Cocaine Cookies - Kourabiedes

If you've followed our blog for a while you may have heard me say that these cocaine cookies are my absolute without question very favourite cookie of all time. There's really no cocaine in them (but I guess you knew that). They're really a traditional Greek shortbread cookie called Kourabiedes (I'm sure you have to be Greek to be able to pronounce this properly).

Actor Boy's girlfriend is Greek so I wanted to make her feel at home by for the first time ever, making these cookies. And who did I turn to in my time of need - my fellow Toronto Greek blogger - Peter of Kalofagas . Not only did he point me in the right direction - he also gave me other options that could work - hmmmm, maybe I'm not so done as I thought.




Here's Peter's recipe:

Kourabiedes

(recipe is for 2 baking trays/80 cookies) Note: Absolutely dead on 80 cookies

1 lb. clarified butter
1 cup icing sugar
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups of roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
1 shot of brandy (I used cognac)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 heaping Tbsp. of baking powder
5 cups all purpose flour
Extra icing sugar (for powdering)

1. Using a mixer and a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks and continue to mix.
2. Slowly pour in the vegetable oil while still mixing
3. Add your brandy to a large glass and then add baking powder; stir until dissolved. Add this mixture and the vanilla and continue mixing until blended.
4. Start kneading the mixture with your hands (try not to say yuck too often)while slowly adding the flour until the flour has been absorbed. Add the almonds kneading them into the dough mixture.
5. Break off pieces the size of a walnut and form them into your shape of choice (I made crescents) Place each formed cookie on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Reapeat process until all the dough has been used.
6. Bake in preheated 350 F oven for 30 minutes*. When slightly cooled immerse cookie in 2 cups of icing sugar and coat completely.

Notes:
This is the type of cookie you don't want to be indulging on regularly - it's very rich but man - oh so delicious.

*My oven may be fast but I found my cookies were done between 18 and 20 minutes.
They're a delicate cookie - throwing them around will cause them to break rendering them suitable only for the baker :)

Bran Muffins

All I can say is that I think I've found the perfect bran muffin recipe. As I was looking through old boxes and papers with scribbled recipes on them, this one spoke to me because I had it rated VG. I've had the recipe forever and wasn't really sure if my standards had gone up or not so I decided that it was time for baba to get some more fiber. Packed with 3 cups of whole bran at 10mg per serving, bran muffins went to the top of my priority list for the day.




3 cups whole bran cereal
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup fancy molasses
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup raisins
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour

Pour boiling water over cereal in large bowl and stir. Cool. Add eggs, molasses, buttermilk, oil and raisins. Blend well.
Stir together soda, salt, sugar and flour and blend into bran mixture.

Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes

Batter will keep up to 5 weeks in a tightly covered container in the fridge. Ideal for when you want something fresh out of the oven in no time.

Note: I made these in oversize muffin baking container and got 15 muffins. In smaller muffin tins you would get 30-36.

St. Tropez Chicken and Latkes for Hanukkah

Traditionally my family gets together for a Hanukkah Celebration each year and each year the question is what to prepare that isn't exactly the same as last year's celebration. Thankfully, Ruth of Once Upon a Feast came to my rescue and shared her recipe for St. Tropez Chicken. A family favourite Ruth promised this dish would not disappoint and she was so right.



Apologies for the poor plating but by the time I got the camera out people were already fixing their own plates and within seconds half the dish had already disappeared. For a nicer plating, check out Ruth's site.

St. Tropez Chicken

Prep time: 10 minutes
Marinating time: 1-2 days
Roasting time: 45 minutes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 roasting chicken, cleaned and cut into 8 pieces or, you can do as I did and just buy bone-in chicken breasts and thighs. I usually get 2 thighs per person (they’re so small) and 1 breast per person with a few extra pieces for the hardier eaters or left overs.
2 large heads of garlic, peeled and just whacked to crack them
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
½ cup rose wine (or white in a pinch)
1 tbsp Herbes aux Provence (mixed dried herbs that have lavender flowers)

1. Combine everything into a zip lock baggie or shallow dish and marinate in the fridge for at least one day, maximum, 2 days.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C

3. Prepare a shallow baking dish that will hold all the chicken in one layer, skin side up. I actually lined a lipped large baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup. Place the chicken in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken skin is golden and the juices run clear. The meat should not be pink.

4. It’s ready to serve, but if I need some time I just cover the chicken with foil to keep it warm without drying out.

Along with a main entry, you just can't have a Hanukkah dinner without including the famous potato latkes.



This recipe will feed about 10 hungry latka eaters.

Ingredients

10 lb white potatoes (my preference is russet, peeled and grated (we used the food processor to grate them)
2 large vidalia onions, grated
1/2 cup flour (we used quinoa flour)
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
canola oil for frying
sour cream and/or applesauce

1. Grate both the potatoes and onions
2. Put the grated potatoes and onions in cheesecloth and drain as much of the starchy liquid as you can - this makes for a crispier latka
3. Add eggs, flour, salt and pepper
4. Mix together well
5. With frypan on medium high and warmed add about 2 heaping tablespoons of mix to form patties and fry until brown, turn to finish frying. Serve warm with sour cream and/or applesauce.



Note: You'll need to keep adding oil to your frying pan. Remember that the latkes will absorb as much oil as you place in the frying pan so use sparingly.