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Category Archives: Baking

Baileys and Coffee Fudge Brownies with Walnuts

14 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by in Baking, Chocolate, Dessert, Recipe, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Sometimes in life you need chocolate.
Sometimes in life you are short on time and need to take a shortcut.
Sometimes in life you need a shot of Baileys.

For those times in life, you’ve got to make a pan of these Baileys and Coffee Fudge Brownies with Walnuts.

Baileys and Coffee Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts 1.jpg

These brownies are dedicated to my friend Mariah, the funny, nutty, sweet lady that I got to know at The Pantry over the last 6 months or so. Alabama is lucky to have you back, but we’re going to miss you here in Seattle.

These brownies are indulgent, over-the-top, and decadent. To make them, start with a box of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie mix, sub in olive oil for vegetable oil, replace water with a combination of Baileys and cold brew, add in chopped walnuts and chocolate, and cut down on the baking time. That’s all!

Baileys and Coffee Fudge Brownies with Walnuts

Ingredients

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix (20 ounce)
1/2 cup Baileys
1/2 cup cold brew coffee
1/2 cup olive oil
1 egg
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, divided
1/4 cup roughly chopped semi-sweet chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and grease a 10×10″ glass dish.

2. Whisk together Baileys, coffee,  olive oil, and egg. Stir in brownie mix and 1/2 cup of walnuts. Spread into the prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes.

3. Sprinkle remaining walnuts and chopped chocolate over the brownies and bake for another 5-7 minutes. Cool in the dish completely. Serve in small portions – these guys are super rich!

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And now that the post is written, I’m tempted to make another batch to take more photos and to showcase the gooey, fudge-like texture of these chocolate bites. Any takers?

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Chocolate and Hazelnut Tart with Apricots

04 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by in Baking, Cake, Chocolate, Cooking, Dessert, Nuts, Recipe, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart6.jpg

This year, I decided to bake myself a birthday dessert. I wanted something simple to make, decadent, and filled with chocolate. I turned to Giada De Laurentiis recipe for Chocolate-Pistachio Fudge Tart and made a few changes to make it my own.

 

As I’ve been obsessing about Oregon hazelnuts from Trader Joe’s, I decided to replace pistachios with roasted hazelnuts. I also replaced the heavy cream with half & half to lighten up the texture and the calorie load. I was at first worried that using half&half would not set up the chocolate filling, but it worked just fine. As the chocolate was melting into the hot half&half, I added a few extra ounces of chocolate, to make the filling thicker.

The tart came out just right. A balance between the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate filling and the crunchy, slightly salty nut and graham cracker crust. The topping of dried apricots is optional. I liked the golden, slightly sour bursts of fruit. I can also see how this same recipe would work well with fresh raspberries or strawberries. Happy birthday to me!

 

Chocolate and Hazelnut Tart with Apricots

Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 cups roasted hazelnuts
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 whole graham crackers
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups half&half
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan or springform pan with butter.
  2. Pulse hazelnuts in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add the graham crackers and pulse until finely chopped. Drizzle in the melted butter and pulse until incorporated. Press the mixture evenly over the bottom and sides of the pie pan. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly press the crust into the pan; cool completely.
  3. Heat half&half, vanilla extract, and salt until just beginning to simmer. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk together until smooth and pour into the crust. Refrigerate until set, then sprinkle with chopped apricots and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Quinoa, Chicken, & Zucchini Egg Bake

08 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Baking, Breakfast, Eggs, Gluten Free, Quinoa, Recipe, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Quinoa, Chicken, and Zucchini Egg Bake

It might be cliche, but breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. But when every free minute in the morning is worth its weight in gold, you want breakfast that’s quick, easy, and can be prepared ahead of time. This Quinoa, Chicken, and Zucchini Egg Bake fits every category. It is loaded with protein, vegetables, can be baked the night before, and quickly reheated in the morning while you pour yourself a cup of coffee. What’s even better? You can freeze the bake in individual portions and have them ready to go when needed.

I’ve prepared a similar recipe in a muffin pan, but honestly, it took longer to remove the egg cups out of the muffin pan than I care to admit. With this version, there’s less sticking, and it bakes in the same time. I’ve cut the bake into 8 servings, think of it as 1 egg per serving.

Quinoa, Chicken, & Zucchini Egg Bake

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (3 ounce) fully cooked chicken sausages, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 cup cooked quinoa
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Heat oil over medium heat. Stir in onions, garlic, and sausage. Cook until onions are browned and softened, 5-7 minutes.
3. Stir in zucchini and cook until slightly soft, 3-5 minutes. Mix in quinoa and cool.
4. Whisk together eggs, milk, and seasonings.
5. Layer quinoa on the bottom of the greased baking dish. Top with whisked eggs and bake until set, 30-35 minutes.

