Recipe: Moroccan M’hanncha (The Snake) Cake

Recipe: Moroccan M’hanncha (The Snake) Cake

Ingredients

6 oz (12 tbsp) butter, melted plus another cup for brushing phyllo dough
4 oz (1 cup) sliced almonds, toasted
4 oz (2/3 cup) granulated sugar
11 oz (2 3/4 cups) almond meal
2 oz (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1 ½ tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp orange flower water, divided
12 oz phyllo dough
1 egg yolk lightly beaten with some water
¼ cup honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit with the rack in the middle. Let the phyllo dough thaw if you have not already.

Place the sliced almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, mix often and toast until the nuts are golden fragrant, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully as the almonds can burn easily. Transfer nuts to a heat safe bowl to cool.

Pulse the toasted almonds with the granulated sugar in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. The sugar will help prevent the nuts from turning into almond butter. Add the 6oz melted butter, almond meal, the whole egg, powdered sugar and cinnamon to the food processor, keeping almond/sugar in the bowl. Process until the mixture is well combined, scraping down the edges as needed.

Grease the 12 inch cast iron skillet with butter. Unroll the phyllo dough, place on a large clean work surface. Have the 1 cup melted butter handy. While you are working, keep the stack of unrolled phyllo dough lightly covered with a clean damp cloth or plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Carefully take one sheet of the phyllo dough and place it longways in front of you. Lightly brush with a layer of the melted butter. Continue to layer in this way with two more sheets, brushing butter in between each layer and on the top most layer.
Roll a golf ball sized piece of the almond mixture in your hands until you have a 1/2 inch snake. Piece the snakes together until they are long enough to fit the entire length of the stacked phyllo sheets. Place the almond snake at the edge of the phyllo dough, lay the snakes across the dough so they fit end to end. Starting at the side closest to you, roll the dough until you have a long coil. Continue to make these coils in the same way until you have enough to make a single layer in the skillet. They will resemble cinnamon buns. Place the coils in the skillet, they can and will touch.

Brush the tops of the pastries with the egg yolk wash. Bake for about 30 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Gently heat the honey and the 1 tbsp of orange flower water, drizzle it over the pastry. Serve warm or at room temperature.

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Campfire Loaded Veggie Nachos

Recipe: Campfire Loaded Veggie Nachos

Ingredients

1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 10 ounce can Rotel, drained
½ large red onion, diced & divided
1 2 ounce can sliced black olives, drained
1 tsp Tajín Clásico mexican spice blend
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp cumin
1 16 ounce bag tortilla chips
1 8 ounce package shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 ripe avocado
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
lime slices
sliced jalapeños

Directions

Line a 10 inch cast iron skillet with foil.
Combine the corn, beans, 1/2 of the onions, Rotel, olives, Tajín Clásico, pepper and cumin in a large bowl.

Place 1/2 of the chips in the skillet, top with 1/2 of the cheese and 1/2 of the corn mixture. Repeat with another layer of chips, corn mixture and cheese.

Campfire or Grilled Nachos

If you are heating over the campfire; tent with foil and grill until the cheese melts 8-10 minutes. Remove from the fire, carefully remove foil. Top with avocado, the rest of the onions, cilantro, lime wedges, jalapeños and drizzle Chipotle Cream Sauce.
If using the grill, heat over medium high heat and follow the rest of the directions. Serve immediately.

Baked Nachos

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with rack in the middle. Place the skillet in the oven, tent with foil and bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted. Remove from the oven, carefully remove foil. Top with avocado, the rest of the onions, cilantro, lime wedges, jalapeños and drizzle Chipotle Cream Sauce. Serve immediately.

