Chocolate Babka

This is no ordinary sweet bread. This stuff has it all! You get crumbs, chocolate, nuts, cinnamon and the complexity of yeast. What more could you ask for? Bake it with the windows cracked and the neighbors will find an excuse to visit.

Babka is another thing that there are a million versions out there for. You know those kinds of things, I'm sure. I adore this recipe. The dough is beautiful and perfectly capable of standing alone! You can omit the chocolate and use brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts in its place and you will still have an equally glorious Babka. It may even be more traditional? Here I am out of my element, so I will leave the subject alone and give you the recipe.

Chocolate Babka

Dough

1 ½ cup milk

½ oz (2 pks. dry) yeast

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

6 cups flour

1 tsp salt

14 oz. butter

1 7/8 lbs. finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate

2 ½ Tbls ground cinnamon

Egg Wash

1 egg
1 Tbls heavy cream

Streusel

1 2/3 cups powdered sugar

1 1/3 cups flour

sift together sugar and flour

6 oz. butter

cut in room temp. butter with a pastry blender or two knives

Warm the milk to 110 degrees. Proof yeast in milk. Mix ¾ cup sugar, 2 whole eggs and 2 yolks.

Add to yeast mixture.

With paddle, combine flour and salt in mixer. Add liquid mixture. Change to dough hook and add 8 oz. butter and work for 10 minutes. Pull off of hook and rise in a buttered bowl until doubled.

Put chocolate, remaining cup of sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl and combine. Cut in remaining butter. Set aside.

Punch dough down. Roll into a long rectangle, approx. 18 x 24. Brush edges with egg wash and distribute chocolate mixture. Roll jellyroll fashion, seam edges with egg wash and twist the dough and arrange it in a Bundt pan. Egg wash the top and sprinkle/press the streusel crumbs on top. I like to compress them a bit before I put them on top so I have BIG crumbs and not just "sand".

Let set 20-30 minutes and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, lower temperature to 325 degrees and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Let the Babka sit for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. Now comes the hard part.

Resist the urge to cut for at least another 20 minutes because the chocolate needs a chance to set.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

It's the middle of October, and already everyone is in the spirit! Everywhere I look, there are pumpkins. Many people see them and think Halloween. I see them and think bread, pie, even soup....you get the point. That big orange thing is edible! Sure, it looks really cute with a funny face on it, and a candle inside, but if you get the right kind and you cook it.... Did I just lose you? OK, back up the bus! Go to the grocery store and buy a can of pumpkin! Are you with me now? Canned pumpkin is perfect for this recipe.

Back to the bread. This is one of the oldest recipes that I have. Someone gave it to my mother in the 70's and we have been baking it ever since. It is a family favorite. As with everything else, I have adapted it. I don't put in raisins because nobody in my house really likes them, but the recipe calls for them. I left them there to honor any purists because I think they "go". I like it best with chocolate chips in place of the raisins. I keep the walnuts. I like walnuts and so does the rest of my family. Besides, if you put chocolate chips in, maybe they won't notice that there is actually something good for them in there and refuse to taste it before they figure out that they actually like it.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

Combine and set aside:

3 ½ cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ginger

1 ½ cups walnuts

1 ½ cups raisins

Beat together:

3 cups sugar

1 cup oil

Add:

4 eggs-1 at a time

Beat in:

2 cups pumpkin

2/3 cup milk

Gently stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Pour into greased and floured Bundt or tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Not So Giant, Soft Ginger Cookies

If I were a cookie, I think this is the kind of cookie that I would be. A Not-So-Giant, Soft Ginger Cookie.It is small and spicy. It is crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. This is my cookie, believe me! Yeah, yeah, stop shaking your head! You could be a cookie too! Just think about it. You don't have to admit it, but think about it!

The original recipe called for these cookies to be larger. When you make them larger, they are even chewier and obviously they are bigger, but they wouldn't suit my purpose in this case. These are my Operation Baking GALS cookies for October. I wanted to have more cookies instead of bigger cookies, so I made them smaller. Putting them in a mailing container and sending them who-knows-where is smarter if they are 2 inches in diameter as opposed to 4 inches in diameter, right? Can you see 6 guys around a plastic container filled with cookie crumbs? All I could suggest at that point would be six spoons and a quart of milk :)

Maybe someone who eats these cookies will be from New England like I am. Maybe the thought of falling leaves and pumpkins and a New England stranger who wishes them well will make them smile. It doesn't really matter where they are from. Hopefully someone gets some joy from these.

