It may be a little late to include these in your 1st or 2nd night seder, but for a nice mid-week kosher-for-Passover treat, these Praline Cookies are quick and easy to throw together in order to fill a  cookie Jones in this time of baked-good deprivation.  Oh, the sufferin’….

I found this recipe a few months ago in a cookbook from my mom’s bookshelf:  “River Road Recipes”  - from the Junior League of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which she picked it up during a visit to New Orleans in the late 1970’s. Being a fiend for pralines, I was drawn to this recipe based on its heavy reliance on brown sugar and pecans, and also due to the fact that I might be able to produce the effects of a pecan praline without having to futz with the whole candy thermometer meshugas.

They were even better than I expected.  And, don’t say I didn’t warn you: they are dangerously addictive.  They  have been  a big hit each time I’ve made them, and so I decided to convert them into a Passover cookie, substituting matzoh cake meal for the flour.  Because the recipe calls for only 2 Tablespoons of flour, I suspected that the substitution would be undetectable.  I was correct.

PRALINE COOKIES - Mrs. Carlos G. Spacht, Sr.
From River Road Recipes II (Jr. League of Baton Rouge)  - adaptations and notes by Joanna Miller:

1 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbs Flour - For Passover, substitute Matzoh CAKE meal (not regular “matzoh meal.”
1/2 tsp salt – I (at least)  double this amount in a single recipe – a little less than doubled for a double recipe.
1 egg white, beaten stiff but not dry
1 tsp.  Vanilla
2 cups pecans  (I used only ONE cup of pecans (chopped) for a double recipe.  This is personal preference  - use more if you want.  More pecans will result in a thicker, more voluminous cookie.

Sift sugars, flour (or cake meal) and salt together.  Fold in egg white and vanilla

Fold in nuts carefully

*I add quite a bit more salt than is called for in the recipe.  This is, obviously, a personal preference.  If you enjoy the salty/sweetness of Kettle Korn, salted caramel, etc., I strongly recommend this.

Drop bits (less than 1 tsp.) on well-buttered cookie sheet.  (I think parchment-lined cookie sheets are better – they became greasy and flimsy on a buttered pan, but that could be due to the fact that I didn’t cook that particular batch long enough.

Bake @ 275 degrees, 20-35 minutes, or just until firm.  Maybe it’s my oven, but they never take that long to cook.  Just take them out when they start looking dry on top.

Cool them on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to cooling racks.  Otherwise they will fall apart on your spatula.

Ever since I saw this post on Coconut and Lime, I’ve been hankering to give these “Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies” a whirl.  I love a chocolate snap, and a chocolate snap with a SNAP is extra special.  I’ve eaten versions of this in both cookie and brownie form, but had yet to try my own hand at a spicy chocolate cookie.

NOTES:
I more or less followed the recipe, but instead of golden syrup, I used agave syrup, and I substituted whole wheat spelt flour for the AP flour, which gave the cookie a bit more texture, not to mention an added dose of nutritional value.  After I added the white sugar, I remembered how much better brownies and cookies taste when made with brown sugar, so I added a tablespoon of molasses.

I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, which adds an extra depth of flavor and color

Oh yeah, I also sprinkled a mixture of turbinado sugar and salt on top before baking.  I often sprinkle straight salt on cookies, but these really needed the extra sugar to balance the hot

I like a medium level of spiciness, and if I make these again, I will  reduce the amount of cayenne pepper.  They are actually too spicy for my mouth, but you can adjust according to your own taste.

My main alteration, clearly, is that I rolled out the (refrigerated) dough with some extra flour and cut them into heart shapes.

And then I figured that with so many personal touches, I could justify a name change.  In keeping with the passion-theme, I’ve named them in tribute to my first crush ever:  a young Mr. Scott Baio circa 1982.

Hot Chachi’s Chocolate Hearts

1 1/2 cup flour (whole wheat, spelt or AP)
1 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 cup cocoa (Hershey’s Special Dark or your favorite)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup agave syrup or golden syrup
3 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or less, according to taste)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or Silpat.  Beat together the butter and sugar, followed by agave syrup and applesauce. Mix well.   In a separate bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, cayenne, pepper, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and flour.   Add gradually to the fluffy batter, beating between additions until well combined.

At this point you can either drop them by tablespoons, well spaced, on cookie sheet for simple circle-shaped cookies (flattening them just a bit with your fingertips  For hearts, refrigerate dough and then roll out with extra flour and stamp out heart shapes with a cookie cutter.  Sprinkle with sugar and or salt if desired.

Bake for apx 10 minutes, until set but NOT dry-looking

Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen, depending on size

 It’s time that I own an electric stand mixer. All the cool kids (who bake) have them and shoot, I bake, and people tell me I’m cool. So it only follows that I should own a Kitchen Aid. Right?

