Chocolate Coconut Haystacks

Makes 3 dozen

These treats are perfect for those with limited time and talent for complicated holiday baking.  They can even be made on Christmas Eve with minimal effort!  Haystacks are also ideal for cooking with children.  Since they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, they can be made before the holiday madness begins.

My mother-in-law fell in love with haystacks on her travels, and she asked me to make them for Hanukkah.  After some web sleuthing, I developed the following recipe.  Other versions contain dry chow mein noodles or pretzel sticks instead of coconut.  They can also be enhanced with roasted nuts of any type (peanuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans), marshmallows, butterscotch chips, and sea salt.

Ingredients

6 cups sweetened coconut

1 pound semisweet chocolate chips or vegan carob chips

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1/2 cup almonds or other nuts (optional)

Directions

1.     Toast coconut on a large rimmed baking sheet at 350F.  Check it regularly and remove when it is fragrant and has turned slightly brown.  Do not leave too long or it will burn.  Remove and set aside.

2.     On the same baking sheet, toast almonds for 10-15 minutes until brown and fragrant.  Remove and set aside.

3.     In a large glass bowl, melt chocolate chips in the microwave.  Heat for 60 seconds and stir, continue heating for 15 seconds and stirring until the chips have melted.  Mix in almond extract.

4.     Add toasted coconut to the chocolate and mix well using a spoon or your hands.

5.     Line the baking sheet with parchment and make haystacks with 2 teaspoons of batter each.  Top with an almond.

6.     Refrigerate for 20 minutes until firm.   Keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti

Biscotti are twice-baked cookies that originated in the Italian town of Prato.  They are sometimes referred to as biscotti di Prato or Prato biscuits.  The name derives from the Medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning twice-baked.  Through French, the word found its way to English as biscuit which now refers to a variety of baked goods including sweet cookies, savory crackers, and small soft breads.

Historically, double baking made the cookies very dry and therefore less perishable than other foods.  They were especially valuable for long journeys and during times of war.  In that way, they are similar to the famously dry Anzac biscuits sent by Antipodean families to young men fighting in Europe during World War I.

Biscotti are a type of cantuccini, a generic term for a variety of twice-baked cookies.  Traditionally, biscotti were made only with almonds, pine nuts, eggs, sugar, and flour.  In contrast, cantuccini may include leavening agents, fats, spices, and other types of nuts.  Outside Italy, the terms cantuccini and biscotti are often conflated.  Within Italy, the term cantuccini is most often used in Tuscany to refer to almond biscotti which are generally served with vin santo.  Similar cookies are also common in certain parts of Spain.

This is the third biscotti recipe posted on Treat a Week and it contains pistachios (green) and cranberries (red) in honor of Christmas.  Guest blogger Sarah posted a lime pistachio biscotti recipe in 2008.  That same year I posted what I referred to as a peanut biscotti, which I now realize was a misnomer since it was not double baked.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup light olive oil (do not use regular olive oil as it will impart a strong olive taste)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups pistachios (shelled)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1.       Preheat oven to 300F.

2.       In a small bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.

3.       In a large bowl, using a large wooden spoon, mix olive oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract.

4.       Beat in eggs, one at a time.

5.       Slowly add flour mixture until well combined.

6.       Add cranberries and pistachios and mix until well incorporated.

7.       Divide the sticky dough in half.  On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, form two logs (2-4 inches wide).  To better handle the dough, wet hands with cool water.  You can also wear latex gloves.

8.       Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the dough is light brown.  Remove from the oven for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 275F.

9.       When slightly cool, cut logs into 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch thick slices.  Place cookies on their sides and bake for a further 8-10 minutes or until dry.  Cool.

10.   Store in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks.

Sour Cherry Shortbread Hearts

I had planned on making sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day. However, the thought of dirtying my countertops, rolling out dough, baking multiple batches, and decorating the cookies with icing, tipped me towards a simpler solution. I just wanted heart-shaped cookies without the fuss, so I adapted a Martha Stewart shortbread recipe I had encountered several years ago.

