Tag Archives: Cookies

Poppyseed Fig and Walnut Hamentashen

Hamentashen are the traditional treat baked for the Jewish holiday of Purim, which, this year,  falls on Thursday February 25. Essentially, they are a triangular shaped cookie stuffed with a sweet filling.

The Festival of Purim commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in ancient (4th century BCE) Persia were saved from extermination. If you’re curious to learn a bit more about the holiday, check out this post I wrote a few years ago.

We’re all about texture here in the salt and serenity kitchen, so this year I added some poppyseeds to my hamentashen dough for added crunch. I have loved poppyseeds ever since I was a little girl. My paternal grandmother baked poppyseed cookies. We called them Bubbe Cookies. She lived in Philadelphia and a few times each year she would mail us cookies. She always packed them in a shoebox. When that package arrived, my sisters and I would get so excited. I suspect that is where my love of online shopping stems from. There is something so exhilarating about getting a package and opening it.

I filled the hamentashen with fig jam. My favourite is the Dalmatia brand. Don’t be tempted to overfill the hamentashen. A heaping teaspoon if perfect. Make sure you brush the edges with beaten egg white, to glue the seams closed. Pinch the corners firmly to really seal them. I like to put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes before baking. It helps them to hold their shape during baking.

Once they are cooled, I dipped one edge in honey and then into some crushed candied maple walnuts. Double crunch!

Strawberry Rhubarb Rugelach

There are no shortage of Rugelach recipes recipes on this blog. Rugelach dough, rich with butter and cream cheese, is a great blank canvas. Then it’s time to have fun and create different flavour combos.

In 2016 I went wild with Cookie Butter Rugelach. The following year I baked Mindy Segal’s Cinnamon Brickle Rugelach. And last year fruit and nuts were featured in my Rhubarb-Raspberry Pistachio Rugelach.

This one starts with making your own strawberry rhubarb jam. Store-bought is fine, but if you have an extra 20 minutes, this jam is stellar. I discovered this recipe from Jake Cohen over at thefeedfeed. Sweet and tart with a little pop of acidity from rice wine vinegar, you will find yourself putting this s##t on everything.

This dough rolls out like a dream. No cracking or splitting. It’s like velvet.

Each little wedge gets rolled, starting at the fat end and ending at the point.

Brush with egg and bake.

While they are baking, crush some freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder and mix with granulated sugar. As soon as the rugelach are baked, spoon some strawberry sugar over the rugelach. Once they are cool, give them a second dusting. If you have never tried freeze dried berries, you must seek them out. Many natural/health food stores carry them, as do Trader Joes and Whole Foods. They are a concentrated punch of colour and flavour that will elevate any baked good.

Smoked Almond and Toffee Shortbread

Sometimes when we’re travelling, my husband and I play this game, where we say what we would decree if we were king of the world. His proclamations usually involve cleaning up garbage at the side of the road, fixing derelict homes, zapping slow drivers off the road and shortening the length of red lights in Florida.

My wishes are a bit less lofty. I would create an ordinance that required all dentist offices to provide a pedicure while you are having your teeth cleaned. Multi-tasking at its finest. I would also command that all meals end with a cookie. I always crave a little something sweet at the end of dinner. Just a little bite, nothing too big. Cookies really are the perfect dessert. I think more restaurants should offer a cookie plate for dessert.

It’s December, so I have happily jumped onto the cookie train, and I intend to keep on rolling until you beg me to stop, or, I gain my annual holiday 5 pounds, whichever comes first.

These are a simple slice and bake cookie, studded with Skor bits and smoked almonds. For fun, I shaped them into a square log, but round cookies are good too. A tip for when you are slicing the logs; give the log a 90 degree turn after each slice, so that one side of the log does not get too squished.

I treated my cookies to a little dip in melted milk chocolate. The mellow flavour of milk chocolate is perfect with the caramel notes of the toffee and the salty smoky almonds.

While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle on some extra crushed smoked almonds for extra crunch.

Maple Pecan Shortbread

There are times that call for a simple, one-bowl, 10 minute drop cookie, and then, there are times that call for something a bit fancier, when you want to pull out all the stops. like, when you’re going to meet the parents of your son’s fiancé and want to bring something that says thanks for the hospitality. We travelled to Owen Sound, Ontario for Canadian Thanksgiving this past weekend, to meet the folks.

On the way to Owen Sound , my husband and I discussed the logistics of the initial meeting. Would we just shake their hand, or hug? What if we go in for the hug, both arms open wide and they stick put their hand for a shake. Awkward! We took a chance and went for the hug and so did they. We arrived as strangers and left as friends.

Saturday night was Thanksgiving dinner. Mom and daughter cooked us an unbelievable feast, complete with turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, roasted squash, mashed potatoes, beets and cabbage salad! For dessert there was an early birthday cake for me (Mark Bittman’s coconut cake), baked by my son and THREE PIES (apple, pumpkin and pecan). Sunday we were treated to lunch at the charming Cobble Beach Inn. Both of her parents were charming and really made us feel welcome. Our son is a very lucky man.

These cookies were inspired by Emma’s Pecan Maple Shortbread Cookies. If you’re not familiar with Emma, you need to check out her blog and Instagram accound (@emmaduckworthbakes). She’s a brilliantly talented baker with clever ideas and her photos are off-the-charts gorgeous.

Emma dipped her cookies in a maple glaze and scattered maple glazed bacon bits over her cookies. I opted for a milk chocolate dip and a generous coating of maple glazed chopped pecans. These cookies are buttery, sweet, a tiny bit salty, crunchy and packed with maple flavour. If you can get your hands on maple sugar use it instead of regular granulated sugar.

After makling the dough, roll it out right away, while it is still soft, between 2 sheets of partchment paper. It’s so much easier than trying to roll out firm chilled dough. After rolling, chill the dough before cutting out your maple leaves. While the dough is chilling make the candied maple pecans. Mix together the pecans. maple surup and a pinch of salt.

I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I wanted an impeccable straight, clean line of chocolate and pecans. Just dipping the cookie into the melted chocolate wasn’t going to give me the edge I wanted, so check out my method for achieving perfectly decorated cookies.

Autumn Gingerbread Leaves

A few years ago, I posted a gluten free version of these cookies. I wanted to share a gluten version for those not avoiding wheat. This gingerbread recipe comes from the genius folks over at Cook’s Illustrated. Thick and chewy and loaded with ginger and cinnamon, they are perfect. If you like them crispy, just bake them a bit longer.

Even though gingerbread is usually associated with fall and winter, I bake it all year long. I love to sandwich dulce de leche icecream between 2 cookies in the summer!

Decorating these cookies makes me feel like a real artist and the method is simple and fairly idiot proof. Check out the how-to video.