Rugelach, Delicate Festive Cookies.

December is undoubtedly one of the busiest months of the year. The holidays and their anticipation take a toll on us but they definitely bring unparalleled joy and warmth!

Though this year I did not have much time to think of an elaborate Christmas menu as my energy level is a bit down, I managed to determine one of the menu's sweet items.

I recently tried and really loved a sweet cookie called rugelach. I was not really sure how the cookies' name should be pronounced but I was certain that I found cookies that are worth featuring on my Christmas table or any other festive table.

These crescent shaped cookies were brought to America by the Asheknazi immigrants. The original recipe was leavened with yeast and sour cream was added for flavor and moisture. However, in the last century, the sour cream was dropped and replaced with cream cheese and the dough was no longer fermented.

The cream cheese adds an incredible softness to the dough and the butter makes it flaky and crumbly. The dough is usually stuffed with jam, chocolate and nuts all dusted with cinnamon. The filling can be customized to your liking; as longer as you like the ingredient, use it!

These cookies will captivate you with their aromatic, flaky and satisfyingly rich flavor.

Let´s make some rugelach.

 For the dough you need: (enough for 24 small pieces)

• 170 g all purpose flour 
• 160 g cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 140 g cold cream cheese
• pinch of salt
• 20 g sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• dash of salt

In a big bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, zest, cinnamon and butter and mix with the paddle attachment until you get a sandy mixture. You can also use your pastry blender. Add the cream cheese and mix until well combined.

Divide the dough into 3 equal parts, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

For the filling:

• 150 g orange jam
• 70 g chopped pecans or walnuts
• 60 g sugar
• about 50 g dark chocolate
• 1 and half  tsp cinnamon.

Assembly:

On a generously floured surface, roll the dough (keep the other 2 parts in the fridge while you roll the first one) to about 20 to 22 cm disk of 2-3 mm thick.

Spread about 50 g of the jam, leaving 1 cm away from the edge. Cut the disk in 4 parts, then each part into 2 triangles. Sprinkle 20 g of the sugar, half tsp of the cinnamon, a generous sprinkle of pecans and the grated chocolate.

Roll each triangle into a crescent shape and tuck the edge on the bottom side to prevent the rugelach from opening while baking. Once you finish rolling you need to put the rugelach again in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.

Repeat the same process with the remaining dough.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Brush each cookie with milk, cream or egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake for 20 to 25 min or until golden brown.

As they bake, the cookies will fill your home with an irresistible Christmas aroma wafting from the cinnamon, the orange, the nuts, the chocolate and the dough itself. A heavenly mix!   I am sure you won't be able to wait for the cookies to cool completely before eating one or two.

With this recipe, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Keep on baking!

Plum and Pecan Frangipane Galette

Summer lingered in Madrid this year. Day temperatures did not drop below 28 C until just recently. I really missed the cool autumn weather and now that it is finally here, it's time to enjoy some comfort food. 

For the first autumnal recipe, I used a fruit that is nearing the end of its season: a variety of colorful sweet and tart plums. 

This recipe is pretty basic and it calls for a flaky buttery crust, a sweet and nutty frangipane filling and tangy colorful plums rosettes. To make things more interesting, I added a comforting touch of cardamom to the crust and spiced up the frangipane with some ginger. Moreover, instead of using almonds like it's customary with frangipane, I used pecans. 

I did not know how the mix would turn out but it was really smooth, delicious, and the spice level was just right for that extra heart-warming sensation. 

For 4 to 6 persons, you need:

 Ingredients for the crust:

• 175 pastry flour
• 100 very cold butter
• 25 g powdered sugar and 25 g vanilla sugar
• pinch of salt
• 45 ml cold vodka or kirsh (or just ice water)
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (optional)

In the food processor, mix flour, sugar and salt, pulse for few seconds to combine, add the butter and pulse again to get a sandy mixture. Slowly add the vodka; at first one tablespoon then one teaspoon at a time. Each flour has a different absorption capacity, so be careful not to get a soggy dough.

Once the dough forms a ball, drop the mixture on the working surface and just gather it. Do not over work it. Wrap it in plastic and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

For the frangipane:

• 50 g soft butter
• 50 g sugar (I used 10 g maple sugar and 40 g castor sugar. You can use brown sugar if you wish)
• 1 small egg
• 60 g ground pecans (lightly toasted)
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

Mix the sugar and the salt with the butter, add the egg and whisk until well combined.  Add the pecans and ginger and mix well again. 

