passover bliss

Okay, I know. I'm the crazy girl who actually looks forward to Passover every year. When my sister and I were younger, there was Matzah in our house all year round, because we loved to snack on it (matzah and butter- really what is better than that?). Though our taste buds have grown a bit since then, I still look forward to the holiday every year. The combination of the wonderful Jewish traditions, spending two days with my family and friends, and cooking up a storm with my mom all come together in perfection. Between my mom's amazing cooking, and my dad's witty retelling of the story of Passover, they really know how to throw a Seder (the traditional Jewish meal held on the first two nights of Passover, which is eight days long). My mom's chicken soup with matzah balls just can't be beat, and she's very into making non-traditional passover food as well (this year it was tuna tartar instead of gefilte fish- if you don't know what it is, trust me, you don't want to know). Seder this year was no exception, and everything was truly delicious.

If you hadn't guessed by now, my mom put me in charge of desserts for passover this year. She and I had many a conference call finalizing our menu, and settled on a mere 7 desserts to serve at seder. Fortunately, I had a wonderfully large kitchen to spread my baking wings out in. Going home to cook is one of my absolute favorite things to do. Not only do I have an amazing cooking partner in my mom, but I have an incredibly large, newly renovated, perfectly stocked at all times kitchen to bake in. This is even more important when there are 7 desserts on the menu. To top it off, I was convinced to make my desserts gluten free. You may not know this, but matzah is actually made with wheat, as are all matzah products. Therefore, not all things that are kosher for passover (permitted to eat during the week of passover) are gluten free. Being put on dessert duty when I couldn't use the typical passover flour substitute, matzah cake meal, was somewhat challenging. However, because I was forced to think a little bit outside of the box, I think that my desserts came out amazingly. Getting creative definitely paid off here. Enjoy all of the recipes, which are naturally kosher for passover, but delicious to make all year round. I definitely will not be retiring these until next year.

You'll notice 5 recipes below, and I know, I said 7! The first dessert was a fruit salad (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and pineapple) with fresh grated lime zest topping it. I know it sounds crazy and so simple, but the lime zest really made the difference in this salad. I promise to post pictures in the future with the recipe its self, but go and try it. Its delicious. The second recipe was my mom's delicious mandel bread. Its an amazingly delicious mix between a biscotti and a thick chocolate chip cookie, with all of the best parts of both. It's a secret family recipe, but maybe one day soon I'll share it with you. For now, enjoy the five below!!


Pistachio Cookies

seriously easy, with seriously delicious flavor.

3 cups ground pistachios (use a food processor to chop the pistachios into large "crumbs")
3 egg whites
1 cup of granulated sugar

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees
Mix together the three ingredients until they reach a nice thick, sticky consistency
Refrigerate the batter for 20 minutes, to allow it to come together
Use a spoon to drop the batter into rounded balls onto a lightly greased baking sheet
Cook for about 15 minutes until the tops of the cookies start to turn golden
Move the cookies onto a cooling rack and allow to cool before eating
This recipe will make about two dozen cookies
enjoy!


Passover Brownies

so fudgey, you won't even know its KFP

4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup potato starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 bag of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Combine the eggs, oil, and vanilla in a bowl
Once the wet ingredients are combined, add in the sugar, potato starch, and cocoa powder
Finally, mix in the the chocolate chips
Pour batter into a lightly greased 9x9 inch pan
Bake for about 45 minutes or until you test the center with a knife and it comes out clean (you'll want to let them under cook just a little!)
Let cool in the pan and enjoy!


Flourless Chocolate Cake

the picture barely does it justice- this is simply divine.

10 oz bittersweet (or semisweet would work here too) chocolate
7 oz unsalted butter
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Chop the chocolate and cube the butter
Place the chocolate and the butter into a double boiler (a glass or metal bowl over a pot with an inch or two of simmering water) and allow to melt, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate mixture is smooth
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and sugar. Once combined, mix in the chocolate mixture until the batter is smooth
Butter a springform pan and dust it lightly with cocoa powder. A good trick here is to sprinkle the cocoa into the dish and then turn it around tapping the sides lightly so that the cocoa powder spreads out evenly
Pour the batter into the pan, and cover the top of the pan tightly with a sheet of tin foil

Bake the cake for 75 minutes before removing from the large pan with water, taking off the tin foil, and allowing to cool completely on a rack
enjoy with a fresh dollop of whipped cream, or some berries!


Almond Pound Cake

golden, nutty, beautiful.

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups almond flour (I used Bob's Red Mill brand here)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Mix the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl until well mixed and smooth
Add the 4 eggs, one at a time, beating after each additional egg
Add in the vanilla extract and mix well
In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, salt, baking powder, ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet while continuing to mix as you add
Once combined, pour the batter into a 9x5 inch loaf pan that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray
Sprinkle the top of the cake with the sliced almonds
Bake the cake for 50 minutes, checking to be sure that the center is done before taking it out of the oven
Allow to cool and enjoy!!


