Our Favorite Cookies

Aunt Fanny's Cookies

It wouldn't be my house if there weren't some of these in the freezer for the holidays. During Rosh Hashanah and of course, for my Break-the-Fast. These are my Mom's famous butter cookies. They are probably the most-loved, most-baked cookies in my (and once, my Mom's) repertoire.

When I was growing up I didn't know they were butter cookies because my Mom made them with shortening. After I got interested in cooking I asked her why she called them butter cookies and she explained that during WWII she couldn't get butter, but everyone wanted the cookies, and so -- 

We tried them with real butter and never looked back. Except for when I need something dairy-free, and then, of course, I go back to the shortening. These cookies are fabulous, either way, though, to confess, I like the butter ones much better.

Here they are, fresh from the oven.

In our family we never actually called them butter cookies, not because of the shortening but because the recipe came from my father's Aunt Fanny. So everyone in the family called them Fanny's (recipe), which is scrawled out as "Fannies" in all the old family recipe collections.

I don't know if anyone in my family is named for Aunt Fanny, but these cookies give her kind of the same immortality.

Fannies

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, cut into chunks (or one cup cold shortening)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 large egg yolks

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• lekvar, jam, nut butter, etc.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat them in an electric mixer set at medium speed for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the flour and mix another 1-2 minutes, or until the ingredients are almost blended. Add the egg yolks, salt and vanilla extract. Mix the ingredients 1-2 minutes, or until a uniform dough forms. Scoop pieces of dough and shape them into balls about 1" in diameter. Flatten the balls between your palms. Press each circle with your thumb to make an indentation in the center. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet, leaving an inch of space between them. Fill the thumb print spaces with a small amount of lekvar, jam, etc. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. You can freeze these cookies for 6 months.

Makes about 60

The Brisket

Yesterday I wrote about the un-brisket. You know, why I usually don't make brisket for the holidays.

But I do make brisket on occasion and I realize it is THE specialty for Rosh Hashanah.

And I also know that no matter how many recipes there are out there for brisket, there are always thousands of people wanting more. Not just recipes, but information on how to make brisket so that your family wants it again and remembers your brisket as the ultimate dinner.

So here's what you might want to do: not only learn a good recipe, but also get instruction from the world's premiere kosher cookbook author: Jamie Geller.

Here's how: Jamie is giving video courses called HOME in which she and other culinary experts will teach you the best methods and tips for making the best brisket.

There are other courses too. Challah and Do-it-Yourself Rosh Hashanah (with recipes PLUS crafts).

You can get one or get them all. The price is $19.99/course.

But take a look yourself, watch the trailer and get the skills, the tools, the encouragement and confidence you need to cook it right.

Here's where: HOME by Jamie Geller.

Chicken Fricassee, the Un-Brisket Choice for Rosh Hashanah

Chicken Fricassee

My friends are always surprised that I don't usually serve brisket on Rosh Hashanah. In fact, they used to tell me it is heresy. Everyone knows that brisket is the big, big, popular, festive and impressive-looking main course for the New Year! So they ask -- how come it's not what I do?

Well, my grandma always made turkey. So did my mother. So I guess turkey is the tradition in our family and I just follow suit.

But I have to confess, after all the teasing I've gotten over the years I began to think that turkey was kind of strange and that I was doing something bizarre.

Until recently.

Because I read an article by Joan Nathan in Tablet about this very thing. 

She said that before the Civil War, brisket was not the usual Rosh Hashanah specialty, and that it was only after refrigerated trains could carry meat more quickly and easily across the country that this big hunk of meat became a holiday specialty. Before that, she said, Jewish home cooks might prepare dishes such as chicken fricassee for the occasion.

YESYESYES!

It conjured up glorious memories of my mother's (and grandmother's) chicken fricassee. Did they serve that also during the holidays? I don't remember. All I know is that after I read the article I went out and bought the necessary items for chicken fricassee and made a big batch. I was going to freeze it in portions for the holidays but my daughter Gillian and her kids came for a surprise visit and my fricassee was cooling down before the big freeze.

We ate it for dinner. At first Gillian was reluctant because she and my other daughter, Meredith, refused to eat chicken fricassee when they were girls. "Too soft!" "Too wet!"

They used to make fun of me for loving it.

But that's what I had in the fridge the day of the surprise visit so that's what we ate for dinner that night.

Guess what? Gillian loved it! And said she changed her mind.

Tastes do change over the years.

That's why people eat brisket for Rosh Hashanah now, rather than fricassee. And for some terrific ideas about preparing the best brisket ever, click here.

But maybe it's time to reconsider Chicken Fricassee for the holidays? I will offer it as an option when my family comes.