The thing is, I seem to have gotten by fairly well without one for the past 18 years. That is to say, ever since I moved out of my parents’ house when I was seventeen, I’ve been mixing batter and dough with my $15 Sunbeam hand-held mixer, but just as often I use nothing more than a fork, or a wooden spoon and plenty of elbow grease. During this time, I’ve turned out several (hundred) dozen cookies, muffins, breads and cakes, most of them well above average, if I may be so bold. Oh yeah, and a couple (hundred) bowls of fresh whipped cream, always with success.

Why, then, am I struck with the sudden impetus to take up valuable counter space with this unwieldy appliance? Like I said. I bake. And I’m cool. And, most importantly, it’s going to be free. You see, I recently realized that I am able to cash in my Capital One No-Hassle mileage points for items other than airline miles. I can exchange points for GIFT CARDS from a wide array of restaurants and retailers: The Gap, Target, Sears, Home Depot, Red Lobster. While it was tempting to trade in those points for $300 worth of gen-u-ine Eye-talian meals at Olive Garden, I have made my final decision, and when the gift card arrives in the mail, I’ll be heading straight to the house wares department at Macy’s.

Okay, so this is where I need YOUR help. The array of available colors for the Kitchen Aid Artisan 5 Quart Stand Mixer are indeed vast. So vast that I am paralyzed with indecision.

Here is my quandary: Practical or whimsical? I could be conservative and classy and stick with basic black (although there are THREE different shades of black, if you can imagine).
My kitchen looks like this:

The tiles, original features of my 1935-built home, are butter yellow and black. Naturally, then, black is the obvious choice; it is classy and neutral and, being that my mixer will likely be in my life longer than the house, it is the sensible choice. As for yellow, It has never been my favorite, but it IS a kitchen-y color and it is also the same color as my mother’s circa 1962 Sunbeam stand mixer responsible for all creaming of butter and sugar done by yours truly between the years of 1978 and 1988. So, yellow wins nostalgia points.

But look, here!

In my kitchen, as you can see in the above photo, there are highlights of red and even a bit of orange. Additionally (speaking of orange), get a load of my living room. Granted, it is unlikely that I’ll ever be kicking out a bowlful of meringue or mixing up a batch of these excellent ginger cookies in my living room, but still. The tangerine color could provide a sort of traveling continuity throughout my home.

Yes, I know, it’s only a mixer. Functionality and performance should be my priority, here. This, however, is not the issue because I am already secure in the knowledge that this Kitchen Aid is a superior and highly-regarded product. I am, however, planning to be looking at this machine/baking partner for the next few decades. I am giving this no more thought and consideration than I would were I to be choosing paint colors, tiles or upholstery for my sofa. In fact, the mixer will be more permanent than any of those things.

Okay, so to the point: I’m taking an opinion poll. I usually am pretty directed and decisive about matters of home aesthetics, but as I said, I’m feeling paralyzed.

If you have a minute or two to spare, please go to this link to view all available color choices and then indicate your vote in the comments section.

Thank you in advance for your time and support. If you’re in the neighborhood, let me know. My 325-watt-motored, ergonomically handled Kitchen Aid and I will whip you up a fresh batch of your favorite cookies.

And, of course, we will look quite fabulous in the process.
It’s all about accessorizing, you know.

Photo of Kitchen Aid mixer courtesy of macys.com

All right, so let’s just say I’m not very Rock and Roll these days. The upside of this, however, is that I may have just had a Chanukah cookie- decorating stroke of genius. “Well,” I thought, “I could mix up a small amount of orange icing and dab it on to the tips of the candles.” “Or, perhaps orange M&M’s?” “WAIT! Oh my God! What about CANDY CORN?! Of course! Candy corn kernels could absolutely double for tiny flames that have miraculously remained lit for eight days.”

I truly cannot believe that it has taken me this long to come up with a (more than) legitimate incorporation of candy corn into a holiday other than Halloween. (No, reindeer corn and cupid corn do not count sorry.) Not only am I heroically extending the too-short season of candy corn, but I am also bridging a secular holiday with a non-secular one, all with the use of these shiny faux kernels. This is quite a coup I hope you realize.

You see, to know me (or to have read my recent candy corn round-up on Sugar Savvy) is to know that I possess a deep-seated fondness for this oft-maligned confection. This, coupled with my unsuccessful attempts to find a Chanukah candy other than those crappy Elite chocolate coins, fills me with a great sense of pride and accomplishment. In short, I’m kvelling. Self congratulatory? Perhaps. But when you’re a Lonely Jew on Christmas, you really must give yourself some love and props whenever possible.

If you don’t already have a favorite cutout sugar cookie recipe, try the one below. The lemon zest adds a nice lift, the dough is very easy to work with, and it does not stick to the work surface or rolling pin. It has been my standby sugar cookie recipe for years.

To cut out the minimalist menorah shapes, I simply used an upside-down bowl as my template and then cut the circle in half. I frosted the baked and cooled half circles with light blue icing (because blue is the international code for “Jewish”), placing the candy corn flames while icing is still wet. This simple icing works very much like a glue and dries into a smooth, glossy finish; plus, it tastes good. It can also be flavored with almond extract or any other clear, colorless flavoring.

* Important: Make sure that the diameter of the circle is wide enough to fit nine candy corn flames.

TRADITIONAL ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES
(From The Oregonian, December 8, 1992)

Makes approximately 4 and a half dozen

3/4 cup butter, softened (NOT margarine)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 Tbs finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt (I use more, it’s a personal preference)
water
Royal icing (recipe follows)

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg, lemon zest and vanilla and beat until blended. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. On low speed, gradually add them to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. Add water, a few drops at time, only until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and use the wrap, not your fingers, to press the dough together to form a thick flat disk. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a 1/8 (or more) thickness. Cut shapes with cookie cutters or freehand. Transfer shapes with thin, flexible spatula onto greased cookie sheets, or sheets lined with a Silpat mat or parchment.

Bake for 8-12 minutes or until they are just barely browned around edges. Cool on wire racks.

Re-roll scraps and repeat process.

Frost cookies using ROYAL ICING:

1 cup of powdered sugar
1 egg white
A few drops of lemon juice

Mix ingredients until well blended. Add food coloring of your choice.

With that said, I was glad I chose the Molasses Ginger Cake.  The pumpkin upside down cake will definitely be making repeat performances, but perhaps as a follow-up to a less extravagant meal.

You can certainly make your own caramel sauce, but I decided this would be a great excuse to try the Fran’s Dark Caramel Sauce that I’d had my eye on recently.

Fresh whipped cream:  optional, but, of course, highly recommended.  (I added a bit of maple syrup in addition to the usual powdered sugar and vanilla – nice touch, if I do say so myself.)

Recipe courtesy of Three Square Grill in Portland, Oregon

GINGER MOLASSES CAKE

Ingredients

3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 tsp ground ginger
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1 cup vegetable oil

Drizzle warmed caramel sauce over individual slices of cake, with whipped cream, if desired.  And come on, who doesn’t desire a nice dollop (or three) of whipped cream?

Method

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour 12-cup Bundt pan.
* Sift first 5 ingredients into medium bowl.  Whisk molasses, sugar, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended.  Whisk in 1 cup boiling water and oil, then dry ingredients.  Pour batter into prepared pan.
* Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.  Cool in pan on rack 20 minutes.  Turn out onto plate; cool completely.  (Can be made 1 day ahead.  Cover and store at room temperature.)

So, anyway, I was up there this morning and noticed that their in-house bakery had a new item:  Pumpkin Upside Down Cake with Cranberry Pecan Topping – being sold by the (very large) piece.  It was being featuring in tandem with a great -looking book (the store stocks a great selection of cookbooks) called “A Passion for Desserts” by Emily Luchetti.  I’ve certainly seen Luchetti’s books, but never used her recipes.  Until today, that is.

Being that a) I am a fool for all things pumpkin and b) I have been assigned to bring a dessert to my family’s Thanksgiving meal this year, I decided I should do a little pre-research.  So, instead of buying a piece, I got all d.i.y. and I whipped up a batch at home.  But whether or not this becomes the chosen cake for next Thursday, the recipe is, indubitably, a winner.  The picture pretty much speaks for itself:  rich and full-bodied, sweet, moist (REALLY moist) and chock-full o’ pumpkin and caramel flavor.  I don’t know what else to tell you.

Note:  I know that Thanksgiving is a time to indulge and throw caution to the wind, but I’m willing to bet that the cake wouldn’t suffer too much if I were to somewhat reduce the (ridiculous) amount of butter and oil, replacing it with extra pumpkin and maybe some applesauce. It would still be moist and (even more)
pumpkin-y.

Pumpkin Upside-Down Cake
with Cranberry Pecan Topping

From “A Passion For Desserts” by Emily Luchetti, copyright 2003     

Makes 8 to 10 servings

8 ounces (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups cranberries
4 ounces (1 cup) coarsely chopped pecans, toasted (see page 26 of book)
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line the bottom of a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the brown sugar and whisk until smooth.  Pour the brown sugar mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the cranberries and pecans.  Place them in the pan over the brown sugar mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, and oil.  In another bowl, sift together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Stir the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.  Carefully spread the batter over the cranberry pecan topping.

Bake the cake until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Place a large plate or platter on top of the cake.  Invert the cake and plate together, then remove the pan.  Carefully peel off the parchment paper.

Let cool completely before serving.  Serve with Chantilly Cream (or just good old fresh whipped cream).

The cake can be made a day in advance; wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.