The beauty of this bake is also how versatile it is. Depending on the flavor of the sausage you use, you can play with seasonings and mix ins. Cheese is always a good option here – either mixed in with the eggs or sprinkled on top before baking.

And speaking of mix ins – do try using different vegetables. I’m a fan of sauteing the vegetables first. Not only does it add flavor, but it removes moisture from the vegetables that helps keep the bake nice and firm.

Ready to cook? Share your personal combination with me, post your photos on Instagram and be sure to tag @snackingkitchen.

How to Make Lattice Crust ~ Video

25 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Baking, Thanksgiving, Video

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Happy Thanksgiving my dear readers! I have missed you much and am sorry for my absence. In order to repent and gift you with something wonderful in time for Thanksgiving, I am sharing this quick video we made at Allrecipes.com that will teach you how to do a lattice topping for any pie.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Strawberry Bread with Strawberry Compound Butter

11 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Baking, Bread, Breakfast

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Have you been enjoying the summer strawberries?  I find these beauties especially sweet and plump in the summer months, especially when picked right from the garden.

Strawberry Bread and Butter Recipe (1)

The other day, I was shooting a video for Strawberry Bread and it just happened that it made two beautiful loaves.  We shared one loaf at the allrecipes.com studio, and I took the second one home to share with friends at a going away party.  The recipe really rocked out – the bread came out moist, studded with pecans and strawberries.  Notice the sliced strawberries on the top of the loaves?  That was the extra flare I decided to add, mainly for food styling purposes.  Try the same when baking banana bread as well.

The time of the party was approaching, and I wanted to elevate the bread by making a quick Strawberry Compound Butter.  I’ll confess to having the leftover butter on a toasted baguette the following morning, and it was quite a success!

Strawberry Compound Butter

Ingredients

1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup strawberries, pureed

Directions

1.  Beat together butter, sugar and cinnamon.

Strawberry Bread and Butter Recipe (2)Strawberry Bread and Butter Recipe (3)

2.  Fold in strawberries.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  About 30 minutes before serving, remove the butter from the refrigerator to bring to room temperature.

Strawberry Bread and Butter Recipe (4)Strawberry Bread and Butter Recipe (5)

Judging by the reaction of guests at the party, this combination was a success.  Want a recipe variation?  Bake up the bread as muffins, and adjust to butter to a more spreadable frosting consistency.

Strawberry Bread and Butter Recipe (9)

Enjoy this recipe and summer’s strawberries.

Strawberry Bread and Butter Recipe (7)

Valentine’s Sweetheart Cupcakes – Recipe & Video

14 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Baking, Cupcakes, Holidays, Video

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Happy Valentine’s Day.  I hope that we all have the love in our lives worth of appreciating and celebrating.  Whether it’s the love of the parents, siblings, friends, or platonic.  Let’s wish someone in your life happy love day.

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And with that, how about a cupcake?  I worked on this recipe video for Allrecipes.com and today is the perfect day for sharing!  With the recipe, I would recommend using a regular yellow cake (instead of white), or your own from-scratch recipe.  The layering of colors is not as intimidating as it might look or sound – just take your time, and be careful of not inserting too much air into the cupcakes.

These are the perfect fun and decorative cupcakes to make for any holidays – just change the color scheme and you have Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter cupcakes at your disposal.

Recipe: Sweetheart Cucpakes

Video:

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New Year Individual Apple Pies

31 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Baking, Dessert, Holidays

≈ 4 Comments

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Individual Apple Pies

Happy 2014!  I hope the new year brings lots of healthy, delicious, decadent delights into your kitchen and healthy, joyous adventures into your lives.

Did you know that 2014 is a year of the horse?  And what do horses love?  They love apples!  And with that in mind, I wanted to share with you a recipe for Individual Apple Pies baked in muffin pans.  For the crust, I used purchased pie crusts from Trader Joe’s.  They were buttery, flaky, and tasted homemade.  If you find yourself with extra time and energy, feel free to make your own crust.

Individual Apple Pies (makes 12)

Ingredients

4 large apple, peeled, cored, diced into 1/3-inch

2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 individual pie crusts

1 egg, beaten

12 teaspoons butter

brown sugar, optional

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Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease 12 muffin cups with butter or nonstick spray.  I used two muffin trays, greasing every other cup to make it easier to assemble the pies, but you can use just one.  Confession, I had a very hard time getting the pies out of the tins, so be generous with the butter or consider using silicone pans.