I've loved shortbread for as long as I can remember. As a child, I coveted Walkers shortbread fingers in the red tartan box. Later, I baked shortbread in the form of petticoat tails and rounds. I also loved my mother’s nankhatai, a ‘Gujarati shortbread’ that contains cardamom and semolina. Here is a pistachio version and a chocolate swirl version. And here is a favorite shortbread recipe I made for Hanukkah.

Shortbread is a Scottish treat traditionally made with one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. The modifier ‘short’ is an archaic synonym for crumbly; which is due to the high butter content. This is also the origin of the word shortening. Shortbread is baked at a low temperature to avoid browning.

The use of powdered sugar instead of granulated white sugar contributes to the incredibly delicate, melt-in-your-mouth quality of these cookies. This recipe makes just enough hearts for one or two people to indulge and it requires very little cleanup.

Makes 14 cookies

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 drops red food coloring (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dried sour cherries or other dried fruit, finely chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. In a large bowl, mix butter and powdered sugar with a wooden spoon. Add vanilla and food coloring and mix well.
3. Add salt and flour and mix until combined. Fold in cherries and mix well.
4. Transfer dough into a 9-inch square, ungreased baking pan. Pat dough with fingers until it is evenly distributed in the pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until shortbread turns brown at the edges.
5. Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Then cut out cookies using a 2-inch heart cookie cutter. The shortbread is very delicate. Use a sharp knife to gently trim stray cherries from cookie. Use a smaller cookie cutter for trimmings.
6. Store cookies and trimmings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Fruit and Nut Oatmeal Cookies

After a very busy spring, this weekend I finally had the chance to experiment in the kitchen. I produced another oatmeal cookie recipe for this blog.

To read more about oatmeal, see my first recipe. That one makes dense, crunchy, super sweet, chocolately cookies. This one produces soft, spicy and light treats which contain half the butter!

These cookies are fragrant and flavorful because of the cinnamon and cardamom. Feel free to use any type of dried fruits or nuts, though I would stay away from walnuts which can be a touch bitter.


Makes 30

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup applesauce
3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup dried cherries
3/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a small bowl mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and cardamom.
3. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar for 4 minutes until fluffy.
4. Add applesauce and beat on low speed. Add flour mixture and continue to beat.
5. Add oats, cranberries, cherries and pecans and mix with a spatula.
6. Refrigerate the batter for at least one hour.
7. On a large, ungreased baking sheet drop heaping tablespoons of batter. Flatten with a spoon.
8. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Can be frozen for up to three months.

Pistachio Shortbread

Pistachios are native to Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and the first archeological record of their consumption dates to 6760BC in what is present day Jordan. They were brought to Italy from Syria during the reign of Tiberius in the first century. The word derives from Persian and comes to English via Latin.

While Iran still leads in international pistachio production, the United States is a close second. Until the 1970s, most pistachio consumed in the U.S. were imported from Iran. After relations between the two countries deteriorated starting in the 1970s, Americans started growing these nuts on plantations in California.

Pistachios are often eaten whole – salted or roasted - and are a popular flavoring in sweets such as ice cream, cookies and puddings. They are even more common in confections from the Middle East and South Asia including baklava and burfi among many others. These nuts are also traditionally used to make mortadella, an Italian pork sausage flavored with spices, nuts and herbs, and widely used in savory dishes from India, Iran and North Africa.

Research shows that pistachios significantly reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase antioxidant level in humans. In rats, they increase HDL (good) cholesterol without decreasing bad cholesterol.

This recipe is my adaptation of nan khatai, an Ismaili shortbread previously featured on this site.

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature

3/4 cups white sugar

1 egg

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 cup semolina

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped

1-2 tablespoons milk
pistachios, for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease or line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix flour, semolina, baking powder, cardamom, nutmeg and pistachios. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Add egg and mix well.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. It may take a few minutes to incorporate all the flour. Add milk to soften the dough.
5. To form cookies, roll 2 tablespoons of dough between the palms of your hands to form a circular disk (thicker in the middle than at the edges). Place on a baking sheet and flatten slightly.

