Cinnamon Rugelach

Anyone else around here need some comforting this week?

I don't know about you, but what with the earthquake, the hurricane, and my children being stricken by hives, digestive issues, and nasty viruses, it's been a rather trying week for me.

No complaining from this gal, though.

Funny how these sorts of experiences make you thankful for the small things in life.

I'm glad that our power is back (only 24 hours without it) and that we have running water and (mostly) unspoiled food.

I'm glad that my children are healing (slowly) and that school is starting next week. We'll be back to normal in no time.

And I'm glad we have wonderful treats like these to comfort us and nourish us and keep us happy.

Cinnamon Rugelach, adapted from Culinary Creations
Makes about 2 dozen cookies


DOUGH:
3 cups flour (more or less!)
1 1/2 sticks margarine
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (use extract if you don't have sugar)
a dash of salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (1/2 a packet)
1/2 cup orange juice

FILLING:
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
oil or margarine
egg yolk, for a wash
Turbinado sugar, optional

First, make the dough. Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer. Add more flour if needed, till the dough is smooth and not too sticky.

Let the dough rise for about an hour, till doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Split the dough into four even pieces. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Roll one of the pieces of dough into a large circle. Spread it evenly with some oil or margarine. Sprinkle with about 1/4 of the cinnamon-sugar mix, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Use a knife to cut the dough into triangles, pizza style.

Starting from the outside, roll each of the triangles inward to create a traditional rugela shape. Lay the rugelach on a baking sheet, leaving a little room for rising.

Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of dough.

Beat the egg yolk with a bit of water to make a wash. Brush the rugelach with the egg wash and then sprinkle with the Turbinado sugar, if you're using it. (It'll create a little sparkle and a nice crunch.)

Bake for about 25 minutes, till golden. Cool on racks and serve within 2-3 days. (Or freeze them and defrost at room temperature when you're ready to eat them. They freeze beautifully.)

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Linzer Cookies

It isn't every day that you get to leave your kids for the night and spend an evening out on the town with your mom. It isn't every day that you get to sit on the beach for hours reading and sunbathing without being interrupted every ten minutes for drinks, buckets, diapers, and sunblock.

No complaints. Not a one. I love every moment with my family and wouldn't trade it in for the world. But suffice it to say that spending an overnight away from the kids - with my wonderful mother - was a treat. A welcome treat.

So when my mother came to my house for the weekend following our getaway, these cookies were our special treat for her. I know they're not ordinary. But they're a wonderful special occasion cookie that never disappoints.

My daughter Sarah shaping the cookies. 

Linzer Cookies, adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Makes about 20 cookies


3/4 pound butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup excellent raspberry preserves

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar till just combined. Add the vanilla and mix briefly.

Into a separate large bowl, sift the flour and salt. (Yes. You really have to sift the flour for this recipe if you want a delicate cookie.) Add the sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture.

Mix on low speed for about 2 minutes until the dough JUST starts to come together. Don't overmix or it'll start creaming. Don't undermix or you'll have crumbly dough.

Dump the dough onto a nice large piece of saran wrap and flatten it out. Wrap it up and chill for at least 1/2 hour or up to 24 hours.

When you're ready to bake the dough, remove it from the fridge. Cut it in half and roll each half about 1/4 inch thick. Cut it into rounds (for traditional shaped linzers) or into whatever pretty shapes you have handy. Use a 1-inch circle cutter to cut a hole right in the center of HALF your shapes.

Lay all the cookies onto parchment lined cookie sheets and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350*.

Bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown.

Allow the cookies to cool. If you're going to use them shortly, just set them aside till you're ready to fill them. Or, freeze them for up to a month.

When you're ready to fill the cookies, simple spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on the flat side of the solid shapes. Top with the cut-out cookies. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve.

Linking this up to Weekend Bloggy Reading. 

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (Baking with Dorie)

There's an unspoken rule about desserts in my household. It goes like this: Don't Serve Anything Without Chocolate.

I don't dare serve fruit desserts to my children for fear of being stoned. There is a certain truth to their arguments. When you're eating dessert, you want decadence. Richness. Amazingness.

I love fruit. Very much. But I'll admit that it is rarely decadent. So how did I get away with making this here crisp as a dessert? Simple. I made it on an ordinary weeknight, when the kids don't feel they are 'entitled' to dessert. (I NEVER serve dessert during the week with the exception of birthdays.)

With that mind-set, my children were the very willing consumers of this lovely crisp. And I learned that a fruit desserts is a great way to add some fun to an ordinary week!

Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp, adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours
The original recipe calls for more sugar than this, but I found it overly sweet. My kids, on the other hand, were perfectly happy with the original quantities. Use a full cup of sugar in the filling (instead of 3/4) if you want a sweeter version. I also substituted pecans for the walnuts, and fresh grated ginger for crystallized and ground ginger. 

TOPPING AND CRUST
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 stick butter, melted

FILLING
5 stalks rhubarb, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
3 cups (about 12 ounces) strawberries, hulled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Now, make the topping and crust. Mix together all of the TOPPING AND CRUST  ingredients besides the butter. Add the melted butter and then use a fork to stir the ingredients will well combined.

Spoon half of the mixture into a round pie plate and pat it down to form a crust.

Next, make the filling. Spread the rhubarb over the crust in the pan. Dissolve the cornstarch in water and set it aside.

Combine the strawberries, sugar and ginger in a medium pot and heat gently, over medium-low heat. As it heats up, use a fork or potato masher to gently mash the berries and release some of their juices. When the mixture comes to a full boil, pour in the dissolved cornstarch and stir with a whisk while returning to a boil. Let the mixture cook for just a couple of minutes till it's thick and the cornstarch is well combined. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the berry mixture over the rhubarb as evenly as you can. Scatter the remaining TOPPING AND CRUST mix evenly over the filling.

Bake for about an hour, until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling. Cool for at least 15 minutes, or longer. (The crisp is also wonderful as leftovers. We enjoyed ours all week!)

Linking this up to Weekend Bloggy Reading, Yummy Mummy, Bizzy Bakes, Sweet Tooth Friday, and Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms.

Read my fellow bloggers' posts over at Baking with Dorie! 

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Rhubarb Ginger Muffins

I am not a big fan of tart foods. I like sweet and I like savory. Sour, tart foods just don't do it for me.

But the rhubarb at the farmer's market looked so fresh. So seasonal. So local. And it seems like lately all of my fellow food bloggers have been waxing eloquent on the subject of rhubarb lately. I guess I felt like the odd man out.

When my daughter saw the rhubarb, you know what she said? "Blech." (Not sure how you spell it but that's what she said.) "That stuff is sour."

Yeah, it is. But guess what? With enough sugar (and this recipe has plenty of it), it becomes downright tasty.

Rhubarb Ginger Muffins, adapted from Someone Who Bakes

1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb (about 4 stalks)

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Turbinado sugar

Preheat the oven to 400*. 

In a small bowl, combine the rhubarb with the white sugar and set aside. 

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, vanilla, ginger, and egg. Stir to combine. 

 Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients, and mix until combined (don't over-mix). Add in the rhubarb and mix to combine. 

Scoop the batter into muffin tins sprayed with baking spray or lined with cups. You'll want to fill them about 3/4 of the way. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the muffins. 

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for a few minutes before removing.

Linking this up to Kosher on a Budget.

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Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies (Baking with Dorie)

It's every cook's nightmare. You buy a whole bunch of lemons. You run into one recipe after another that calls for lemon zest. The first calls for the zest of one lemon. The second calls for a teaspoon of zest. The third calls for six strips of lemon rind.

But here's where it falls apart.

There is suddenly a shortage of recipes that call for lemon juice. All of the vinaigrettes are vinegar based. The kids have no interest in lemonade. So all the lemons are hanging out, stripped of their zest, naked and exposed, waiting to be juiced.

It is a sad state of affairs. Anyway, the bad news is that if you're looking for a lemon juice recipe, you've come to the wrong place. This is yet another lemon zest recipe that will do nothing to help with your unfortunate predicament.

But it's a really good one. Lemony and incredibly textured. It's from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook - Baking: From My Home to Yours. In Dorie's words, it has an 'appealing tickle-your-tongue roughness.' Couldn't have said it better myself.


Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies, adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours
The original recipe doesn't call for dipping in chocolate, but my kids laugh at me when I serve a dessert that doesn't have some chocolate. I left a few of the cookies un-dipped for some of the more boring adult members of the family. But the chocolate dipped ones are so much prettier!


1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 sticks margarine, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1/8 teaspoon oil
Non-pareils (optional)

Stir the flour, corn starch, salt and cornmeal together in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and zest into the bowl of your stand mixer. User your fingers to rub the two together till your hands smell lovely and the sugar is nice and moist. Add the margarine and vanilla to the same mixing bowl and use the paddle attachment of your mixer to mix well, on medium speed, for 3-4 minutes, scraping down a couple of times.

Turn off the mixer and pour in the dry ingredients. Mix on low for a minute or less, just to combine the ingredients. Don't over-mix, you want the dry ingredients JUST incorporated.

Scrape the dough into a large (1-gallon size) ziploc bag. Before you zip the bag shut, put it on a flat surface and roll the dough with a rolling pin. You should end up with a 10x10 inch (or so) rectangle.

