Category: Dessert

Paleo Chocolate Muffins

I keep waiting for life to get a bit less hectic. When baby #5 came five weeks early this summer, life turned upside down. We thought we had everything all worked out. We were spending July in upstate New York and planned to return for the second month of the summer, so I’d be near the hospital for my late-August due date. Instead, we drove for two+ hours in the wee of night while I labored in the front seat hoping that my water wouldn’t break! Alas, we made it to the hospital with more than enough time, because my labor lasted 24 hours. You just never know.

My husband packed up all our stuff from the country (we all know how that went), and I started looking for an extra hand to help with the kids while I nursed my preemie around the clock. Slowly but surely, things began to fall into place. The kids transitioned to their new summer arrangements, I found an awesome girl to help out, and I rested up at my Mom’s house. But then camp ended. And school was two weeks away. And we had all the holidays coming, so I needed to buy holiday clothes, uniforms, school supplies and all that New Year stuff that is just. so. hectic. Once that all died down, I started to plan for my son’s Upshernish, a ritual hair-cutting ceremony observed when a Jewish boy turns three, and thus formally begins his Torah education. I spent weeks prepping and planning, made my very first fondant cake and other desserts which I froze in advance. I lined up a caterer, entertainment, got us all in coordinating outfits and booked the photographer. Alas, the big day arrived (which we celebrated this week), and thankfully it all worked out beautifully. We chopped off my son’s beautiful blond curls, sharing and celebrating with friends and family.

Now that the upshernish is behind us, I woke up this morning thinking, OK, now let me just take a breather. But then I opened my calendar and saw all the trillions of things I had lined up (many of which I had pushed off because I was too busy planning the party) …and I realized…life is not going to get any less hectic. This is it. I’ve got five kids. I’ve got recipes to test. Demos to work on. Articles to write. Shopping and homework and Dr.’s appointments and PTA and laundry and diapers to change and babies to feed…..and…….and……yes. I’ve got so much. I’ve got so much.

So instead of fighting my hectic schedule, I’ve decided to embrace it. And instead of wishing for a break, I’m going to find little tidbits of calm amid the chaos. Small moments to savor a hot cup of coffee, and to realize that breastfeeding is not a chore, but a time to bond with my adorable baby and dinner with friends is not just another thing to do on my calendar, but a time to take a break and actually enjoy the moment!

Today is hectic. And tomorrow will be too. But I am forever thankful for it. Happy Thanksgiving!

I’ve been trying to clean up my diet the past couple of weeks (so I could fit into my dress for the upshernish!) and whenever I’m looking to debloat, I try and go Paleo (or Whole30!). The natural, unprocessed food really helps me get back to a healthy way of life and just makes me feel better. These amazing grain-free chocolate muffins have literally saved me on mornings when I am desperate for a little something to eat with my date-sweetened, coconut-milk coffee. They’re so rich and fudgy that my kids actually think of them as a special treat, instead of a healthy one!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Paleo diet or reading about my 30-Day Meal Plan, visit this page!

Paleo Chocolate Muffins
adapted from Jewhungry

1 medium ripe banana, peeled
1 large egg
heaping 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
pinch of salt, optional (use if your almond butter is unsalted)
1/3 cup chocolate chunks
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside.

Add all the ingredients besides for the chocolate chips and pecans to a blender and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full with batter and top with pecans. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.

Yield: 6-8 muffins. (I always double the recipe!)

TIP: These muffins are best served after they have set for a few hours, or overnight, when they turn rich and fudgy.

NOTE: These muffins freeze great so make a triple batch, wrap them individually and save for a hectic morning!

hazelnut chocolate chip almond butter cookies
chocolate ganache tart with macaroon tart

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Cookie Butter Pumpkin Pie


I’m proud to be an American. Really I am. (Politics aside!) But truth be told, I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s because, being Jewish, we’ve got our fill of holidays, and every Shabbat is practically a Thanksgiving meal in itself. The most we ever did growing up was make some deli turkey sandwiches and maybe pumpkin pie, but no feast and no big bird.

If I’m feeling festive, I’ll usually cook up some Thanksgiving-inspired recipes for the Shabbat before or after Thanksgiving. I make turkey London broil (half of a skinless boneless turkey breast), pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and stuffing and call it a day. I love all the flavors of the holiday and each year, I try to put my own spin on a classic Thanksgiving recipe.