When my kids were little, I used to bake these and have them warm for them when they got off the bus in the Fall. They carry a little bit of nostalgia for me. Alright, enough waxing philosophical. Here's the recipe.

Ginger Cookies

4 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (ground)
1 teaspoon cloves (ground)
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Ginger (ground)
1 1/2 cups shortening
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup molasses

Sanding or Demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend flour, baking soda, salt and spices and set aside.

Beat shortening and 2 cups sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated. Beat in molasses until combined.

Stir in flour mixture. Mix until just combined. If you want Giant cookies, use a 1/4 cup cookie scoop, if you want them smaller, use a 1/8 cup scoop. Roll the balls in sanding or demerara sugar.

Place the balls a few inches apart on ungreased sheets. Press down on them slightly.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are puffy and golden. Let them cool for a few minutes before moving them. They will settle and crack a bit. It will make them even more beautiful!

So, I can never leave well enough alone. It is one of my quirks. This recipe lends itself to additions. Dried cranberries, pecans and chocolate chips. I liked all three together. The one thing I didn't do well with was white chocolate. The batter "ate" the white chocolate. I hate it when that happens! Is there a Harold McGee for Dummies book out there somewhere?

The other thing these are wonderful for, is Ice Cream Sandwiches, especially peach ice cream. Make the Giant cookies, load them up with ice cream, roll the edges in nuts, wrap them up and put them back in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours.

Torta Della Nonna

Italy is a pretty big country when you compare it to some of the countries in Europe. Torta della Nonna is Grandma's cake. There must be quite a few grandmas in a country the size of Italy. I'm sure that every one of those Grandmas has her own opinion about how it is supposed to be made. At times the country probably bulges in attempt to fit all of the grandma opinions!

I ate a slice of this Torta in Boston's North End a few weeks ago and it was pretty good! I wanted to see if it was what I thought it was, and it was! In many cases, it was Pasta Frolla and lemon flavored Crema Pasticceria. When I looked it up, I found a million different recipes, some of them had ricotta, some of them had mascarpone, some of them had almonds.......remember all those Italian opinions that I was talking about. I said to heck with everyone else's opinions and developed my own Torta from my favorite recipes. Hey, what's one more opinion added to the pot!

Torta Della Nonna

Pasta Frolla - this makes a good amount of dough but 1/2 of this isn't quite enough to accomodate the filling necessary if you are using a 10 1/2 inch tart pan like I used.

4 cups a.p. flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
8 oz unsalted butter, cold
4 lg eggs

Pignoli
Powdered sugar

By hand - Mix your dry ingredients. Cut butter into tiny pieces and tumble it in the flour to coat. With two forks or a pastry blender, incorporate the butter into the flour until just mixed. Beat the eggs and add them to the butter/flour mix and knead just until you have a smooth dough. Wrap the dough to rest for a bit and then put it in the refrigerator until you need it.

If you have a food processor - Put your dry ingredients in the food processor. Mix them. Add the butter and mix it until it is incorporated. Add the eggs. When the dough is a ball and "rides the blade" take it out of the processor. Knead the ball if you need to. :) Wrap the dough to rest for a bit and then put it in the refrigerator until you need it.

Crema Pasticceria
5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 Tbls butter
1 Tbls vanilla

1 1/2 tsp lemon extract

Beat the egg yolks with an electric or stand mixer until they are broken up. Gradually beat in the cup of sugar and continue beating until it is a pale yellow in color, and thick enough to form ribbons back upon itself when the beater blades are lifted.

Bring the 2 cups of whole milk to a boil and stream the hot milk into the egg/sugar mixture carefully. When it is all incorporated, move the mixture to a double boiler on your stove and stir over medium heat until it reaches a bubble. Or, you can put everything directly into a saucepan and forgo the double boiler, and be careful.(I'm not so good at this, I always get lumps and have to strain!) As soon as it starts to boil, bring it to low heat and beat with the whisk, continuing to cook it. Your making sure that the flour is cooked. This should only take a minute or so. You also want to make sure not to burn the bottom of the pan if you are not using the double boiler.

Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the butter and the vanilla. Cover it with plastic and put it in the refrigerator. It must chill for at least 4 hours.

Assembly - Take about 2/3rds of the dough out of the refrigerator. Divide your 2/3rds to use for your Torta. Roll the bottom out and lay it in a 10 1/2 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Don't trim off the edges.

Stir 1 1/2 tsp. lemon extract into the Crema Pasticceria. Pour it into the bottom shell and be sure that it is spread evenly. It shouldn't reach higher than the sides of the tart pan or it will keep the Torta from sealing properly.

Roll the top piece of dough out. Cut it to the size of the tart. Slit the center of the dough in a few places to allow steam to escape during cooking. Carefully place the dough on top of the filled bottom shell and press the two doughs together. Use water if they do not adhere. Press against the sharp edges of the tart pan to create uniform and decorative cuts.

Bake the Torta Della Nonna in a 375 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes, but keep an eye on it, it may have an opinion of its own ;>

When it has cooled down, sprinkle on a generous handful of Pignoli and dust with powdered sugar. Set it in the refrigerator and serve after dinner.

p.s. that leftover dough I made you make... sorry. You can use it for cookies if you want or for a jam tart. You can make these amazing turnovers filled with ricotta, mozzarella and proscuitto and roasted red pepper. If your taste doesn't run towards Italian, just put in regular ham and cheese. MMMM.

My Round Two Cookies and a Little Perspective

Chocolate, White Chocolate, Walnut Cookies for Operation Baking GALS! So, there's nothing that will make you stop feeling sorry for yourself because you are sending your child an hour and a half away to college like making cookies for the child of someone you don't know, (and will probably never get a chance to meet). I baked a batch of cookies and sent them off to Iraq and thought about the families of the guys who will be getting the cookies! Of course I'm going to worry about my kid, because I love him and as he says, "I'm still going to worry". He's a smart kid! I probably don't have to worry about quite the same stuff that they do, ya think? When I shook my head, I kicked myself in the tail (HARD) and mailed the cookies! I hope they like them and I hope they are as safe as they can be.


Chocolate, White Chocolate, Walnut Cookies

2 1/4 cups a.p. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder and set aside. In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer beat sugar into butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until mixed in. Add vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture and nuts and chips until all are just incorporated.

Drop dough by large tablespoonfuls onto parchment or greased cookie sheets. Press slightly on the tops of mounds to flatten a bit. Bake cookies for 10 minutes.

Old Fashioned Cobbler

The one thing I can say about this stuff is that when you say the word "cobbler" everybody visualizes something different. In certain parts of the U.S. people actually argue about it! Some people see one crust, some people see two. To me the two crust variety is called a pie! Some people like a biscuit topping. To be honest with you, I think they all taste wonderful, but this one is my favorite because it is buttery and so easy to make. First you dump the batter on top of the pool of melted butter, now don't you mix it! Next you plop your fruit on top of the batter and then you bake it and the butter and the batter kind of hug the fruit.....OK, OK, I'll stop..the recipe is below, you get the idea....I know you can read. You can make this stuff in "nothing flat" if you want something sweet for yourself and it is homey and wonderful for guests too!

I've made this with all types of cooking apples. They need sauteing first so adding them lengthens the recipe a little bit but don't let that stop you. In the fall the combination of apples, brown sugar, dried cranberries and pecans is unbeatable topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. I've used blueberries, raspberries, peaches and a bunch of other fruit combinations. Use your imagination! If you mess up, well, don't tell Martha. Nobody else will care! Better yet, send her a letter, I'm sure she will be able to tell you how to fix it.

This is comfort food no matter how you slice it! It can be eaten hot in the winter, with a steaming cup of cider, room temperature and bursting with the flavor of the day's fresh picked blueberries in the summer, and any time of year out of the pan at 2:30 in the morning when everyone else is sleeping. Oh come on, don't tell me I'm the only one who does that?


Old Fashioned Cobbler

¼ lb. butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ cup milk

Fruit of your choice

Apple – Sauté 1 ¾ lbs. peeled, cored and sliced apples in 4 tablespoons of butter. Stir in ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 cup dried cranberries, 1 cup pecans and sprinkle with cinnamon if you like.

Blueberry or Raspberry – Mix 1 ½ pints blueberries or raspberries with 1/2 cup sugar and ½ tsp cinnamon.

Peach/Raspberry – Mix 2 or 3 large, cut up, fresh peaches and 1 pint fresh raspberries with ½ cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp nutmeg.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and pour into bottom of a 9 x 9 pan. Mix remaining ingredients and dump on top of melted butter. You may have to spread it out a bit but please, do not stir them together. Place fruit in middle of puddle of batter and bake for about 45 -50 minutes, or until the batter has climbed up the sides and enveloped the fruit. The edges will be crispy and buttery and the center will be sweet and fruity.