We adapted this easy to make recipe from The Afternoon Tea Collection published by Metro Books in 2012:
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 36 cookies
Ingredients
8 oz margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup caster (superfine) sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 oz dark chocolate melts, chopped coarsely
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease oven trays. bowl.
Beat margarine, extract, sugars, and egg in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Transfer mixture to large bowl; stir in sifted flour and soda, in two batches. Stir in chocolate.
Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, place about 2 inches apart on trays.
Bake cookies about 15 minutes, cool on trays.
For dairy version you may use butter, milk chocolate or white chocolate.
This coming Shabbat is typically one when most people make “key or schlissel” challah. While some will bake it in a key shape, others put a key inside. I belong to the latter group, and for this Shabbat I plan to change the usual shape of my challah. This time, I will shape it as Barbara Bensoussan explains in the following video and in her book A Well Spiced Life:
Basic Challah Recipe
This is my best “Challah for Dummies” recipe. One of the biggest mistakes challah novices make is to work too much flour into the dough, since bread dough feels so sticky on the hands, but the result is a heavy loaf better employed as a doorstop. This recipe kneads the dough in a food processor, so you are less likely to make this mistake. The recipe makes one large challah, but since it goes so quickly, you can simply make one loaf, dump out the dough, and repeat the process as many times as you like. In the interests of sneaking some nutrition into my white-bread-loving children, I usually add a tablespoon of wheat germ to the dough.
2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast (1 package) dissolved in ½ cup very warm water along with ½ teaspoon sugar
3 cups flour, preferably high-gluten
2-3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon wheat germ (optional)
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup water
1 beaten egg for glazing the challah; sesame or poppy seeds for garnishing, if desired
PAM spray and corn meal to grease the pans
Place flour, sugar, salt and wheat germ in the bowl of the food processor and pulse to blend. Add the yeast-and-water mix (it should be foamy after five minutes) and process another 5-10 seconds. Combine an egg and 1/3 cup oil and water into a small bowl; now dump this into the processor and continue processing until the mixture forms a ball around the blades of the machine—this make take 20-30 seconds (if you have a plastic dough knife for your machine, use it; if not, a regular steel blade will also do the trick). Check the dough; if it seems tough and dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water; if it seems too wet and won’t come together, add more flour, ¼ cup at a time.
Let the dough process on a medium-low speed for one minute. Voila! The dough is done. Place into an oiled bowl, turn it once, cover it with a plastic bag, and let it rise until doubled, about an hour and a half (may rise faster if your kitchen is hot).
Punch it down and repeat the rising (it’s not absolutely necessary to do two risings, but I think it makes a smoother loaf). The second rising may go faster than the first. When doubled again, punch down the dough. Shape into a loaf, either by braiding it or, as my mother-in-law does, by rolling it into a long rectangle from which you cut a fringe on one end and roll it up. (I never managed to master braiding with six strands, but an easier, and also very nice, option is to divide the dough into four parts. Braid three of them, then make a skinny braid with the fourth part. Slice a little trough down the length of the big braid with a knife and nestle the smaller braid inside it—this will keep it from sliding off during baking, and makes a pretty double-braided shape.) I like to use aluminum loaf pans to bake my challahs, as the high sides help them rise and maintain a more professional, uniform shape; spray them with Pam and dust with corn meal.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Let your shaped challahs rise at least another half hour, until almost doubled in size. Brush with the beaten egg and top with seeds if desired. Bake at 425 for five minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375 and bake until golden brown, about another half hour. For a crispier crust, take the challahs out of the pans (carefully!) for the last five minutes of baking. When they’re done, the bottoms will sound hollow when tapped with your finger.
Variation: Whole Wheat Challah
My husband decided he prefers whole wheat challahs, as they’re more nutritious and he finds them easier on the digestion. It’s advisable to mix whole wheat flour with regular bread flour, as the whole wheat flour contains much less gluten and consequently will not rise very well all by itself. You can simply use the recipe above, but substitute half to two-thirds of the white flour with whole wheat flour or even spelt flour.
