Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

This soup was a good way to use up pumpkin puree leftover from making pumpkin challah. It is so warm with spices and so creamy that you will think that there is chili powder and cream in the recipe–but there is neither. The pumpkin makes it creamy and cinnamon and ginger supply the subtle heat.

And the recipe is so easy–it takes less than a half hour from start to finish and uses stuff in the pantry (well, stuff I always have in my pantry). It only tastes like it was hard work to make.

The recipe is based upon a recipe from Once Upon a Tart. The original recipe called for dried beans and fresh tomatoes, and, out of laziness, I changed it around to use canned beans and canned tomatoes.

Margo Shalom’s Healthy Breakfast Chocolate Chip Cookies

This healthy cookie recipe is from Marlene’s great blog, The Jewish Hostess. It comes from Margo Shalom.

Sarah Schecht’s Challah

Who wouldn’t be curious about a challah described as follows: ”Her challah has a texture to rival that of the finest spongecakes. It is airborne, light as a zephyr, delicate as eiderdown.”

Vegan World Peace Cookies

I have been working my way through the NYT cookbook, making banana cake, chocolate cake, and these cookies. The cookbook calls them Pierre Herme’s Chocolate Sables, but I am pretty sure that these are also known as Korova Cookies and World Peace Cookies (also here).

Fauxstess with the Mostess Cupcakes

Here is my take on this chocolate snack cake.

For the base, I used a modified version of Amazon Cake. This more or less the same as the Moosewood Chocolate Cake, except you use just 1 Tbl. of vinegar and just 1/3 cup of oil.

For the filling, I made a decorator’s buttercream with shortening and powdered sugar and added in some Fluff.

The glaze is just chocolate chips melted with some shortening.

Whole Wheat Savory Cheese Muffins

These muffins are based on a recipe from Dorie Greenspan. What I did: made the loaf into muffins and used whole wheat instead of all-purpose flour.

Daring Bakers: Chanukah Challah (from Stollen Dough) Plus Rugelach Babka

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book………and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

The egg-enriched dough for the stollen recipe reminded me of challah, and the powdered sugar topping made me think of soufganiyot, the jelly doughnuts served on Chanukah.  Doesn’t this close-up make you think of a plate of soufganiyot?

Windows Catering Rum Balls

I made a chocolate cake that was delicious, but impossibly crumbly. I turned leftovers into rum balls, adapting a recipe from the NYT that the New York Times Dessert Cookbook (p. 504) stated originally came from the restaurant Windows on the World, but actually came from Henry Dinardo, chef/owner of Windows Catering.

This recipe is perfect for recycling those holiday cookies that come in big boxes. Take ho-hum cookies and cake and turn them into luscious rum raisin chocolate truffles.

Happy Hanuka!

Time once again for my Hanuka Mac & Cheese! This was last year’s version.

Croquants: Plain and Chocolate

I made Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for croquants from Around My French Table, and then adapted the recipe to make a flourless chocolate version. (here is David Lebovitz’s version, which is nearly the same).