Category: Dessert

Cranberry Oat Bars

Why is it that so many people have leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving. I  LOVE cranberry sauce. I can eat it by the spoonful. Is it just me?

Not really a fan of the traditional cranberry sauce recipes with a cup of sugar though. They’re too sweet for my taste, and I don’t want to mask the amazing tartness of the cranberries!

So I cook my cranberry sauce down in red wine, or pomegranate juice, or even apple cider, and I sweeten it with maple syrup or honey, to taste, and THAT, my friends, is how you make cranberry sauce that doesn’t get relegated to the back of the fridge with the tzimmes. IfyouknowwhatImean!

But IF, if you make bomb cranberry sauce and you still have some leftover – well then cranberry oat bars it is. And the pecans add just the perfect amount of buttery nuttiness to top it off for the perfect post-Thanksgiving breakfast.

I mean, how. GOOD. does. that. look?
You know you want it.

Happy Thanksgiving y’all!!

Cranberry Oat Bars

2 c all purpose flour
1 c almond flour (see note)
1 ½ c quick oats
1 c granulated sugar
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
1 egg
1 cup flavorless oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 c chopped pecans
1 recipe maple cider cranberry sauce or mulled wine cranberry sauce

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, oats, sugars, baking powder and salt; whisk to incorporate. In a small bowl, combine egg, oil, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry
ingredients, mixing until a dough forms.
3. Remove half of the mixture into a bowl and add the pecans. Reserve for topping. a
4. Press the remaining batter into a parchment lined quarter baking sheet or a 9×13 pan.
5. Spread cranberry sauce over the bars (if the sauce is watery, cook in a pot until thickened); top with pecan crumble.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until browned. Cool completely; cut into squares.

VARIATION: use canned jellied cranberry sauce in place of homemade, or any jam of your choice.

NOTE: if you don’t have almond flour, you may use an additional cup of all purpose flour.

Related Recipes:

pumpkin pancakes with cranberry syrup
pecan pie lace cookies with raspberry filling
gingerbread truffles

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Bubby’s Marble Cake

I think about my Bubby a lot this time of year. Oh how I miss her. 

On the eve of Yom Kippur, just as we finished the first pre-fast meal, we’d walk over to her house to ask for a piece of lekach, or honey cake. This custom was instituted as a means of asking for something, in case it had been decreed that during the year one would need to resort to a handout from others, the decree would be satisfied with the asking for honey cake.

(Bubby’s recipe cards for Marble Cake)

One by one, my siblings and I would walk over to Bubby and whisper in yiddish, “Biteh ken ich huben lekach“, or “Please can I have a piece of honey cake”. We didn’t speak yiddish from home, but it was customary to ask in the yiddish language, and Bubby would wait patiently until we said it before handing us a piece wrapped in a white napkin. She would bless us with a myriad of blessings for the year, kissing our foreheads as the line to retrieve her cake wrapped in blessings continued to grow with cousins, aunts and uncles.

When my Zaidy was still alive, we were lucky enough to be blessed by his holy hands, as he cried and patted us on on the forehead in the way only he knew how.

On Sukkos, our house was permeated with the smell of Bubby’s stuffed cabbage and there was nothing like it. Her secret was adding ketchup to the meat mixture to keep it soft, sweet and juicy. And it was the BEST.

But really, Bubby was known for her cakes, and when my mom was growing up, she would always come home to a freshly baked cake after school each day. There was Bubby’s chocolate cake, her honey cake, blueberry pie cake, and of course, her marble cake. And I’m so proud to share a little piece of her with you all as I think of her this holiday season.

Chag Sameach!

Bubby’s Marble Cake

2 cups sugar
1 cup neutral flavored oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup water
2 tbsp dutch process cocoa powder

Method:

Grease a 9×13 inch pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla (you can do this by hand or with a mixer). In a second bowl, combine the flour and the baking powder. Slowly add the flour mixture and water to the wet ingredients, alternating between them until incorporated.

Pour 2/3rds of the cake batter into the pan. Add cocoa powder to the remaining batter in your mixing bowl. Add dollops of the chocolate mixture to the vanilla batter in the pan and use a knife to swirl it to create a marbleized effect.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Related Recipes:

Bubby’s challah kugel
Bubby’s cabbage soup with flanken

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Smoothies Two Ways!

I’ve never been a big smoothie drinker, and mostly because I just find it a hassle to have to blend everything up. You have to shlep out the blender, clean it after, and all for a drink? It doesn’t seem worth it.

But a new product on the market has totally revolutionized the smoothie industry – Swirbie! The fruit comes in nifty pods that all but dissolve in your drink, no blender required. I am hooked!

My kids have been drinking smoothies all summer, no blender necessary, and we even get to prepare smoothies on Shabbos. I love to add the pods to coconut water, seltzer or different varieties of milk for a truly refreshing drink.

One of the best parts about the pods is that since they’re frozen, you don’t need to add ice, so there’s no watering down your drink. I call that a win-win!

