Fruit Cake Cookies

 

Another great Pinterest find.  Nanci actually found these while searching and deciding what type of cookie to make for this year's Cookie Swap with our friends.  She decided on another cookie so I decided to make these right away.  I have always loved candied cherries in cookies.  I think they are terrible on their own right out of the container but baked in a cookie, YUM!  This is a great recipe which is very similar to a shortbread cookie but not as crumbly.  They are slightly sweet and buttery and the added texture from the candied cherries and pecans is perfect!  The original recipe can be found at The Merry Gourmet

 

*note - it's really important to freeze the cookie dough overnight otherwise the dough will be too soft to slice into perfect neat slices.  If you don't care about having a sliced cookie then they taste just as good as drop cookies but I still suggest freezing or refrigerating the dough for at least a few hours so it's easier to handle.

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, room temperature
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups candied cherries
1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Using a handheld mixer, cream together butter, powdered sugar, and egg. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and cream of tartar until well incorporated. Add in flour mixture to butter mixture slowly, blending after each addition until dough forms. Stir in remaining ingredients (candied cherries and pineapples, pecans).Turn dough out onto wax paper and divide into two equal parts. Roll each into a log, 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until firm, approximately 1 hour.  Place oven rack in middle position and preheat to 375 degrees F. Slice each log into 1/4 inch thickness. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until light brown. Cool on a wire rack until room temperature.

Nutella Banana Bread (low cal)

Another yummy treat that Susan made while we were over for lunch recently.  Our whole family LOVES banana bread and we often make it lots of different ways in order to find the perfect recipe  This one is really great because not only is it moist and delicious and not to mention chocolately but it's also happens to be low calorie and good for you.  You can find this recipe and other low calorie recipes at Slender Kitchen

Ingredients:

4 ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Nutella

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg whites. Add the banana, vanilla, and apple sauce and mix together. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
5. Warm the Nutella up in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until it is softer and melted.
6. Pour the banana bread batter into a bread pan. Then slowly spoon the nutella on top and swirl into the bread using a knife until all of the Nutella has been worked in.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes until cooked through. Enjoy!

Autumn Chopped Salad

We are always looking for new salad ideas and this one was so perfect for this time of the year.  Absolutely delicious!  Susan made this for lunch the other day when we were eating outside in her Sukkah.  I LOVED the combination of the sweet and salty.  Even my husband who during the entire meal said that he wouldn't eat the salad because it had fruit and nuts in it ended up finishing the salad (eating directly out of the salad bowl, mind you) it was that good.  It's a must try! This recipe was found on Pinterest and it took me awhile to find the original source but I'm so glad I did because it's from a fantastic blog Espresso and Cream.  Check it out when you get a chance.

*Susan substituted bacon bits for the bacon to keep the salad kosher

Ingredients:

 6 to 8 cups of Chopped Romaine Lettuce
2 medium pears, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans
*8 slices bacon, crisp and crumbled
4 to 6 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup Poppy Seed Dressing
1/3 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette

Directions:

In a large salad bowl, combine lettuce, pears, cranberries, pecans, bacon and feta cheese. Mix poppy seed dressing with the balsamic vinaigrette. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, Toss and serve immediately!

Snickerdoodle Blondies

 

So happy I have this picture to remember what these delicious snickerdoodle blondies looked like becuase they were all devoured within 30 minutes of my children coming home from school.  To say these were a big hit is an understatement.  My family LOVES mostly anything with cinnamon/sugar on it and these blondies have that plus they are soft, moist and chewy with just the right combination of sweet and salty.  A true new favorite recipe! Original recipe can be found at Dozen Flours

 

Ingredients:

 

1 stick of unsalted butter/margarine, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Topping:

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 8x8 pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Cream together softened butter and brown sugar using a hand mixer until blended with and creamy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.  Mix in baking powder and salt and then add flour slowly until totally incorporated and batter is thick and creamy.  Spread batter evenly in greased pan.  Next mix together white sugar and cinnmaon and sprinkle evenly on top of the batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a tooth pick inserted in the center of blondies comes out clean.  Let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

 

Honey Butter Blondies

 

In keeping with the Honey theme, I made these Honey Butter Blondies using Orange Blossom Honey.  This makes the most delicious, light and creamy batter.  I could've eaten the batter by the spoonful.  These blondies are cakier and not as moist/dense and I wanted but still really delicious.  I might try making these again and cutting out a half cup of flour or omitting the baking soda to see if I get the consistency that I wanted.  I'll update if I do.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 stick Butter (or margarine), softened

1/2 cup Honey

1/4 cup Sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 8x8 baking pan generously with non-stick cookng spray.  In a large bowl cream together softened butter, honey and sugar until light and creamy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add in baking soda, salt and baking powder and mix to combine.  Last add in flour and mix until incorporated and batter is light and fluffy.  Spread batter evenly in geased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Let cool completely before cutting.

