Triple Pistachio Cardamom Cookies

Every Tuesday night I play mah jongg with a group of women. It’s a four person game; there are 5 of us and every four turns we sit out a game. Some weeks I bring one of my myriad of cooking magazines with me to thumb through. This past December while thumbing through Bon Appetit, I came across this recipe for pistachio thumbprint cookies, and immediately showed it to my friend Carol, who loves pistachios.

Everyone ooh’ed over the photo, and it went into my mental “make – this” file. Fast forward, and my friend Shoshi, who is Carol’s daughter, had just given birth to a baby boy and I helped bake sweets for the bris. You better believe this was one of the first cookies on the list!

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Black Bean and Corn Taquitos

For many years, I would visit my sister right around her birthday. One year I helped her throw a party, and we came across an easy appetizer that involved eggroll wrappers (the larger sized wonton wrapper), canned chicken, and other ingredients I have since forgotten. Later that year for my birthday, I re-worked the recipe (I don’t eat meat) into these super easy taquitos. They are very popular, and have become a go-to easy appetizer.

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Earl Grey Sandwich Cookies

Some time in middle school, I discovered English Breakfast tea, and it became one of my favorite beverages. On and off for years at a time, my day has started with a large mug of dark-brewed tea, with milk and sugar added.

As I mentioned in this post, I found a recipe several years ago for Black Tea Cardamom Cookies and was instantly intrigued. The first year I tried them, the cookies were so crumbly as to be almost impossible. The flavor seemed good, and I decided it was worth tinkering with the recipe. The second year I adjusted the dough, I believe by adding an extra egg and reducing the flour. The cookie definitely worked better, but the tea wasn’t necessarily the highlight. It was a decent spice cookie, but didn’t make a huge impression on myself or my friends.

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Vanilla Platzchen

Stumbling upon a new recipe is sometimes a grand adventure, starting in one place and ending somewhere you never had even thought of. The cookie-baking bug largely passed me by in December – I watched my friends baking with enthusiasm, but had little desire to do my own crazy baking.

But with New Year’s approaching, and with it my friends’ annual party, I started brainstorming what I wanted to bring. The last two years I have brought my version of a tarte soleil along with an assortment of cookies and sweets. I went looking through my notes for previous cookies I’ve brought, and various recipes I’ve saved over the years. Continue reading “Vanilla Platzchen”

Ashkenazic Cheese Pancakes

During the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years, I spent a trimester each year teaching cooking to the high schoolers in my synagogue’s religious school. I was so thrilled to be asked, and really enjoyed teaching them basic and advanced skills as we cooked our way through different dishes.

Our first year for Chanukah, we cooked sufganiyot, and last year we made five different latkes and other fried foods from various backgrounds. There are many resources, both internet and in print, for many, many traditional Chanukah dishes and some modern twists on traditional favorites. One of the latkes we made was this apple latke from Smitten Kitchen, which was definitely a favorite.

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Potato Latkes, the Slightly Cheater Method

There are almost as many different ways to make a potato latke as there are people to eat them. Some of it goes back to what you ate growing up, or a new method you’ve found, or any one of a number of variables.

However, at the core is a very simple formula – grated potatoes, onion, egg, some kind of starch, salt and pepper.

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My Mother’s Apple Cake

Apples and honey are common symbols of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Apples are dipped in honey to symbolize wishes for a sweet new year, and both feature prominently in traditional dessert recipes (see honey cake truffles and apple honey cake).

Growing up, my mother made this amazing apple cake every year for Rosh Hashanah. When I moved to Texas, I usually don’t cook meals for Rosh Hashanah, so I started making it for Yom Kippur’s break fast. Apple cakes like this are incredibly common, and so associated with Jews that many recipes are called “Jewish Apple Cake”.

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Overnight Challah French Toast

For the last two years, my friend Karen and I have led a fundraiser for our synagogue’s religious school, making round challot for the High Holy Days. Challot is the plural of challah, that wonderful egg bread similar to brioche, that is traditionally eaten at every Shabbat and holidays. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year, and to celebrate it, challot are traditionally round-shaped and often contain dried fruit (usually raisins) to symbolize a sweet new year.

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