Category: Uncategorized
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Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies
This is an autumn twist on one of my favorite cookie recipes: banana oatmeal chocolate chip, by Two Peas & Their Pod. I swapped mashed banana for apple butter, replaced chocolate with currants, and added pecans and a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon. Apple butter, a mixture of pureed apples, cinnamon, cloves, and other spices, is…
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Pomegranate Squares
Studded with fresh pomegranate seeds and filled with condensed milk, these colorful bar cookies are at once tangy and sweet. They are perfect for early fall, when pomegranates first come into season. The fruit grows predominantly in India, Iran, California, and the Mediterranean region, and is used in a variety of sweet and savory dishes.…
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Pan de Elote
In Mexico, corn bread, called pan de elote in Spanish, has a cake-like consistency and is at once savory and sweet, prepared with whole corn kernels, condensed milk, grated cheese, and only a tiny bit of flour. I first made pan de elote when teaching a cooking class for kids, and later decided to experiment…
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Concord Grape and Walnut Tart
I always look forward to late summer and early fall, when concord grapes make an appearance at farmers markets in New York City. The dark purple grapes, which are deliciously sweet yet tart and filled with crunchy seeds, originated in the town of Concord, Massachusetts. These days, they’re commonly grown around the Great Lakes and…
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Bakewell Tart
One of my coworkers lived in England until she was 11 years old. Of all British desserts, the one she misses most from her childhood is the Bakewell tart: a buttery crust with an almond filling and layer of raspberry jam. This delicious tart is a variation on Bakewell pudding, a jam-filled egg custard named after…
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Coffee, Walnut, and Chocolate Chip Biscotti
Biscotti are twice-baked cookies with origins in ancient Rome. In Italy, the cookies are typically dunked in cappuccinos for breakfast. In this light adaption of one of my favorite biscotti recipes, which I’ve been making on a regular basis since college, the dough itself contains ground coffee beans, along with cinnamon, walnuts, and chocolate chips.…
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Mshabak: Syrian Doughnuts
The other day, my coworker gave me a recipe for mshabak, a doughnut-like pastry popular in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. The dessert, which is typically served on holidays, is piped into spirals and deep-friend much like funnel cake. The Syrian variety is made from an unsweetened dough containing yogurt, semolina, and rosewater. After frying, the…
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Chocolate Tahini Bars
The flavors of dark chocolate and tahini, a sesame paste with origins in the Middle East, work surprisingly well together. I originally set out to make chocolate tahini truffles, but ended up creating this bar cookie instead. Served cold, with an almond-date crust, creamy tahini filling, and dark chocolate glaze sprinkled with sea salt, it’s…
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Almond Date Thumbprint Cookies
The inspiration for these delicious, marzipan-like cookies comes from a dessert I first made in high school. As part of an assignment for Latin class, I had to prepare a dish from an ancient Roman cookbook and bring it to a class potluck. I chose to make roasted dates stuffed with almonds and drizzled with honey. …
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Salsa Verde Pizza
The other day, my husband and I were taking a walk, discussing what to make for an upcoming pizza night (a weekly tradition in our home,) when we passed by a Mexican restaurant with outdoor seating. Catching a glimpse of the delicious food being served, I thought: why not make pizza with Mexican flavors? I wanted something simple and…
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