Seal the bag and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, and up to 2 days.

When you're ready to bake, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350*.

Put the bag on a cutting board and use a serrated knife to slit it open. Turn the dough out onto the cutting board and discard the bag. Use a ruler to guide you, and cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Carefully prick each square with a fork so the fork goes all the way through to the cutting board.

Transfer the cookies to the baking sheets and place in the oven. Lower the oven temperature to 300* and bake the cookies for 25-30 minutes until just set.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Once it's melted, stir in the oil. Use a spoon or knife to smear the chocolate over half of each cookie. Before the chocolate has set, sprinkle some non-pareils over the cookies, if desired. Allow to set before eating.

Read my fellow bloggers' recipes over at Baking with Dorie! 

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Chocolate Mousse

Here's a Chocolate Mousse recipe that I came up with for Pesach which is great year-round too. During the year, you can replace the wine with rum.

3 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips
3 tablespoons sweet red wine
3/4  cup sugar, divided
1 16-oz. container heavy whipping cream, divided

Separate the eggs, saving all three whites and just two of the yellows.

Whip the whites into a snow and set aside.

Put the chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl set over a pot of water on the stove. On medium heat, melt the chocolate chips. Add the two eggs yellows, wine, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the cream. Stir well and continue heating until the mixture is nice and hot but not boiling. Set aside to cool.

Whip the remaining heavy cream to create whipped cream. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and whip.

Put about half of the whipped cream in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the chocolate mixture and the egg whites.

Use the remaining whipped cream for serving, to top the mousse.

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Pesach Chocolate Cake

I've been in the throws of a food blogger's dilemma. On the one hand, my followers are relying on me to share a flood of simple Pesach recipes in anticipation of the upcoming holiday. Salads, soups, cakes. Fish, meat, poultry.

On the other hand, I am but an ordinary person - a working mom with way too little time on her hands. What with my job, my kids, and Pesach a week off, I barely have time to sleep, let alone photograph and blog and share my recipes. What's a blogger to do?

So, here's my compromise. I'm going to share my recipes this week. I'll post my favorites online, and hope you come back for more. But no photos. For one thing, my Pesach pots and dishes are none too glamorous. (We love them for what they are, but they're really not blog-worthy.) For another, I don't have the time to setup my equipment and shoot every dish. I've got to make it through the week with my sanity somewhat intact.

So, there you have it. Hope y'all understand. And if you have any favorites, please email them to me or share them by commenting below. I'm always looking for new recipes to add to my repertoire.

Super Simple Pesach Chocolate Cake (NOT GEBROKTS)
This recipe is my sister-in-law's and I owe her great thanks for it. I usually make three or four of these over the week of Pesach. They whip up in a snap and get eaten almost as quickly. A good basic chocolate cake. 


5 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup oil
1 pinch instant coffee grains
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup potato starch
1 1/2 cups sugar

Preheat the oven to 350*.

In a large bowl, mix the vinegar and baking soda till foamy.

Add the remaining ingredients and beat well with an electric mixer. Pour the batter into a 9x13 baking pan. (I use disposable aluminum.)

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Eat within a few days, or freeze for later.

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Baking with Dorie: Brrrr-ownies

Have you ever tried working in the kitchen with a toddler? How about baking? Baking chocolate brownies with loads of sugar and chocolate? I did today, and it was fun. Crazy, but fun. 

This week's Baking with Dorie recipe was a perfect one to try with Baby Zipora because it was super easy. A one-bowl recipe, no electric mixer required.

And she was delighted to help. She mixed, chopped and tasted. She was especially good at tasting. 

This recipe's a real keeper. Chocolaty. Minty. And so easy even a two-year-old could make it.  

Brrrr-ownies, adapted from the recipe on page 103 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking
The original recipe calls for York Peppermint Pattie bites, but I wanted a non-dairy version so I used Paskesz Mint Thins. It also calls for a combination of bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate, which I didn't have on hand. I substituted chocolate chips and reduced the sugar. Guess what? The recipe came out just perfect. And it was in the oven in less than 10 minutes from when I started!


5 tablespoons margarine
6 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/3 cup flour
6 ounces York peppermint pattie bites, or 1 package Paskesz mint thins, chopped in bits


Preheat the oven to 325*. Line an 8-inch baking pan with foil and spray the foil with some Pam. 


Combine the margarine and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for a couple of minutes, till melted and smooth but not so hot that the margarine separates. 


Stir in the sugar (don't worry if it gets grainy). Whisk in the eggs, and then add the vanilla. Whisk for another minute or so.


