I love baking babka. And I don’t use my challah dough when baking a giant batch. Nope, instead I make a buttery (or fake buttery) dough that’s soft, fluffy, and all around delicious, ready for the filling of chocolate, cinnamon, or in this case cheese! I’ve made this recipe a whole bunch of times until I perfected it. And I found that this dough is just perfect for babka. It’s sweet, soft, and delicate, and everyone just loves it. If you’re making a brunch (like we did here) it’s the perfect addition to the meal. The plus side is that there are so many different ways to serve this. As individual rolls, in a big bundt pan, or rolled like a regular babka. Plus, it freezes well, so you can always bake one for tomorrow and save the other for your next party. 

The filling is a danish filling. Which is what makes it so delicious! And the dough, while not the easiest thing in the world to make, is a whole lot easier than all those folds and rolls of making danishes. Not that I don’t love doing that, too. But look how pretty these are! No one will miss the danish dough. And I know from experience that people love these babkas (I made about 4 batches in a month, so I shared with all my colleagues, family, and friends. Yeah, everyone loved them).

Cheese Babka, makes 2:

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 3/4 cup warm whole milk
• 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons active dry yeast (or two 1/4-oz packages)
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
• 2 whole large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) butter, cut into pieces and softened

For the filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Make the dough: First mix the milk with 2 teaspoons of sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, or until it foams.
2. Combine 1/2 cup of flour to the yeast in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and beat at medium speed until combined.
4. Reduce speed to low and slowly mix in the remaining 2 3/4 cups of flour.
5. Increase speed to medium and beat in butter, a few pieces at a time. Let it beat until the dough is shiny and stringy, about 4 minutes.
6. Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled.
7. Make the filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a stand mixer and beat until smooth.
8. Assemble babkas: Grease and flour two loaf pans, or line them with parchment paper.
9. Punch down the dough and cut it in half.
10. Roll out one half onto a floured surface, and roll it out into a 10 x 18-inch rectangle, with a long side facing you.
11. Spread half the filling over the dough.
12. Roll the babka: Starting from the long side farthest from you, roll the dough into a tight log. Make sure to pinch the edges to seal.
13. Now you can either shape the babka into logs (as seen here) or following these directions for individual babka rolls, or put them all together for an interesting looking swirly babka cake.
14. Cut the roll into 12 pieces.
15. Place into individual muffin tins – or – spread each slice individually around a bundt pan.
16.  Cover babkas loosely with greased plastic wrap.
17. Let rise at room temperature for 2 hours, or until the dough reaches the top of the pan. You can also let them rise in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours, but make sure to bring to room temperature for 3-4 hours before baking.
18. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes for the big cake and 20-25 minutes for the individuals.

This granola is different than my usual kind because it sticks together. Kind of like those Nature’s Valley bars. But there’s always leftover stuff that you can eat as cereal. I got the recipe from my sister-in-law Claudette. But changed it up just a little bit. She uses whole wheat flour and a little bit more maple syrup in her. Since I wanted to make my kid-friendly (it’s a great snack for Richie!) and gluten free (you never know when a celiac will walk in), I dialed back the syrup and made my own oat flour. Play around with the flavors here…like any granola recipe, it’s just a template that you can change a lot. Of course, add whatever your favorite nuts and dried fruits are. I usually add dried fruit at the end, but with this recipe add it right in so it’ll stick when you break it into chunks.

This recipe is easy to multiply. It freezes well, and also has a long life on the counter or in the pantry (I store mine in OXO pop top containers), so make a giant batch!

Claudette’s Granola

Ingredients:

• 4 cups + 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup flavorless oil (coconut, grapeseed, peanut, canola)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
• 3/4 cups maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• Dried fruit, optional (cherries, cranberries, chopped apricots)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place 3/4 cups of rolled oats in the food processor and process until finely ground and looks like flour.

3. Add all ingredients to a large glass bowl.

4. Mix well, making sure to coat all the dry ingredients.

5. Spread onto baking sheet evenly, trying to cover the entire sheet.

6. Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through baking, until mixture is lightly toasted on top.

