Category: Snacks

Torah Cannoli

Holy Cannoli! Someones gonna have to bring me a slice of humble pie because I’m on a bit of a high from how cute these Torah Cannoli are! (by the way that’s not a typo – the plural form of cannoli is cannoli…a little Wikipedia for you!)

I always say, food is my passion but my kids are my priority. I love being a mom and I don’t ever want being a foodie, blogger, chef, or whatever it is I am, get in the way of that. SO while I try to come up with fun and sophisticated holiday dishes, I also do my best to tap into my inner child and do something fun for the kiddos too.

In the past, I’ve made Torah franks in blanks like these (photo by Tzivi Brick Jakubovic), but this year, I wanted to do something fun with my daughter’s class in honor of her 8th birthday, which is just a few short weeks before Shavuot. One night when I couldn’t sleep (I have terrible insomnia these days), these cannoli torah’s hit me and I was only too excited to make them! I used a cream cheese mousse filling instead of the more sophisticated classic ricotta filling to make it more kid friendly, and the kids went gaga!

They all took turns prepping the recipe – whipping up the cream cheese and heavy cream, folding the mixture together, and giving out the ingredients for everyone to make their own. They “glued” the cannoli wafers with marshmallow fluff and we made a few Ziploc piping bags of filling so they could all pipe their own. Needless to say, the most fun was dipping the Torah’s in the assorted toppings.

Some of the kids wrapped up their Torah Cannoli to take home, but most of them couldn’t wait it out and gobbled it down on the spot. One kid said it was the best thing she ever tasted! I knew I had a winner, I just didn’t know if it was blog-worthy so I figured I’d skip on posting. Until, I was making my rosewater cheesecake mousse parfaits at a cooking demo recently, and I decided to show the audience the Torah cannoli idea with some of the leftover cheesecake mousse. After an audible “wow” from the audience (the best sound EVER when you’re giving a demo), I decided it was too good not to share with you all too.

I love to check things off my bucket list and making things like homemade goat cheese ice cream or a sophisticated dish like brie marsala pizza gives me a huge sense of satisfaction, but seriously, nothing, and I mean nothing, makes me more proud or excited, than coming up with something fun and original that my kids absolutely love!

So kiddies, this ones for you! And that classic citrus-zest-spiked filling is my little touch for the adults too :)

If you want to skip on the filling, fill it with your favorite mousse or plain-old whipped cream. The important thing is to have some fun, for the kids, and for you too! Happy Shavuot y’all!

Torah Cannoli

1 pkg cannoli wafer rolls (18 rolls), such as Presidor
2 cups ricotta cheese (drain if watery)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
1/2 tsp lemon or orange zest (optional)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup melted chocolate or marshmallow fluff
assorted sprinkles, mini chocolate chips and nonpareils for topping
powdered sugar, for finishing

Method:

Place melted chocolate or warmed marshmallow fluff in a piping bag and pipe a thin line onto half of the cannoli wrappers. “Glue” pairs of cannoli wrappers together to resemble Torah scrolls.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, citrus zest and chocolate chips. Place in a piping bag. Pipe the filling into both sides of the cannoli wrappers, working one at a time. Over a plate, sprinkle your favorite toppings over the exposed ricotta filling (dipping the ends causes them to flatten, so I prefer pouring the toppings over). Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

NOTE: The filling causes the cannoli wafer to soften, so if preparing in advance, it’s best to freeze rather than refrigerate.

VARIATION: You may use this cream cheese mousse, your favorite mousse, softened ice cream or whipped cream instead of the classic ricotta filling.

DIY OPTION: If you cannot get cannoli wafer rolls, you can make your own or use wonton wrappers. You will need cannoli molds to form the wrappers.

Related Posts:

Shavuot paper napkin roses
passion fruit cream horns
rosewater cheesecake mousse parfaits
halva and ricotta stuffed figs

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Tahini Puppy Chow + Sesame Chex® Party Mix

So we survived Passover. Eight days of gluten free, minimally processed food with no legumes, beans, seeds or bread! But most importantly, NO CEREAL.