~ Marla Meridith

Cranberry Hand Pies

Cranberry Hand Pies

Ingredients

For the Pastry
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp salt
20 tbsp cold unsalted butter, preferably a high-fat, European-style butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4-6 tbsp ice cold water
Filling and Assembly
1 lb fresh cranberries
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp corn starch or instant tapioca
1 egg, beaten
coarse sanding sugar for topping

Directions

For the Crust

Pie crust: In a food processor, briefly pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until mixture forms chickpea-size pieces (3 to 5 one-second pulses). Be sure the butter is cold at this step. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture is just moist enough to hold together. You should be able to pinch it & it stays together.

Form dough into two balls, wrap with plastic and flatten into disks. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to 24 hours before rolling out and baking.

For the filling

Combine the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, vanilla and starch in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer. Cook another 6 minutes, some cranberries will burst and mixture will start to thicken. Transfer the cranberries to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Sauce will thicken as it cools. DO AHEAD: You can make this filling up to 5 days ahead of when you want to use it.

Assembly

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit with the racks in the middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Remove the dough from the refrigerator & let it sit out a few minutes until just pliable. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one dough disk into 1/8 inch thickness. Punch out heart or round shapes I used a 4 inch heart cookie cutter.

Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of the cranberry mixture onto the middle of a dough heart. Wet the rim of the disk with some egg wash Place another heart on top. Crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers. Continue with the rest of the dough and filling. Place shapes on 2 cookie sheets. Refrigerate pies for 45 minutes.
You will likely have filling left over, it’s great on pancakes or mixed into oatmeal.

Remove pastry With a sharp knife, make a X on the top to vent. Brush on egg wash and dust with some sugar.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Vegan Toasted Barley with Broccoli Salad

Recipe: Vegan Toasted Barley with Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil, divided
½ cup pearl barley, rinsed
Kosher salt
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, chopped small
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 red onion, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp white wine vinegar (or more to taste)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup chopped toasted pecans

Directions

Toast the pecans: heat a small skillet over medium heat. Cook the pecans for a few minutes until slightly brown and fragrant. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Toast the barley: In a 10 inch skillet, add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Over medium heat, add the barley to the skillet. Toast 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of water to the skillet, bring to a boil then simmer for 25-30 minutes until the barley is tender.

Heat the remainder of the oil in another 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion for 3 minutes. Mix in the garlic, broccoli and lemon juice. Cook 8-10 minutes until the broccoli is bright green. Transfer this mixture to a large serving bowl.

Add the cooked broccoli to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Mix in the vinegar, cliantro and pecans. Serve warm or chilled.

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Cream Cheese Lemon Coconut Cookies

Recipe: Cream Cheese Lemon Coconut Cookies

Ingredients

4 oz full fat cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus zest from 1 lemon (about 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the sugar and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes until fluffy and lighter in color.

Mix in the egg, vanilla, zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix for one minute until well combined, scarping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the coconut.

Turn the mixer to low and mix in the flour until just combined.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350Ëš Fahrenheit with the racks in the middle.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place scoop 2 inches pieces of dough, rolling them into balls. Place onto the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minuets or until the edges are lightly brown. Do not over bake.

Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Skillet Brownie with Maple Whipped Cream

Ingredients

Directions

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Maple Iced Coffee

Ingredients

Directions

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Baileys Poptails

Looking for a new popsicle recipes? At your next party wow your guests with these delicious Baileys Poptails! Simple to prepare and very memorable. If you love Baileys Irish Cream then these pops are for you.

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
3 tablespoons instant coffee
2 tablespoons whole cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
2 ounces Baileys Irish Cream

Directions

Bring all ingredients (excluding Baileys) to a simmer in a saucepan. Stir, and remove from heat when well combined. Transfer to a container & place in the fridge for about 1 hour or until cool. Remove from fridge & mix in the Baileys Irish Cream. Pour poptail mixture into pop molds. Add the stick. Freeze overnight.

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Maple Pecan Morning Muffins

Ingredients

Directions

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Southern Banana Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Blueberry Walnut Mascarpone Muffins

Ingredients

Directions

~ Marla Meridith

Recipe: Peppermint Snowball Cookies

Ingredients

Directions

~ Marla Meridith