New Twist Hamantaschen

Here is a my new Hamantaschen recipe which I put together and baked today:

3/4 stick of butter, softened or melted

3 spoonfuls of cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar; 1 egg; 1 t vanilla; splash of OJ

1 t baking powder; 1 1/4 c flour; 1/3-1/2 c almonds, toasted and ground as fine as possible; pinch salt

Cream butter and cream cheese together, then add the rest of the wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients, and mix or blend in cuisinart. Taste for sweetness. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour or sugar, and knead gently into a smoother hunk 'o dough. Make a few balls out of the dough and chill in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

Roll out dough- thin circles tended to be crispier when baked. Form into cutesy Hamantaschen and bake at 350° for 10-20 minutes, checking often to avoid burnt bottoms.

Chana Masala

This is a hearty and easy Indian-spiced chickpea dish. Adapted from www.smittenkitchen.com.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups tomatoes, chopped small or 1 15-ounce can of whole tomatoes with their juices, chopped small + tomato paste to thicken (about half a small can)
2/3 cup water or vegetable broth
4 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lemon (juiced)

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seeds, paprika and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spiced for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. If you want a deeper tomato flavor and a slightly thicker sauce, add some tomato paste. Add the water or broth and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.

Eat up or put a lid on it and reheat it when needed. Curries such as this reheat very well, later or or in the days that follow, should it last that long.

Linzer Torte (from Cooking Class Cookbook)

½ c. whole almonds, toasted
1 ½ c white flour
1 t cinnamon
¼ t salt
¾ c sugar
½ c. butter or margarine
½ t. grated lemon peel
1 egg
¾ c raspberry or apricot jam
Powdered sugar

1. Process almonds in food processor til ground (but not pasty).

2. Combine flour, almonds, cinnamon and salt

3. Beat sugar, butter and lemon peel using electric mixer or food processor for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy

4. Beat in egg until well blended

5. Beat in flour mixture until well blended

6. Spoon 2/3 of dough onto bottom of 10” tart pan with removable bottom pat dough evenly over bottom and up side of pan

7. Spread jam over bottom of dough

8. Roll remaining dough on lightly floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin into 10” X 6” square. Cut dough into 10 X ½” strips, using a pizza wheel or sharp knife.

9. Arrange 4-5 strips of dough lengthwise across jam. Arrange another 4-5 strips crosswise across top. Press ends of dough strips into edge of crust and cut extra.

10. Bake 25-35 minutes at 375 degrees or until crust is golden brown

11. Cool completely in pan on wire wrack and then remove torte from pan. S

12. Sprinkle with powdered sugar

13. EAT AND ENJOY

Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake

A delicious, wholesome coffee cake with a interesting flavor twist. Adapted from this post on Food Loves Writing - Shannalee calls it "a sparkling blueberry coffee cake, the kind that is dense, with sweet crumbles all over the top and chock full of dark blue berries that stain all the dough they touch, creating bursts of almost-purple throughout." I used frozen Maine blueberries that my roommate picked last summer. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tablespoons rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
scant 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pinch of chopped dried thyme
pinch of chopped dried rosemary
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup maple syrup, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 cups fresh wild blueberries (or other berries)

for topping:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut 1/4-inch cubes
1/3 cup brown sugar
pinch of chopped dried thyme
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
a couple teaspoons sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, with the rack in the middle. Butter a nine-inch round cake pan or something similar, and line it with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, thyme and rosemary, and set aside. In a separate large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer or by hand until light and fluffy. Drizzle in the maple syrup and beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times. Beat in the egg, lemon zest and vanilla extract, scraping the sides again.

Add half of the flour, stir just a bit, now add a splash of the buttermilk, stir again a little. Add the rest of the flour and stir, and now the rest of the buttermilk. Stir until everything barely comes together and then very gently fold in one cup of the blueberries. Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan and set aside.