6. To decorate, gently press a pistachio into the center of each cookie.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes until you see a hint of color. Do not bake until golden brown. Remove immediately to a wire rack to prevent further baking. Once cool, cookies should break easily but not be crumbly. If the cookies are crisp, then they were over-baked.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated the one year anniversary of my friends Josh and Claire. A group of us had been at their wedding last summer in Italy, and we decided to gather in Chicago to mark the occasion. We were hosted by our Italian friends Francesca and Giorgio who made a delicious Kosher and celiac-friendly meal (in respect of Josh’s dietary restrictions) which included grilled eggplant and beef-wrapped cheese as appetizers, pesto and béchamel sauce lasagna (and a gluten free pesto lasagna), pomegranate and orange salad and poached pears. I made a modest contribution of orange chocolate mousse and flourless peanut butter cookies.

You might wonder what inspired this unusual constellation of desserts. Well, while I was in Chicago I received an unexpected gift from my friend Lisa. Last March she read my post about the messiness of using natural peanut butter in making peanut butter cookies. Ever thoughtful, she found and purchased a no-mess natural peanut butter stirrer for me (image below). This act of kindness and Josh’s allergy inspired this recipe, which I hope will thrill celiacs and non-celiacs alike.

Ingredients
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, sugar and vanilla. Add egg and mix well.
3. Drop by heaping teaspoons on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use the back of a fork to flatten the ball and create a pattern of fork tines. Press the fork again, this time creating a perpendicular pattern.
4. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes – until the tops of the cookies are just dry. Watch closely as cookies will burn if baked too long. Remove to a cooking rack as soon as possible.
5. These cookies are delicate so refrigerate overnight and serve cold.

Oatmeal Chocolate Date Cookies

In the last couple of decades, oatmeal has experienced a renaissance. Studies that linked oatmeal consumption with lower blood cholesterol came out in the 1980s, and in 1997 the US Food and Drug Administration allowed products with oat bran or rolled oats (which contain beta-glucans) to claim that they reduce heart disease when combined with a low-fat diet. Oatmeal is high in complex carbohydrates and fiber. It has long been a staple in the diets of athletes and labourers who benefit from a slow-releasing source of glucose.

Oatmeal is a product of ground oat groats. It is a staple in Scotland where it is well-suited to the short, wet growing season. The Scots use oats in baking and a wide variety of dishes including poultry stuffing, porridge, haggis, and black pudding. In the United States, Vermonters consume more oats per capita than any other state. Traditionally, the oats are soaked overnight, cooked and then served with sugar and spices.

Before its health benefits were clear, I was a huge fan of oatmeal cookies. My father made his with honey and they were large, thin and chewy. My recipe makes dense and satisfying cookies that are perfect for breakfast or as a snack. The dates add an unusual, natural sweetness that complements the hearty oat and chocolate flavors.


Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups quick oats (reduce to 2 cups for lighter, larger cookies)
1 3/4 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cups dried date pieces (use dried cranberries or dried cherries if dates are unavailable)

For lighter, healthier cookies change ingredients as follows:

Increase flour to 1 1/2 cups

Reduce butter to 1/2 cup and add 1/4 cup applesauce and 2 tablespoons canola/corn oil

Reduce granulated sugar to 1/4 cup

Reduce chocolate chips to 1 cup

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add flour mixture and beat until incorporated.
4. Using a spatula, stir in quick oats. Then stir in chocolate chips and date nuggets.
5. Drop batter in two tablespoon pieces onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light brown. The cookies will not spread very much. If you use 2 cups of oats, the cookies will spread so space 2 inches apart.
6. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days or freeze for up to 3 months (to defrost leave at room temperature overnight).

