Merry Cherry Squares

Merry Cherry Squares

1 Cup Sugar
2 Cup Butter, softened
½ Teaspoon Almond Extract
1 Egg
2 Cups Flour,All-Purpose
¾ Cup Coarsely Chopped Red Candied Cherries
¼ Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Coarsely Chopped Green Chocolate Candies
Glaze (see below)

Heat oven to 300 F. Mix sugar, margarine, almond extract and egg in large bowl until blended well. Stir in flour, ½ cup of cherries and the salt. Spread on ungreased Jelly Roll Pan, 15 ½ x 1 inch. Sprinkle with remaining cherries and the candies, press lightly. Bake until very light brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely; drizzle with glaze. Cut into about 2-inch squares. Makes 40 squares.

Glaze: Mix 1 cup Powdered Sugar and 5 to 6 teaspoons warm Water until smooth and of desired consistency.

This is a fun and easy recipe to do with children over the Holidays. Still popular with my family, I clipped it from a magazine years ago.

Did you know....

it was World War I that really brought attention to the candy bar in the United States?

The U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps commissioned various American chocolate manufacturers to provide 20 to 40 pound blocks of chocolate to be shipped to quartermaster bases. The blocks were chopped up into smaller pieces and distributed to doughboys in Europe. Eventually the task of making smaller pieces was turned back to the manufacturers. By the end of the War when the doughboys arrived home, the American candy bar business was assured. Why? Because the returning doughboys had grown fond of chocolate candy and now as civilians wanted more of the same. As a result, from that time on and through the 1920s, candy bar manufacturers became established throughout the United States, and as many as 40,000 different candy bars appeared on the scene. The Twenties became the decade that, among other things, was the high point of the candy bar industry.

The original candy bar industry had its start on the eastern seaboard in such cities as Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. The industry soon spread to the Midwest, primarily Chicago, because shipping and raw materials such as sugar, corn syrup, and milk were easily available.

Excerpted from:

It's Candy Time:
http://207.197.202.83/indexcur.html