I don’t know if the no cereal thing is harder on me or my kids. I’m a huge cereal fan – not really as a breakfast thing, but more of a “I don’t feel like eating dinner” afterthought. My kids are definitely into the cereal breakfast thing, and that was probably the hardest part about the holiday. So much so, that instead of a post Passover pizza party, we skip the lines and head to a large grocery to stock up on all sorts of cereal. Then, we go at it, one bowl after another of crunchy sweet goodness in ice cold milk. Really, is there anything better?

Well now that you ask, there kinda is. And that’s cereal coated in chocolate, butter and powdered sugar – also known as – MUDDY BUDDIES or PUPPY CHOW! Puppy chow is a seriously addictive treat, and I love to make it using one of my all time favorite cereals, corn Chex®.

The problem with making classic muddy buddies is that my son is allergic to peanut butter, and keeping sugar coated anything away from a toddler is pretty impossible. So, I opted for the next best thing – tahini! Tahini makes an amazing substitute for peanut butter, and in it’s purest form (which you can get a taste of at Tahini King in the Machane Yehudah shuk), it kinda tastes like it too. Case in point: I made this batch and my tahini-hating kids gobbled it up! But my tahini-loving sister totally got the sesame notes, and when I told her there was tahini inside, my 9 year old perked up with, “What??? This has tahini???!!!”

So yeah – this ones a crowd pleaser – kids and adults alike. Tahini lovers and haters. Plus all the gluten free and vegan people too. In a word: ALLERGY FRIENDLY party food, yayyyyyyy!

Tahini Puppy Chow

4 heaping cups Chex® rice, corn or wheat cereal (or a mix)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup tahini
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Method:

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate, tahini, butter and honey until smooth. Mix in the vanilla and salt. Add the cereal and stir until evenly coated.

In a large Ziploc bag, mix the powdered sugar, cinnamon and sesame seeds. Add the coated cereal and shake the bag until it’s evenly coated. Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet to cool.

Store in an airtight container (it won’t last long!)


Now you can’t make puppy chow without at least thinking about party mix – that classic, fun worcestershire-laced finger snack filled with Chex® cereal, pretzels, nuts and bagel chips. Of course I never manage to make the stuff, but now that I had the tahini puppy chow on hand, I couldn’t resist putting together a sesame mix!

So, what do you add to a tahini-coated cereal mix filled with sesame? Well round sesame pretzels of course. And then those addictive cracker-coated peanuts with sesame, called kabukim. And if we’re talking sesame, you can’t leave out the most classic sesame snack – halva! Put them all together and you’ll be in sesame heaven!

Party on my friends, party on.

Sesame Chex® Party Mix

1 recipe tahini puppy chow
round sesame pretzels
sesame kabukim (crispy coated peanuts), optional
marbled halva

Add all ingredients to a bowl. Mix lightly and enjoy!

VARIATION: Feel free to add dried fruits like figs, apricots or dates, sunflower seeds or chocolate covered halva!


Related Recipes:

speculoos puppy chow
halva krembos
sweet tahini dip
halva and ricotta stuffed figs

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Parmesan Roasted Almonds

Somebody pinch me. Is Pesach really in less than a month? Ahhhhhhhhh

That’s not to say I’m making Pesach this year, because I plan to avoid that catastrophic monster of a gluten free cookfest for as long as I can. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind helping in the kitchen at all, in fact, I enjoy coming up with original dishes as a result of our strict Passover restrictions. But the thought of actually hosting meal after meal for eight days straight is not exactly appealing to me.


So, I’ll be helping out in my mom’s kitchen this year. And I plan to do a lot of spiralizing. We’ll be eating plenty of zoodles and sweet potato rice – a healthier alternative to the overused spud.