Margarita Ice-Cream w/ Lime-Pistachio Biscotti

The thought of filling Aly’s chef hat for three weeks is daunting so I’ve needed to reframe. My goal will be to complement his diverse repertoire with a little down-home Tex-Mex flare. I should introduce myself first: My name is Sarah and I am a Tex-Mex girl at heart, having been born and raised in Austin, Texas. For the past seven years, I’ve been a nomad, living in California, DC, England, Russia, and New Zealand. With the exception of California, Mexican food has been hard to find, even the ingredients have not been readily accessible. And I hate to admit it but California’s take on Mexican food is far too healthy, hippie, and chic for Texas (think sprouts!).

Good ‘ol Wikipedia reports that TexMex is a modern invention, with the word first entering everyday speak in the 1940s. Further Internet digging tells us that TexMex is a blend of Northern Mexican peasant food with Texas farm and cowboy fare. That blending yields such favorites as enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, refried beans, chimichangas, chili con carne, tacos, and tamales. We certainly can’t forget our favorite imported beverage: the Margarita. Margaritas are a Texas staple any time of year, but on July 4^th when the weather reaches the high 90s and uncomfortable 100s, they gain particular potency. In addition to the heat, my July 4^th memories are clouded by an absurd amount of sweet things: cookies, pies, and of course, ice cream. Vanilla BlueBell ice-cream is a Texas indulgence and with red licorice and blueberry sauce it becomes a very patriotic treat.

So this week in honor of the cross-cultural melding that, I think, gives us a reason to be patriotic, I’ve attempted to blend margaritas and ice-cream into one. Funnily enough, the recipe on which the margarita ice-cream is based comes from a Brit, Nigella Lawson. Ah, what the wonders of globalization bring! Indeed, I’ve paired the margarita ice-cream with a lime-pistachio biscotti draped in white chocolate to fully embrace the globalized, melting pot theme. Both the ice-cream and biscotti are minimalist recipes involving few ingredients and taking less than an hour to make. You don’t even need an ice-cream machine!'

Margarita Ice-Cream

Ingredients

2 ½ tablespoons of tequilla

3 tablespoons of triple sec

½ cup of fresh lime juice

1 ½ cups of powdered sugar

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons of orange and lime zest

Directions

1. Mix the alcohols, lime juice, and zests together.
   
2. Add the powdered sugar until it dissolves.
   
3. Add the whipping cream and, with an electric hand mixer, whip until soft peaks form.
   
4. Spoon in to an airtight container and freeze overnight. Enjoy!
   

Strawberry Margarita Ice-Cream

1. Add ½ cup of pureed fresh strawberries to the liquid mixture, prior to adding the powdered sugar and whipping cream.
   

Lime-Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients

2 ½ cups of flour

¾ cup of sugar

1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder

1 cup of shelled pistachios

3 eggs

3 tablespoons of lime juice

1 teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract

Zest of one lime

Zest of ½ an orange

White chocolate bar, melted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil.
   
2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and shelled pistachios. Make sure to take off the brown outer layer so the green nut is fully showing.
   
3. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, zest, juice, and extract.
   
4. Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients.
   
5. Add flour until the dough can be rolled into a ball.
   
6. Cut in half and roll each into a log. Place the two logs on a prepared cookie sheet and press down.
   
7. Bake for 25 minutes.
   
8. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Turn down the oven to 300 degrees.
   
9. Once cooled, cut the slabs into ¼ inch pieces and place onto the second cookie sheet. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until hardened.
   
10. Once cooled again, dip the top half of the biscotti into the melted white chocolate. Decorate with pistachio pieces. Enjoy!

Peanut Biscotti (Jugu Cake)

This is a recipe from my father’s childhood. It comes from the Nanwalla Mithai shop, a store that sold Indian sweets in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The shop was owned by members of the Bohra community, an Indian Muslim immigrant community that had settled in East Africa. Jugu cake is similar to Italian biscotti, except that it is not double-baked.

