Ma'moul for Eid

Ma'moul by Najat (From her Youtube video, typed out by me)

3 cup fine samolina (farina or cream of wheat)
1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/8 tbsp salt


2 Sticks of butter, 1/2 pound of butter at room temp. (leave out 4 hours)


Mix soft butter with those ingredients until it's mealy and absorbed between your palms for 5 mins

cover and wrap for 6 hours on the counter, or in the fridge if you're in a hot country, take out an hour before use to become room tempt.


Date filling:

1/4 kilo date paste  (1 packaged block)
 2 tbsp softened butter
1 tbsp ground fennel
1 tbsp groudn anise

1/2 tsp ground mahlab (toasted and ground)

some oil for oiling hands while rolling.

Toast all seeds, cool and grind before use.

Mix all together with hands until it's a dough like consistancy, roll into small balls.

*Optional flavourings to use are cinnamon, cloves, cardimon, or nutmeg.


Pistachio filling:

1 1/2 cup finely ground pistachio
3/4 cup powdered sugar

1-1 1/2-2 cups orange blossom or rose water.. start with 1 tbsp and see how much is needed for it to come together as a dough.

Make little balls like with date paste.


Back to the dough:

After 6 hours leaving the samolina mixture,

Mix 1/2 tsp instant yeast over 3/4 cup warm water and 1/2 tsp sugar and let it sit until it proofs.

Add to samolina mixture:

2 tbsp powdered milk
2 tsp ground mahleb
1/2 tsp ground mystic (mestika)

Blend together well into mixture, slowly pour the yeast mixture into the grainy mixture until it comes together, never over knead the dough.   Once it comes together and you can make a little patty then cover and let it rest for 15 minutes covered with plastic wrap.

Divide the dough into small balls (as many as the fillings you have)

Heat oven to 400 F

Keep everything covered with cling wrap while working.

Fill the dough balls with the filling and shape into desired shapes.

Seperate date and pistachio on seperate trays as pistachio cooks longer.

Bake as soon as they're ready, divide oven in 3rds using oven trays and put the first tray on the bottom rack for 7-8 mins.
Once it takes a golden color remove and put on top rack another 5 mins to finish while adding new tray to bottom.

Remove and cool tray, as soon as cookies are able to be moved move them to cooling rack and once they're cold store away in a tupperware.

Peaches & Cream Pie

Peaches and Cream Pie
Recipe courtesy of a couple cooks 

9” unbaked pie shell (I used Ina Garten's recipe that I've raved about all summer long)

4 to 6 perfectly ripe peaches

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch of kosher salt

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Prepare a pie crust in a 9" pie pan.

Prepare a large pot of boiling water. Drop one peach into the pot so that the water fully covers it, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove the peach from the water with a fork, and drop in the next peach. As the second peach boils, use a sharp knife to remove the thin skin of the peach (it should peel off in large sheets with your fingers). Repeat until all peaches are peeled. Cut each peach in half, remove the pit, and then cut it in half again to make quarters. Place the peach pieces into the pie shell.

In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, and a pinch of kosher salt. Pour in 1 cup heavy cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla, and mix well until smooth. Pour the custard over the peaches.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 450°F, then turn down the oven to 325°F and bake 30 to 35 minutes longer. (If still runny, bake 5 to 10 minutes more, watching so that it does not burn. Place an old baking sheet or tin foil below the pie pan in case the liquid boils over.) Once finished, remove the pie from the oven and cool on a rack for about 1 hour. Then refrigerate for several hours or overnight to thicken the custard. When ready to serve, cut into pieces and serve ice-cold.

Apple Pie

Crust:

2 2/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks) 

Mix with hands, Add:

3 oz vodka (or use water)

3 oz ice cold water

Divide into 2 disks, cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate until ready to use. 

Filling: 

Peel, core and slice apples

Toss with sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. 

Assemble pie and bake on 450 for 10 minutes.

Reduce to 375 and bake for another 30 minutes

Finally mix 1 egg yolk with about 1 tsp sour cream and brush the top, bake for another 20 minutes until  perfectly browned. 

Let cool and enjoy! 