Last year, I had my very first Thanksgiving dinner experience, when my friend Melinda of kitchen-tested) invited my family over for the most lavish spread I’ve ever seen. And I’m Jewish. So when I say lavish. I mean LAVISH. Mel made the most adorable place settings with homemade tea biscuit cookie butter in personalized jars and a crazy good pie bar for dessert (I brought my Mexican hot chocolate pecan pie). This year, she invited us again (I’ve got my stretchy pants ready!) and when I was thinking about what to bring, I decided it had to involve the latest kosher obsession – speculoos, or Lotus caramelize biscuits and cookie butter spread.

You see, Mel had her first taste of the stuff at my house, and I think her eyes rolled back in her head when she licked the gingersnap-flavored butter off the spoon. Of course cookie butter had been around for years, but it’s been hard to get with kosher certification, so I had to resort to begging my friends and family to smuggle some in from Israel. (Just joking of course, it’s perfectly legal. Although maybe it shouldn’t be!).

But the kosher speculoos Gods heard our pleas, and pallets of the stuff have finally arrived at our shores and onto kosher supermarket shelves. No need to stock up on ten jars at a time anymore, they’ve become a staple! Three stores in my hood alone now carry the cookies and butter, as well as numerous stores around Brooklyn. I hope kosher supermarkets everywhere get in on the cookie butter dream too.

So! To celebrate the newly available jars of bliss, I’ve developed this super fun recipe for cookie butter pumpkin pie. Except it’s really a butternut squash pie, but pumpkin just sounds better. And isn’t butternut a pumpkin anyway?

Plus, haven’t you read the news that canned pumpkin isn’t actually pumpkin??!! I know, shocking right? So if they can call canned squash pumpkin, I sure as hell can too. At least I’m being honest, right?

So pumpkin, squash, whatever you decide to use, marries so beautifully with the cookie butter because it’s got that amazingly warm flavor that’s reminiscent of gingersnaps (my all time favorite) and cinnamon. Surprisingly, I’m not that into pumpkin spice flavors, so this is a great alternative. I love to eat it cold, with a dollop of coconut cream, for a decadent dessert. If only I had a fireplace to pair with it!

Don’t be intimidated by the fancy swirls, they’re super simple to make. Just spoon dollops of the cookie butter into your mouth…um…I mean…onto the pie, and then use a knife to swirl the dollops around. Don’t mix too much and don’t stick that knife too deep or you’ll mess with the crust. Ask me how I know.

So whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not – give this decadent and original pumpkin pie a try. If you’re a fan of cookie butter, you’ll be sure to love it! (and If you’re not, who are you and what in the world is wrong with you?!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cookie Butter Pumpkin Pie

2 1/2 cups butternut squash or pumpkin purée (see note)
1/3 c brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs
1/4 cup full fat canned coconut milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup Lotus smooth cookie butter
1 pkg Lotus Biscoff cookies (250 grams)
1/2 c (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted and cooled
pinch of sea salt
coconut whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor or blender, blend the cookie biscuits to form crumbs. Pour in the melted butter, add the sea salt and blend until it starts to come together in clumps. Press the crust into the base and up the sides of a pie dish (it helps to smooth it out with the bottom of a measuring cup). Bake the crust for 10 minutes and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the squash puree, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, coconut milk, cinnamon and salt and whisk until smooth. If desired, puree with a hand blender to make it extra silky. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.

In a small pot, warm the cookie butter so it’s easier to work with (see tip). Place dollops of cookie butter around the pie and swirl with a knife. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the pie is set and starting to brown around the edges. Cool and serve with coconut whipped cream and some melted cookie butter and/or crushed cookies. Alternatively, you may refrigerate the pie and serve cold (my preference).

NOTE: I’m not a big fan of pumpkin so I prefer to use squash in my pumpkin pie. Butternut and kabocha are my favorites. I roast my butternut squash to concentrate the flavors and make it even sweeter and more delicious, no peeling necessary!. To roast (you can do this with any squash), cut the squash in half lengthwise and place cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until soft (it should pierce easily with a fork), about 30-45 minutes, depending on size. Remove the seeds and scoop the flesh out with a spoon. If you prefer to use frozen winter squash or canned pumpkin, add 1/4 cup of flour to the mixture.

TIP: To get the most cookie butter flavor, you’ll want dollops of cookie butter that don’t mix too much into the pumpkin. Heat the butter to make it easier to work with, but let it cool so that it’s not completely runny or else it will spread too much. Try not to overmix when swirling.