2.  Combine apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice and salt.  Set aside.

3.  Cut unrolled crusts into 24 circles approximately 4-5 inches in diameter.  You might need to re-roll the crusts to make enough circles.  It’s a great idea to chill the crusts if they get too soft.

4.  Fit 12 crusts into the muffin cups and brush with a beaten egg.

5.  Spoon the apple filling into each crust and top with a teaspoon of butter.

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6.  Fit the other 12 crust circles over the apple filling and firmly press together with the bottom crust.  Brush the tops with the beaten egg and cut small slits into the top crust for the steam to escape.  If you wish, sprinkle with extra brown sugar.

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7.  Bake in the preheated oven until the crusts are golden brown and the filling is cooked through, 45-60 minutes.  Cool and carefully remove from the muffin tins.

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Happy New Year!

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Oatmeal Cookies with Golden Raisins and Toasted Walnuts

24 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Baking, Cookies, Dessert

≈ 2 Comments

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Want a cookie?  How about a soft oatmeal cookie studded with golden raisins and toasted walnuts?  Hard to say “no” to that!

Oatmeal Cookies with Walnuts and Golden Raisins3

This cookie combination was a third installment in the tradition of morning birthday cookies for the Artist.  He’s been on the oatmeal kick lately, so these have seemed to fit in quite perfectly.  The latest copy of the Allrecipes.com magazine ran a story on the most popular cookie selection, and I found the recipe for the Soft Oatmeal Cookies.  I halved the recipe and added the fruit and nut.  These were a hit!

Oatmeal Cookies with Golden Raisins and Toasted Walnuts  (Makes 2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 oatmeal (I used extra thick, old fashioned)

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Directions

1.  Beat together butter and sugar until creamy.

2. Add in the egg and beat together.

3. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Incorporate the dry ingredients slowly into the butter mixture.

4. Mix in oats, raisins and walnuts.  At this point, I refrigerated the dough overnight so it would be ready to bake in the morning.  You can bake the cookies right away.

5.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

6. Scoop cookies on parchment lined baking sheets an inch apart and bake 8-10 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack (directly with the parchment paper) and let cool.

Now all you have to do is sing “happy birthday” and pour in a cup of milk or glass.

Happy baking!

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I would definitely bake these again.  Chewy, sweet, healthy-tasting, with a nice crunch from the walnuts.  This recipe lends itself to many variations – how about pecans and dried cherries or pistachios and dried apricots?  Give these a try!

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Melted Snowman Cookies ~ Video with Allrecipes

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Baking, Cookies, Holidays, Recipe, Video

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Why are the Snowmen sad?  Because they are melting!  These just might be the cutest decorated cookies you will see this year.  I got to work on this video with Allrecipes and decorate each one of these cuties, one by one.
melted snowman cookies recipe and video
The recipe for Melted Snowman Cookies is easy enough.  It uses two dozens of sugar cookies that you can bake and cool yourself, or pick them up from your favorite bakery.  And since the cookies are covered almost completely by the icing, feel free to try this with chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal.

When making the cookies for our video, we decided to skip the steps of microwaving the marshmallows.  Ours looked droopy enough and easily stuck to the icing.  This also saved us a few minutes – and who can argue with the saved time?

The best part of this project is certainly decorating!  Use your favorite colored decorating gels to add eyes, mouths, carrot nose, hands and outfit to each Snowman.  I’d recommend making a few extra for practice.

melted snowman cookies recipe and video 2

For a more believable presentation, we arranged these cookies on a bed of shredded coconuts and dusted with confectioners’ sugar.  Let it snow!  And may you have a very happy holiday season!

For step-by-step directions, be sure to watch the video.

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Chocolate Coconut Macaroons Recipe

01 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by in Baking, Dessert, Holidays, Recipe

≈ 5 Comments

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coconut macaroon recipe chocolate and plain10

 

Happy December 1st!  This is the start of the season for cookie exchanges, baking, and decadent sweets.  How about adding this recipe for Chocolate Coconut Macaroons to your recipe box this year?  With just a few ingredients and steps this is a very simple cookie to prepare, yet boasts a lovely taste and wonderful chewy inside with crispy, meringue-like outside.  For a finishing touch, drizzle with melted chocolate and you have a clear winner on your hands.

This particular recipe is based on one I learned from Kaspar Donier when I worked at his Seattle-based catering company as a summer camp cooking instructor.  Thank you, Kaspar and Nancy!