7. Let cool completely.

8. Break into chunks. Eat!

Aha – I got you! you’re wondering why a kosher blog is featuring a sandwich with the main ingredient as bacon! Well, Jack’s Gourmet has an awesome new-ish product on the market called facon, which is dry cured beef! I’m not sure how it compares to the real stuff, but I do know it’s awesome. We baked it up to make it crispy and put it on a fresh, toasted sourdough bread with some lettuce and thick slices of tomato – voila! an easy, delicious, and filling dinner! 

If you can’t find facon, but live in Brooklyn, Pomegranate has some good bacon options – I think lamb, veal, and beef. I’ve bought it before, but never baked it up like I did with Jack’s Gourmet facon.

Okay, so now I’m mad. I bought my facon at Fairway, and I paid $6.99! Usually they have great prices, but the MSRP for facon is 5.99 and they’re selling it online for 4.99. I feel ripped off. Good thing I love Fairway for other reasons.

Another note: A while back, I read about how healthy watercress is! So while traditionally you use a little bit more of a crispy and big leafed lettuce for a BLT (I think), I wanted to be super healthy! So, I used watercress as the lettuce in this. It was great! Really.

Oh, and I didn’t add any mayo. I was thinking of making a garlic aioli and spreading it on the bread, but I changed my mind and just dressed the lettuce with a tiny bit of oil, balsamic, salt and pepper. It was great.

BLTs

Makes 3 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 6 slices sourdough bread, sliced and toasted 
• 1 package of Jack’s Gourmet facon
• 1 cup watercress, washed and dried well
• 3 thick slices of tomato
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

2. Place the slices of bread on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for 5 minutes.

3. Remove the bacon from the package and put into a basketweave pattern, kinda like this, but using two slices across and two down. If some slices are longer than others, feel free to trim them, etc.

4. Bake the bacon until crispy, mine took about 15 minutes.

5. Dress the watercress with a splash of vinegar, a splash of oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

6. Lay three of the toast slices on a plate.

7. Divide the lettuce between the slices and top with the tomato.

8. Top with bacon and the second slice of bread.

9. Eat right away!

This is such a simple dessert, and definitely look harder than they were to make. And they’re amazingly delicious.

I actually baked these for a shabbat dessert, but I can imagine them for a breakfast or brunch party. Of course, because I made them pareve, they weren’t as good as they would be with real butter. But everyone still loved them, they were a hit, and I would make them pareve again! They really are a cross between a breakfast and a dessert, especially with the granola crumble on top. Use good granola (homemade, if possible). It really makes a difference in the final flavor! Also, use good jam. I didn’t use homemade jam on this, only because I didn’t want to think about wasting more than a jar of it! 

Raspberries not your thing? You can use whatever flavor jam you like. Triple berry would probably be amazing, as would our homemade fig jam!

Raspberry Crumble Bars, adapted from Ina Garten:

Makes 12 bars, but my guests didn’t each eat a whole one

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (or Earth Balance shortening or 8 ounces coconut oil)
• ¾ cup sugar 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt 
• 10 to 12 ounces good raspberry jam 
• 2/3 cup good granola (without dried fruit)
• Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until combined.

3. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla.

4. Sift the flour and salt together and, with the mixer on low, slowly add to the butter mixture, mixing until it almost comes together in a ball.

5. Turn the dough out on a board and knead until it comes together.

6. Lightly pat two-thirds of the dough evenly on the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan and about ¼ inch up the sides.

7. Spread with the jam, leaving a ¼-inch border.

8. In your mixer, mix the granola into the remaining dough.

9. With your hands, break the dough into small bits, and distribute it on top of the jam, covering most of the surface.

10. Bake the bars for 45 minutes, until lightly browned.

11. Cool completely and cut into 12 bars. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners’ sugar.

Matzah brei is really ugly, or at least mine is. But it’s a Passover staple, so I have to share it with you anyway.

It’s basically scrambled eggs with matzah in it. You can make it sweet, savory, meat, dairy, whatever.

