Halloween Cookies

These cute little cookies were supposed to look like jack-o'-lanterns on a stick. I picked up some lollipop sticks at the store and we went to work on this recipe. Unfortunately, the cookies left a lot to be desired in the taste department, and when we all tried one after they were baked but before I made the icing, not even the kids would eat them. Sadly, the entire batch went in the trash bin.

On to the next recipe! I won't be posting that one here!

Galaktobouiriko (Galaktoboureko)

This was our first complicated recipe. I wasn't sure what to expect when the list of ingredients included phyllo dough and rice flour, but we went shopping, brought home with the necessary items and went to work!

The recipe book says, "Total Time: 45 minutes". They were SO wrong. 2 hours later we were ready to put this into the oven. Or I should say, I was ready. Emmy had lost interest long ago and gone on out to play.

At one point I went and googled the name of the recipe to find out if I was doing it all wrong or if I had the general idea. That's when I learned that the spelling in the book was off and that the way this greek recipe is traditionally made looks completely different. This recipe had me layering each sheet of phyllo with custard, whereas the traditional method has a thick layer of custard between two thick laters of phyllo crust.

Well, anyway, it turned out all right in the end, tasted fairly good, and was a good experience in using phyllo dough for the first time.

Here's the recipe:

Galaktobouiriko (Galaktoboureko)

Custard:
3/4 c. rice flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. shortening
8 lrg. eggs, separated

1/2 lb. butter, melted
1 lb. phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
1 1/2 c. water
3/4 c. sugar
Grated zest of one orange

1. To make the custard, combine the rice flour, cinnamon, and orange zest.
2. In a large bowl, beat the milk and 1 c. of sugar. Beat in the dry ingredients. Add the shortening. Place the mixture in the top of a double boiler, and slow heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and cool.
3. Beat the egg yolks with 1/2 cup of sugar.
4. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry.
5. Combine and gently blend together the beaten egg whites, the egg yolks, and cooled custard mix.
6. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 13x9 baking pan.
7. Fit one phyllo sheet in the bottom of the prepared baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush a thin coat of custard on the phyllo. Lay a second sheet of phyllo on top of the custard and brush it with a layer of custard. Repeat the process until all of the custard is used up. Brush the last sheet with water, sprinkle with granulated sugar and the grated orange zest.
8. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until lightly colored. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into large or small bars.