Stir in the flour and the peppermint bits. 


Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth out the top. Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and cool to room temperature. 


Peel away the foil and cut into 16 squares. 

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Hamantashen 2

With Purim right around the corner, I convinced the kids to help me out with another batch of Hamantashen tonight. (Read my other recipe here.)

This recipe is adapted from one I found today on Kosher on a Budget. These cookies just sing Purim. They look happy and colorful, and the non-pareils roll around and dance on your tongue. (And on your counter. And on your floor.)  Thank you, Mara!!!

Kid Friendly Hamantashen
The original recipe, from Kosher on a Budget, calls for colorful sprinkles. We didn't have any but we did have some really pretty, tiny, non-pareils. These came out super duper pretty.  

1 1/2 cups margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
6 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of non-pareils, divided

FILLING
fruit jam (we used Smucker's strawberry)
a mix of 1 tablespoon cinnamon and 4 tablespoons sugar
chocolate chips
Nutella

In a large bowl (I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer), cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the orange juice and vanilla. Careful, it might get a little 'sloshy.' 

Mix in the baking powder and 1/2 cup of non-pareils, and then gradually stir in the flour until the dough forms a ball.

Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least two hours, or as long as overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375*.

Spray cookies sheets with Pam, or line with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into about four even balls. Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough about 1/3 inch thick. Cut it into 3-inch rounds using cookie cutter, glass, or any other round object you have in your kitchen.

Place some filling in the center of each circle.

• For Nutella or jam, use about a teaspoon. 
• For chocolate chips, use about 5 chips. 
• For cinnamon sugar, gently press finger down in the center of the dough circle to make a small indentation. Then put about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon-sugar in the 'hole.'

Form the rounds into triangles by pinching the corners closed. Roll the cookies in the remaining non-pareils, or sprinkle some on top.

Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes until just beginning to turn golden. Cool for at least 15 minutes on the tray and then transfer to racks to cool completely. Eat within a few days or freeze for later.

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Hamantashen

I know, I know, all this junk food is getting tiresome. But it isn't my fault. Honest. My kids have gotten into a baking frenzy lately. My son wants to bake every night, and we have cookies literally spilling out of the freezer drawers. And, yes, I do mean literally.

Sure, it's fun and keep the kids occupied in the kitchen through these (hopefully last few) dreary winter evenings. And I very much prefer that they take home-baked goods to school for snack over high-fat and high-sodium chips. But there's got to be a limit.

I couldn't say no tonight, though. It's the Jewish month of Adar, which means Purim is around the corner. And you know what Purim means. Lots of junk. And lots of Hamantashen. For the uninitiated, Hamantashen are sweet pastries traditionally filled with jam or poppy seeds, and shaped like triangles. If you haven't tried them, you should. They're easy to make and lots of fun.

We filled some of ours with jelly, but we prefer less traditional fillings like cinnamon-sugar, chocolate chips, and the very in-vogue NUTELLA. Very revolutionary, I know. But very, very delicious.

Here's our recipe with our favorite fillings. This is a great versatile dough which is easy to work with and wonderful tasting.

Hamantashen
If you've never formed these shapes before, take a look at the photos above or at the collage at the end of this post. The technique is simple. You just roll the dough, cut it in circles, fill it, and then fold the corners in. Be sure to pinch the edges really tight so they don't open while baking. 


DOUGH
5 1/2 - 7 cups flour
3 eggs (plus one extra for egg wash, if desired)
2 sticks margarine
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder

FILLING
fruit jam (we used Smucker's strawberry)
a mix of 1 tablespoon cinnamon and 4 tablespoons sugar
chocolate chips
Nutella

Preheat the oven to 325*.

Combine all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. (Start with 5 1/2 cups of flour and work your way up to 7 if you need it.) Mix the dough for a few minutes until it's well combined and not at all sticky. (Add flour as needed.)

Divide the dough into about four even balls. Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough about 1/3 inch thick. Cut it into 3-inch rounds using cookie cutter, glass, or any other round object you have in your kitchen.

Place some filling in the center of each circle.

• For Nutella or jam, use about a teaspoon. 
• For chocolate chips, use about 5 chips. 
• For cinnamon sugar, gently press  finger down in the center of the dough circle to make a small indentation. Then put about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon-sugar in the 'hole.'

Form the rounds into triangles by pinching the corners closed. 

If you want glossy shiny cookies, make an egg wash by beating one egg yolk with a little water. Brush the cookies with the egg wash before baking for 15-20 minutes until golden. Cool for at least 15 minutes on the tray and then transfer to racks to cool completely. Eat within a few days or freeze for later. 

This post is linked to Real Food Digest Sukkot 2011 Blog Carnival.

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