Baked Goods

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Mandel Bread

Mandel bread is the most basic of Jewish cookies, and has always been a staple on our holiday cookie platter. They look like biscotti, but are as delicate and crumbly as a butter cookie. Crisp, browned, and crunchy, these cookies are not for soft-cookie lovers. The secret is that they are baked three times, slicing and rotating the cookies for even browning. For my husband, who happens to be a soft-cookie lover, I take out  some of the ends (which we lovingly refer to as the mandel butts) after the first bake so he can enjoy the goodness. Traditionally made with almonds (mandel=almond), feel free to substitute your favorite nut, to add mini chocolate chips or chopped, dried fruit.

 

Ingredients

  • ½ lb butter
  • 2 Tbs. Crisco
    (optional)*
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 3 c. flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • ½ c. chopped pecans
  • 1 c. mini chocolate chips
    (optional)

Directions

  1. Cream butter, Crisco and sugar.
  2. Add eggs and vanilla, and then the dry ingredients.
  3. Stir in the nuts and/or chips.
  4. Refrigerate dough for about 2 hours (or spread the dough thin along the edges of a metal bowl and freeze for 20 minutes).
  5. Hand roll into eight 1″ rolls, placed about 4 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets, then flatten using the palm of your hand.
  6. Bake at 350° for 20–25 mins, or until very slightly browned.
  7. Remove from oven and cut into ¾” diagonal slices, turn each cookie 90° onto a cut edge and return to oven to bake for another 8–10 mins.
  8. Remove from oven and flip each cookie over onto the other cut edge, return to oven for another 8–10 mins.
*makes a bit flakier cookie

After the first baking, the mandel bread is sliced. Use a very sharp knife (or one that is serrated) so that you are slicing through the dough without pushing it down.

Turn each cookie onto a cut edge, return to oven, repeat.

Members of our temple got together to bake on Sunday.

 

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Gert’s Yeast Cookies (Rugelach)

These are my mother’s favorite cookie.

This is, by far, the finest pastry in my mother’s recipe book—my Great Aunt Gert’s yeast cookie, which is a traditional rugelach. Some rugelach recipes use cream cheese while others use sour cream and yeast; this one uses them all. They are exquisitely delicate with a meringue filling that melts in your mouth.

 

Ingredients

For the dough

  • ½ lb. butter (2 sticks)
  • 2/3 of an 8 oz package
    of cream cheese
  • 3 packages of yeast (6¾ tsp.)
  • 3 egg yolks, beaten
  • ½ c. sour cream
  • 4 c. of flour (or a bit less)
  • confectioners sugar

For the meringue filling

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 c. sugar
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • for the filling topping
  • chopped walnuts (or pecans), about 1 c.
  • raisins, about 1 c.

Directions

  1. Blend together butter, cream cheese and yeast.
  2. Mix in egg yolks and sour cream, then flour, a little at a time, until the dough is quite stiff and not too sticky. Shape into a ball and set aside.
  3. To make the filling: beat the egg whites until stiff, then slowly mix in the sugar and cinnamon.
  4. To assemble (see photos): cut the dough into 10 equal portions. Make a ball out of each and, on a board dusted with confectioners sugar, roll out into a 9˝ circle. Spread a portion (one-tenth) of the filling over the circle of dough. Sprinkle with nuts. Using a pizza slicer, or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8–10 wedges. Place 3 or 4 raisins on each wedge. Roll up, starting from the outside of the circle. Cover and let rise for 30 mins.
  5. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375° until golden brown (about 20–25 mins).

The temple bakers stocking the freezer with rugalah for upcoming onegs. (Kirsten, Jennie, Rae and Vicki)

Roll them from the outside of the circle into the center.

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Waiting all year for Ruth’s Plum Cake

Mom knew she needed 27-1/2 plums for this cake.

Navigating my mother’s recipe book is tricky—to make her famous plum cake you must look for the Cherry Cake recipe card. I don’t think I ever tasted the cherry cake, only plum and occasionally peach.  Italian plums, or prune plums, are only available for a few weeks every autumn, which in our home meant that we traditionally ate this around the High Holidays. In the off season, Mom sometimes substituted canned peaches, which is also delicious.

