Westford Hill Distillers’ Raspberry Almond Shortcake Bars

½ cup butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
1½ cups flour

2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
3 Tablespoons Westford Hill Distillers’ Framboise eau-de-vie
¾ cup coarsely chopped almonds
¾ cup white chocolate chips

1 cup powdered sugar
Westford Hill Distiller’s Framboise eau-de-vie
Milk

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, brown sugar, almond or vanilla extract together in bowl. Add four to mixture until blended. Press dough into greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Mix together Westford Hill Distillers’ Framboise eau-de-vie and spread mixture evenly over crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chopped almonds over top and return to oven. Bake for an additional 5 – 7 minutes. Remove from oven and top with white chocolate chips. Return to oven for about 5 minutes, you just want to heat the chips, not brown them. Remove from oven and cool. While cooling, prepare glaze. Mix powdered sugar and about a tablespoon of Westford Hill Distillers’ Framboise eau-de-vie and add drops of milk until a smooth consistency. Drizzle over the top of the bars. Cut when the bars have cooled completely.

Westford Hill Distillers’ Kirsch Butter Cookie

Yield:  2-3 dozen

Cookie:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons Westford Hill Distillers’ Kirsch eau-de-vie
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze:
1 ½ cups confectionary sugar
Kirsch eau-de-vie
Milk
Slivered almonds for garnish

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, Westford Hill Distillers’ Kirsch, and salt in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the flour and mix just until blended.

Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into an 8-inch-long log. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut the dough log crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly apart.  Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.  Transfer to rack to cool.

Prepare glaze by mixing ingredients (except almonds) until smooth and somewhat thick.  Microwave for about 10 seconds to loosen.  Spread onto cookies when cool.  Top with 3 slivered almonds.  Allow glaze to harden.

Pistachio-Cherry Holiday Biscotti

Yield: 3 dozen

Cookie:
1/2  cup dried cherries or cherry flavored Craisins
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. Westford Hill Distillers Kirsch eau-de-vie (divided)
21/4 cups all purpose flour
1 ¾ tsp baking powder
1/4  tsp salt
2/3 cups coarsely chopped pistachios
2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Glaze:
1/2  cup dried cherries or cherry flavored Craisins
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Put cherries or cherry flavored Craisins in a small  bowl and mix with 1 Tbls. Westford Hill Distillers’ Kirsch eau-de-vie until plump.   In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and 2 Tbls. Westford Hill Distillers’ Kirsch eau-de-vie.  In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture until blended.  Fold in chips and nuts and cherries or craisins.  Divide dough in half.  ( If dough is too sticky to handle, add a bit more flour.)  On a greased and floured cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper pat out into two logs about ½ inch high, 1 ½ inches wide and 14 inches long, spacing at least 2 inches apart.  Bake in the middle of a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let cool about 5 minutes.  With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angle about ½  inch thick.  Separate the slices upright on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 more minutes to dry slightly.  Let cool on a rack.

Glaze:  Mix confectionary sugar and Westford Hill Distillers’ Kirsch in bowl.  Thin with drops of milk until smooth, mixture will still be a bit thick.  Microwave for about 10 seconds to loosen and stir, mixture should be thinner.   Dip the bottom of the biscotti in the glaze and put on wax paper to harden.