Chicken Fricassee

• 16-20 ounces chopped beef, veal, turkey or a combination
• 1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs or matzo meal
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 12 chicken wings, cut into sections
• 3 medium onions, sliced
• 1 pound chicken gizzards
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups water, approximately
• 4 medium all purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks, optional
• 4 carrots, cut into chunks, optional
• 10 ounces coarsely cut mushrooms, optional

In a large bowl, combine the chopped meat, bread crumbs and egg and mix thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 1-1/2 inch balls and set aside. Pour the vegetable oil into a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook the meatballs for 6-8 minutes, turning them occasionally, or until lightly browned on all sides. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside. Add the wings and cook them for 6-8 minutes, turning them occasionally, or until lightly browned. Remove the wings from the pan and set aside. Add the onions and gizzards to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until golden and softened. Return the wings and meatballs to the pan. Sprinkle the ingredients with the paprika, salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients gently to season the meats evenly. Pour in 1-1/2 cups water. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan and cook for 35-40 minutes. Add the optional ingredients if desired, cover the pan and cook an additional 50-60 minutes. Check the pan occasionally and turn the ingredients gently. Check fluid levels and add more water if needed.

Makes 8 servings

Oat Topped Banana Brown Sugar Muffins

Oat Topped Banana Brown Sugar Muffins

Having company for the Labor Day weekend? 

Need a breakfast bread for the back-to-school crowd?

Brunch item?

These banana muffins will suit so many needs.

Oat-Topped Banana Brown Sugar Muffins

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 small very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin tins. Mix the flour, 1/2 cup oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together in a bowl. In a second bowl, mix the banana, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just to bend ingredients. Spoon equal amounts into the greased muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the 2 tablespoons oats. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 12

Baked Marinated Pineapple with Meringue Top

Marinated Marinated Pineapple with Meringue

After a big, heavy meal -- like the kind we usually eat for Rosh Hashanah or any other holiday (Thanksgiving, for example) -- I like to serve a fruit dessert. I'll also serve Honey Cake and Plum Torte but not everyone can stuff cake in right after dinner.

So, fruit.

This is a pretty way to serve fresh fruit, festive enough for any holiday table. You can use any cut up fruit you like in addition to the pineapple. 

 

BAKED MARINATED PINEAPPLE WITH MERINGUE TOP

·                1 large pineapple

·                1 cup berries and/or grapes or cut up peach/plum/apricot

·                1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

·                3 tablespoons rum or orange juice

·                3 tablespoons brandy or orange juice

·                4 large egg whites

·                1 cup sugar

·                1/2 cup melted apricot preserves

Cut the pineapple in half, keeping the leaves intact. Cut out the flesh (use a spoon to scoop portions you don't reach with the knife). Reserve the pineapple shells. Cut away and discard the hard core in the center of the flesh. Cut the pineapple into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl. Add the berries, confectioner's sugar, rum and brandy. Toss the fruit and let rest for at least one hour in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating constantly until the whites stand in stiff, glossy peaks. Place the fruit and accumulated juices back into the reserved pineapple shells. Spoon the meringue on top, spreading it to the sides, making sure to seal the edges. Place the pineapple halves on a cookie sheet. Cover the leaves with aluminum foil. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned. Remove the foil from the leaves. Drizzle the melted apricot preserves on on a serving platter and place the pineapple on top or serve the sauce separately.

Makes 6 servings

Roasted Halibut with Cherry Tomatoes and Dill

Whether you are about to mourn the end of summer or celebrate the Jewish New Year, it's the right time to take advantage of local tomatoes, still at their glorious peak-of-the-season and soon to disappear until next year.

Here's a scrumptious way. Sure, you can make this dish anytime, but it's so much better with end-of-summer tomatoes.

This easy, easy recipe takes almost no time to prepare, is quick to cook and can be set up to the point of actual cooking several hours ahead.

Perfect for last minute dinners. Busy week dinners. Rosh Hashanah fish course.

Roasted Halibut with Cherry Tomatoes and Dill

• 1-1/2 to 2 pounds halibut
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2-3 scallions or 3-4 tablespoons chopped red onion

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the fish in a baking dish. Brush the olive oil over the surface of the fish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Scatter the tomatoes on top of the fish. Scatter the dill and scallions on top. Roast the fish for 15-18 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish, or until just cooked through.

Makes 4 servings

S'mores for all Seasons

S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookies

Summer may be almost over and with it the picnics and going to the beach.

And s'mores over the campfire.

But I had this eureka moment the other day when I thought about incorporating the s'mores ingredients into a chocolate chip cookie. 

I made several versions, some stacked, some stuffed, some with cut up marshmallows, some with shaved chocolate.

But they were all too thick, too soft, too just not right.

This one is exactly what I had hoped: crispy, chocolate-y, marshmallow-y and just the right amount of graham cracker crumbs to give it extra sweetness and a gorgeous golden glow.