For the topping you need:

• 400 g of plums
• milk to brush the edges
• sugar to sprinkle

Assembly

Roll the dough to about 6 mm thick and 25 cm in diameter. Fold the edges to make them about a cm higher. If you don't want a free form shape, you can use a tart tin.

Spread the frangipane over the dough. You can use the whole quantity or adjust the amount to your liking. 

Arrange the plums on top of the frangipane. If you are patient enough, you can form rosettes with  sliced plums, if not, just half or quarter the plums and arrange them on top. 

Brush the edges with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in a preheated oven (180C) for 25 to 30 min, or until the frangipane is almost set in the middle.

Set it aside to cool. 

Served alone or with a scoop of creme fraiche, this is a delicious galette that you will be happy to share with friends or to enjoy by yourself, especially when the weather is getting chilly.  

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Pecans

Vegan baking can be a bit challenging, no question about it. But with some tweaks here and there, and playing around with ingredients, nothing is too difficult.
Although vegan baking seems like a novelty, in reality, it's not. A while ago, I posted a traditional vegan recipe that I grew with and I know there are many more out there.

Most vegan recipes are an adaptation from regular ones laden with the usual suspects of non-vegan ingredients! The chocolate cake recipe I´m sharing today is adapted from a book my brother gave me a couple of years ago called "The Cake Decorator´s Bible". I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding caramelized pecans  and rum. I figured that the combination would be successful. I mean after all, it's chocolate and nuts, you can never go wrong with that!

The end result was pretty amazing. The cake was very moist and fluffy with a deep chocolate flavor and a satisfying butteriness coming from the pecans. You won´t miss the eggs and butter at all. 

To make this cake you need (23 cm loaf pan):

• 200 g pastry flour
• 35 cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2  tsp baking soda
• 100 g white sugar and 50 g brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp dark rum
• 100 g caramelized pecans, processed into powder
• 80 ml vegetable oil (I used sunflower)
• 230 ml water

In a bowl combine  flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground pecans. Whisk to combine, then add the oil, water and rum. Whisk until no flour lumps are visible.

Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 40 to 50 min in a preheated oven (160 C) or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool for five minutes in the pan. Remove and let it cool completely on a wire rack. 

You can serve the cake as it is, or with chocolate syrup, and if you want an extra luscious touch you can prepare, like I did, an easy vegan chocolate cream frosting.

For the frosting you need:

• 100 g vegan butter or margarine
• 10 g cocoa powder
• 50 grams ground caramelized pecans (optional)
• 30 g powdered sugar; you can add more if you like it sweeter. 

Combine all the ingredients and whisk until fluffy. Add on the top of the cake and garnish to your liking.

I hope you give this vegan recipe a try and I would love it if you shared your ideas for vegan baking.

Bon appetit!

Caramelized Pecans

Almonds, cashews, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts were always part of my diet while growing up, in both sweet and savory dishes. Pecans on the other hand were a late discovery for me. Ever since my first pecan, I fell in love with their flavor and texture. Nowadays, I go to sleep feeling better knowing that I have a batch of pecans resting in my fridge or cupboard!

Pecans were not always easy to get by in Madrid. but lately, thanks to more specialty shops opening around every corner, stacking up on pecans is no longer a tricky affair.

Being rich in fats, all nuts pair well with sugar. In Spain, caramelized nuts are a popular treat. During local festivities you are always guaranteed to be swept away by the indulgent and enticing aroma of caramelized nuts being freshly prepared in market squares and fairs across the country.

Though caramelized nuts are more popular during winter times, there's no reason not to prepare them at home any time of the year. That's why I decided to make a batch of caramelized pecans to nibble on to ward off hunger pangs or to sprinkle on cakes and more for that buttery sweet crunch they deliver.

To make a small batch of caramelized pecans, you need:

• 110 lightly toasted pecans (put them in a preheated oven at 100 C just until fragrant)
• 75 brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 25 g coconut oil (for a vegan option) or butter
• pinch of cinnamon (optional)

In a saucepan combine all the ingredients but the cinnamon. Over a gentle flame, slowly mix everything until the sugar melts and coats all the pecans, once everything is combined add the cinnamon and mix again.