Apple Crisp

8 granny smith apples (any tart apple would work here)
3/4 cup almond flour (I used Bob's Red Mill here)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
8 tsp butter, cold

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
Peel and core your apples. Cut the apples in half and then into 1 inch slices
Place the apples in the bottom of a baking dish (9x9 is what I used)
In a separate bowl, combine the almond flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
Cube the butter into small 1/2 inch cubes and add the butter to the dry ingredients. Mix until the butter has broken up and mixed with the dry ingredients forming small little balls
Pour the topping evenly over the batter
Cover the pan and bake for 1 hour. The top of the crisp should begin to brown, and the apples should be tender
enjoy fresh out of the oven!!
*This one came out of the oven and was gone so quickly, that pictures were not taken- I promise to make it again in the future, i know recipes without pictures are no fun!

the wonderful place where I spend my days, and the wonderful people I spend them with...oh, and a delicious recipe

After having graduated from NYU last May, I was very fortunate to have started working almost immediately after graduation. Though perhaps slightly insane for taking a week off between school and the real world, I am so lucky to have ended up working where I do. I work for this awesome place called the Child Mind Institute (check us out online: http://www.childmind.org/). CMI is a non-profit organization, as well as a clinical psychology practice. I work on the clinical side, helping to support our wonderful doctors who work very hard. While things can get kind of crazy sometimes around the office, the plethora of adorable kids that continue to come day after day helps make it better. We seriously have some of the cutest munchkins ever. Anyways, CMI does all sorts of things for all sorts of amazing kids. We promote mental health awareness, as well as help so many children with many varying disorders on a daily basis. Come by some time, I'll give you a tour!

In addition to the wonderful place that I work in, I work with truly wonderful people. I honestly don't know how I got so lucky to work with such nice and caring people. They make going into work that much better, and know how to put a smile on my face. And I, know how to put one on theirs as well (at least through my cooking). As I've mentioned before, my work friends are some of my original taste testers. They are always happy to try any sweet thing that I bring into the office to share (thank goodness or I'd eat it all myself). Last weekend, we all got together to celebrate a few birthdays, and my friend moving on to go to medical school (we miss you!). Everyone brought delicious food, and I of course had to bake something special. I have to say, these blondies are simple and amazingly delicious. You can throw them together in a matter of minutes, and they'll definitely impress your guests. Upon request, mine had dark chocolate chips and peanut butter chips in them, but they seriously take on any chips, nuts, or chunks that you mix in. Make sure you under bake them just a little, and get one fresh out of the oven.

YUM.

Blondies

1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup of brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup gluten free flour mix (with xanthum gum)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Mix the melted butter with the brown sugar on medium until smooth
Beat in the egg and vanilla
Once combined, add in the salt, cinnamon, and flour
Mix in your chips (or whatever else you decide to include)
Pour the batter into an 8x8 inch pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, or butter
Bake the blondies for 20 minutes, or until the middle has set
enjoy!

gooey deliciousness.

the before, there was not much of an after...

what to do with leftover pumpkin, and other dessert adventures

One of my favorite things about cooking with pumpkin (and buying a big can of pumpkin) is having leftovers to play with. As you'll come to see when the fall rolls around, I love pumpkin and squash, and I love cooking with them. I think pumpkin is such a delicious ingredient, as well as a great one to work with. Pumpkin adds a lot of moistness and flavor to baked goods, and is a great ingredient to add multiple other layers of flavor to. With half a can of pumpkin sitting in my fridge waiting for me, after making the pumpkin bread recipe below, I knew I had to get creative. My boyfriend and his best friend were cooking dinner for a bunch of our friends on Friday night. While the two of them are amazing cooks, they generally stick with the savory. I decided I would take on the sweet, and make dessert for everyone. Often if I bring a dessert to a dinner, I like to have two different desserts. People have different palates, and different likes, and plus- I like to bake, so why wouldn't I make two?

I decided to make a version of a cookie I had made before, and try my hand at a coffee cake as well. Both, I have to say, turned out deliciously. They were a big hit with everyone, and for me as well; I will definitely be making these again. Both I have to say, were made even better by my wonderful gf flour mix (mentioned in the post below). Neither baked any differently, or tasted any differently, than they would if they were made with regular flour- and that is certainly a success. A great website that I draw a lot of inspiration from is Smitten Kitchen, which is where I got the idea for this coffee cake as well (check it out for wonderful recipes, not gf, but easy to adapt)! Definitely try out these recipes, you will not be disappointed.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

so many delicious flavors, all rolled into one

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened, unsalted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups gf rolled oats
1 1/2 cups gf flour mix (flour+xanthum gum)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt
Add in the butter and mix until the batter starts to crumble
Stir in the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin
Once combined, add the rolled oats, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips
Mix until just combined
Roll into large balls and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper- these cookies will not expand a bit, however the size and shape that they are when they go in the oven will remain relatively the same
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes and put on a cooling rack- you might want to snag one of these right out of the oven though!
enjoy!!

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

simply delicious.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sour cream (I used low-fat, but either will work)
3 cups gf flour mix (with xanthum gum)
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

2 cups dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar
One at a time, beat in the egg yolks, followed by the vanilla
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
Once combined, alternately add the dry ingredients and sour cream into the butter mixture (starting and ending with dry ingredients)
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they are still, and then fold into the batter
In a small blow, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the filling
In a parchment lined 9x9 dish, spread half of the cake batter evenly along the bottom
Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter, and sprinkle with half of the chocolate chips
Repeat these layers again
Once the chocolate chips are sprinkled on, press them lightly into the top of the cake
Bake the cake for 45 minutes
enjoy!