All posts by Melissa

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie {recipe}

Cookies,

My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe

My favorite dessert is definitely a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.  When I don’t know what to bake for friends and family, I default to chocolate chip cookies.  When it’s cold and snowy outside, there is nothing more comforting and delicious than baking up a batch of my favorite treat.

Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have tried to turn many many recipes for these perfect treats from dairy to dairy free and most come out fine.  Replacing the butter in cookie recipes is not always so simple. Then one day I stumbled upon a recipe that called for a secret ingredient: vanilla pudding. I gave it a shot, replacing the butter for margarine, and now it’s my favorite recipe.  I even developed a Passover version that my family has dubbed “I can’t believe these are not chometz cookies”.

Non-Dairy Chocolate Chip CookiesThese cookies come out thick and soft in the center with crispy edges.  They don’t spread too thinly in the oven, and they freeze beautifully.  My favorite feature of this recipe is that there is no need to chill the dough before baking.  When I’m in the mood for these beauties, I mix up a batch, scoop them out, and after 9 minutes in the oven, they are ready to devour.  Here is my dairy free and printable recipe; enjoy!

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My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie {recipe}
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3 dozen
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) margarine
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp, vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2¼ cups flour
  • 1 package vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ¾ tsp. salt
  • 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  3. In the bowl on an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the margarine with the sugars and vanilla extract until smooth.
  4. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.
  5. Mix in the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt, and mix until combined.
  6. Add in the chocolate chips and mix just until combined, trying not to break up the chips.
  7. Using a 1½ Tbs. size cookie scoop or spoon, scoop cookie dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 8-11 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet to firm up a bit. Enjoy!

Here are some more comfort foods for you to try!

Mike and Ike Candy Cake

Celebration Cakes

Mike and Ike Candy Cake

I was given a fun challenge and asked to decorate a cake using Mike and Ike candies. I wanted to come up with something simple and fun to do, but something elegant that would really make a statement.  I came up with this really dramatic pattern that looks really cool and complicated.  It is actually a lot easier to do than it seems.

Mike and Ike Rainbow Candy Cake

This is a great fun project to do with kids!  Mike and Ike candies are so pretty that they make the cake look like a gem.  This cake design will surely pop at your next party, and nobody will believe that it’s all made out of delicious Mike and Ike candies!  For complete instructions head over to JoyOfKosher.com!

The Holiday Kosher Baker {review and giveaway}

Cakes, Cookbook Review

The Holiday Kosher Baker by Paula Shoyer

There is nothing more exciting for me than receiving a brand new cookbook, hot off the presses.  I received a review copy of Paula Shoyer’s new cookbook The Holiday Kosher Baker, and couldn’t wait to crack it open.  As a fellow pastry chef, I am in constant awe of Paula.  She is a former practicing lawyer who decided to follow her love and passion for baking, and I’m so glad she did!  This is Paula’s second book.  Her first book, The Kosher Baker, is designed like a baking bible.  It has every basic recipe a Jewish baker could hope for.  In her second book, Paula focuses on holiday baking which is great, because there are so many Jewish holidays, each with it’s own unique holiday desserts.

Paula and me at Kosherfest 2013

The cookbook begins with a Kosher baking encyclopedia explaining everything you need to know about using this book as well as general kosher baking skills.  The cookbook is then broken down by holiday, starting with Rosh Hashana and following the Jewish calendar all the way through to Shavuot.  Each chapter is color coded making the cookbook even more beautiful and easy to navigate.  The most exciting section has to be Passover.  This cookbook includes over 45 recipes for the scariest holiday a pastry chef could possibly face. Paula makes baking easy and exciting.  Her recipes are clear, and easy to follow.  Most of the recipes are accompanied by gorgeous color photos to inspire.  There are plenty of tips and tricks included to help you along the way.  Paula even labeled every recipe, explaining it as easy, moderate, or multiple steps so you can decide for yourself what you are in the mood to tackle.

Almond Olive Oil Cake

Most of the recipes are non-dairy, perfect for serving after a meat meal, but she also includes her best dairy desserts.  Recipes for low-sugar, gluten free, vegan, and nut-free treats are also included—something for everyone in your family.  I already use Paula’s red velvet cake as my default recipe and can’t wait to try more!  The recipes I have already bookmarked to try are babka bites, gingerbread cookies, red velvet hamantaschen, and Passover Mexican chocolate cookies.  To celebrate Chanukah, I’d like to share Paula’s recipe for Almond and Olive Oil Cake.

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Almond and Olive Oil Cake
Author: 
Serves: 8 to 12
 
Recipe reprinted with permission from The Holiday Kosher Baker by Paula Shoyer
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup sliced almonds (with or without skins)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup ground almonds
  • 1½ tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • ½ tsp. orange zest (from one orange)
  • spray oil containing flour
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Trace an 8-inch round pan on parchment paper and cut it out with scissors.
  2. Grease and flour the pan, press in the parchment circle; and grease and flour the top of the parchment and sides of the pan.
  3. Sprinkle and spread the sliced almonds on the bottom of the pan to cover it.
  4. In a medium bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, and olive oil for about one minute at medium speed until creamy.
  5. Add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, salt, almond extract, and orange zest and beat until combined.
  6. Pour the mixture over the sliced nuts.
  7. Bake fr 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the sides.
  9. Turn the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool.
  10. Serve the cake almond side up.
  11. Store it covered at room temperature for up to four days or freeze for up to three months.

Now for the amazing giveaway!  Enter to win a free copy of The Holiday Kosher Baker! Contest open to US addresses only.  One winner will be chosen at random, good luck!

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