A recipe – Banana Bread

I was trying to make the right adjustments to this recipe so it would be kosher for Passover, but then I thought, “What’s the point?” First, Passover is over today. Second, this bread is so tasty that it is a sin to change the perfect balance between the ingredients.

I planed to keep my diet Passover kosher this week, but there are habits that I guess are stronger than we realize. The morning after the Passover dinner (The Seder) I woke up and fixed myself breakfast. While I was finishing cleaning the dishes I realized that I ate the same breakfast 

I eat every day: toasted bread with avocado. Well, kosher Passover is officially over.

Ingredients

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted butter (3 tablespoons)

¾ cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

¾ cups of all-purpose flour

¾ cups of whole-wheat flour

Handful of walnuts, roughly chopped

Directions

1.     Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

2.     In a big bowl, mix the mashed bananas with butter.

3.     Stir while adding the sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, salt and flour. Mix all together until completely combined.

4.     Add the walnuts into the mixture.

5.     Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

A recipe – Crunchy Delicious Oatmeal Cookies

I am not a native English speaker as you probably know, so when I come across a new term, a phrase, or even a word that I don't know, the immediate response it to translate it word-by-word to my native language (Hebrew).

Sometimes it is the right meaning, but sometimes it made a “new language” and a very funny translation.

Comfort food, for example, relates to the physical feeling and the preparation of the dish – it is prepared simply, and it is easy to eat.

But I was sure that it is related to your feelings about it, a consolation that you get from a good meal. Don't you think that is better interpretation?

These cookies are a great comfort in this weird winter. And it is also easy to make and even easier to eat…

 Ingredients yield: about 25 cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, cool room temperature (4 oz)

1/2 cup very fairly packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup Ultra-grain flour or all purpose

1/4 cup toasted wheat germ

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped

1/3 cup mixed golden and regular raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; mix to combine. Mix in vanilla; set aside.
3. Combine flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and stir until mixed.
4. Stir in the oats, followed by the pecans and raisins.
5. Using a heaping tablespoon measure, shape dough into 24 mounds drop dough onto prepared sheets, about 2 inches apart (the cookies double their size during baking!)
6. Bake until golden and just set, about 13-15 minutes (You might want to check at 12 if you oven runs hot.

 

A recipe – Tahini Cookies

After the last post I felt so guilty. So much butter and sugar... Oh!
So this time - healthy cookies!
If you have a food processor, it takes just five minutes, if not, it will take 10 minutes ...
And it is tasty! Very much!

Ingredients yield: about 30 cookies

½ cup of Tahini (not the pre-make salad…)

1 stick (100 gr.) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup of sugar (white / light brown)

2 tablespoon milk (Soy / Cow)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup of all-purpose flour

¾ cup of whole-wheat flour

Directions

1.     In a large mixing bowl (or – in a food processor), stir together the tahini and butter; add all the other ingredients, and keep mixing until well blended.

2.     Form balls the size of walnuts and place them on a baking sheet protected with baking paper. The dough is dry and crumbly, so squeeze it together to make the balls.

3.     [I like these cookies nice and round, so after I placed them on the baking sheet, I cut them with a top of a glass (or cooking ring)]

4.     Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

5.     Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cookies have turned light gold. Be aware not to bake the cookies too much, it can affect their flavor. Cool on a rack.

A recipe – Butter Cookies

They are unhealthy, containing mainly butter and sugar, but they are extremely good, so I said to myself: Noit, you should share it!

The original recipe is taken from a book that I really don’t know the name, but I promise to check it out and add it to the post.

I made the some adjustments in order to turn the recipe to less corrupt one…

So, here is the (super easy) recipe for butter cookies:

Ingredients

½ pound (2 sticks / 225 gr.) unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup light brown sugar (in the original recipe – white sugar)

2 egg yolks (You can freeze egg whites for another recipe that require egg foam/Meringue)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour (in the original recipe – 2 cups all-purpose flour, without whole wheat flour)

1 cup whole wheat flour

Directions

1.     In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar, using an electric mixer (much more easier, but not necessary). Add the egg yolks, salt, and vanilla extract and beat well.

2.     Add the flour and keep mixing until you get a soft dough.

3.     Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 logs, about 1-1.5 inch in diameter. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for about an hour, until the logs are firm enough to slice.

4.     Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C).

5.     Take off the plastic wrap and slice the dough into ¼ inch thick disks and transfer to parchment-lined backing sheets.

6.     Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cookies have turned golden. Cool on a rack.

Other option from step 3 and forward –

3.     Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and chill for about an hour.

4.     Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C).

5.     Take off the plastic wrap. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness (you may need to add flour during rolling). Cut into shapes and transfer to parchment-lined backing sheets.

6.     Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cookies have turned golden. Cool on a rack