Matzah Brei
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets of matzah
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk + 2 tablespoons milk
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• cinnamon or powdered sugar, to garnish

Directions:

1. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the 2 tablespoons of milk and salt.
2. Crush the matzah into small pieces, add the 1/2 cup of milk and sugar, mix. Set aside (the softer you want it to be, the longer you should let it sit).
3. Heat the butter in a pan, then combine the eggs and the matzah. Now the pan should be hot enough to add the egg mixture. Mix and scramble until the eggs are just set, and serve right away, garnished with cinnamon or powdered sugar if desired.

]]> http://thekosherfoodies.com/matzah-brei/feed/ 4 http://thekosherfoodies.com/temp-tee-cream-cheese-spreads/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=temp-tee-cream-cheese-spreads http://thekosherfoodies.com/temp-tee-cream-cheese-spreads/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:04:14 +0000 jessica http://thekosherfoodies.com/?p=8955 Matzah and cream cheese is THE quintessential Passover dish. Yes, anyone can spend hours making delicious meals (meat or dairy), but sometimes all you want is some matzah and cream cheese!

Of course, Temp Tee is the only way to go. Matzah needs the easily spreadable whipped spread so it doesn’t break (because everyone knows a whole matzah is better than two halves).

So, here are two very easy recipes I have for spreads with Temp Tee. The first, an olive spread, is because olive cream cheese is just my favorite. And the second is a chocolate cream cheese spread, because sometimes you just want matzah to be your dessert. Plus, kids will go crazy for it. And adults will pretend not to love it, but secretly sneak bites whenever they can.

These are two of the easiest recipes ever, but during the last Passover lunch, you’ll be happy you have these two ideas you saw here just to get something on the table that you think your family will eat.

For the recipes, click here and here to see the recipes on Joy of Kosher. And check out all the other amazing Temp Tee recipes our fellow food bloggers (and ourselves) posted for the holiday. Chag Kasher VeSameach, everyone!

And best of all, you can eat this on top of matzah or even your favorite passover rolls!

We’ve been getting some requests for these recipes – most of them are already on the blog. Some of them are new. Check out these links to our brunch blog posts. What is your favorite brunch food?

We made these cinnamon buns, just in a square Pyrex, and added chopped pecans to the topping. We actually doubled this dough recipe to make some cheese babka. No link to the recipe, but we used this filling, and twisted it around like we do with this babka.

We made this salad, just with candied pecans replacing the walnuts. To candy pecans, add 1 cup pecans, 1/2 cup sugar, and about 2 tablespoons of water to a small saucepan. Heat over medium/high heat, stirring constantly, until the water evaporates, and the sugar gets dark, coating the nuts. Pour onto a baking sheet to let them cool and harden.

We also made a frittata. Not this exact one, we used asparagus, topped it with some crumbled goat cheese and some basil chiffonade.

We also made cream scones. We actually used a different recipe than this one, which is the recipe we use ALL THE TIME now! They were probably the biggest hit in the class. Light, fluffy, moist, and super easy. No leftovers! We will share that recipe soon! We put dried cherries in them, but you can put your favorite dried fruit, jam, or even chocolate chips.

(Also called Toddler Muffins or Triple-Hitter Muffins)

I’m really not a fan of hiding vegetables in food. I mean, it’s just sneaky. But, there’s nothing wrong with making muffins out of a bunch of fruits and vegetables and them tasting good! who says it’s hiding? Richie loves watching me cook and bake, and it’s no different when I make these muffins. He sees the food processor shredding veggies and the Kitchen Aid mixing and it’s entertainment for an entire evening.

Plus, zucchini bread is amazing. As is carrot cake. So why not mix the two, add some apple, and bake it into the best kind of breakfast a toddler can eat, muffins! They freeze well, so I can pop one out of the freezer at night, and in the morning Richie has a healthy and filling muffin for breakfast. Plus, he’s happy to get muffin crumbs all over the kitchen floor.

Veggie Toddler Muffins, adapted from here:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Chopped nuts or raisins, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a regular bowl), beat in oil and sugar until combined.