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons (12 cookies)

Ingredients

2 egg whites, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (omit cocoa powder for basic, plain macaroons)

melted chocolate for drizzling, optional

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Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

2.  Whisk egg whites with sugar until soft peaks form.

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3.  Mix together flour and coconut to remove lumps.

4.  Combine flour and coconut with whisked egg whites, folding carefully.  Add vanilla and cocoa flour.  Do not over mix.

5.  Scoop the batter on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until almost set, but still slightly loose in the center.  If you are baking plain macaroons, they will be slightly brown on top and the bottom.

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6.  Cool completely and drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired.

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Enjoy!

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Rosh Hashanah Apple-Stuffed Challah

04 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by in Baking, Bread, Challah, Dessert, Holidays

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Happy Rosh Hashanah. I would like to wish you all a sweet year.  We celebrate this holiday with a round Challah, apples, and honey.  This time, I baked my challah with my sweet friend, Alla.  We stuffed the challah with honey-sauteed apples and sprinkled it with sesame seeds.  Enjoy!

 I would recommend this recipe for challah from America’s Test Kitchen (feel free to substitute butter with oil and add a touch more sugar for a sweeter challah)

And check out Challah Apple Muffins I made a few years ago

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Fourth of July Backyard BBQ ~ Simple, Delicious Recipes for the Holidays

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Baking, Cooking, Holidays, Recipe

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This backyard bbq was an impromptu get together last Saturday night.  As I was looking over pictures and still savoring over the meal, it hit me – this would be the perfect Fourth of July meal.  Just a few, simply prepared dishes, full of bright summer flavors.  Fire up your grill, chop the salad, buzz the hummus, marinade the meat and open up the beer!  Fourth of July is going to be delicious.

For the meat, blend together 6 cups of loosely packed parsley and cilantro, 4-6 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, juice of 1 lemon, splash of champagne vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  Add the meat to the sauce (you can use flank steak or fajita meat) and marinade.  Few hours are great, but you can marinade this in the refrigerator over night as well. 

Grill the meat on a grill set to medium-high.  3-4 minutes on each side is all you need.  You want the meat to be charred on the outside and medium rare on the inside.  Let the meat sit before slicing.

For the corn, husk the corn and boil in salted water until it is tender.  Grill on a grill set to medium heat, rotating every minute or so, until the corn is charred.  You can serve the corn with compound butter or brush it with oil, but the sweetness of the corn was fantastic on its own, so we didn’t add anything extra.

For the salad, mix together 1 diced cucumber, 1 diced red bell pepper, 1 diced tomato, 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans, 1 bunch of chopped basil, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Cut up a huge watermelon, wash strawberries, and perhaps get a gallon of ice cream from the freezer.  No need to bake the dessert!  Unless of course, you want to prepare this fantastic American Flag Cake!

 
 

Apricot and Almond Tart ~ Dessert Recipe

10 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by in Baking, Dessert, Fruit, Recipe

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Recently, my mom celebrated her big birthday.  In honor of her, my sister (Mango & Tomato) and I hosted a brunch.  The dessert was inspired by a recipe from Epicurious for Almond, Apricot, and Cream Cheese Crostata.
 
When the store didn’t carry the almond paste, my sister and I made the almond paste from scratch, a fun and rewarding experience.  Rather than baking the dessert as a crostata, we baked in in a pie pan, as a tart.  The guest of honor and everyone else was quite delighted with the dessert.  Hope you will be too.
 
 
 
 
 

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Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookie Decorating

08 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Baking, Cookies, Dessert, Holidays

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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.  You couldn’t miss it even if you tried.  Pink, red, hearts, teddy bears and frilly white objects are everywhere.  It is like they were blown confetti, spilling uncontrolled around.

Just in time for the love holiday, I had to decorate sugar cookies at work for Allrecipes.com video production team.  This was one of my first videos taking charge and we baked Pope’s Valentine’s Cookies in various heart sizes.  A little bit of colored frosting went over the top and then we went to town writing sweet sayings and decorating with heart and sugar sprinkles.

I hope you Valentine is sweet.  I will post the video link once it is available.

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Cranberry Challah Turkey for Thanksgiving

03 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by in Baking, Dessert, Holidays, Ideas, Recipe, Thanksgiving

≈ 2 Comments

Alas it is no longer Thanksgiving, but don’t you have something to be thankful for on daily basis?  As such, I’m going to share with you photos for a Cranberry Challah Turkey that I created for a family Thanksgiving Dinner, inspired by Pinterest.
 
 

 
 
Ingredients

Risen dough, studded with plump cranberries

To make the turkey, pinch pieces of challah roll and lightly roll to shape.  Place the body, head, feet, and feather pieces together on a parchment lined baking sheet.  For the face, insert extra cranberries to form eyes and mouth.