A Note on Sephardic Shaping
When my mother-in-law visits us, she makes her challah in a shape I had never seen before. Instead of braiding the dough, she manages to create a sort of striped loaf. I soon saw how this was accomplished; she rolls out the dough into a long rectangle. Then she cuts one of the narrow ends into a sort of long fringe. Starting from the opposite, end, she rolls the dough rectangle into a loaf, ending with the “fringes” wrapped around the loaf decoratively. When baked, the fringes puff into a striped pattern.
My husband was familiar with this Moroccan challah shape and immediately surmised that it must have some ancient mystical significance; perhaps there was even a specified number of stripes to cut, like those who have the custom to bake a dozen challah rolls for every Shabbat. But when he asked his mother the reason behind this unusual shape, she merely shrugged. “Who knows?” she said. “I think it’s just a way of making the challah easier to slice.” And indeed, when you bring the striped challahs to the table, the indentations between the stripes make perfect cutting guides!
Barbara Bensoussan, author of The Well Spiced Life, shows us how to make Ojo de Haman in the following video:
Ojo de Haman – Haman’s Eye
Makes 6 rolls
1 large challa dough to be divided*
6 hard boiled eggs
* Basic Challah Recipe
(from page 37 in The Well Spiced Life)
2 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast (1 packet) dissolved in 1/2 cup very warm water along with 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 cups flour, preferably high gluten
2-3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon wheat germ (optional)
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup water
1 beaten egg for glazing the challah, sesame or poppy seeds for garnishing if desired
Cooking spray and corn meal to grease the pans.
Place flour, sugar, salt, and wheat germ in the bowl of the food processor and pulse to blend. Add the yeas-and-water mix (it should be foamy after five minutes) and process another 5-10 seconds. Combine an egg and 1/3 cup cup of oil and water into a small bowl; now dump this into the processor and continue processing until the mixture forms a ball around the blades of the machine – this may take 20 to 30 seconds (if you have a plastic dough knife for your machine use it, if not, a regular steel blade will also do the trick. Check the dough; if it seems tough and dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water, if it seems too wet and won’t come together, add more flour., 1/4 cup at a time.
Let the dough process to a medium-low speed for one minute. Voila! The dough is done. Place into a greased bowl, turn it once, cover it, with a plastic bag, and let it rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours (may rise faster if kitchen is hot).
Punch it down and repeat the rising (it’s not absolutely necessary to do two risings, but I think it makes a smoother loaf). The rising may go faster than the first. When doubled again, punch down the dough.
[Delicious and easy to make, recipe and photo sent in by Tobi L, from Silver Springs, MD. CS]
Plum and Blueberry Galette
Serves 12
Ingredients:
Filling
1 1/4 lb red or black plums, pitted and cut into 1/2″ wedges
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Crust
Box (11 ounces) piecrust mix
tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of ground ginger
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. line a large baking a large baking sheet with nonstick foil.
In a medium sized bowl prepare the filling. Toss together plums, blueberries, granulated sugar and cornstarch. Set aside until needed.
In a large bowl combine piecrust mix, granulated sugar, ginger and 1/2 cup water. Stir until mixture begins to come together, then roll out to a 13″ circle on a lengthy floured surface. Carefully roll up onto rolling pin and transfer to baking sheet.
Spoon filling onto crust, leaving a 3″ border all around. Fold edge part way over plum filling. Brush with beaten egg.
Bake for 35 minutes at 375 F. until crust is browned and center is bubbly – a small amount of juices may leak out of crust. Put a thin spatula under galette and carefully transfer to a serving platter, using 2 spatulas to keep it balanced.
In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Drizzle over galette and serve.
I desperately needed another chocolate fix this week (let me add that I started feeding my weekly chocolate habit, this past Monday at Levana Kirschenbaum‘s with some of her fabulous Chocolate Truffles; I continued with Easy Chocolate Squares), therefore I had no choice but to turn to François Payard‘s Chocolate Epiphany. Leafing through the pages, to my surprised delight, I came across an interesting dessert which I just had to try; as usual, Pâtissier Payard did not disappoint!
From page 130:
Coffee & Chocolate Panna Cottas
Serves 6
Chocolate Panna Cotta
1 tbsp unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups whole milk
4 oz 50% chocolate chopped
1/2 cup Dutch -processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
Coffee Panna Cotta
1 tbsp unflavextractored powdered gelatin
1/2 cups whole milk
2 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 tbsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
Garnish
1/2 cup apricot preserves
Directions
CHOCOLATE PANNA COTTA:
Sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tbsp of the whole milk, and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl.
