June 24, 2021

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

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March 30, 2021

Recipe: Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts

Ingredients

Pastry Dough

2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ tsp Kosher salt

1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

½ cup ice water

Strawberry Filling

1 lb fresh strawberries, stems removed and quartered

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 pinch Kosher salt

For Assembly

1 large egg

1 tbsp milk

¼ tsp Kosher salt

1 tbsp strawberry filling for each pop tart

Vanilla Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar

34 tbsp milk

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

food coloring and sprinkles if desired

Directions

Pastry Dough

Place the flour salt and salt in the bowl of a food processor, pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter and water. Pulse until just combined. At this point you should be able to pinch the dough together with your fingers. If it’s too crumbly add the tiniest bits of ice water until the dough just sticks together. Transfer the dough to a large, clean work area. Divide dough into two portions and press into flat disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour or up to two days.

Strawberry Filling

In a medium saucepan combine the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon until the strawberries start to sizzle. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook and mix for 10-15 minutes, until the berries release their juices and become saucy. Transfer the strawberries to a heat proof container and let cool to room temperature. Once cool, place in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Assemble the Pop Tarts

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Remove the dough one disk at a time from the fridge. Remove the plastic wrap and let the dough sit out a few minutes on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, trim the dough to 4 X 2 1/2 inch rectangles. Save any scraps and continue to roll until you don’t have enough dough left to continue. Do the same process with the second disk. You should end up with 22 rectangles.

Make the egg wash: whisk together the egg with the milk and salt.

Spread one tablespoon of the strawberry filling onto the center of eleven rectangles. Brush some egg wash on the edges of the dough. Place the other eleven pieces of dough over the ones with the filling. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal the tarts. Using a paring knife, cut three small slits or “X’s” in the top of each pop tart. This will ensure that the pop tarts don’t explode while baking. Place the filled pop tarts onto the baking sheets with and inch in between each tart.

Brush the egg wash on the tops of each pop tart. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Frosting the Pop Tarts

While the pop tarts are cooling make the frosting. Whisk together the powdered sugar with milk and vanilla. Add a few drops of food coloring if desired. Drizzle the frosting over the pop tarts and add sprinkles while the frosting is still runny. Let the frosting set for a few minutes. Serve at room temperature.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container. Enjoy within 3 days.

~ Marla Meridith

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August 6, 2020

Recipe: Strawberry Almond Baklava

Ingredients

4 cups fresh strawberries, quartered

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, divided

¾ cup water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp cornstarch (if needed to thicken)

1 (16 ounce) package phyllo pastry dough

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, melted

1 cup slivered almonds

½ cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1 pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit with the rack in the middle.

In a saucepan, heat the strawberries with 3/4 cup sugar, water, lemon juice, vanilla and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Bring to a boil then down to a simmer, cooking for 30 minutes until the sauce thickens into a jammy consistency. Whisk in the cornstarch if needed. Set aside to cool and thicken a bit more.

Brush the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with melted butter, add a layer of phyllo pastry, brush with more butter and add another layer of dough. Do this until you have 6 layers of pastry dough lining the dish.

Layer on a thin layer of the strawberries and then the almonds. Place a layer of phyllo dough, then some melted butter. Do this for 5 layers of dough. Continue these layers until you have 3 layers of strawberries/almonds, always brushing melted butter in between layers of phyllo dough. For the top layer, use 10 sheets of phyllo dough brushing butter between each. Brush the top layer with butter too. Score/slice the dough with a sharp knife into desired portions.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Top with 1/2 of the syrup and let cool. Serve with more syrup.

While the baklava is baking make the maple sauce. Boil the remainder of the granulated sugar (1/2 cup) with the maple syrup, the rest of the cinnamon and a pinch of salt in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves into the maple syrup forming a syrup.

~ Marla Meridith

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April 15, 2020

Recipe: Homemade Blueberry Pop Tarts

Ingredients

Pastry Dough

3 ¼ cups AP unbleached flour

1 tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp Kosher salt

¼ cup granulated sugar

8 oz unsalted butter

½ cup corn syrup

Fruit Filling

850 g fresh, frozen, chunks, sliced fruit

⅔ cup (75 g) light brown sugar or granulated sugar

¼ tsp ground cinnamon or ginger

1 pinch Kosher salt

2 tbsp (25 g) cornstarch

Egg Wash

1 large egg

2 tsp water

Glaze / Royal Icing

1 ¾ cups powdered sugar

34 tbsp milk

⅛ tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp any extract flavor (vanilla, lemon, orange, etc)

of color if desired

Directions

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the sifted dry ingredients. Add the butter and mix until it combines with the dry ingredients. Add the corn syrup and mix until a ball is formed. Let the dough rest for 2 hours in a cool place.

Make the filling while the dough rests. In a saucepot, bring the fruit to a boil. Combine the dry ingredients. Once the fruit has released its juices and has come to a boil, add the dry ingredients. While whisking, bring the mixture to a boil and hold at a boil for 3 minutes. Let cool.

Roll the dough onto a floured surface until it is 3 mm thick. Cut the rolled dough in half. Cut one half of the dough into the 3 x 5 inch rectangles. Cut the second half of the dough into 3¼ inch x 5¼ inch rectangles – these slightly larger rectangles will be the top of the pop tarts. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the bottom pop tart dough rectangles on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. With a pastry brush, paint the egg wash around the outside edge of the dough. Put the cooled pop tart filling inside of the egg wash rectangle. Add the larger rectangle dough on top of the filling. On one side of the rectangle, press the two pieces of the dough together, fastening them with a fork. Brush the top of the pop tart with egg wash.

Combine the egg and water with a fork or a whisk.

Bake until a light golden brown 15-20 minutes. Let cool. Using a spoon, knife, brush, palette knife or hands, spread or dip the cooled pop tart. Let dry and enjoy.

~ Marla Meridith

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November 10, 2019

Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Spice Hand Pies

Make a few batches of these delicious Mini Pumpkin Spice Hand Pies recipe for Halloween and Thanksgiving, they are easy to prepare and delicious.

Ingredients

‘–Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ~ or ~ 1 cup white whole wheat flour & 1 1/2 cups white unbleached a/p flour

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

20 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, preferably a high-fat, European-style butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 to 10 tablespoons ice cold water

Pumpkin Spice Filling

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon. pumpkin pie spice

Directions

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 a disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to 24 hours before rolling out and baking.

Roll out the dough about 1/8 inch. Roll out the second disk, also 1/8 inch & cut out shapes with a cookie cutter, place shapes on a cookie sheet. Refrigerate all dough until ready to use.

Pumpkin filling: Stir to combine all ingredients until well incorporated.

To assemble: Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit with the racks in the middle. Spray two baking sheets with cooking oil. Take one disk of dough out of the fridge and let it sit out for 15-20 minutes until its soft enough to roll. On a floured surface roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Continue to flour the surface as needed.

Cut pumpkin shapes out with a 2 inch pumpkin cookie cutter. For each hand pie cut eyes out of one pumpkin, the top piece, these will serve as vents while they bake.

On the bottom half, rim the edge with some water. Place 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the center. Place the top on & crimp the top & bottom together with a fork. Continue this process until the pies are all filled.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the hand pies are golden brown. Let cool & enjoy.

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October 8, 2018

Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Spice Hand Pies

Ingredients

Directions

~ Marla Meridith

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July 3, 2018

Recipe: Sweet Summer Raspberry Tarts