Holiday Cookies 2012

Linzer Cookie

Checkerboard Cookies (This is last year's cookie batch, the recipe for checkerboard or "swirl" as it was last year is there)

Pistachio Apricot Nests (thumb print cookies)

Nusstaler (Chocolate Dipped Hazelnut cookies) 



Gingerbread with Lemon Icing 

Ultimate Ginger Cookie 

Healthy Chewy Gingerbread cookies (Spelt flour - agave - coconut oil.  No white flour or butter)

Finnish Meringue Cookie



Elfin Shortbread Bites

Greek Clove Melt in your mouth Shortbread



Candycane Meringue 

Chocolate Dipped Chewy Coconut Macaroon 



Chocolate Crackle Cookie

Sparkle Espresso Crackle Cookie

Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Cookie



Pistachio Honey Cookie (Gluten Free) 

Cinnamon Sugar Pillows (Vegan)


My tips:

Baking is serious business, and in order to pull off a large amount/variety of cookies it requires organization.  Things you will need:

- Butter, lots and lots of butter! I'm sure that's a given with cookies, I just couldn't help saying it :D
If you're working on a large number of cookies in one day then try to estimate from your recipes how much butter you're going to use and then place it all on the counter to soften (if that's what the recipe requires)
Keep your eggs on the counter too to come to room temperature.

I used over 8 pounds of butter to make all the cookies!

- A stand mixer! I borrowed my mothers pink Kitchen Aid since mine is still broken for over a year and I haven't replaced it yet :(

- A clean/organized kitchen makes all the baking a lot easier so organize before hand and keep the dry ingredients away from the sink/moisture (which brings me to my next tip)
I will also add fridge space because you will be chilling doughs and removing them from the fridge, shaping and chilling..etc.

- Have a gentle hand soap on hand, you will be washing your hands a lot between batches and after 3 days of baking my hands are in a lot of pain (they dry out from washing!)  Moisturize hands well before bed to prepare for the next day of baking.


- Keep basic ingredients like flour/sugar/brown sugar accessible (I put them in large bins) the flour needs to be scooped in measuring cups and leveled so you need the space to do this. Keep a knife and measuring cup as well as a small scooper in the bag/bin of flour for easy measuring.

- I tend to think I'm pretty environmentally friendly and I don't waste money on plasticy things but at this time of year my biggest tip is to get some ziplock bags, the large ones (.. and Cling wrap)  I can't emphasize this enough because it will save your life!! After mixing up a batch of dough just throw the ball it a ziplock and if it needs flattening out you can just use a rolling pin right over the bag after sealing and removing the air.  It's my best trick.
For checkerboard cookies I even flatten it out evenly in the bag and then chill, then I simply tear the bag and slice the large flat square disk of dough into strips, same goes for both the chocolate and white and this makes it easy to assemble/stack and create a checkerboard in minutes. So simple!

Same for crumbly shortbread doughs, just toss in the bag and press down to bring it together.  Chill, tear the bag and slice into squares then bake.  You might want to leave some doughs on the counter to warm up a tad bit, it all depends on the dough. Shortbread could "crack" if it's too cold so let it warm up a bit before slicing with a big sharp knife for clean neat slicing.

You can also use ziplock bags as piping bags!

- Tons of parchment (it is your best friend!!!) and a good amount of baking sheets !

And finally keep hydrated!!!!! I get so distracted working that I tend to forget to drink (or eat.. or even sleep!!)  so next year I will whip up a big jug of something (ice tea?) or a thermos and just keep it on hand for drinking.

Thanks to Redpath for sending me their Agave Nectar, I put it to use in my healthy gingerbread cookies!

Gingerbread with Lemon Glaze

 

Gingerbread Tree with Lemon Icing
Great recipe Thanks to Sweet Sugar Bean Blog 

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled) plus a bit more for rolling
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp coarse salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cup icing sugar
coarse sugar, optional

In a medium bowl, whisk flour with rest of dry ingredients.  In a large bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium high until creamy, about 3 minutes.  Add egg and molasses and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as you need to. With  mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.  Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or up to 3 days.
Preheat oven to 350*F, with racks in upper and lower thirds.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thickness, and with cookie cutters, cut into your favourite shapes.  My Mom still uses the cutters from when we were kids and I love the pig!  Or you can use a sharp knife and cut into triangles.  Arrange cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, and bake until firm and golden, around 8 min for chewy, 10 min for snappy.  Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.  Store in airtight containers for up to one week, or freeze.
To make the lemon icing, combine lemon juice, icing sugar with a small whisk.  It takes a little while for it to come together.  Add more lemon if too thick.  I just put the icing in a small Ziploc bag and cut one corner to make a tip.  Drizzle onto cooled cookies and sprinkle with sugar.