Combine the cocoa powderand the sugar. Put the remaining milk and sugar mixture in a small saucepan over medium high heat, and bring almost to a boil. Whisk the gelatin into the milk, then pour the milk ovrer the chocolate. Whisk the gelatin into the milk, then pour the milk over the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a a small pitcher or a bowl with a spout, and set it aside to cool to room temperature.
MAKE THE COFFEE PANNA COTTA:
Sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoonsof the milk, and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes.
Combine the remaining milk and the coffe, vanilla bean, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring almost to a boil. Whisk the gelatin into a mixture until combined. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small pitcher or a a bowl with a spout, and set it aside to cool to room temperature. If using vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean, whisk it in it now.
ASSEMBLE THE DESSERT:
Pour some of the chocolate mixture into six tall, clear 4-ounce glasses, so that it fills up about one fourth of each glass. Place the glasses in the freezer to set the panna cotta, but do not let it freeze solid. This will take about 30 minutes. Then pour some coffee mixture over the chocolate one, to fill the glasses halfway. Return the glasses to the freezer to let the coffee panna coota set, about 30 minutes.
Repeat the process with one more layer each of chocolate and coffee. The last layer does not need to be put in the freezer. Refrigerate the glasses until the panna cotta layers are set, about the 30 minutes, or overnight.
To serve, garnish with a dollop of apricot preserves.
In a medium skillet over medium heat add 1 tablespoon of butter.
Once the butter foams add the diced peppers and onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to soften, about 1 minute. Add the chili powder, cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika and cook until the spices are very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Divide the mixture in half, placing one half in the work bowl of a stand mixer and the other half in a medium sized mixing bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl combine the beer, water, and yeast. Let the mixture stand until very foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour the yeast mixture into the work bowl with the pepper mixture along with 2 tablespoons of melted butter, flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix with the dough hook for 3 minutes on low speed. Check the hydration – the dough should form a smooth ball that is fairly sticky. Add additional flour if needed to achieve the right consistency. Increase the speed to medium and continue mixing for 5 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a smooth ball. Place the ball into a bowl that is lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray. Spray the top of the ball lightly, cover and let the dough proof until double in bulk, about 2 hours.
Once the dough has proofed turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour, and with the palm of you hand lightly press out any large air bubble. Roll the dough out into an approximately 18×12-inch rectangle.
Melt the remaining butter and brush half of the melted butter on the dough. Spread over the remaining pepper mixture and both the shredded cheeses. Slice the dough into 8 strips and place the strips into two stacks of four strips each. Cut each stack into 4 equal pieces.
Brush the inside of a 10-inch loaf pan with the melted butter. place the stacks into the buttered pan so the cut sides face up. Pour over any remaining butter, cover, and let rise until the dough holds a finger mark when gently pressed about 1½ hours.
Heat the oven to 350 F. Bake the bread for 25 – 30 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when gently thumped on the top. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.
Photo by: Evil Shenanigans
Since the shape of this is very different from traditional breads, there is little chance to forget that it is a dairy rather than a parve product.
Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!
Some of my grandkids will be visiting today, I thought these would make a special treat:
Chocolate Checkerboard Cookies
(adapted from Jacqueline Bellefontaine‘s What’s Cooking: Chocolate)
Detail of photo from page 125
Yield: 18
Ingredients
3/4 cup margarine, softened (use butter if you prefer creamier tasting dairy cookies)
6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the grated rind of 1/2 an orange
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1oz dark bittersweet chocolate, melted
a little beaten egg white
Directions
Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Beat the margarine and confectioner’s sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract or the grated orange rind.
Gradually beat in the flour to form a soft dough. Use your fingers to incorporate the last of the flour and to bring the dough together.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and beat the melted chocolate into one half. Keeping each half of the dough separate, cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Roll out each piece of dough to a rectangle about 3″ x 8″ inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick. Brush one piece of dough with a little egg white and place the other piece of dough on top.
Cut the block of dough in half lengthwise and turn over one half. Brush the side of one strip with egg white and butt the other up to it, so that it resembles a checkerboard.