VARIATION: For a quick and easy version, bake the butternut squash without a crust, or use a frozen pie crust or graham cracker crust and drizzle with melted Lotus cookie butter.

Related Recipes:

Lotus cookie puppy chow
Lotus cookie pancakes
Lotus cookie cinnamon buns with cookie cream cheese frosting
pumpkin crisp
pumpkin banana souffle

Other Thanksgiving Recipes:

chestnut hummus with Thanksgiving pita chips
unstuffed mushrooms with chestnuts
cranberry sriracha green beans
creamy pareve mashed potatoes
mulled wine cranberry sauce
the best pareve cornbread
turkey roulade with 5-minute stuffing
Mexican hot chocolate pecan pie

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Our Table Cookbook Review & Giveaway

I’ve been following Renee Muller for years, and when word got out that she was coming out with a cookbook, I knew it would be something special. You see, Renee doesn’t see food like the rest of us. To her, a table is a canvas, and each dish is another way to paint a beautiful picture. Renee is a food stylist par excellence and her magazines spreads are jaw dropping. I knew the photography would be out of this world, but I was in for even more. In Our Table, Renee invites us to experience the joy of eating memorable meals together, something she cherishes from her upbringing in Lugano, Switzerland. Her recipes are homey, family friendly and diverse. She’s got a little something for everyone – part healthy, part indulgent, some easy and some more complicated. The Chapters span the basics from appetizers and soups/salads to fish/dairy, meat/chicken, snack/sides, breads/cakes/cookies and desserts.

Beautiful photography and a range of mouthwatering recipes wasn’t enough for Renee. So she created a guide with never-before-seen video tutorials of some of her most popular recipes. From “how to stuff cabbage” to “how to cut caramels”, “how to make gnocchi” to “how to braid challah”, these videos are not just visually stunning, they are informative too. (You can watch them here!) You’ll also find a Pesach guide in the book to help you easily adjust many of the recipes and make them holiday approved.

I’ve already tried Renee’s seared tuna cubes over the holidays to rave reviews, but I’m looking forward to trying the broccoli winter salad below, the gnocchi di casa, sugo della nonna (her grandmother’s Italian marinara sauce), Belgian birthday waffles, lattice minute roast, meat manicotti, honey walnut brittle, irresistible toffee, buttery chocolate scones, deconstructed lemon meringue pie (what an awesome idea!) and more!

Of course I can’t do a cookbook review without giving one lucky winner a chance to own this beauty, so…

To enter to a win a copy of Our Table by Renee Muller,

  1. Comment on this post and share your most memorable meal or dish.
  2. For an extra entry, follow Busy In Brooklyn via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. Just be sure to leave a note in the comment letting me know where you follow.

Giveaway is open to U.S. residents (for international entries, prize can only be shipped in the U.S.). Winner will be chosen at random at 10:00 AM EST on Monday, November 14th, 2016.

Broccoli Winter Salad with Creamy Onion Dressing
from Our Table by Renee Muller
Reproduced with permission from the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications

1 (14-ounce) bag fresh broccoli, larger florets cut into bite-size pieces
1 (4-ounce) bag baby spinach leaves OR any other lettuce
1 large grapefruit, supremed (see Note)
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 avocado, cubed
¼ cup roasted, salted cashews

For the dressing
½ cup oil
½ small onion, chopped
3 Tablespoons honey
¼ cup vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
½ teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine broccoli, spinach, grapefruit, pomegranate seeds, avocado, and cashews.
Prepare the dressing: Place all dressing ingredients into a jar. Blend with an immersion blender until creamy. Drizzle over salad right before serving.

NOTE: A supremed citrus fruit is one that supplies the flesh of the fruit only, no membranes, no pith, only perfect segments that will add a touch of elegance to your salad. It requires a little practice, but once you get the hang of it you will find yourself doing it quite often. Start by trimming off the stem end of the fruit, including about 1/4-inch of flesh, using a small sharp knife. Repeat with other end. Arrange fruit to sit flat on a work surface. Following the contour of the fruit, slice away the peel and white pith from top to bottom. You want to make sure the flesh is visible and you are left with no white pith. Working over a bowl or sink, hold the fruit in one hand. With your other hand, cut alongside one membrane and then alongside the adjacent membrane, releasing the supreme. Carefully transfer segments to a bowl. Repeat until all supremes are removed. Now you will be able to taste the fruit only, with no bitterness whatsoever. I find that even my pickiest eater will enjoy an otherwise daunting grapefruit, if served this way. Try it.

