Category: Snacks

Chocolate Olive Oil Crinkle Gelt Cookies

I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about a post before. I mean, have you seen these cookies? If you think they look gorgeous in the picture, JUST. WAIT. TILL. YOU. MAKE. THEM.

My excitement over baked goods needs some explaining, I know. You see, as I’ve mentioned many times on my blog, I’m not the biggest baker. But I had this epiphany one night. I was thinking about crinkle cookies, and how you get those beautiful cracks in the cookie when it bakes. Traditionally, crinkle cookies are rolled in confectionary sugar, so they result in a beautiful zebra-like design. I figured, if I spray the cookies with edible gold spray paint, they’ll kind of look like a crumpled up foil wrapper from those chocolate Chanukah gelt coins. Am I right?

I thought about this one night last week and I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep. First thing the next morning, I ran to the store to collect my ingredients. My friends over at Colavita had recently sent me a few samples of their amazing olive oil, and I knew I had to incorporate it into the recipe. After all, isn’t it the miracle of olive oil that we celebrate on Chanukah? Luckily, Colavita included their 100% GREEK olive oil, and that just put it over the top. Olive oil and chocolate make a wonderful combination, so I set out developing a recipe for fudgy and delicious crinkle cookies. A few hours and a messy kitchen later, I hit the jackpot. To intensify the chocolate flavor without having to melt down chocolate over a double-boiler (I’m always looking for the easy way out, aren’t I?), I added some coffee and used dutch process cocoa powder. The result is a chewy, intensely-flavored chocolate cookie that’s reminiscent of brownies, but oh so much prettier!

To round out my Hanukkah cookie theme, I topped the cookies off with some real chocolate gelt coins. They’ve gone a long way since the waxy variety that used to be available. Nowadays, some of the chocolate gelt is made from real Belgian dark chocolate. So tell me, does it get any better than fudgy chocolate cookies topped with real dark chocolate?

In my special kosher package from Colavita, I received 4 bottles of their amazing premium world selection first cold pressed extra virgin olive oils, including:

Colavita 100% Argentinian Fruity
Colavita 100% Greek Classic
Colavita 100% Californian Mild
Colavita Private Selection 100% Italian

To celebrate Chanukah and these delicious cookies, Colavita is giving away free olive oil samples to one of my readers!

To enter the giveaway, and to get into the Hanukkah spirit, leave a comment letting me know your favorite deep fried foods! Also, if you don’t already follow me on facebook, like the BIB page here. Winner will be chosen at random at 11:00 PM Wednesday, December 12th.

Colavita is also generously offering a 25% discount to all my readers in honor of Hanukkah. Use coupon code BIB25 at checkout. Off expires 1/31/13.

Chanukah Greek Olive Oil Crinkle Cookies

2 cups flour
1 cup dutch process cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup Colavita 100% Greek olive oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1/4 cup water
Wilton gold color mist food spray
chocolate Chanukah gelt coins

Method:

In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and coffee. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well to combine. If any lumps remain, stir the mixture with a hand-mixer until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Place the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

Roll 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into a ball and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure to roll the batter quickly (otherwise the heat of your hands will make it sticky). Repeat with remaining batter.

Spray the cookies with gold spray paint and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.

While the cookies are still a little warm (but not too hot that they will melt the chocolate), press chocolate coins into the center of each cookie.

VARIATION: Spray the cookies with silver color mist and top with milk chocolate coins. If you prefer not to use color mist, you can roll the cookies in turbinado or powdered sugar instead.

NOTE: If you do not have Colavita 100% Greek olive oil, you may substitute with any other olive oil.

YIELDS: 3 dozen cookies


1 year ago: chanukah cookies
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Passion for Persimmon: Salad & Sorbet

I’ve blogged about persimmon before, but I couldn’t help exploring the overlooked fruit again since I just. can’t. get. enough. I first fell in love with persimmon when I went to seminary in Israel, where they can be found in abundance.