S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini-marshmallows 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Beat the butter, coconut oil, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and well blended. Add the eggs and beat the mixture until well blended. Add the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, baking powder and salt and blend them in thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough and place each scoop on the cookie sheet, leaving room for the cookies to spread. Tuck the marshmallows beneath the dough as much as possible. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Makes about 48 cookies

Banana Bread with Blueberries

When I saw purple prune plums for sale last week I realized that summer is almost over. This plum variety is usually a September fruit but everything seems to be growing earlier or quicker this year or maybe it's just that I'm growing older and life is flying by faster.

Fortunately the peaches are still lush and sweet, the tomatoes juicy, so there's that.

But fall is coming and alas, the blueberries are past prime. I bought a couple of pint boxes and found that their up-to-now summer flavor has faded.

I decided the leftovers were best used as a secondary player, not the star. And at that they were perfect.

 

Banana Bread with Blueberries

• 2-½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pan
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 very ripe medium bananas, mashed
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a (10-inch) 8-cup bundt pan. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and lemon peel together in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the sugar and eggs for 2-3 minutes or until well blended. Add the vegetable oil and vanilla extract and beat for one minute or until thoroughly blended. Add the bananas and yogurt and beat them in. Add the flour mixture and beat until the batter is well blended. Fold in the blueberries. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a cake rack to cool completely.

Makes one bread, serving 12-16

Salmon Melt with Tomatoes, Squash and Chives

Salmon Melt

Everyone I know who has a garden says that it's overflowing with tomatoes and zucchini. Eggplants and basil. Lettuce and bell peppers.

What should they do with all this produce?

A question for the ages, because this happens to everyone who has a garden, every year.

Except for me. I got exactly one tomato on one plant, one tomato on another and the third one has three teeny green ones and a few flowers. Most of my basil was devoured by local animals and the few that were left have just a few leaves. 

I didn't even bother to plant anything else because I have failed summer after summer.

EXCEPT for the chives! I have a lovely, flourishing pot of chives!

So I snipped some of those lovely, fragrant stalks and added them to a Salmon Melt Sandwich. Leftover salmon of course, plus tomatoes and summer squash from someone else's garden.

I am certain that the chives make all the difference in how wonderful this tastes.

 

Salmon Melts with TOMATOES, SQUASH and Chives

• 2 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
• 4 slices whole wheat bread, lightly toasted
• 8-12 thin slices yellow squash or zucchini
• 4-8 slices tomato
• 5-6 ounces cooked salmon, broken into chunks
• 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1-1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the butter equally on one side of each of the toast slices. Place the slices on a cookie sheet. Place 2-3 slices of squash and 1-2 slices of tomato on top. Place equal amounts of the salmon on top of the tomato. Scatter with the chives. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake the sandwiches for about 8 minutes or until the cheese is hot and bubbly.

Makes 4 pieces

Tips on Salt Free, Plus Blueberry Muffins, salt free and vanilla-y

Salt Free Blueberry Muffins

Everyone pokes fun at the "old folks" who talk about their "conditions" and "ailments" and pills.

But it's okay because sometimes it makes serious stuff easier to handle if you can joke about it, as long as you actually take the serious stuff seriously.

So before our annual new year’s festivities, when our cousins come for a few days, we went over whether there were any new dietary restrictions.

There was: no salt. (I mentioned it last week when I talked about serving India-style shakshuka instead of the usual herrings and smoked fish for brunch on New Year’s Day.0

We joked about our conditions and ailments and pills. And understood that we weren't talking about our grandparents or even our parents, but about ourselves. 

We had become them.

When did that happen?

Don't laugh youngsters. If you're lucky, this will happen to you too. It's one of the costs of growing older.

On the other hand, from a food point of view? Not lucky. No salt is a real UGH.

Salt is the salt of the earth. It's what makes so many foods taste so good.

Food without salt is, well, not as tasty. Let's just admit it and move on.

And, moving on, if you have to cook without salt, you have to and that's that. So you have to come up with ways to make the food taste good without it.

Among the salt-free dishes I prepared over the weekend were blueberry muffins. 

What did I do to make sure they didn't taste like a box of Cheerios? (I don't mean the Cheerios, I mean the box.)

I added extra vanilla to my standard recipe. A good brand of pure vanilla extract — I bought it at Penzey’s), not imitation vanilla.

I could also have added 2 teaspoons of grated fresh orange or lemon peel but I knew this particular company would not have enjoyed that. 

I could have included 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts -- both of these nuts pack plenty of flavor, but I don't keep those nuts in my house because of allergies.

The tip here is to add powerful, flavorful ingredients that perk up the dish so you won't miss the salt.

We didn't.

Blueberry Muffins

• 5 tablespoons butter

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1 large egg

• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange or lemon peel, optional

• 1 cup blueberries

• 1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 8 muffin tins. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Place the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, vanilla extract and orange peel (if used) in a second bowl and whisk to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix just until combined. Fold in the blueberries and optional nuts. Fill muffin tins evenly with the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 15 minutes. Remove the muffins and serve warm or let cool to room temperature.

Makes 8