Kaas Potjes (cheese pockets)
from Our Table by Renee Muller
Reproduced with permission from the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications

For the Dough
14 ounces (3½ sticks) butter OR margarine, softened
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
6 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

For the filling
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese (not whipped), softened
5 Tablespoons (⅔ stick) butter, softened
⅔ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, on medium speed, combine softened butter, eggs, and yolks; beat until butter is broken down a bit, about 2 minutes. Add sugar; continue to mix. Slowly add flour and baking powder. Mix until a nice, soft dough forms. (Dough might seem sticky, but that’s OK, once it’s chilled it will be more manageable.) Divide the dough into 3 parts. Place each part into a separate resealable plastic bag; refrigerate, preferably for a few hours or overnight.

Prepare the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine all filling ingredients until creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare standard or mini muffin pans.

Using a box grater, grate one piece of well-chilled dough onto a plate. If the dough hasn’t chilled enough, place it into the freezer for a bit. Refrigerate grated dough until ready to use.
Remove remaining dough from the fridge. Working with one piece at a time, roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut rounds with a 3½-inch round cookie cutter or glass. Place rounds into a muffin tin, pushing down and pressing sides to cover all sides. Fill each with a heaping tablespoon of filling.

Place 1-2 tablespoons grated dough over each cheese pocket (be generous; this is what makes the pockets pretty), pressing down gently to attach them to the cheese filling.
Bake cheese pockets, 25-30 minutes, until golden. Let cool; dust with confectioners’ sugar.

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Apple & Honey Galette

Few things truly blow me away in the foodie world nowadays. After five years of blogging, I’ve come to see it (almost) all. But this guy right here? This guy is something to write home  blog about. I don’t remember when I met Eitan Bernath for the first time, but I do remember watching him on Chopped. This kid isn’t just impressive because he had the confidence to go on national TV as a kosher cook and compete against other kids his age. He’s impressive because he took that experience and turned it into a passionate career, all the while attending Yeshiva and doing all the things that kids do at his age. Besides for running a blog, making appearances and doing cooking demos, Eitan somehow managed to teach himself food photography, and I am blown away! I hope that my kids have even half of his passion, drive and determination someday. Eitan, it’s such a pleasure to have you guest post on my blog, welcome!

P.S. Check out Eitan’s interview with me here!

Hey Guys! My name is Eitan Bernath. I am a teen chef from Teaneck, New Jersey. I am so excited to be guest posting on Chanie’s blog while she’s enjoying time with her new baby. You may know me as the Jewish kid who appeared on “Chopped” on the Food Network, a little over 2 years ago. Now at 14 I have a full career as a recipe developer, food photographer, chef and foodie personality in the culinary world. Check out my food blog, CookWithChefEitan.com where I post new fun recipes every Sunday.

Chanie is a legend in the kosher food blogging world and was one of the people who inspired me to start my blog. I am a big fan of many of her recipes. One of my favorites is her Drunken Hasselback Salami. It is awesome! If you haven’t tried it yet, then you clearly are living under a rock! It’s so cool to be guest posting on her blog today! Thank you Chanie!

I am sharing with all of you my Apple Galette recipe. Pie dough has always intimidated me for some reason. As someone who tends to stick to the culinary side of the field, I don’t bake often. But after taking the pastry class at ICC this past summer, I have begun to experiment more in the kitchen with baking.

So a few weeks ago I randomly decided to attempt to make pie dough. After letting it chill in the fridge, I rolled out the dough and filled it with a filling of sliced apples, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. I baked it off in the oven and waited for it to finished baking. (Now I’m a 14 year old in the 21st century. I don’t really know what patience is and the pie filled the entire house with with a warm, delicious smell. So that was like the longest hour of my life!)

I took it out of the oven, cut myself a slice, and tried it. It was the BEST pie I had ever had in my life! The dough was perfectly flaky. The filling perfectly sweet. It was perfect! My first attempt at pie dough was a success! I will definitely be making many more pies! Comment below and let me know about your first time making pie.

This Apple Galette recipe is perfect for Rosh Hashanah and even for the rest of the upcoming Chagim. It’s great for breakfast, warmed up with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream or even anytime of the day. Also, I definitely suggest drizzling your slice with even more honey. Because, can you really ever have too much honey? Enjoy!

