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 Chocolate Pecan Biscotti Total time: 1 hour.
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup pecans
2 eggs
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350.
Set aside your melted chocolate to cool slightly. It should be a little above room temperature before you add it to the dough.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl, set aside.
Beat sugar and softened butter until smooth. Add eggs, cocoa and vanilla, beat until smooth. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix until just blended. Fold in pecans.
Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12-15 inches long. Place the loaves 3-4 inches apart on a prepared or non-stick baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes or until dark brown. Let cool for 10-15 minutes (or until you can handle the loaves without burning yourself) on a cooling rack or cutting board.
With a serrated or extremely sharp kitchen knife, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, turning over once. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Makes about 2 dozen.
I used quartered pecans.
 Vegetarian Dolma Total time: 3 hours
Our October 2010 hostess, Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged The Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food (a Borzoi Book by Claudia Roden, published by Alfred A. Knopf).
40 – 50 preserved or fresh grape leaves.
1¼ cups long grain rice
1 large tomato, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped or 4 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons crushed dried mint
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon dry dill weed
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
2/3 cup (160 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) sugar
Juice of 1 lemon or more
Notes:
If using grape leaves preserved in brine, to remove salt put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Make sure that the water penetrates well between the layers, and leave them soaking for about twenty minutes, then change the water a time or two using fresh cold water.
If using fresh leaves, plunge a few at a time in boiling water for a few seconds only, until they become limp, and lift them out.
Directions:
 Army of Dolmas 1. Pour boiling water over the rice and stir well, then rinse with cold water and let drain.
2. Mix the rice with the chopped tomatoes, onion or scallion, garlic, parsley, mint, cinnamon, allspice, dill, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Place a grape leaf on a flat surface, vein side up.
4. Place about two teaspoons (10 ml) of the filling in the center of the leaf, near the stem edge.
5. Roll the leaf end to end, starting from the stem edge. As you roll, fold the sides of the leaf in toward the center. The leaf should resemble a small cigar, about 2 to 2 1/2 inches (50 mm to 65mm) long.
6. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
(You can freeze the stuffed grape leaves at this point. Just line a baking sheet with wax paper. When firmly frozen, transfer to an airtight plastic bag, place back in the freezer.)
7. Pack the stuffed leaves tightly in a large pan lined with tomato slices or imperfect grape leaves. The tightness will help prevent the rolls from unraveling.
8. Mix together olive oil, 2/3 cup (160 ml) water, sugar and lemon juice and pour over the stuffed leaves. Put a small heat proof plate on top of the leaves to prevent them from unwinding, cover the pan and simmer very gently for about 1 hour, until the rolls are thoroughly cooked, adding water occasionally, if needed, as the liquid in the pan becomes absorbed. Cool in the pan before turning out. Serve cold.
I used the given recipe and somehow ended up making 64 dolmas. I didn’t measure out 2 teaspoons every time, but it looked close enough to me. If you have two cups of filling, you should be able to make 48 dolmas.
I found it was best to cook them for an hour if I did my large pan (approximately 30 dolmas), but only 35 for my small pan (an even dozen). Then I let them sit in the pan for 30-40 minutes afterward before serving them warm. I like them warm, but they were still great cold the next day.
For use the next day, just leave them in the pan when you put them in the refrigerator. Heat on low for 15-20 minutes or serve cold. I froze uncooked dolmas and cooked them straight from the frozen state with great success.
 Apple Ginger Pierogi Total time: Approximately 1.5 hours.
The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale. My go-to solution for dessert is always apples and ginger.
Dough Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/2 to 1 cup lukewarm water
Filling Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped apple
1/2 cup minced ginger
1 Tbsp plain or vanilla yogurt
2 tsps cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
Mix together filling ingredients and chill completely before use.
 Apple ginger pierogi with fruit dip Sift together seasonings and 2 cups of flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add a little water at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough and let it rest 20 minutes.
On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or as thin as you can go) cut with a 4-inch round or glass. Spoon a portion (tablespoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, in a single layer in the pan. Return to the boil and reduce heat to medium. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more (usually about 5 minutes), until they’ve started to puff out.
Toast in a toaster oven at 375F for 10 minutes or until puffy and light brown.
Shown here served with a fruit dip (2 parts yogurt, 2 parts cream cheese, 1 part confectioner’s sugar.
Just. Wow. Yum. Apples and ginger always win for me.
 Cardamom chicken pierogi Total time: Approximately 1.5 hours.