Meals are not that much of an issue – we always have my mom’s Passover gefilte fish, mason jars filled with pickled cucumber salad, beet “vinaigrette”, ratatouille and mock chopped liver. There are also the traditional Pesach dishes like scrambled hard boiled eggs, orange chicken and sweet nut omelettes. But snacks? other than bananas and the occasional piece of dark chocolate, we’re out of options.

Last year, I made these sugared almonds, but as my palate has taken a turn for the savory, I came up with an even tastier version, minus the sugar. Parmesan roasted almonds are completely addictive, and they make the most amazing croutons over lettuce! If you make your own mayo, a Passover Caesar salad can now be on the menu, without losing out on the crunchy crouton goodness.

Making these croutons the other day was an admission that Pesach is coming, whether we like it or not. But it was also a realization that it can be oh. so. delicious.

More fun and innovative Passover recipes recipes are coming your way soon, so stay tuned!

Parmesan Roasted Almonds

2 cups unsalted almonds (.75 lb)
1 egg white
1/2 cup Natural & Kosher Cheese grated parmesan
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix the parmesan cheese with the spices. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy, add the nuts and stir until coated. Sprinkle the parmesan mixture over the nuts and mix until coated. Arrange the nuts in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and fragrant. Cool for at least 1 hour.

Remove the nuts from the baking sheet. Break into bite- sized pieces and store in an airtight container.



This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

Related Recipes:

gluten free broccoli parmesan poppers
gluten free roasted eggplant parmesan
gluten free pesto zucchini fries
pesto baked salmon

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Ice Cream Sundae Cookies

It’s been a while since I made real cookies. Well on the blog at least (chocolate chip cookies are a regular around here, who can live without them?!). So many of you loved my healthy cowboy cookie dough bites, as do I. But there is no substitute for real crispy, chocolatey, chewy cookies, am I right?!

With Purim just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to come up with a cookie that could work both in a shalach manot basket, as well as a fun dessert for the festive Purim meal. Filling the cookie dough with fun ice cream sundae toppings makes this “kitchen sink” cookie a must have for the whole family!

The only thing better than the cookies themselves might be the raw cookie dough, or better yet, creating an ice cream sandwich with my favorite Neapolitan ice cream in between. Lets not count the calories, ok??

These cookies make the most out of California Gourmet’s new mini chocolate chips, which I might just love more than the original (if that is even possible!).  I’m a big supporter of their brand because it was started by a fellow momtrepreneur who has a passion for bringing amazing quality, kosher, vegan, allergy-friendly chocolate to the masses. She is basically my hero.

So how can we support this brand? Well it doesn’t take much – eat lots of chocolate! And once you try their rich, clean flavor, you’ll never go back. Trust me.

Now California Gourmet is available in over 300 stores in the U.S. and Australia, but if you live under a rock, you can STILL get it because it’s now available on Amazon (soon to be available on Amazon Prime)! And if your local store runs out, don’t forget to ask them to reorder so there’s enough to go around for all of us.

Now back to the cookies. Crunchy. Chewy. Chock full of sprinkles, chocolate chips and sugar cones – yes please! I think they’d make the cutest mishloach manos in a little box with a tub of ice cream and a jar of sprinkles or maraschino cherries. Don’t you?

What have you got planned for shalach manos this year? I’d love to hear your ideas! Share them with me in the comments below!

And in the meantime, go buy some ice cream, because you’re gonna need it!!

Ice Cream Sundae Cookies

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
3 sugar cones, crushed (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup California Gourmet mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup colorful sprinkles
ice cream, optional

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix to form a dough. Add sugar cone pieces, mini chocolate chips and sprinkles. Using an ice cream scoop, place scoops of cookie dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet (6 per sheet). Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before serving.

VARIATION: For a fun variation and crispy exterior, instead of putting the sugar cone into the cookie dough, roll the scoops of batter into the crushed cone and bake as above.

Yield: approximately 16 cookies.


This post is sponsored by California Gourmet Chocolate Chips. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   View the list of over 300 stores that carry the brand here).