Jugu is the Swahili word for peanut. Contrary to popular belief, peanuts are legumes and are not technically nuts. They are native to South and Central America and were domesticated in Peru almost 8,000 years old. The cultivation of peanuts spread through European colonialism. The Portuguese were responsible for introducing them to China and Africa, and they were brought to the United States through African slaves. Dothan, Alabama is responsible for fifty percent of all peanuts grown in the United States.

In addition to consumption of whole peanuts, they are commonly processed into peanut butter and peanut oil. Peanut meats or shells are also used in the production of paint, insecticide, furniture polish, plastic, cellulose, glue, animal feed and fertilizer.

Makes 5 dozen

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil (canola or corn)
1 1/2 cups milk
3 3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 cups shelled, unsalted peanuts, finely chopped

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. In a medium bowl beat one egg, vanilla extract, oil and milk. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and peanuts. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and form a dough.
3. Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll each into a 10 to 12-inch log. Place the logs on greased cookie sheets and flatten them so they are approximately 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. [see the above photo]
4. Beat the other egg and brush it along each flattened log. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Cool for 5 minutes, and with a sharp knife cut the baked logs at a 60-degree angle into 1 1/2 inch wide cookies. Cool to room temperature and serve with tea or coffee. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I love peanut butter. I eat it on toast, celery, crackers, crumpets, apples and chocolate. I eat peanut butter sandwiches several times a week, but never with jam or honey. I put peanut butter in soups and stirfries (watch this space for those recipes). As a child I ate Kraft peanut butter, but now I only buy brands made exclusively with peanuts and salt. The downside of this is that with ‘natural’ peanut butter, the oil and peanut solids separate. Mixing them can be a messy affair – churning the peanut butter invariably causes a minor countertop oil spill. Given the vast quantities of peanut butter I consume, however, mixing is a price I’m willing to pay for peanut butter without sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Peanuts originated in South America and are known to have been ground into a paste by the Incas. Modern peanut butter is thought to have been created in the 1840s by Rose Davis of Alligerville, New York whose son saw women making peanut paste during his travels in Cuba. All early forms were crunchy, but in 1922 Joseph Rosefield patented a technique to produce a creamy peanut butter and created the Peter Pan and Skippy brands. Peanut butter is popular in many countries but Americans still consume more than any other nation – about three pounds per person per year.

This week I feature an American classic – peanut butter cookies. These cookies have the traditional crisscross pattern – made by pressing the back of a fork against the balls of peanut butter dough before they are baked. While no one can explain the origin of this pattern, it has been traced to the 1931 Pillsbury’s Balanced Recipes cookbook.

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
1 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a medium size bowl combine flour and baking soda. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl beat butter, peanut butter and sugars until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and beat. All flour mixture and beat until combined.
3. Roll dough into 24 balls and place on a greased baking sheet.
4. Use the back of a fork to flatten the ball and create a pattern of fork tines. Press the fork again, this time creating a perpendicular pattern.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool cookies and store in an airtight container for up to a week. To soften crisp cookies, store them overnight in a container with a piece of bread.

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

“An I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy gingerbread...”
William Shakespeare
Love’s Labours Lost (Act V, Scene 1)

These are the best holiday cookies I have ever eaten. I hate to admit it, but the recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart. Once you taste these, you will understand why they are only the second adapted recipe I have featured on this site. The unbaked dough is divine, and can be eaten straight from the bowl or mixed with vanilla ice cream for a decadent dessert.

Gingerbread was first created in pre-Christian Europe to celebrate the Winter solstice. After the Crusades, Catholic monks began to bake gingerbread for special religious celebrations. In medieval times, gingerbread became associated with secular festivals, which came to be known as ‘gingerbread fairs’. Early bakers produced motifs inspired by daily life. In the seventeeth and eighteenth century, themes expanded to include nobility, floral and geometric designs.

In Medieval England the term gingerbread meant 'preserved ginger', and was adopted from the old French gingebras, which came from the Latin zingebar. Today gingerbread takes many variations – from crispy biscuit to dense cake. This chewy cookie falls somewhere between the two, with a healthy dose of chocolate.


Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated (not chopped)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
granulated sugar

Directions
1. In a medium bowl mix flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl beat butter and ginger. Add brown sugar and beat well; then add molasses and beat well.
3. In a cup dissolve baking soda in 2 teaspoons of boiling water.
4. Beat half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add the dissolved baking soda. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and beat well.
5. Fold chocolate chips or chunks into the dough.
6. Pat dough into a circle about 1 inch thick and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until the dough has hardened.
7. Roll into 1 inch balls and chill for a further 30 minutes (see photo above). Since the dough does not contain egg, these balls can be kept in the fridge for several days or frozen for later use.
8. Preheat the oven to 325F.
9. To bake cookies, roll balls in granulated sugar and place 1 inch apart on a Silpat-lined baking sheet (you can use parchment paper as well).
10. Bake for 8-10 minutes and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. If the cookie bottoms are burned and shiny, reduce the oven temperature to 300F and cook for 2 minutes longer. Gently transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Hanukkah Shortbread Cookies

This was my second year celebrating Hanukkah with my boyfriend’s family. The occasion involved abundant food including Laura’s lovely latkes, a plethora of driedels and menorahs, and a mountain of blue and gold wrapping paper.

Other highlights from this year: a flashing yoyo that plays the ‘Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel’ song, uncle Mark’s reindeer antlers hung with stars of David, and singing the Adam Sandler Hanukkah song with the whole family. As a fitting end to our Hanukkah weekend, we saw a car on the highway with a huge menorah attached to the roof. As you can see, Hanukkah is big in New York!

My modest contribution to this year’s festivities was shortbread cookies that I made in Oxford and brought over in my hand luggage. Unfortunately, a number of them broke (the stars points snapped off) but I was able to bury them in the cookie platter and I don’t think anyone noticed.

Shortbread is one of my favorite treats. As a child, I ate a lot of Walkers Shortbread during the Christmas holidays (and all year long). My cookies are not quite as decadent, but are especially delicious with frosting. Thanks to Sarah for sharing the blue colored sugar that I used on some of the cookies.



Makes 60 cookies

Ingredients
Cookies
2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated or caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch salt

Icing
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 drops blue food color
2 teaspoons of water
silver dragées, for garnish (optional)
colored sugar (optional)

Directions
1. Add salt to flour. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix well.
3. Add half the flour and incorporate using the mixer. With a wooden spoon, incorporate the remaining flour until the dough forms a soft ball.
4. Divide the dough into four parts and wrap each separately in saran wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until the dough is cool and firm.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
6. Remove one portion of dough, and on a floured surface roll to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. With a cookie cutter make star shapes and place directly onto an ungreased baking sheet. If using colored sugar, sprinkle it on the cookies before baking.
7. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown. Cool to room temperature.
8. To make frosting, mix confectioner’s sugar and 1 teaspoon of water. Slowly add more water until you reach the consistency of honey. Add floor color, one drop at a time.
9. Use a knife to spread frosting on cookies. If using dragées, place them immediately and allow the frosting to set.
10. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to one week.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

When I moved to Oxford I brought many baking supplies with me, including several essential American ingredients – chocolate chips, flaked coconut and natural peanut butter. I also brought slivered almonds, pistachios, cardamom and gum arabic for Indian mithai. I also transported a few cake tins, loaf pans and a baking sheet. The other night when I had a craving for chocolate chip cookies, I was devastated to find that my baking sheet was too large for the tiny oven in my kitchen.

Not one to be easily thwarted, I decided to make chocolate chip cookie dough and bake it in a brownie pan. I concocted a fairly traditional cookie recipe, which I am sure would taste even better with coconut or toffee chips. The upside of this method is that you have only a single pan to clean.