Apple & Honey Galette

5 apples, peeled and sliced ⅛ inch thick
½ cup brown sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 tbsp honey, plus more for drizzling
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1 recipe pie dough (recipe follows)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl combine the apples, brown sugar, honey, butter, and cinnamon and set aside. Roll out one of the disks of dough into a circle until it’s about 1/8th of an inch thick. Place on a greased or parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Transfer half of the apple filling in the center of the dough, leaving about 2 inches on the edges. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling, but leave a center of exposed filling. Brush the dough with the egg wash then sprinkle with some more cinnamon sugar. Using a piece of tin foil, cover the open middle part of filling so that only the dough is exposed. Bake covered at 400 for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, lower the temperature to 350 and continue baking for another 10 minutes. Remove the tin foil and continue baking for 20 minutes and then remove from the oven. Repeat with the other disk of pie dough to create a second galette.

Serve warm with ice cream and an extra drizzle of honey (optional).

Pie Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 sticks of cold butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 egg
⅓ cup ice cold water

Method:

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut the butter into the flour with your hands. You want the butter to be the size of peas.

In a small bowl combine the water and egg. Pour the the mixture into the flour and mix until it just comes together.

Split the dough into 2 equal pieces and wrap in plastic wrap. Place them in the fridge for at least an hour before using.

Related Recipes:

honey hasselback baked apples
apple and honey tart
honey cake with caramelized apples

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Chocolate Meltaway Cake

You know those insane 3-tier cakes that you see at fancy birthday parties or weddings (like these)? Well Melissa of Lil’ Miss Cakes is one of the bakers that makes those beautiful creations and I’m super stoked to have her guest post on my blog today! This whole guest blogging thing is so exciting for me because I get to introduce you to some of my all time favorite blogger friends and Melissa is one of them. I love how she posts accessible recipes for us non-professionals (like these stained glass cookies or these pumpkin chai hamantaschen). She’s really bringing it today with her twist on a yeasted babka or kokosh cake. I love me some babka, but the only time I ever make it is when I have leftover challah dough (and I don’t bake challah very often). Enter Melissa’s babka hack and you can be making a no-yeast chocolate meltaway anytime. I can’t wait to try it!

Welcome Melissa!

one of Melissa’s beautiful cakes

Hey hey! I’m Melissa of Lil’ Miss Cakes. Over on my site I kind of do it all. I share my creative cakes, share delicious and dairy-free dessert recipes, and I also design and sell custom cookie cutters. I love Chanie and her blog, she is super talented. Her food photography is stunning and her recipes are spot on, I can always find the perfect family friendly recipe to whip up for dinner. I’m so happy that the blogging world has brought us together and I’m so excited to share a recipe here with you! Thank you so much, Chanie for allowing me to guest post and congrats on your daughter, she is gorgeous! Sit back, relax, and enjoy her!

Since we all don’t always have lots of time to bake, I like to come up with impressive desserts that don’t take all day in the kitchen. I had been craving a chocolate babka/kokosh cake for a long time, but making a yeast dough is too time consuming, and doesn’t always turn out well. I needed a cake that I can mix up and bake quickly, as soon as the mood strikes. It had to be fudgy and super chocolatey, with easy to find ingredients. This cake does it all! It looks really impressive, but whips up in no time. There are a few dishes to wash, but you won’t be waiting for dough to rise all day long. There is no rolling out dough, twisting, shaping, second rising. None of that. Just mix, add to the pan, and bake. The cake is moist and tender, the chocolate is oozes everywhere, and the crumbs give the perfect amount of crunch. The best part of it all, this recipe is pareve, but I bet you won’t be able to tell!

Chocolate Meltaway Cake

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup dairy free sour cream or unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup margarine, melted or oil

Crumb Topping:
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla sugar
2 Tbs. oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 inch square or round cake pan with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low to combine. Then add the eggs, sour cream, soy milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Mix up the chocolate topping. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and margarine. Dollop the chocolate all over the cake batter and then using a knife or a spatula, to swirl/spread the chocolate and cake together.

Mix up the crumb topping. In a small bowl mix the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, and oil. Stir until large crumbs form. Sprinkle the crumbs all over the top of the cake. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cake is set and the edges are slightly brown.

Related Recipes:

Melissa’s cinnamon roll cake

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