The most important thing to know about persimmon is this: there are 2 different types, fuyu and hachiya. They can both be enjoyed during the fall months, you just need to know how to eat them.

Don’t worry, I’ve pretty much got it all down pat. Read on and you’ll soon be on your way to persimmon heaven.

Fuyu persimmon have a squatted flat shape, almost like a tomato. They can be eaten when firm, but are best when they are just the slightest bit soft and orange in color.

My favorite way to enjoy fuju persimmon is in a salad. Use it as you would mango or papaya.

Fuyu persimmon also benefit from roasting with warm spices like cinnamon and allspice with a drizzle of honey.

Kale Salad with Persimmon & Pomegranate

1 bunch kale leaves, center ribs and stems removed
2 fuyu persimmon, hulled, peeled and chopped
1 pomegranate, deseeded (how to deseed a pomegranate)
1 avocado, cubed
1 small red onion, sliced thinly into half rings

Dressing:
1/4 cup extra light olive oil
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey
salt & pepper, to taste

Method:

Tear kale into pieces and place in a large bowl, Add persimmon and pomegranate and mix to combine.

Add dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk to emulsify. Pour over salad before serving.

VARIATION: If persimmon are not in season, you may substitute with mango or peaches.

TIP: I have read that massaging the kale helps to get rid of it’s bitter aftertaste.

 

Hachiya persimmon are oval-shaped and cannot be eaten unless they are incredibly ripe – almost to the point of looking rotten. Unripe hachiya persimmon will leave a dry, pithy substance in your mouth that will make you want to scream :)

My favorite way to enjoy hachiya persimmon (short of eating the silky smooth pulp with a spoon) is freezing them for a few hours until the liquid turns into a creamy sorbet. One taste and you’d never imagine it was that easy!

The silky pump of hachiya persimmons can also be mixed into baked goods like cakes and pies as well as puddings and smoothies.

 

Hachiya Persimmon Sorbet

1 very ripe hachiya persimmon

Method:

Wash the persimmon and place in the freezer for 2-4 hours, until slushy, but not frozen solid. Turn upside down and slice off the tip. Scoop out the creamy flesh and enjoy.

1 year ago: apple celery veggie dip

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Banana Oat Muffins

There’s something about the stormy weather that just makes you want to stay inside and bake. So while my kids cozied up to warm mugs of hot cocoa, I decided to make use of my overripe bananas. It seems like every time I buy a bunch, they always seem to ripen faster than we can eat them. Usually, I just put them in the freezer to use for smoothies, but with Hurricane Sandy about to make an entrance, I just feel like nesting. And just in case any of my Brooklyn neighbors decide to brave the Frankenstorm for Halloween treats, I’ll have something to give them (although they’d probably rather some kit kats!)

Talking about storms, I have to be honest with you all. Lately, I’ve been cooking up some storms of my own. With the busy month of holidays behind us, I took a little break, but now I’m back to hosting big Shabbat meals again. I’ve been making lots of new delicious recipes, but I haven’t been able to find the time to photograph anything! Especially with Fridays getting shorter, and my menu’s growing more adventurous, it’s been difficult to document my foodie experiments. I still make an effort to post my weekly menu’s on my facebook page, and I’m happy to share recipes whenever I get a request. So if you don’t already follow BIB on facebook, feel free to join in on the fun.

In the meantime, stay safe and bake up a batch of these delicious muffins before your electricity goes out! The oats add a wonderful texture to the muffins and unlike most banana bread recipes, these are not too sweet, so they are perfect drizzled with some honey, alongside a cup of steaming hot coffee.

Banana Oat Muffins
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, mashed

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly beat (or whisk) the egg. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, whisking to combine. Slowly add the flour mixture into the banana mixture and stir to combine. Pour the batter into muffin tins and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.