Make the streusel: whir the flour, butter, brown sugar, thyme and walnuts in a food processor, pulsing about 20 to 30 times until the mixture has gone past crumbly/sandy to slightly moist, like the beginning of a dough. Crumble 2/3 of it over the cake batter, sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup berries on top of that, and then add the last of the crumble. Barely pat in place with your fingertips.

Place the coffee cake in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. When it is almost finished, sprinkle sugar all over the top to give it that extra sparkle. Let the cake cool for five minutes and then remove it carefully from the pan to cool on a rack.

Serves 12 – 16 modest slices.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yummy, healthy, and satisfyingly-chocolately cookies, adapted from this post on the food blog 101Cookbooks.

5 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate bar
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour (all-purpose is a fine substitute)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, very, very finely chopped (by hand)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar (light is fine too)
1/4 cup unsweetened, natural applesauce
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup large-grain sugar (fex: turbinado)

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, racks in top and bottom third. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.

Finely chop the chocolate bar into 1/8-inch pieces, more like shavings really. Try to avoid big lumps and chunks, which make flattening out the cookie dough later more difficult.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oats, walnuts, and shaved chocolate. Set aside.

Using a mixer beat the butter until fluffy. Beat in the sugar and mix until it is also light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the applesauce, then the egg, mixing until both are well incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mix and stir by hand until the ingredients barely come together into a uniform dough.

Scoop out the dough in teaspoons and roll into a ball shape. Place two inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. Gently flatten each dough ball into a thin, round patty with two fingers and then sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of large-grain sugar. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cookies are golden and fragrant. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.

Kayaking Carrot Cake Cookies (Inside Out)

These cookies are really fun, really good, and (according to Mom) a cinch to put together. Our extended family spent a week vacationing on the Carolina coast over Christmas, and as per tradition, a number of people spent a day kayaking near Wilmington. My mom wasn't going to go kayaking but wanted to contribute to the experience, so she woke up early and made these cookies for the kayakers. Luckily for me, she saved a few for the non-kayakers :-). This recipe is from my new Gourmet cookbook.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup + 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 6 T unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup + 2 T packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup + 2 T granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 c coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
• 1 c (3 oz) walnuts, chopped
• OPTIONAL: 1/2 c raisins
  
• 8 oz cream cheese (low-fat is ok)
  
• 1/4 c honey

DIRECTIONS:

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 2 large baking sheets.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins (if using) at low speed. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total. Cool cookies on sheets on racks for 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth.

Spread a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling on flat sides of half of cookies and top with remaining cookies.

Makes about 1 dozen sandwich cookies

Vegetable Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Topping

Adapted from my new Gourmet Today cookbook (thanks, Mom!). This is true comfort food.

Serves 8-10

For filling
1 1-pound package frozen pearl onions (not thawed)
2 1/2 cups water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 fresh thyme sprig, plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
1 large parsnip, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium boiling potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
Any other veggies: sweet potatoes, turnips, squash, etc., coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas, thawed

For biscuit topping
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour - I used a mix of white and white whole-wheat
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
1 cup coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar (about 4 ounces)
3 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk or yogurt

1. Combine pearl onions, water, 1 tablespoon butter, thyme sprig, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until onions are tender, about 8 minutes. Drain in a sieve set over a bowl; reserve liquid and discard thyme sprig.

2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a 12-inch deep heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Add chopped vegetables, mushrooms, garlic, chopped thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown (bottom of skillet will become crusty), about 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle vegetables with flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add reserved onion cooking liquid and milk (and wine, if using) and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Reduce heat to moderate and simmer, covered, until vegetables are barely tender, about 10 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in peas, pearl onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a 9x13-inch baking dish.

5. Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheeses, add buttermilk or yogurt, and stir just until combined.

6. Drop biscuits onto filling in 12 equal mounds, leaving spaces in between. Place baking dish on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until topping is golden and filling is bubbling, 25-30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.