 

Ingredients

  • 28 Italian plums (prune plums), halved and pitted
  • 2 c. flour
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • ²/₃ c. sugar
  • 1 Tbs. milk

 

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour and sugar, then cut in the butter. Take off one cup and set aside for topping.

2. Mix in 2 eggs.

3. Spread the very thick batter over the bottom of a
10″ x 15″ pan.

4. Place the plum halves, cut side down, in even rows and columns over the batter.

5. Beat together remaining 2 eggs, the ²/₃ c. sugar and milk, and spread over the plums. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs.

6. Bake at 350° for 45–55 minutes, until golden brown.

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The circle of life: Round Challahs

Slices of the round challahs. Apple on the left; raisin on the right.

Last night as I said kaddish for my dad during the Kol Nidre service, I remembered all of the times I sat next to him and my grandfather as they stood in temple to say kaddish for their parents. The melodic cadence of the prayer was effortlessly recited by them both. But in that Reform temple of my childhood only the men said kaddish—a throw-back to more traditional practices. In my current, more traditional yet also more modern congregation, everyone recites the prayer, and I’ve been practicing for the past few years knowing that at any time it might be my turn, and I did not want to disappoint. There was no way to anticipate how emotional that moment would be for me.

My father died three weeks ago. Yesterday, before going to temple, I felt like baking again. And how fitting that the first thing I baked since his death were the holiday challahs, round to symbolize the circle of life and the cycle of the seasons; extra sweet so that we’ll all have a sweet year.

The round challahs are unique to both of the high holidays: Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Our local Jewish Federation has a group that does outreach programs for the seniors in our community. Over the years I’ve been asked to bake dozens of very small, individual, round challahs to contribute to one of their outreach programs. For Chanukah, Purim and the High Holidays they distribute little gift bags to Jewish elderly shut-ins around town, and when my father first moved in with us two years ago, he began receiving these bags. At first I thought it was a silly gesture, after all, my dad had the real thing, right here in our home! He didn’t need the little hamentaschen, or the tiny challahs—mine were baked for him fresh! But to my surprise he loved the bags. He happily showed the contents to me when I got home from work, and he took great pleasure in having little candies of his own that he could share with my children. For Rosh Hashana he would receive a small bottle of grape juice, applesauce, honey, a small round challah, some chocolates, some raisins and a one-page summary of the holiday which he would read carefully with his magnifying glass. What a lovely mitzvah (good deed) this is!

Ten days ago, right before Rosh Hashana I was surprised by a gift bag which was brought to me by Lee, the former director of our local Jewish federation. She brought me a giant version of the bag that they make for the seniors, with enough of everything to feed all five of us, including a full-sized challah, made fresh that morning by Lee herself. She said that she felt funny bringing a challah to the challah baker, but my heart was not in baking that week, and her gift couldn’t have been more appropriate. I was so moved by that gift.

For the raisin bread, drizzle on some honey, sprinkle on raisins and cinammon.

Arrange a thin layer of apples for the apple bread. Or grate an apple and wring out the juice before spreading over the dough.

Roll it up. Use both hands and work evenly across the length.

Pinch the ends.

Make the coil. Place it seam side down, and tuck under the end.

Here the coils are ready to rise. They can sit together like this on the same baking sheet. It’s okay if they kiss a little when they bake!

Here are the just-baked breads. It’s okay if they come together while baking. Just gently pull them apart.

Here’s Macey in his favorite chair, hoping for a hot plate on the dinner table and a taste of some hot, fresh challah.

 

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 1 package yeast (2¼ tsp.)
  • 2/3 c. sugar
  • 2 c. warm water
  • 1 egg
  • 3 Tbs. oil
  • 1 Tbs. salt
  • 2 c. whole wheat flour
  • 4 c. (about) white flour

Mix together and brush on before baking:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbs. honey

Sprinkle with:

  • sunflower, poppy and/or sesame seeds, about ¼  cup total

 

Directions

  1. Proof the yeast: Mix together the yeast and sugar, add the warm water, stir, and let it sit for 20 minutes. It should get foamy.
  2. Add the rest of the dough ingredients, putting in just enough white flour to make a smooth, not sticky dough.
    Knead for about 10 minutes.
  3. Cover and let rise for about 3 hours, or until doubled in size. Shape into two small loaves or one large loaf. Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet or into greased loaf pans if you want sandwich-shaped loaves. Cover and let rise for one more hour.
  4. Brush with the egg/honey mixture and sprinkle with some seeds. Bake at 350˚ for 35–40 minutes. (Add 5–10 more minutes for a challah that’s stuffed and rolled, covering with foil for the last 15 minutes to prevent the top from burning.)

