Every Rosh Hashana {Jewish New Year} I bake up something made from honey. Honey is used in cooking and baking around the New Year to symbolize a sweet new year. These honey cookies are sweet, moist, and chewy! And, in my opinion, tastier and easier to make than the traditional honey cake.
What you will need:
⅔ cup oil
1 cup sugar
¼ cup honey
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
Turbinado or powdered sugar, for rolling
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a stand mixer, beat the sugar, honey, and oil until smooth.
Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
Mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes until firm.
Shape the dough into balls {I use a cookie scoop for equally sized cookies} and roll in the turbinado or powdered sugar, making sure to coat the whole cookie.
Bake on a baking sheet for 7-9 minutes until the edges are light brown in color.
Happy New Year!
These cookies are so tasty, you won't even miss the regular wheat flour in them. Perfect for Passover coming up in just a few short weeks, but honestly love them all year round! The toasted almond flour gives great depth of flavor and the fruit jam options change the cookie flavor profile up!
What you will need:
4 cups blanched almond flour
2/3 cup coconut sugar
¼ cup honey,
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 large egg, at room temperature
3 tablespoons fruit jam
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spread the almond flour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring halfway through, until golden brown and toasted, about 10 to 15 minutes. Immediately add it to a medium bowl to cool for 5 minutes. Line the baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and set aside.
Add the coconut sugar, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and egg to the toasted flour. Using a rubber spatula, stir until well combined and evenly moistened.
Scoop heaping 1-tablespoon scoops of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1 inch between each.
Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand, then make a small indent in the center of each cookie using your thumb.
Fill each indent with 1/2 tsp jam. Bake until golden brown and just set, 15 to 17 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Today I have a delicious recipe for Hamantaschen that can be filled with whatever filling you desire! {Just think a cookie version of a burrito or taco}
Hamantaschen are a pocket filled cookie and are recognizable for their 3 cornered triangular shape. They are the traditional food eating during the Jewish holiday of Purim. They are usually filled with poppy seeds, prunes, apricot, apple, or any variety of fruit preserved. I have even filled them with chocolate or marshmallows.
Why are they called Hamantaschen? The word itself is Yiddish for "Hamans pockets." Haman is the villain in the Purim story. We eat Hamantashen till today on Purim as part of the celebration of the holiday, which commemorates how the Jews escaped Haman's plans to massacre the entire Jewish population.
Why are the cookies triangularly shaped? Haman wore a 3 cornered hat.
What you will need:
4 eggs
½ cup oil (or 1 cup margarine)
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. orange juice
¾ cup sugar
4 cups flour
2 tsps. baking powder
Filling:
Strawberry preserves
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Lay parchment paper down on cookie sheets.
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat together. You may need to add a drop more juice or flour, depending on the consistency of the dough.
Roll dough into a ball and then divide into 4 equal parts. Each ball will make 1 dozen Hamantaschen.
Divide the large ball into 12 equally sized small balls.
On a floured surface, flatten one of the balls into a flat 3” diameter circle.
Place ½ to 2/3 teaspoon of your desired filling in the middle of each circle.
To shape into a triangle, lift up right and left sides, leaving the bottom down, and bring both sides to meet at the center above the filling.
Bring the top flap down to the center to meet the 2 sides. Pinch edges together.
Place each Hamantaschen on the cookie sheets 1 inch apart and bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
I know I have been lacking on my posts for the past two weeks, but I am back!
I feel like a lot has happened since my last post...let me tell you in short:
- I took a trip up to New York for my mom's birthday 2 days before Valentine's Day {1 day before that super blizzard} and ended up staying an entire week! Why did I have all this time off? I decided to change jobs and had 2 weeks off in between...
- I got a new job! You're looking at the new {and only} Assistant Buyer for ThinkGeek!! I am back in the fashion industry, sort of. So far I am loving it there, and the lack of suits required to wear to work.
- I found this new recipe that allows you to eat all the raw cookie dough you want, with no risk of salmonella! It uses applesauce instead of eggs, who knew? You can also bake them if you want a delicious cookie without the eggs.
What you will need:
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) butter, room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
¼ cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
6 blocks chocolate-almond bark
In an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, applesauce and vanilla together until smooth.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together, and with the mixer running, slowly add to the butter mixture.
Scoop out the batter using a mini ice cream scoop and roll it into balls. Place the dough balls about an inch apart on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and transfer them to the freezer for 30 minutes to let the dough set up.
While the dough is chilling, melt the chocolate-almond bark in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.
Remove the chilled dough balls from the freezer. Using two spoons, dip the balls one at a time in the melted chocolate, rolling them to coat fully.
Returned the dough balls to the wax paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
What you will need:
Directions: 
Bake on a baking sheet for 7-9 minutes until the edges are light brown in color. 
Happy New Year!
