Out of This World Brownies with Oreos

Inspired by The Brownie Project where one blogger posts about her adventures with brownies (I should have a Challah Project! Hmmmm) I planned to make brownies for the first in Shabbat. Except I wanted to make brownies with chopped cookies in them. However, my roommate, who went shopping for my ingredients, returned cookie-less. And so, it was plain, regular brownies for Shabbat. Delicious ones, according to all the tasters, but not what I had in mind. So when I went shopping with my sister for her baking adventures and I found imitation Oreo cookies, I snagged a couple of packages and brought them home. These brownies would be made! Fast forward to yesterday when I had to get ready for another wedding. (The wedding was awesome, by the way. Casual and relaxed with a great band, great food, great friends and great weather!) Before I got ready for the wedding though, I decided to whip up a small batch of brownies, as I only had two eggs left! I noticed on The Brownie Project that its author, Megan, had tested these brownies and in searching for a brownie recipe for Shabbat noticed them too (but rejected them for some reason). It seemed like a promising choice and indeed this recipe was perfect for what I was looking for. So yesterday I pulled Desserts by the Yard off the shelf and got to baking. These brownies are pretty standard in technique- beat eggs and sugar, and melted chocolate and margarine, fold in flour. I folded in a bunch of chopped cookies and spread them in the pan. I think I underbaked them because when I cut them they were insanely fudgy. I popped them into the fridge and instructed my roommate to serve them at curfew while I was at the wedding. One of the second years told me I outdid myself with these. Indeed, I came home to an empty plate. I suppose that speaks for itself? Make these- they live up to their name. 

Greenstein's Challah

Not surprisingly, with the little I baked for Shabbat, I had plenty of time left in my day and the other madrichot were not back yet from their paper goods shopping. I made a last minute decision to make a batch of challah. This made me happy because I love to make challah and make it whenever I can and whenever I am home for Shabbat and because it allowed me to continue testing recipes in search of a super great one. As is normal for all cookbooks that dont really know about the broad spectrum of challot, this week's recipe is for an eggy challah. It seems that everyone's perception of challah is as an eggy bread. I wont go into it now, but it's not entirely true... In any case, in my ongoing effort to try challah recipes from all of my different cookbooks, this recipe is from George Greenstein's Secrets of a Jewish Baker. I made one batch of challah using all purpose flour. The challot had good flavor and good texture, not too eggy and sweet but not too sweet. It had a nice yellow crumb from my bright eggs which I always think is cool. Once again, I neglected to make my dough as firm as I like, I'll have to fix that on my next challah go-round. I think it would result in a better braid definition. From this batch I made three small loaves, with six, four and three strands. This would make an excellent challah for Rosh HaShana with or without the addition of raisins. I'm sending these breads over to Yeastspotting!

Plum Tea Cake

This past Shabbat was the first one spent with the new class of 2011. My fellow madrichot were responsible for purchasing food for the post dinner tisch and the kiddush the following morning. I had said that I wasnt going to bake because I usually bake alot and it puts me out of commission a whole day. But when we were going over what we were going to buy, I realized that there would be nothing homey, nothing special... and so, I caved and decided to bake. It seems I just cant resist.... I didnt bake a lot.. really I didnt. I made cinnamon babkas, brownies and peanut brownies and these Plum Tea Cakes. Plum may sound like an odd choice but our wonderful cook let me know that there were plums on the verge of going bad so instead of going to waste, I opted to bake with them. I practically didnt have a choice! This summer, as plums were at the height of their seasons, I featured a few plum recipes. I was looking for one I havent made yet and so I turned to Rustic Fruit Desserts. I found the recipe for Stone Fruit Tea Cake and having all of the ingredients on hand, proceeded to make it using all fresh plums. Easy to make, this cake turns out to be quite beautiful if a bit rustic looking. Everyone loved it, and personally came up to me to compliment me on it even though most could not identify the fruit that I used. In any case, this is a terrific recipe to showcase the fruits of the season.

Linzertorte

A is married!!!!!! The wedding was beautiful, as was she. I danced my heart out and truly enjoyed it. I came back at 1:30 because the bus broke down on the way back to Jerusalem. I am totally wiped out! Utterly exhausted! I've been trying to squeeze in some shuteye at any free moment that I can. I need sleep! But it was so nice to celebrate with a close friend here in the Holy Land. I'm hoping for many more of these soon! I figured since A just got married, I should hurry up and post this Linzertorte that I made for her Shabbat Kallah this past weekend. I really wanted to make a tart and something fruity as well and the linzertorte was the first thing to pop into my head. I dont use nuts enough in my sweet baking and so I looked at it as a good opportunity to incorporate them in a major way. Besides, who doesnt like hazelnuts? This was also a good opportunity to inaugurate Rose's Pie and Pastry Bible, a book I had wanted for ages and found in perfect condition in a used bookstore here in Israel for 70 shekel which is significantly less than the retail price. That was a great day for me. Back to the torte- you begin by toasting nuts and grinding them before completing the pastry. Most of it is then pressed into a pan, lined with jelly and topped with a lattice made from the remaining jelly. That simple. This tart was beautiful looking, all my friends were truly impressed and made sure to say so. I kept catching people cutting off little slivers and going back for more so I'm sure that was their way of saying they were impressed with how it turned out as well. Rose never disappoints!

Mango Tart

It seems it's been ages since I took the time to post. Things have been crazy here. The new group of girls arrived two days ago and between getting them settled and adjusted and all of the orientations that are happening around here, I haven't really had a second. I've been going to bed late and getting up earlier than usual and I'm EXHAUSTED! That's why I'm relieved to report that while the girls are going on their first tiyul today, I'm going to be at A's wedding! She's getting married tonight!!! I'm soooo excited and can't wait to dance with her. Which brings me to last Shabbat which was the weekend that her friends, myself included, spent with her- the last weekend before she becomes a married woman. Or course, I put myself on dessert duty. Happy to have alllllll my books back in one place, I set about to do the usual research. The first recipe I came across seemed perfectly seasonal, easy, and beautiful. This Mango Tart comes from Israel's premiere culinary magazine, Al HaShulchan. It is basically a baked tart crust, spread with jam, topped with fresh mango slices and then baked. That simple. Some of my girls had moved in that night and as I had extra components, I made them individual tartlets. They LOVED this summery dessert. Use only the freshest mango available. I got my perfectly seasonal fruit from the Shuk- LOVE the shuk! Feel free to use any complimentary jam flavor- I used apricot here, but an orange marmalade or a mango jam would work just as well.