The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale. This recipe is inspired by Elise’s Cardamom Honey Chicken
Dough Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/2 to 1 cup lukewarm water
Filling Ingredients
1 pound cooked chicken, shredded
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp sherry
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
Mix together filling ingredients and chill completely before use.
 Cardamom chicken pierogi Sift together seasonings and 2 cups of flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add a little water at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough and let it rest 20 minutes.
On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or as thin as you can go) cut with a 4-inch round or glass. Spoon a portion (tablespoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, in a single layer in the pan. Return to the boil and reduce heat to medium. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more (usually about 5 minutes), until they’ve started to puff out.
Toast in a toaster oven at 375F for 10 minutes or until puffy and light brown.
I’m not sure if it was the honey or the sherry or, really, I have no idea… but the dough was very chewy after it was cooked. I’m glad I enhanced the flavor of the chicken with flavored dough; a very worthwhile experiment.
I couldn’t come up with a sauce to serve with these (for dipping or on top). Sour cream didn’t at all taste right.
 Spaniko-pierogi Total time: Approximately 1.5 hours.
The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale. Potatoes are local to me (my state ranks “first in per-acre yield of potatoes, far above other potato-producing states and countries, and 57 percent more potatoes per acre” than Idaho), but I thought I’d go with spinach (which my region has 2000-3000 acres dedicated to seed growth alone).
Dough Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 cup lukewarm water
Filling Ingredients
1 bunch of spinach, cleaned, rinsed, separated and drained
1/2 c feta cheese
1/2 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until golden brown
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
 Spaniko-pierogi in the toaster oven Chop spinach leaves into “salad size” pieces. Place in a large, microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. The spinach should wilt to about 1/4 of the original size. You may want to drain in a colander. Let cool 3-5 minutes. Scoop your wilted spinach up in one clump if you can and cut it into bite sized squares. Transfer to a towel (or a pair of paper towels), and attempt to squeeze the remaining water out or let it drain in the towel for 5-10 minutes.
Mix together with remaining filling ingredients and chill completely before use.
Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little water at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough and let it rest 20 minutes.
On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or as thin as you can go) cut with a 4-inch round or glass. Spoon a portion (tablespoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.
 Deep Fried Spaniko-pierogi Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, in a single layer in the pan. Return to the boil and reduce heat to medium. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more (usually about 5 minutes), until they’ve started to puff out.
Toast in a toaster oven at 375F for 10 minutes or until puffy and light brown.
I find phyllo dough to be expensive if purchased and a real pain to make from scratch. This works for me, and it’s awesome.
There’s a difference in using fresh spinach versus frozen spinach, and that difference is mostly moisture and texture. If you’re not sure how to clean fresh spinach, check out this vegancoach tutorial.
 2-inch "Baked Potato" Pierogi Total time: Approximately 1.5 hours.
The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.
Makes 4 generous servings, around 30 dumplings
Traditional Polish recipe, this is Anula’s family recipe
Dough Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 cup lukewarm water
Filling Ingredients
3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed (1 1/2 cup instant or leftover mashed potatoes is fine too)
1 cup cottage cheese, drained I went with cheddar, and I omitted the Tbsp of melted butter
1 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until clear I went all the way to gold and sweet, with 1/2 tsp of garlic, too
3 slices of streaky bacon, diced and fried till crispy
1 egg yolk (from medium egg) Bah! I put the whole egg in!
1 tablespoon butter, melted omitted
1/4 teaspoon salt I put 1/2 tsp.
pinch of pepper to taste 1/4 tsp it is.
1/4 tsp of ground rosemary
 2-inch "Sweet Potato Pie" Pierogi 1. Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it‟s best to use one‟s hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it.
2. Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You‟re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.
3. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) 4-inch round or glass. Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.
5. Serve immediately preferably with crème fraiche or fry. Cold pierogi can be fried. Boiled Russian pierogi can be easily frozen and boiled taken out straight from the freezer.
6. Fry in a pan with melted butter until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes… OR toast in a toaster oven 10 minutes or until puffy… OR bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until puffy.
I freeze mine on a cookie sheet before boiling them, and I just increase the cook time by 2 minutes if it’s frozen when I first put it in – no problem. I was really favoring the boiled-then-pan-fried method, until I thought I’d test out the toaster oven; boiling then tossing in the toaster oven makes a nice puffy, soft, slightly chewy pierogi and has less oil than the pan-fried. Every cook method I’ve tried has been incredibly tasty, so long as I boiled them first, before doing something else, and they taste fine just boiled, too.
