quince hand pies

Growing-up in a traditional Moroccan home, every Rosh Hashanah dinner my mom served-up delicious caramelized quinces cooked with cinnamon and sugar. I adapted her recipe into hand pies. You can always replace quinces with apples; and for a nice touch, you can insert a cake-pop stick onto to turn them into pie pops. 

DURATION: 120 MIN | COOK TIME: 20 MIN | PREP TIME: 35 MIN
SERVING SIZE: 20 HAND PIES

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (1 lemon)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 large whole egg
• 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 quinces, peeled, cored and cut into slices

2 tablespoons of cinnamon

For the egg wash

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients from the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest; set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 cup sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, and beat until just combined. Add cream cheese, buttermilk, and vanilla extract; beat until well combined. Add the reserved flour mixture, and beat until smooth. Form the dough into a ball, and cover with plastic wrap; flatten into a disk, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. In the meantime, peel, rinse and slice your quinces.

4. Bring mixture of water, lemon juice, half the sugar and quinces to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until most of the water has been absorbed, and quinces have softened. Quinces need more cook time than apples, about 25-30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

5. Remove dough from refrigerator. Sprinkle a clean work surface with flour; roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a 4 1/2-inch-round cookie cutter, cut out 20 rounds, and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

6. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Have ready a small bowl of ice water. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator, and let stand until pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. Place 2-3 apple wedges onto the center of a round, and brush ice water around the edges. Fold round in half; using a fork, press down on edges to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds. Chill 30 minutes.

7. Remove pies from refrigerator, and brush tops with egg white. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar over tops. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve.

Dough recipe credit: Martha Stewart

apple & pear crisp

I love apple crisps, but now I love them even more with a blend of pears and a touch of orange zest. You can adapt this one easily into a pareve recipe by substituting the butter with the Earth Balance margarine sticks.

DURATION: 70 MIN | COOK TIME: 60 MIN | PREP TIME: 10 MIN | SERVING SIZE:6-8

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds ripe Bosch pears (4 pears)
• 2 pounds firm Cortland apples (6 apples)
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the Topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1 ½ stick of cold butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into nice chunks. Toss the fruit in a bowl with orange zest, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

For the topping:

3. Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

4. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.

This recipe was adapted from one made by Ina Garten.

green apple sorbet

For a light or gluten-free dessert after a full-course meal or to cleanse one’s palette after a fishy appetizer, a green apple sorbet might be a perfect option. No ice cream machine necessary!


DURATION: 30 MIN (plus 2 hours for freezing) | PREP TIME: 15 MIN |  6 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS

• 4 granny smith apples
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 4 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1⁄3 cups apple juice
• Green food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Peel, cut, core and coarsely slice the apples.

2. In a saucepan place the apples along with lemon juice, sugar, and apple juice.

3. Boil for approximately 3 to 5 minutes or until soft.

4. Remove the green apple mixture from heat and cool.

5. Place in a blender or food processor and puree the green apple mixture until smooth.

6. Strain and transfer to a container. Stir in droplets of green food coloring, mix well and place the green apple sorbet mixture in the freezer.

7. When the green apple sorbet is completely frozen, remove from the freezer and place in a food processor or blender and puree again. Return to the freezer until ready to use.

8. Ice cream maker option: churn your apple mixture into your ice cream make for 30 minutes or until the consistency is thick and smooth. Place in a container and freeze for a couple of hours. Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving. 

honey jar challah

You never know who’s sitting right beside you. And you never know what story they have to share. Feeling grumpy, I headed for a manicure and happened to sit beside Golda, a 78 year old woman with lots of stories to tell. Golda was the only 11 year old Jewish girl remaining in Poland in 1945. 1,000,000 Jewish children were killed. She was three years old when the war broke out and from that moment on, most of her childhood consisted of a run for survival.  She had red hair and blue eyes, “I didn't look Jewish,” she said, “That’s why I survived.” 

In light of a heightened international anti-semitic stance, in light of extensive misunderstandings of Jewish essence and intensified Israeli heritage bashing, I was inspired by Golda and felt compelled to share excerpts of our hour long conversation at the nail salon.