 

Honey Cookies

Rosh Hashana

Happy New Year!

 

Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year.  Many recipes for Rosh Hashana contain honey in them because honey symbolizes the "sweetening" of the New Year.  It's very traditional to make Honey Cake on this holiday but typically Honey Cake isn't the most exciting dessert especially for the kids.  These cookies are such a nice change from the usual honey cake.

 

 Our sister Susan always hosts Rosh Hashana dinner and cooks a fantastic dinner for the whole family.  We like to help out and each of us try to make one or two dishes that would contribute to the meal.  Susan keeps a  kosher home so it's also important that we follow those kosher guidelines.  This dessert is the perfect recipe since it uses oil instead of butter as the fat in the recipe which makes these cookies non-dairy (pareve) and can be served after eating a meat meal.  Susan found this recipe on Pinterest and was originally posted on Lil' Miss Cakes blog.  Please follow the link to view a really nice blog with lots of fantastic recipes.  I actually made these as a test recipe and served them at a PTA meeting at my children's school.  I LOVE these cookies.  They have a distinct honey flavor which is really delicious and the texture from the Turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw) makes these crunchy on the outside while they are still moist and chewy on the inside.  Really a fantastic combination.  You can also change the taste of these cookies by using different types of honey as well as different types of oil.  I loved this recipe with Wildflower Honey and Olive oil, really unique delicious flavors.  Change it up and use the flavors that you prefer.   You can easily find Clover, Wildflower and Orange Blossom in your grocery store with Clover being the most common and most mild in taste.  I love the slightly bolder and floral taste of the Wildflower Honey.

 

Ingredients:

 

2/3 cup oil

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw), for rolling

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the oil, honey, and sugar until smooth.  Add in the egg and vanilla mix until combined.  Mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt.  If your dough is soft, refrigerate for 15-30 minutes until firm.  Shape the dough into balls and roll in the turbinado sugar making sure to coat the whole cookie.  Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 7-9 minutes until the edges are light brown in color.

 

 

Eggplant Caponata

 

 

It's rare that someone mentions a type of food or a particular dish and I have never heard of it.   This happened to me recently when I was out with a few girlfriends.  Someone mentioned Caponata and I had no idea what they were talking about.  So the next day I did a litte research and I found a "million" recipes/versions of the Sicilian dish/appetizer Caponata.  I couldn't wait to make it and try it for myself.  I decided on this particular recipe from No Recipes because the combination of ingredients appealed to me the most out of all the recipes that I read.  I really loved the combination of sweet eggplant, smokey roasted peppers, salty capers and tangy balsalmic vinegar.  I brought this to the beach for an appetizer last weekend and everyone loved it.  I will defintely be making this again.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 medium eggplant peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 Tbs kosher salt (less if you’re using table salt)
1 red bell pepper quartered, seeds removed
1/4 C olive oil
1 small onion chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs drained capers
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 C leaf parsley, stems removed and chopped

Put the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with 1 Tbs kosher salt. Toss to coat and leave it over a colander for an hour.

Grill red pepper directly on your BBQ or over a flame on your gas stove top until the skin is charred then wrap in foil or put into a brown paper bag and seal.  Leave the pepper until cool. Trapping the steam like this makes it much easier to remove the skins. When cool, peel the pepper and remove any excessively charred bits. Slice into thin short strips.

When the eggplant is done salting, rinse in a bowl of cold water to remove excess salt. Squeeze the eggplant with your hands to wring out as much moisture as you can.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onions until until they are translucent and just start turning brown around the edges. Add the eggplant, bell peppers and thyme. Salt and pepper to taste stirring until the eggplant is very soft and starts to loose its shape.

Add the balsamic vinegar and capers and stir until there is no liquid left. Take off the heat and add the garlic and parsley. You can serve this immediately with some crusty bread, but it tastes even better the next day.