This chili lime smoothie was inspired by Trader Joes viral chili lime seasoning, and I’ve been drinking it on repeat, it’s that good!

Chili Lime Mango Smoothie

2 Swirbie mango pods
1 cup coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp honey, or, to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
tajin spice or Trader Joes chili lime seasoning, for the rim, optional

Method:

Add mango pods, coconut milk, lime juice, honey and cayenne to a mason jar and shake until the mango dissolves. Rub the lime around the rim of your serving glass and dip in tajin spice. Pour the mango smoothie into the glass and serve immediately.

One of my favorite smoothie blends that I picked up from living in Israel is banana + date + tahini + milk. The flavors pair really well and it makes for a filling breakfast on the go.

And for a truly decadent treat, top off your smoothie with some shredded halva (or halva floss, as I like to call it!), it really takes it over the top.

Swirbie pods are available in strawberry, mango, peach, blueberry, banana and spinach flavors. You can use them on their own or blend two flavors together for an equally delicious drink!

You can find Swirbie pods in the freezer section of your local kosher supermarket.

Banana Tahini Smoothie

3 Swirbie banana pods
1 cup almond milk
2 tbsp raw tahini
1 tbsp silan (date honey)
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt
sesame seeds and halva, for serving, optional

Method:

Add banana pods, almond milk, tahini, silan, cinnamon and salt to a mason jar and shake until the banana dissolves. Dip the rim of your serving glass in tahini and dip in sesame seeds. Pour the banana smoothie into the glass, top with shredded halva and serve immediately.

This post is sponsored by Swirbie.

 

Related Recipes:

pear ginger and oat smoothie
pumpkin pie smoothie
tahini frappuccino

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S’mores Rice Krispies Treats

I gotta hand this one to my son, who came up with this glorious concoction all by himself during our grocery haul on Friday! He gets it from his momma :)

I let him work out the details on his own, pick out the ingredients at the store, and then plan it out when we got home. Lets not talk about the mess! There was lots of sticky fluff everywhere, cereal all over the floor and melted chocolate drizzled in places, but he was SO PROUD of his first real success in the kitchen and I was too!

Wishing you are yours a healthy and happy s’mores with plenty of delicious treats!

S’mores Rice Krispies Treats

16oz. marshmallow fluff
5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
6 graham crackers, crushed
9oz. mini chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil, butter or trans fat free margarine

Method:

Using a greased spatula, transfer the marshmallow fluff to a microwave-safe container and microwave until melted, about 1 minute. Add the Rice Krispies and half of the graham crackers to a large mixing bowl and stir in the fluff, mix until incorporated. Stir in 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips. Transfer the Rice Krispies to a greased 9×13 pan pan, pressing down to flatten and smooth out the cereal.

Add the remaining chocolate chips and oil to a bowl and microwave in 15 second increments, until melted and smooth. Pour the chocolate over the Rice Krispies and spread evenly. Top with remaining crushed graham crackers, and salt, if desired.

Refrigerate the treats until solid and slice into squares.

VARIATION: to up the ante on these, use marshmallows instead of fluff and toast them over the fire before mixing into the s’mores. Then finish the s’mores with some Maldon salt!

 

Related Recipes:

s’mores corn flake clusters
s’mores oatmeal
s’mores cookies
s’mores chocolate toffee bark

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Whipped Strawberry Frosé

Oh.
My.
Gawd.

Blame it on quarantine but we’ve all got cocktails on our minds, AmIright?! I mean, I may or may have not been sneaking some Frangelico into my iced coffee in the morning, and I’ve been known to kick back a glass (or two) of red in the evenings. But THIS? This is something else.

Inspired by the whipped coffee trend that has taken the internet by storm, this WHIPPED STRAWBERRY Frosé turns the classic on it’s head by folding the strawberry and lemon into whipped cream, and leaving the Rosé to shine on it’s own in all it’s glory. Which also means, lets prep and more drinking time!

So step aside Dalgona coffee, there’s a new whipped drink in town! L’chaim!

Whipped Strawberry Frosé
YIELD: 4 servings

1 750ml bottle Rosé
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cups strawberry puree (see note)
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
fresh strawberries, for serving

Method:

Pour Rosé into a 9×13 pan and freeze until almost solid (it won’t completely solidify due to the alcohol), at least 6 hours.

In a bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the the powdered sugar, strawberry puree and lemon juice.

Divide the slushy Rosé between four glasses. Top with strawberry whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

NOTE: to make the strawberry puree, blend about 14oz. fresh strawberries in a food processor blender.

VARIATION: You can also make traditional Frosé by blending chilled Rosé with 2 cups frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup simple syrup and 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice until slushy. Serve immediately.

ADVANCE PREPARATION: you can prepare the strawberry whipped cream a day or two in advance and store in an airtight container. Freeze the Rosé the night before serving.

Related Recipes:

passion fruit colada
sangria
amaretto affogato

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