optional: melt and drizzle. Let set before cutting.

5. Using waxed paper as handles, lift square from pan. Cut carefully into small squares or fingers (running hot water over the knife helps).

6. Keep covered in refrigerator. These will keep for several days.

Previously posted here.

Three things we didn't bake today

Chocolate-Covered Pretzel Christmas Trees.  Warning (tip): we used the red gel as recommended, but the dots stick to anything they touch--wax paper, other cookies, etc.  Another time I would probably use either candy sprinkles or some kind of icing that hardens better.

No-Bake Coconut-Date Squares, from Vegetarian Times Magazine

No-Bake Apricot Nuggets, from Canadian Living Magazine (not cut yet). Lydia's turn to make these, this year!

What can you do with lemon chips?

In the aisle with the Easter jelly beans, Bulk Barn is selling lemon-flavored baking chips--that is, yellow "chocolate chips." What can you do with them?  Lemon-chip cookies somehow just don't sound right. But I think you could use them in the sort of fudge we make at Christmas (mostly melted chocolate and sweetened condensed milk), or in other baking recipes that use ingredients like coconut.  I bought only seven ounces, not enough to make fudge.  These no-bake cookies are what I came up with instead.

Lemon Macaroons for Easter

In a bowl, combine (amounts are approximate) 1 to 1 1/2 cups graham crumbs, 1 cup quick oats, 1 cup unsweetened coconut.  (The oats were because I was short on graham crumbs, but I think they gave some needed bulk to the cookies.)

In a small saucepan, heat 1/3 cup milk, but do not boil it.  When it is quite warm, stir in 6 or 7 ounces lemon chips and stir until melted.  Combine with the dry ingredients.  Let sit for a couple of minutes to thicken.  Push by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper-covered tray.  Chill until set.

No-sugar apricot treats: gluten-free, dairy-free

I found this recipe in a Company's Coming Kids' Lunch cookbook, but the identical recipe was posted on a vegan forum six years ago. So I'm not sure who borrowed it from whom. In any case, these are easy and very good. I did think they were a bit strong on the orange peel--next time I would use just a spoonful rather than the whole thing. Cut into small slices, they would look nice on a holiday cookie plate.

Apricot Logs/Balls/Slices

1.5 cups dried apricots (about 40--or a 300 g bag)
1 Tbsp water
juice of 1 medium orange
Grated peel of 1 medium orange (or less, see above)
1/2 cup flaked coconut
Flaked coconut, for coating

Measure apricots and water into casserole dish or large measuring cup. Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes until moist and plump. (Lacking a microwave, you could pour a bit of boiling water over them and cover, or steam them briefly.) Put the apricot mixture and orange juice into a blender or food processor. Blend, stopping the blender and stirring often, until the apricots are very finally chopped. Pour mixture into a medium bowl.

Mix in the orange peel and first amount of coconut. Divide the mixture in half. Roll into two 6-inch (15 cm) logs.

Place the second amount of coconut on waxed paper. Roll the logs in coconut until well coated. Cover each log with plastic wrap. Chill about 3 hours. Cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces.

Variation: shape the mixture into 1 inch balls. Roll in the coconut and chill.