Just the two of us for dinner tonight and I am going defrost some beef meatballs and sauce I made before the holidays. More "red in a bowl". When ever I ask Andrew what he would like for dinner he either says Spaghetti and Meatballs or Steak.
I am going to bake today for my catering job coming up.
When I make a dessert buffet I like to make a variety of small things. I make the Mandle Broit and Rugalach half size. The cupcakes are mini and I cut the squares small. When pastries are small you don't feel guilty sampling more than one.
Mandle Broit is Jewish biscotti. You make the dough and form it into logs, bake it, cut it and bake again to dry the cookies. This is my mother's recipe and I think she got it from her mother. They didn't have a food processor but I have adapted the recipe. With two cups of almonds and a hint of chocolate these crisp cookies are one of my favorites. When I cut them there are always some crumbs. We save the crumbs which are wonderful on vanilla or caramel ice cream or we just eat them on their own. They are rather plain looking so I am going to drizzle some chocolate on one side to dress them up a little.
Rogelach are a sinfully delicious treat. They can be made in many different ways, with nuts, without nuts, with chocolate and/or nuts, with jam. Which ever way you make them they are crisp melt in your mouth little bundles of delicious. Most recipes you will see use a cream cheese pastry. I was making them once and did not have cream cheese so I tried a sour cream dough. The result was very rich very light and flaky and I never went back.
Mandel Broit (Jewish Biscotti)
This is my mother’s recipe. Now I make them for her. She freezes them and eats them right from the freezer. You know you are special when she offers you some, as she tends to hoard them! They are crisp and not too sweet, perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.
The secret to good mandel briot is in the drying.
Preheat oven to 375
2 cups crushed almonds 1 square semi sweet chocolate grated or crushed (you can omit chocolate if you are decorating with chocolate - or not)
(I put the nuts and the chocolate in the food processor, crush them and then add the rest of the ingredients)
3 eggs
1-cup sugar
1-cup oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups of flour
Mix together to form dough
Divide in two (or three or four depending on the size of your cookie sheets and the size of the cookie you want– I use extra large cookie sheets and 2 logs for large cookies or 4 logs for small cookies)
Form into logs and flatten space at least 1/2 inch apart.
Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
 |
| unbaked "logs" |
Bake for 20 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 250
Remove from oven. Slice into ½ inch pieces (I like to slice on a slight diagonal). Place pieces on their sides.
Put back in oven to dry for one hour.
Turn off oven and leave until oven is cool.
Option: When cookies are cool put semi sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in the corner of a zip lock bag put in decorator coupling. With bag slightly open microwave until chocolate is just melted. Screw in
writing tip and zig zag the chocolate over the each cookie.
Rogelach
These take a little work and a lot of time, but they are more than worth it.
Pastry Ingredients
1-cup butter, cut into 1” chunks
1-½ cups flour
½ cup cold sour cream
Instructions
In food processor with steel knife process butter with flour until consistency of course oatmeal, using about 8 on/off turns. Add sour cream and process JUST until the pastry begins to cling together and form a ball.
DO NOT OVER PROCESS. Wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight
Cinnamon Nut Rogelach
Ingredients
2/3 cups walnuts or pecans
1/3-cup sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
2 egg whites lightly beaten
Instructions
In food processor with steel knife process walnuts, sugar and cinnamon until nuts are fairly fine.
Divide dough into 4 pieces or for very dainty mouthfuls divide into 8 pieces Roll out one piece on floured board into circle (about l/16” thick), cut into 8 triangles (I use my pizza cutter)
Sprinkle dough with cinnamon sugar mixture and roll up from the outside edge toward the center, repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Dip each rogelach in egg white and shake off any excess and dip in cinnamon sugar mixture and place on a parchment paper lined bake sheet.
Bake at 375 for about 18 - 20 minutes until lightly browned. Break off any egg white and sugar mixture that has spread around the cookie when baking (so they look pretty!!)
Chocolate Chip Rogelach
¼ cup sugar white or brown
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup walnuts, almonds or pecans
Mix in food processor, follow same as Cinnamon Nut Rogelach, but eliminate the dip in egg white and sugar. Dust with icing sugar after they are baked.
Nut Free Rogalach made with Jam
About ½ cup Apricot Jam or Raspberry Jam or whatever jams you like
2 egg whites lightly beaten
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Roll out as in recipe above but instead of sprinkling cinnamon sugar recipe on the dough spread lightly with jam.
Dip cookies in egg white and then dip in the sugar cinnamon mixture.
No comments:
Post a Comment