 

You can find more tasty bakes in my newly released cookbooks:

You Can’t Have Dry Coffee: Papa’s Excuse to Have a Nosh And Nana’s Perfect Pastries

Dry Coffee promo

“You can’t have dry coffee,” was what my grandfather would say when reaching for one of my grandmother’s delicious cookies or pastries. Elegant rugelach and mandel bread, tart plum cake, delicate cream cheese cookies, and sweet babka—these fancy treats started me on my life-long love of baking. Along with those classics, this collection has challahs, bagels, bialys, plus modern-day luscious treats like chocolate cream cheese brownies, and the best chewy, peanut butter chocolate cookies I’ve ever had.Whether my grandfather was being ironic, or if something was lost in translation from Yiddish, I’ll never know. But ironic or not, a cup of coffee needs a good nosh, and this book is a compilation of our family’s best.

The Plate is My Canvas: Recipes and Stories from My Family’s Interfaith Kitchen

Plate promo shot

Written in the style of a family memoir, with stories from my family, this book includes all of the Jewish classics, from rugelach to latkes. Married to a Lutheran man, I learned to cook my husband’s family’s classics as well—with help from my mother-in-law’s handwritten recipes. Stunning photographs accompany each recipe. A perfect gift for an interfaith family.

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Lemony Rice Pudding

I was planning on gyoza with rice for dinner tonight, but just after I started the pot of rice I noticed the left-over zucchini pancake batter so I changed the menu. Just like that I was left with two cups of cooked rice. The solution, of course, to freshly cooked leftover rice is rice pudding. But I wanted something more refreshing than the usual rice pudding, so I grated in the zest from one whole lemon, added some golden raisins and WOW, it’s really, really good. If you want to impress some fancy company, serve it warm with some freshly whipped cream.

Lemony Rice Pudding

  • 2 c. cooked brown rice
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 2 lightly beaten eggs
  • 2 c. milk
  • zest from 1 large lemon
  • 1/3 c. golden raisins
  1. Grease a 1-1/2 quart baking dish.
  2. Put the milk in a medium saucepan, add the raisins, and scald the milk (heat until it just barely begins to bubble at the edges).
  3. Stir the sugar and eggs into the cooked rice.
  4. Slowly stir in the warm milk mixture.
  5. Pour it all into the baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the blade of a knife comes out clean when cut through the center of the pudding.

Serve warm or cold, with milk, cream or whipped cream.

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Monster cookies

Most people won't have a bowl big enough to handle this recipe, so go ahead and divide it by 2, 3 or 4.

A recipe that starts with “12 eggs beaten” and also includes three entire jars of peanut butter, catches my attention. My friend Debi gave me this one, telling me that she made these when her kids were little and that they loved them. I’ve made them before by cutting the recipe into 1/3 or 1/4, but yesterday I decided to get out my BIG bowl and do the full batch. Wow. These are heavy cookies, with no flour (gluten free), and if you can look the other way on the chocolate, the oats and peanut butter make them a fairly healthy cookie.

Monster Cookies (I lost count, but think I came up with about 10 dozen)

  • 12 eggs, beaten
  • 2 pounds brown sugar
  • 2 c. white sugar
  • 1/4 c. vanilla
  • 8 tsp. baking soda
  • 3 pounds peanut butter
  • 18 c. quick oats
  • 1 pound chocolate chips
  • 1 pound M&Ms (optional)
  • 1 pound butter, softened

Add ingredients, in the order given, mixing with each addition. Drop by large spoon, or scoop, onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Lovely, "healthy" cookies for my little monsters.

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Don’t run to the store, just make them yourself: Homemade Hamburger Rolls (and great burgers)

I had everything I needed for dinner except for the hamburger buns, but I didn’t have it in me to make yet one more trip to the grocery store. Hamburger buns are not something that I think to make myself—but why not? Store bought rolls are fluffy and tasteless, and are merely a holder for the meat so that your hands stay clean. Imagining the ideal taste, I started with a challah dough, dialed down the sweet and boosted the yeast.