Cut the block into thin slices and place each slice flat on a cookie sheet, allowing enough space to spread a little during baking.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F. for about 10 minutes, until just firm. Cool on on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack with a spatula. Cool completely.
Chanukah may be a minor festival, but the concepts it embodies are major. Jews, that stiff-necked people, were living under the control of Seleucide Greeks. While the conquerors were generally tolerant of other religions, provided the conquered people accepted the ostensibly superior culture, the Jews – for the most part – refused to bend, to compromise, to accept “progress.” They stuck to their beliefs, even when threatened with death. What prompted these people to follow an invisible God, a God they were proscribed from making statutes of, a God who placed so many positive and negative commandments upon them?
A German Menorah, from the late 19th or early 20th century. Photo from the LA Times.
For generations, the Jews were witnesses to the Almighty’s open and not so open miracles, they had no need of wood, stone or metal statutes to feel His presence. His presence surrounded them constantly! Their ragtag army, now fought the world’s mightiest power and won. Was that not enough of a miracle? Yet we do not celebrate Chanukah as a merely nationalistic day of independence. No, we celebrate instead the rekindling of the Temple Menorah, the rebirth of our faith.
We celebrate the fact that the Temple in Jerusalem had been purified of foreign idolatrous contamination. We celebrate the fact that just as it seemed that we would have to wait eight days for new consecrated olive oil to be prepared, miraculously a small flask just enough for one day’s kindling was found and yet it lasted a full eight days. The Greeks had combed through the Temple to loot its treasures, to take away anything that could be used by the stubborn Jews to worship that God, and yet throughout the years this small flask had gone unnoticed until truly committed Jews found it. Was it merely that they looked harder, or was that itself a miracle?
As a result of olive oil’s power in restoring us a nation, His nation, we traditionally eat fried foods on Chanukah, here is a recipe for traditional “Sufganyot,” jelly filled donuts:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for rolling
1 1/4 cup warm milk
4 egg yolks
3 tablespoons very soft margarine or vegetable oil (for a dairy version you may use sour cream)
vegetable oil for frying
plum, apricot, red currants or black currant jelly
1/2 cup sugar
Directions
Stir the yeast, flour, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a standard electric, mixer fitted with a dough hook. Make a well in the center. Add the milk, egg, yolk, and margarine (or sour cream for dairy sufganyot). Beat on low speed for 2 minutes, or until combined. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic and leaves the side of the bowl. Cover with a dish towel and leave in a warm place for 1 1/2 – 2 hours until doubled in volume.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly to deflate adding a little more flour if the dough is sticky. Divide the dough in half and roll out each piece to 3/4″ thick.
Working with one dough half at a time, using a 2″ cutter, stamp out as many rounds as pssible. Knead the scraps together, reroll and stamp out more rounds, you should form at lease 24. Cover with the dish towel and leave for 20 minutes, or until puffed and slightly risen.
Heat at least 3″ of oil in a deep-fat fryer, wok or large pan to 375 F. or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Working in batches, fry the doughnits, covered for 3 – 4 minutes, or until golden. Turn and fry on the other side for 3 minutes or until well colored. Using a skimmer, or slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.
Fit a small pastry bag, with a 1/2″ plain tip, and fill with jelly. Put the sugar into a bowl. When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, make a small slit in the side of each, insert the tip into the center, and squeeze about 1 teaspoon of jelly. Drop each filled doughnut into the sugar and turn to coat completely. Transfer to a wire rack.
As I’ve written before, Cherry Heering has long been a part of my memories and family traditions. Thus, as we stand almost on the threshold of Chanukah, when I saw an ad for Peter Heering‘s products, I thought it would be a great idea to once again, bring Cherry Heering to a family get together.
Always on the lookout for new recipes I may come across, I was pleased that Peter Heering‘s distributors sent me some intriguing ideas.
I especially liked the Coffee Latte; it’s easy to make and absolutely delicious!
1 ½ oz Coffee Heering liquor
Steamed Milk, may use skim
Pour Coffee Heering into a mug add Steamed Milk
Garnish with chocolate shavings
I tried it last eve and it certainly hit the spot. But… I can’t wait to try the “Boozy” Donuts with Creme Brulee Topping:
Donuts are the new cupcakes and a big trend for the season, an easy way to upgrade regular old store bought donuts and take it from an afternoon snack to a fancy dessert
Ingredients
6 sugar-covered donuts
1/2 cup of sugar
3 oz either Coffee or Cherry Heering Liqueur
Directions
Heat the donuts in the oven at 250 degrees for 5 minutes.
On a plate ad the sugar, brush the top of the warm donuts with water and drip in the sugar.
Insert and fill the liqueur in multiple spots of the bottom of the donuts with a small turkey baster/or cake decorating tool about 1/2 oz per donut
With a creme brulee torch, burn the sugar top of the donuts to a hard sugar topping. If you dont have a creme brulee torch, you can simply put in the oven on broil for a few minutes till the sugar caramelizes.
Serve right away while warm, a good tip is to let the guests watch while you are putting the finishing touches, their mouths will be watering and you will look like a pro in the kitchen!
The younger grand kids will just have to make do with the store bought donuts, that is… if the “Boozy” ones last long enough for their families to arrive…
Richmond,VA’s Rudlin Torah Academy, published Manna from Heaven – while it differs from cookbooks designed to woow the reader as he or she imagines the various recipes, this one shows that you need not be a Cordon Bleu trained Chef to prepare succulent, wholesome dishes.
The underlying philosophy behind this cookbook is that food and Judaism are inextricable parts of each other, as stated in the preface. As such, you will find recipes for every holiday, for every occasion whether a party or just for the immediate family.
This is a cookbook designed to make the average cook shine, with sections such as:
Effortless
Breads
Spreads and Dips
Appetizers
Soups
Salads
Meat Poultry
Fish
Dairy and Bruch
Side Dishes and Vegetables
Desserts
From the easy – last minute preparations – to more complex dishes everything here is easy to make, and yet every recipe from Strawberry Bread to Blue Cheese Ball, from Marinated ‘Shrooms to Tomato Soup with Herbs and Feta, from Brandied Fruit Salad to Fail-Proof Rib Roast, from Arroz con Pollo Valenciana to Salmon in Orange-Honey Marinade, from Mediterranean Strata Lite to Ratatouille in Phyllo, from Peanut Butter-Chocolate Crispy Treats to Rugelach and more, are
During chol hamo’ed and the last days of yom tov I was in Richmond, VA and had the privilege of tasting a superb challa (one of the best I ever had!) made by the lady who created it for this cookbook. Here’s the recipe:
No Need to Knead Challah
(page 21) – Yields 8 loaves
Ingredients
6 packets quick rise yeast
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups warm water
5 pounds plus 3 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons salt
8 extra large eggs
1 1/2 cups oil.
1 egg plus 3 tablespoons water for wash
Sesame or poppy seeds, optional
Directions
Dissolve yeast plus 2 tablespoons sugar in 2 cups warm water in a medium bowl, Set aside. In an extra large bowl, mix flour and salt together and make a well in the center. In a separate bowl mix together remaining sugar, eggs and oil.
Add yeast mixture and 2 additional cups of warm water to sugar, egg amnd mixture. Slowly pour egg and yeast mixture into the well in the flour and mix. Make sure that all the flour is mixed into the dough. Mix only enough to combine all the ingredients. Cover with a damp cloth and either leave in the refrigerator overninght or let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 2 -3 hours. In the morning, remove from refrigerator and place on a clean surface. Divide up dough into 8 portions, roll each portion into 3 ropes and braid loaves.
Spray baking sheets or large loaf pans and place challa on or in them. Cover again with damp cloth and allow to rise for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat egg with water and brush on challah. Sprinkle with either sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Bake 25-30 minutes until loaves are golden brown. Remove from oven and place on racks until cool. Challah may be wrapped in foil and frozen.
Each section opens up with a quote from sifrei kodesh, because this is more than just a cookbook, it shows the connection between what goes into a Jew’s mouth and his/her spiritual growth. You can order the cookbook online at the Rudlin Academy’s website. While you most likely did not attend the Culinary Institute of America nor Johnson and Wales University, you will still wow your family and friends with these recipes!
I desperately needed another chocolate fix this week (let me add that I started feeding my weekly chocolate habit, this past Monday at 
As 
I especially liked the Coffee Latte; it’s easy to make and absolutely delicious!
The Kosher Scene 
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