Other Mishloach Manos Ideas:

Purim deviled eggs
Terra Stix white chocolate bark
Pretzels with raspberry honey mustard dip
Sushan sushi salad

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Blogoversary Funfetti Pecan Turtles

Happy 5th Blogoversary!!!! Will somebody pinch me?! I honestly cannot believe that I have been blogging since my first post back on January 19th, 2011. That is FIVE WHOLE YEARS of posting consistently 1-2 times a week. 260 weeks, 1,825 days of committing myself to this foodie journey. A journey that has taken me to places I never dreamed.

I never imagined this blogging thing would become a life’s passion and so much more than just a hobby. I’m so proud of the progress I have made as a chef (I had some embarrassing moments like these and these) and the strides I have taken as a food photographer (with hands-over-eyes emoji moments like this and this). I’ve thought about updating old recipes with better photos, or removing some posts that didn’t go over well, but the truth is, my blog is not just about the recipes and the photos, it’s about my journey.

I love when I meet up and coming foodies who are thinking about starting a blog. I always tell them to go back to the old days of BIB, and they’re always wowed by my progress. I think it’s such an important lesson for all of us, in whatever stage we find ourselves – as mothers, daughters, teachers, musicians, you name it – we can all get better at what we do, we just have to practice!

This is so true of photography, my photos are constantly evolving as I’m learning to find my photography voice. But as a foodie too – I’ve learned never to say no to anything, and my willingness to try new things has really opened up my palate. I’ve learned to love foods and spices I used to hate (like fresh ginger and brie) and not to be afraid of making my own bread or learning new cooking techniques. I have become quite fearless in the kitchen and for that I am thankful.

I’m so grateful to you, my loyal readers, who encourage me to challenge myself and wow you with fun and original twists on traditional foods, healthy spins on comfort food, and delicious baked creations which I used to detest. It’s all you. {Insert emoji kisses here}

To show my appreciation, I decided to ride the funfetti wave, because you all seemed to love last year’s funfetti cake which was so popular, it went viral! I love the idea of using the same theme for my Blogoversary each year (I wish I had thought of it sooner), so I’m going to stick with the funfetti thing for many more Blogoversaries to come!

These cute little funfetti pecan clusters are made with 5 pecans, to celebrate my 5th year of blogging! They’ve got the most incredible artisan caramel and I hope you give them a try!

In the meantime, as we head into my SIXTH YEAR (ahhhhh!), I’d love to hear from you. What would you like to see on the blog this year? What are some of your favorites from years past? Have there been any BIB kitchen fails? Please share in the comments below!

Happy Blogoversary! Cheers to many more, and hopefully a cookbook too, very soon!

Blogoversary Funfetti Pecan Turtles

2 cups pecan halves
1 recipe caramel 
12 oz. good quality white chocolate
colored sprinkles

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until warm and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cool and set aside.

Prepare the caramel as per instructions and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes until caramel has thickened and is no longer runny.

Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon small dollops of white chocolate onto the baking sheet, using the back of the spoon to smooth it into a small circle. Arrange 5 pecan halves onto each chocolate circle, as pictured. Continue making circles of chocolate, then adding pecans until you have used up your pecans. Place the baking sheet in the fridge for a few minutes, until the chocolate has set up.

Remove the pecans from the fridge and top each cluster with caramel. Refrigerate again until caramel sets.

Place a spoonful of white chocolate over the caramel and top with colored sprinkles. Return to the fridge or set aside until chocolate is firm.

VARIATION: If you don’t want to make caramel from scratch, you may use store-bought caramels. Melt the caramels over a double boiler with a splash of heavy cream or milk and stir until smooth.

NOTE: If you make the caramel from scratch, you will have some left over. Pour the leftover caramel into a parchment lined pan and make caramel chews as per instructions.

Related Posts:

1st Blogoversary Mulled Wine
2nd Blogoversary BBQ Brisket
4th Blogoversary Funfetti Cake

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