On an entirely different note, my friend Natalie sent an email on Monday to ask if I had a pumpkin recipe to feature this week in celebration of Hallowe’en. I referred her to my Spicy Pumpkin Gingerbread which is ideal for the fall and winter. Watch this space for other pumpkin desserts (including a pumpkin cheesecake) just in time for American Thanksgiving.

Ingredients
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter and line a 9x9 inch pan with wax or parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, mix flour and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla and beat again.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Using the spoon or your fingers dipped in cold water, evenly spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned - 20 minutes for super chewy bars or 25 minutes for more crisp bars.
6. During cooking the edges of the batter will bake unevenly, causing the batter to rise up at the sides. To prevent this, wrap aluminum foil around the edge of the pan so that it shields the edges of the batter. This will ensure more even baking.
7. The mixture will be quite soft when it comes out of the oven. Let it cool for an hour or two, and then cut into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Ginger Cookie Sandwiches

I can’t believe that I haven’t written about ginger before. It is truly one of my favorite flavors. As a child I remember my mom buying great quantities of gnarled gingeroot, and making a jar of ginger paste to be generously doled into lentils and vegetable curries. From a young age I had a predilection for ginger snaps and ginger preserve (the British do this best), and regularly delight in ginger cookies and gingerbread, especially around Christmas.

Ginger is not actually a root but a rhizome, which is the subterranean stem of a plant. It originated in China and is now widely used in East Asia, South Asia, Middle East and the West. While the literature is inconclusive on its medical benefits, some studies have shown ginger to thin blood, lower cholesterol; it may also have sedative, analgesic and antibacterial properties. Check out the Wikipedia page for ginger, especially note the “References in popular culture” section which contains some very odd facts.

These cookies were inspired by 6-inch ginger cookie sandwiches which were famous at the Lazy Loaf and Kettle Café and Bakery that I frequented in Calgary. The café was a short drive from my first job, and once a week someone from the office would make a cookie run. Those sandwiches were certainly big enough to share… but I never did! My version is less cruel to the waistline.


Makes 30 sandwiches (60 cookies)

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup crystallized ginger, minced
1/2 cup granulated sugar (optional)

1 pound cream cheese (low fat is fine)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. In a medium size bowl combine flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In another large bowl cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add molasses and beat well.
3. Slowly beat in flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon mix in fresh and crystallized gingers.
4. The batter will be very soft, so cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F.
6. Roll batter into 3/4-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar (optional). Set 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly brown. Cool on a wire rack.
8. Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended. Add vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Place a generous teaspoon of icing on the bottom of a cookie and sandwich with another cookie. Squeeze slightly to adhere.
9. Store cookie sandwiches in the fridge and serve within 5 days. Leave some single cookies for a less indulgent snack.

Skinny Cherry Sesame Cookies

I was in the grocery store the other day and saw tahini on sale. I had always wanted to make hummus from scratch, so I bought a tub of tahini to motivate me. I haven’t yet made the hummus (I still plan to, so check this space in the coming months) but experimented with the tahini and came up with this unusual creation.

Tahini is a paste made from hulled, lightly roasted sesame seeds and is commonly used in Mediterranean cuisine. Sesame is also popular in East Asia where it is prized for its oil and used as garnish. While it is believed to have originated in Africa, the earliest use has been documented in India, Pakistan, Egypt and China. Some claim it is the oldest domesticated crop.

While sesame paste mixed with honey is a popular combination in Greece, Iran, Israel and India, tahini is not a common ingredient in North American and Western European sweets. Given the American penchant for super-sweet confections, I used two kinds of sugar and added cherries for good measure. While my “taste testers” could not identify the secret ingredient, they appreciated the unusual flavor of these cookies.

Makes 36 cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
3/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups dried sweet cherries, cranberries or dates (or a combination), roughly chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl mix flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in tahini, molasses and vanilla.
5. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
6. Add flour in two batches, incorporating with a wooden spoon.
7. Fold in dried fruit.
8. Drop by teaspoons onto lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden. The cookies will spread significantly so space evenly and limit to 6 to 8 per baking sheet.