1 year ago: roasted eggplants with Israeli salad

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Rainbow Cupcakes

We all know I’m not much of a baker, but when my newsfeed got flooded with Noah rainbow crafts of all kinds, I was inspired to create something fun with my kids. All those multicolored rainbow cakes were definitely out of my league, mixing one batter is enough for me – forget 6! (not to mention all that unhealthy food coloring). Inspiration struck from my pinterest crafting board, where I pinned this cupcake idea a while back. I simplified the idea by using a simple glaze instead of a buttercream, as well as mini marshmallows instead of pastry cream. The results are absolutely adorable! Feel free to use your favorite cupcake recipe, or follow my easy no-mixer recipe below.

*In the story of Noah, G-d promised never to destroy the world again with a flood, and as a symbol of that promise, he made a rainbow appear.

Rainbow Cupcakes

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup orange juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
blue food coloring
rainbow sour belt candy
mini marshmallows

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk flour, sugar and baking powder to combine. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, orange juice, oil and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into cupcake tins filled with liners, until they are 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine the confectioners sugar with the milk and stir until smooth. Add a few drops of food coloring, until the glaze reaches a deep sky blue. Once the cupcakes are cooled, spread the glaze over them. Allow the glaze to set for a few minutes and prepare the decorations.

For each cupcake, set aside 1 sour belt and 3 mini marshmallows. With a knife, or using your hands, pull each marshmallow apart into 2 pieces (this will expose the sticky part and help them stick together). Press 3 marshmallow halves together to form clouds. Take the sour belt candy and gently press each side into the cupcakes to form a loop. Place the clouds on each side of the rainbow, pressing down to secure it in the icing.

Yields approximatley 24 cupcakes.

1 year ago: 3 layer chocolate cake martini

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Apple & Honey Tart


You’ll never believe how easy this beautiful tart is to make. It only requires 4 ingredients, and the dough isn’t even homemade!  The secret to this scrumptious dessert is puff pastry. I’m a huge fan of puff pastry because as most of you already know, I don’t like to bake, and it comes already prepared in the freezer section of every supermarket. I’ve been known to sneak puff pastry into just about any recipe that calls for a dough, even rugelach and hamantaschen!


Truth be told, I can’t take all the credit for this simple, elegant and delicious dessert. Last year, my wonderful sister-in-laws decided to treat me out to a fun evening at the Kosher Culinary Institute for my birthday. It was a special “date night” class, so my husband joined me in preparing a gourmet meal together with a few other couples. We really enjoyed the evening and I’m sorry to say that I don’t remember exactly what was on the menu. What I do remember is making spaetzle from scratch, whipping up cherry clafoutis for dessert, and what was a mere afterthought of the chef – a version of this apple tart.

For other sweet puff pastry ideas, check out Dina’s apple turnovers or my sweet potato bourekas on kosherstreet.

 

Apple & Honey Tart

1-2 crispy sweet apples, cored and thinly sliced (unpeeled)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup honey
1/2 lemon
powdered sugar, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unfold puff pastry sheet and cut it in half down the center (don’t worry about the creases from the folding, they will disappear during baking). Place the halves on a greased cookie sheet.

Add honey to a microwave-proof bowl and heat in the microwave until warm, about 20 seconds. Brush the puff pastry with the warm honey. Mix the apple slices with lemon juice and place them along the length of the puff pastry, overlapping over each other. Brush the apples with additional honey (warm the honey again, if necessary). Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until pastry has puffed up and is golden brown around the edges.

Drizzle with additional honey and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

This tart cannot be frozen (the apples will turn soggy) but it may be prepared in advance. Just warm it in the oven to crisp up the pastry before serving.

NOTE: Don’t worry if some of the honey syrup leaks off the puff pastry during baking. It will actually help caramelize the puff pastry around the edges. Just remove the puff pastry to a cooling rack as soon as you take it out of the oven.

TIP: Always make sure your puff pastry is cold otherwise it may become difficult to handle. If the dough becomes sticky, just return it to the fridge so that it can firm up again.

VARIATION: Try this tart with other fruits like sliced pears or peaches, or for a delicious dairy option, spread some goat cheese on the puff pastry, and top with figs and honey.

 

1 year ago: honey cake with caramelized apples

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