The cookies freeze well for up to one month.  Makes about 50-60 cookies.  Adapted from Everyday Food, December 2010.

For the complete cookie list this year check out the list for 2012 here

Ultimate Ginger Cookie by Ina Garten 

Yellow Zucchini Chocolate Cake

- 1 & 1/2 Cups Shredded Zucchini (I used 2 yellow zucchinis)

- 1 Cup All Purpose Flour

- 1/2 Cup high quality Unsweetened Cocoa Flour

- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

- 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

- Dash of salt

- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon (I omitted)

- 1/2 Cup Canola Oil

- 1/2 Cup Sugar

- 1/2 Cup packed Brown Sugar

- 2 Eggs

- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

- 3/4 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips (optional- I omitted)


Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a bowl combine the oil and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla whisking.

Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl.

Whisk in the dry ingredients into the wet and blend.

Oil a loaf pan, muffin tins or a square glass or metal baking dish, I used a 6 X 8 X 2 glass baking dish.

Add a strip of parchment in the pan that hands over the edge for easy removal of cake later on.

Bake for 40ish minutes in a loaf/square pan and 15-25 in muffin or cupcake tins.

Enjoy!

*** I actually forgot the white sugar, and only added the brown (just a reading error) so while it was baking I prepped the remaining sugar with equal parts water and brought it to a boil on the stove in a saucepan, added a squeeze of lemon to make a simple syrup.

Once the cake was out and still hot I drizzled the syrup over and let it absorb, this sweetened it up nicely, it was a close save.

Recipe adapted from this blog

Pretzel buns (burgers-sliders and hotdogs)

Salted Pretzel Rolls

Yield: 8 large rollsPrep Time: 20 minutes (plus 1 1/2 hours rise time)Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Make the rolls smaller if you just want to use them as small dinner rolls.

ingredients:
1 ½ cup warm water (110°F)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (not instant rise yeast)
2 teaspoons sugar
4-½ cups unbleached all-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted Butter, melted
¼ cups baking soda
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
Pretzel Salt, for sprinkling

directions:
In the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with the dough hook attachment), add the water, yeast, and sugar. Stir and let rest 5-10 minutes until foamy (mine didn't look all that foamy but still turned out).

Add the flour, salt, and melted butter and mix using the dough hook until combined well. Cover with a plastic wrap (or a towel) and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk (again, mine didn't look like it rose all that much, but turned out amazingly). Punch the dough down and turn it onto a lightly floured clean surface.

Line 1 large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Cut the dough into 8 pieces (4 1/2 - 5 ounces each). To shape the dough "take a piece of dough and start forming a round, smooth ball by pulling the sides to the center and pinching to seal. Place, pinched side down, on a counter and lightly cupping your hand around the dough ball, rotate your hand in small circles lightly rolling the ball around the palm of your hand."

Place the ball on the prepared baking sheet pinched seam side down, with at least 1” between each roll. I like to stagger mine: 2 rolls side by side, then one down one row but between the two in the top row... Then 2 more side by side, followed by one down a row but between the 2 in the top row... etc (this will fit all 8 on one cookie sheet). Cover with a towel and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes until they rise & double (mine didn't rise a whole lot).

Preheat oven to 425°F and place oven rack in the middle position. In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a low boil. Remove from heat and slowly add the baking soda (I dumped mine in and it boiled up and overflowed all over my stove - lesson learned! hah) place back on heat and lower to a simmer.

Place 2-3 of the rolls at a time into the poaching liquid, seam side down. Poach for 30 seconds and then carefully turn the roll over and poach for another 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon to the same prepared sheet pan, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining rolls.

Using a pastry brush, brush each roll with the beaten egg, making sure to coat all sides completely & then prinkle each roll with a little pretzel salt. Using a sharp straight edged knife, cut a slash (or 2) -or- an “X” shape in the top of each roll. Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot!

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