Quickly drop the pecan on a parchment paper and with a spatula try to separate each pecan and set aside to cool.

Once cooled down, put in a glass jar and store in a cool and dry place.

Caramelized pecans are a wonderful treat. Perfect as a light snack on their own, they can also be crushed and sprinkled over plain yogurt, or added to cakes, pancakes and muffins for added flavor and texture.

Enjoy!

A Special Thanksgiving Treat: Nutty Pumpkin Pancakes!

Christmas, my favorite time of the year, is all too near, eventhough it means that the end of Autumn is near, my favorite season with all its colors and flavors.
Thanksgiving, though specific to North America, reminds us just how close Christmas is and incites us to celebrate all the goodness this season has to offer.

I know I will probably sound like a broken record, but I am really nuts about pumpkin especially during this season. I have already shared many recipes featuring pumpkins and I can guarantee that you'll always find the results to be super satisfactory.

Besides trying a variety of sweet and savory recipes using pumpkins, lately I have been experimenting with different types of flours. I have bought chestnut flour and I was eager to try it in a special recipe that would make use of its deeply nutty and sweet flavor. That's why I decided to combine these two earthy ingredients in a special Thanksgiving recipe. And what better way to celebrate this typical North American holiday than with the all time American favorite: pancakes! Interestingly enough, if you omit the toppings I used you will have delicious gluten and lactose free pancakes; a good option for individuals who have allergies to these ingredients.

So let's get ready and make some sweet nutty and spicy pumpkin pancakes!

For 2 servings you will need:

• 1 egg at room temperature
• 100 g pmpkin purée
• 1 tbsp light olive oil (no need for extra virgin) 
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 50 g apple butter (substitute with an extra 50 g of pumpkin purée if you don't have it)
• 85 g chestnut flour
• 15 g roughly chopped pecans
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 grated nutmeg
• dash of salt

Mix the flour, nuts, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, nutmeg and salt and set aside.
In another recipient blend the egg, oil, maple, pumpkin purée and apple butter until they come together nicely. 

Now you just need to combine the dry and wet ingredients and leave the mixture to rest from 5 to 10 minutes.

Cook the pancakes in a lightly oiled pan until set and cooked through but be careful as you don't want to overcook them.

I served them with some cream cheese and a sprinkle of cinnamon and lots and lots of maple syrup. 

The texture of these pancakes is just wonderful. They are moist, soft and the combination of flavors is comforting and absolutely delicious with a delicate balance between the sweetness, nuttiness and the spiciness.  And should I remind you that they are gluten and lactose free?

Happy Thanksgiving and happy eating!

Super Easy Sweet Canapés!

Each month the Google plus community foodiesplus selects a special theme and for August canapés were featured. Canapés are ideal if you are entertaining a small group of friends or a large crowd during special occasions.
In addition to being elegant, they are extremely versatile and can be either savory or sweet. Canapés are fun to make and can be miniaturized versions of main dishes.
Personally, I decided to make sweet canapés featuring delicious summer fruits in addition to being a snap to make.

The ingredients I used are pretty common and easy to find. Additionally, the combinations you can make are quite flexible and you can alter ingredients according to your liking.

So to make these little beauties you need:

• mini toasts
• cream cheese
• strawberries, blackberries and flat peach
• honey and maple syrup
• rosemary, lavender and pecans for garnish
• chocolate spread

Prepare the fruits by cutting the peaches and the strawberries into thin slices; of course the blackberries are left whole.
The cream cheese should be removed a bit ahead of time from the fridge to make it more spreadable. You can mix the cheese with the maple syrup or honey or you can drizzle them later on the canapés. 

To assemble, spread the cream cheese or chocolate spread in reasonable amounts and layer the fruits on top. Drizzle the maple syrup or honey on top, if you haven't mixed them into the cream cheese.

I used the following combinations:

• Chocolate spread, strawberries and garnished with rosemary leaves
• Cream cheese, blackberries, maple syrup and garnished with a bit of crushed pecans.
• Cream cheese, peaches, honey and garnished with a bit of lavender flowers.

You can play with these combinations as you want, but I do feel these flavors work best together. 

Next time you have friends coming over and you're short on time, these canapés will be a life saver. Enjoy!