3. Add the egg, applesauce, and vanilla extract and mix to combine.

4. Add the carrots and zucchini.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

6. With your mixer on low, mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.

7. Fold in nuts or raisins, if using.

8. Spoon batter to the very top of muffin tops.

10. Bake for 18-20 minutes until cooked through. Let cool before serving!

I have to admit something: this is one of the first recipes I’ve ever written up to blog. I’ve made these cookies  a whole bunch of times. And I took beautiful pictures to share with you. And then, when it came to writing up the post, I couldn’t find the pictures anywhere! I know I burned them onto a CD, but the CD is now somewhere among the other thousands of photo CDs I have (don’t worry, I have since updated my photo back-up devices). So, the post sat here, written up, but never shared.

I know, I know. We’ve shared a few recipes without any (or many) picture, but these were just so fun and beautiful I couldn’t post them without the photos. So the draft just sat and messed up my WordPress. And every now and then I would say to myself that I’m definitely making these again, only to not…because, you know, I had new desserts to test out, and I’ve already made these so many times.

I’m actually quite mean, because my sister-in-law Margie loves this dessert. So here I am, more than two years after the last time I made rugelach (blasphemy!), promising to not only make them this time to share with you, but definitely make them more often.

I used to make these pareve with Toffuti cream cheese, but really didn’t like it much (and it might be a reason I stopped making them for so long): it has hydrogenated oil. So, while other people would scarf them down, I wouldn’t. And we serving rugelach after dairy is not the same as after a great Shabbat meal. Then I found a better substitute from Trader Joe’s! With an O-U! So, now we can have pareve rugelach again.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 8 oz Trader Joe’s Not Cream Cheese
• 2 sticks Earth Balance (or other pareve butter substitute)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour

For the filling:

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2/3 cup raisins (I chop them)
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (I like to use pecans instead)
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves, pureed in a food processor

For the topping:

• Egg wash
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Cream the Toffuti cream cheese and Soy Garden in a KitchenAid fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the flour. Mix until just combined. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into ball. Cut the dough into quarters, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for an hour. You can also freeze the dough to use later.

2. To make the filling, combine sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts.

3. On a floured board, roll each ball into a 9-inch circle. Spread 2 tablespoons of apricot on top. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filling into the dough. Then, cut the dough into 12 wedges (cut the whole circle in quarters, then cut each quarter in thirds). This is easiest if you have a pizza cutter.  Roll up each wedge from the wide (outside) end to the skinny edge. Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. As the cookies are chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

5. Right before baking, brush each rugelach with egg wash and sprinkle with the topping. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

Granola is so expensive when you buy it at the supermarket. It’s mostly oats, which are so cheap! And I get that nuts are expensive, so when I make it, I usually use whatever is hanging out in my freezer. This time, I still had lots of pepitas from my pumpkin biscotti leftover, so I used those to make this nut-free granola, but feel free to use pecans, walnuts or whatever you like. You can even add in some flax seed or wheat germ, but I think this is healthy enough as it is. And you can really use any fruit you like or have, dates and apricots are just some of my favorites. Dried cherries would work great, too. Or even raisins…you get the point.This granola is sweet from the brown sugar and maple syrup, but not too sweet. The crunch makes the perfect topping for my morning yogurt. The egg white helps bind it, so you end up with nice clusters, and not just crumbs.

It lasts in an airtight container for weeks. Probably even a month, though mine never lasts that long. But you can also store it in the freezer if you don’t think you can finish it all on time.

Granola
Makes about 7 cups

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup shelled sunflower seeds
• 1 cup shelled pepitas
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 cups dried dates, apricots or other dried fruit, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix everything except for the egg white and dried fruit together.
3. Whisk the egg white until frothy and add to the bowl. Mix well.
4. Spread the granola mixture on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for about an hour. For clumpier granola, carefully mix only once halfway through baking time. For looser granola, stir every 15 minutes or so.
5. When everything is browned and dried out, take it out of the oven and let cool completely. Then add in the dried fruit.