With a sharp knife, cut slits through the ends of the feathers. 

Lightly brush the entire bird with an egg wash and liberally sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Adults and kids loved this bird!  You’ll find the recipe I used here.

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Challah: America’s Test Kitchen Knows Best

18 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by in Baking, Bread, Holidays, Recipe

≈ 2 Comments

I’ve had a few experiences baking challah at home.  Unfortunately with less than perfect results.  When it was time to bake Challah for Rosh Hashanah, I decided to turn to America’s Test Kitchen, fully trusting their multi-tested and scrutinized recipes.  And I have to say, I was not disappointed!  This challah turned out light in texture, easy to make (no hand kneading), and delicious.  I might want to experiment by adding a bit more sugar, raisins, and perhaps another egg yolk for a more traditional, sweeter challah taste.


Braided Challah
from America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Ingredients

3-3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees Fahrenheit)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
oil
2 tablespoons water

Directions

1.  Whisk together 3 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt with electric mixer fit with dough hook attachments. (The recipe calls to use a stand mixer but I don’t have one. Hand held electric mixer worked just fine.)

2.  Combine together water, melted butter, two whole eggs and one egg yolk.

3.  Pour in the egg mixture into the dry ingredients while whisking at a low speed until the dough forms.  Increase the speed to medium-low and continue mixing the dough for 8 minutes.  The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl but will stick slightly to the bottom.  If the dough is too stick, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour a little at a time.

4.  Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large oil coated bowl.  Turn the ball of dough to coat evenly with oil, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it doubles, about 90 minutes.

5.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface.  I ended up dividing the dough into three parts and braiding it to form a round loaf.  You can bake 2 challah from this recipe or do a double braid.  Once the challah is shaped, lightly oil it, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 45-75 minutes or until it doubles.

6.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Mix together 1 egg white and water.  Brush egg white wash over the challah and bake for 30-40 minutes, until it is golden and baked through.  America’s Test Kitchen recommends internal temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

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What to do with Challah Dough? Braided, Rolled, and Knotted

25 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Baking, Bread

≈ 1 Comment

Challah!  The traditional Jewish bread that is rich with egg, sweet, and so delicious!  I have made attempts to making challah before (Challah Apple Rolls and Rosh Hashannah Rolls), but this time around, instead of making the dough, I was lucky enough to get a batch of freshly made dough and play!  While working with the dough, I also learned what the right texture of the dough feels like – it’s ok for it to be on the wet site and a bit sticky.  Resist adding too much flour, or your challah will be heavy and tough.

I was hoping to make a six-braid challah, but failed miserably.  Instead, I made a Four-Braid Round Challah loaf with sesame seeds, and a few other creations.  Read up! 

Knotted Challah Rolls

Divide the dough into small pieces.  I learned that pulling the dough is not ideal, and you should cut it instead – a bench scraper with a sharp edge works great, or you can use a knife.

Roll individual pieces of challah dough into ropes, knot them and place in a lightly greased mini muffin tin.

Proof the knots for 30 minutes, brush with half and half (or an egg wash) and sprinkle with sesame seeds and poppy seeds.   

Bake the knots in the 350 degree preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until they are golden brown.  As you can tell, during the baking, the knots turned into round mini rolls, but they were still delicious!

Rolled Date, Golden Raisin, and Almond Challah Rolls

Pretty, isn’t it?  What do you make with your challah dough?

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Rolled Date, Golden Raisin, and Almond Challah Rolls

25 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Baking, Bread, Dessert, Recipe

≈ 1 Comment

Hungry for challah?  Then holler!  I just shared a few creations that I made from a batch of challah dough, and wanted to give you a more in-depth look at these Rolled Date, Golden Raisin, and Almond Challah Rolls.  Think of them as a cross between ruggelach and cinnamon rolls.

These are fun to make, sweet and sticky to eat, and freeze very well!  Feel free to play around with the filling ingredients, using your favorite dried fruit and nuts.



Rolled Date, Golden Raisin, and Almond Challah Rolls

Ingredients

3 cups challah dough

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped dates

1/3 cup golden raisins

1/3 cup chopped almonds

1 tablespoon half and half

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray.

2.  Roll the challah dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle.

3.  Spread the sugar, dates, raisins, and almonds in the center of the dough, lengthwise.

4.  Roll the dough around the filling, tightly and pinch together the ends.

5.  Cut the roll into 12 portions, about 1 1/2 inches wide.  Place into the prepared muffin tin and rest for 30 minutes.

6.  Brush the rolls with half and half and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown.

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