Homemade Hamburger Rolls (makes about 1 dozen)

Mix together the following and let sit for 10 minutes:

  • 2 c. warm water
  • 2 Tbs. sugar
  • 1 Tbs. yeast

Stir in:

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 Tbs. oil
  • 1 Tbs. salt
  • 1 c. whole wheat flour
  • 4 c. white flour, and a bit more as you knead the dough

Knead until smooth, 5-10 minutes. Let rise for about 2 hours. Shape into small balls, then gently flatten into the desired diameter—as the rolls rise they will get a little taller, but not wider. Let rise again for 45 minutes. If you want a seeded roll, brush the tops with a beaten egg, and sprinkle on your favorite seeds. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until they are slightly brown. For softer rolls, loosen them, but leave on the pan, and cover with a towel as they cool. For crisper rolls, remove to a cooling rack.

Ruth’s Hamburger

My mother was the kind of cook who doctored up everything. A frozen pizza wouldn’t recognize itself when she was done with it. And her hamburgers were moist and flavorful. Forget about just seasoning the meat with salt and pepper, try it doctored up, and give those fresh rolls the meat they deserve!

Mix together the following, form into patties and cook as usual:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 3 Tbs. ketchup
  • 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 Tbs. minced onion (fresh or dried)
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Molasses Whirly Bread

This is my favorite bread—a little fussy to make, but I love the finished product with its beautiful swirls, it’s surprising height, deliciously complex flavor and chewy texture. Make these loaves when you’re having someone special over for dinner, or use it to dress up a meal of simple summer salads or a pot of winter soup.

Molasses Whirly Bread (makes two tall loaves)

In a large bowl (it is ideal if you have two identical bowls), mix together and let proof for 10 minutes:

  • 3 c. warm water
  • 1/c c. honey
  • 2 Tbs. yeast

Add the following and mix well:

  • 3-1/2 c. white flour
  • 1/2 c. nonfat dry milk
  • 1/2 c. oil
  • 2 tsp. salt

Pour half of the dough into a second bowl. To one half stir in the following, then knead, adding extra white flour as needed until you have a smooth and elastic dough:

  • 1/2 c. wheat bran, wheat germ or flax meal
  • 2 c. white flour

Into the other bowl stir in the following, then knead, adding extra white flour as needed until you have a smooth and elastic dough:

  • 1/4 c. molasses (coat the measuring cup with a tiny bit of oil before measuring and the molasses will pour out cleanly)
  • 2 Tbs. instant coffee
  • 2-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
  • 1 c. white flour
  1. Let the doughs rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Divide each dough in half. Roll out one piece of the dark dough into a rectangle about 8″ x 10″. Roll out one piece of the light dough and place it on top of the dark dough, then roll together tightly and place into a greased bread pan, seam side down. Repeat for the second loaf (If you like, you can change the order of the dark and light loaves ) Cover and let rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Rolling up the light and dark doughs.

The finished roll before it is placed into the bread pan.

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Aunt Annie’s Old Fashioned Scones

Bake these scones as a wheel, then separate to eat.

In my quest for the perfect scone recipe I stumbled across this one for Aunt Annie’s old fashioned scones. These are the perfect scones. I’m going to make up some dough with fresh blueberries tonight, so we can enjoy these tomorrow on the 4th of July.

Aunt Annie’s Old Fashioned Scones

1. Mix together with a whisk:

  • 1-3/4 c.  flour
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

2. Cut in:

  • 1/3 c. cold butter, with fingertips or pastry cutter

3. Stir in:

  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 c. milk (or half and half if you’re fancy free)

4. Fold in:

  • 1/3 c. dried cherries
  • 1/3 c. walnuts

5. Knead 10 strokes. Form into 8″ circle, sprinkle with sugar and wrap in  wax paper. Fridge overnight (or skip this if you didn’t plan ahead—don’t worry they’ll still be pretty good).

6. Cut into wedges, bake on parchment or a greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 16-18 mins. or until golden.
Separate and cool.

Options to fold in:

  • 1/2 c. blueberries
  • 1/3 c. pecans, orange peel
  • 1/3 c. choc chips, orange peel
  • 1/3 c. cranberries, 1/3 c. nuts
  • 1 Tbs. poppy seed, lemon peel
  • 1 Tbs. cinnamon and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar