Bev's Recipe Collection

1/2 cup butter
1 cup ricotta cheese (full fat)
1/2 cup sucanat
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp  baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips

Whip the butter, ricotta, sucanat, honey, egg, and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix the flour mixture in with the butter mixture until combined. Add the chocolate chips. Chill for at least 1 hour. Shape into balls and bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until beginning to set.

Recipe from Cake Wiz

Here is our version of this delectable Israeli pastry:

Dough:

2 sticks (1 cup) cold butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups whole wheat flour (I milled soft white wheat berries.)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey granules (or sugar)

Filling:

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup berry preserves (raspberry, strawberry, or blackberry)
1/4 cup sucanat or brown sugar

Topping:
1 egg
1 tsp water
2 T cup honey granules or sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Chop cold butter and cream cheese into smaller pieces. Put pieces into your food processor along with sour cream, flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse until a crumbly dough forms and begins to fall away from the sides of the processor. Don’t over-process; the dough should look crumbly, like cottage cheese.
• Divide the dough into four equal balls. Wrap each ball with plastic and place in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 to 48 hours.
• In a skillet, toast the chopped nuts over medium heat until fragrant. Pour the toasted nuts into a food processor along with the chocolate chips, berry preserves, and brown sugar. Pulse together until a thick, coarse paste forms. Reserve.
• Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl; reserve. Whisk the egg and water; reserve.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly flour your rolling surface and rolling pin. Take one portion of the dough out the refrigerator. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness, spreading with your hands if necessary. (You may need to use the rolling pin to pound out the dough a bit at the beginning; the dough will be very firm and cold, but will become more pliable as it starts to warm.)
• Lift the dough gently from the rolling surface and re-flour your surface beneath the dough. Replace the dough onto the re-floured surface. Use a round 9″ plate or cake pan as a guide to make an imprint in the dough. Cut the dough into a circle. Form the trimmed excess dough into a small ball. Wrap it in plastic and reserve in the refrigerator, adding to the ball with each batch that is made.
• Take 1/4 of the filling and place it in the center of the circle. Spread it across the surface of the dough, leaving 1/2 inch margin. You can use your hands to make the spreading easier.
• Cut the circle into 8 or 12 equal triangles.
• Roll up each triangle, starting from the wide flat end and rolling towards the narrow point. Press the end point into the cookie to secure it. With the end point down, place the rolled cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
• Brush the cookies with egg wash, and sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Serve at any temperature. They’ll keep for a few days in a tightly sealed container.

Makes about 50 rugelach

Adapted from The Shiksah

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2-4 tablespoons honey (depending on how sweet you like it)
• dash of cinnamon (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Mash bananas in a large bowl, then stir in remaining ingredients. Let batter stand for approximately 20 minutes, then drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes (these cookies retain their shape and don’t spread out on the cookie sheet, so keep that in mind).

Recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 C honey sucanat
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 C milk
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 4 1/2 C flour
• 1 1/2 C raisins

Mix together in order given.  Roll to about 1/4 inch thick and cook on skillet at medium heat about 2 1/2 minutes on each side.  ( No need to use butter or oil in skillet.)

Thanks to mom (Marilyn Williams) for handing down this one.

• 1 C fine rice flour (Arrowhead Mills)
• 2/3 C chickpea flour
• 1 C tapioca starch
• 2 t ground ginger
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 C olive oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 C fine sugar (honey granules powdered in a NutriBullet)
• 1/4 C molasses

In a bowl, blend the flour, starch, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, and salt. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the oil, egg, and sugar. Beat in the molasses. Stir in the dry ingredients until the dough is fully blended.

Form the dough into 1-inch balls. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on a baking stone.

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. Allow them to cool for only 5 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack.

from Against the Grain by Nancy Cain (adapted by Faith)