“You can’t imagine the things I saw, you can’t even believe that such evil in the world existed… There were two trains, one heading east and one heading west. We were lucky; we grabbed the right one because the other train headed for death camps in Auschwitz…. In 1944, I remember our escape from a Russian prison, children were medicated to ensure they would remain quiet - yes, even children were imprisoned. We were placed in barrels and during the escape I heard gun shots…. we survived.”

Golda moved to Canada, got married had two children and, for 34 years, she volunteered her time in the comfort and discretion of her home. She provided rehabilitative support and advice for individuals with certain illnesses and addictions. “I loved helping people, it feels good to help others,” she shared, “no one knew what I was doing, and no one needed to know.” 

Tonight is Yom Kippour, it’s the only Shabbat of the year we cannot eat.  Yom Kippour is one of the most important days in our tradition, a day of reflection in the hopes of being better than we were last year. Throughout history, oddly, Jewish people survived because they gained strength from the very notion that someone in this world makes it their mission to kill us. Golda was outraged at the media’s role in fostering anti-semitism as a result of the recent war. Jewish survival was asked to be compromised by UN ‘headless chickens’ as too few empathized with our historically-based hypersensitivity and need for self-defense or preservation.

I made this challah with my friend Sandie for my children’s school Rosh Hashanah bake sale and grabbed the recipe from  Joy of Kosher's cookbook. I dedicate this post to Golda who inspired me, and I dedicate this beautiful challah idea to all Jewish baking mothers, it’s a clever way to avoid the challah-honey dipping messes. Not only is it practical, but it also symbolizes unity and sweetness, perfect for the holidays to come.Wishing you all an easy fast.

Le’Chaim, to life!



INGREDIENTS Prep: 1 hour min | Yield 4 challahs, simply double the recipe to make 8.

You'll need 4 glass jars with a removable lid. The dollar store has a great selection and that's where I got mine.

• 2 ounces active dry yeast + 2 tablespoons sugar
• 6 cups warm water, divided
• 4 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 (6-pound) bag high-gluten flour
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups canola oil, divided
• 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup poppy seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar in 2 cups of warm water, cover loosely with a towel and set aside.

2. Place salt in a huge plastic bowl. Add flour to bowl. Add sugar and egg yolks.

3. Yeast should now have bubbled/foamed and doubled in size, if yeast has not bubbled or does not seem active repeat the process again.

4. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and slowly pour yeast and sugar water mixture into the well. Then add the remaining 4 cups of warm water into the well.

5. Make sure the water is not too hot. It should be no warmer than you would use for a baby’s bath. Start kneading ingredients together and add a 1/2 cup of oil.

6. For the next 10-15 minutes, knead, adding another 1/2 cup of oil slowly during that time as needed to create a workable dough. Dough shouldn't be too sticky and also should not be dry. It should become one cohesive mass.

7. Loosely cover dough with a large kitchen towel and place in a warm spot in your kitchen for 15 minutes.

8. After 15 minutes, lightly oil your hand and knead again for another 5 minutes adding a touch more oil to the dough if necessary. The dough should now be easier to work with and will become smooth and satiny.

9. Rub a little oil over the top and around the dough. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel. Place covered bowl in a medium plastic garbage bag and place open ends of the bag loosely underneath the bowl, trapping in air.

10. Place in a warm spot and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down and knead (lightly oil your hands if necessary), flipping it and releasing any air bubbles. Cover again, using the towel and the bag, and let rise 1 more hour.

11. Lightly oil your hands, and punch down again. With a sharp knife divide dough into 4 equal parts. Liberally spray 4 (9-inch) round baking pans or CorningWare with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

12. With lightly oiled hands, place 1 piece of dough on a smooth work surface. Play with the dough a bit, squeezing out any air bubbles. Separate into 5 equal parts. Roll each part into a round ball.

13. Place the jar base only in the middle of your round baking pan or CorningWare surround the jar with the balls of challah dough. Don’t worry if they don’t touch. They will rise into each other while baking. Set aside.
Repeat either method with remaining dough so that you have 4 challahs. Brush challahs with beaten egg and sprinkle with a combination of slivered almonds or poppy or sesame seeds. 

14. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes and then lower your oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 35 to 45 minutes, until challah tops are dark golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before slicing.