I found that I liked the 4-inch circular cutter over the 2-inch cutter. The difference is a tablespoon of filling in a 4-inch or a teaspoon of filling in the smaller one. If you’re looking for bite-size, go with the 2-inch cutter; we prefer to make them finger-food rather than bite-size, and the 4-inch works for me. Cooking time is only increased by a minute or two, depending on how big the boiling pot is and how many pierogi are in the pot!
Other filling ideas:
meat and cabbage … soybeans … sauerkraut, mushrooms and carrots …
sweet potatoes and marshmallows … fruit …
 Gluten Free Indecision Dessert Total time: 3-4 hours.
When tasked with creating a gluten free dessert, I immediately turned to the Celiac Teen for assistance and inspiration. What I found was this yummo looking Lemon Cheesecake Brownie Pie she calls the “indecision dessert”. I altered it to meet what I had in stock.
1 pre-baked gluten free pie crust
1/2 c almonds, ground to just over 1/4 cup
Cheesecake Layer (see below)
Brownie Layer (see below)
Cheesecake Layer
8 oz cream cheese (one block), softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c gluten free sour cream (read the label, check the websites)
2 eggs
1 tsp gluten free vanilla extract (read the label, check the websites)
Completely combine or blend all of the cheesecake layer ingredients. Cover and chill for 1-4 hours.
 Cheesecake Brownie Pie Brownie Layer
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate
6 T butter
1/2 c rice flour
1 T gluten free potato flour
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs, beaten
In a small microwave safe bowl, combine and heat butter and chocolate for 30 seconds. Stir well. Heat again for 30 seconds, stir well, and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Mix, blend, or whisk it up until the sugar is completely incorporated and the egg mix appears “airy”. Add chocolate mix to the egg mixture, stir completely. Add flours and mix well.
Assembly
Spread cheesecake layer over the bottom of the pie crust. Sprinkle ground almonds over the top of the cheesecake layer as evenly as possible. Spread brownie mix over the top of the almonds.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted through just the brownie layer comes back clean.
Want step by step instructions? Click the link to Lauren’s website above.
The sideview picture of the slice is a bit misleading. If you don’t spread your brownie out evenly, you get these great big hills and valleys in the final product. The other side of the slice was almost oppositely striped, with the cheesecake appearing thick and the brownie appearing thin.
If you didn’t know any better, you’d have no idea this was gluten free. The crust is amazing, and I might just replace my regular graham cracker crust with this one; it’s perfect for cheesecake.
 Gluten Free Pie Crust Total time: 20 minutes.
1 1/4 c rice flour
2 T gluten free potato flour
2 T ground almonds
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
7 T gluten free vegetable shortening (read the label, check the websites)
1/2 c milk
Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
Cut in shortening with pastry blender, or the double-knife trick that no one I have ever met has been able to master, until the mixture is similar to cornmeal.
Add milk and incorporate completely. This will give you a really soft dough.
Press dough into a 9 inch pie pan. It helps to create a ball, and start to flatten/spread the ball out with your hands above the pie pan before placing the flattened disc into the dish. Spread dough from the inside outward.
Poke several fork holes into the bottom of the crust.
Bake 10 minutes.
Cool completely before using.
 Banana Bread (with walnuts) Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes.
1 1/2 c flour
1 c sugar
2 bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of allspice
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional!)
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 4 x 8 loaf pan.
Combine flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder, set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together sugar, oil, mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla. Add flour mix and stir until just combined. If you’re including walnut pieces, fold them in now.
Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for one hour.
What worked for me last time was to bake it for 45 minutes on 350 and then drop the temperature to 300 for the last 15 minutes. It smelled burned, but I was unable to find any burned bits.
 Fan-tans, for guests (made 16) Total time: 4 hours.
Adapted from Buttermilk Rolls in the Joy of Cooking.
Makes 12-24, depending on how you want to rock it.
4 c cheap all purpose flour
3/4 c plain yogurt
3/4 c milk
1/4 c sugar
2 T melted butter
1 T active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
4-8 T softened, spreadable butter at room temperature
Combine yogurt and milk, mix well. Spoon out 1/3 to 1/2 cup of milk mixture and heat to about 110 F. Stir well and often.
Remove from heat and add yeast, stir well. Let set 3-5 minutes or until frothy.
Stir yeast mix into original yogurt mix. Add baking soda, salt, and sugar, and mix well. Add 2 cups of flour and 2 T melted butter. Stir or mix until incorporated, then add remaining 2 cups of flour.
Place dough in a greased bowl and cover (with a towel or greased saran wrap). Let rise until more than doubled in bulk, about 3 hours.
Punch down dough and knead lightly in the bowl. Separate the dough into 2 parts. Roll each part into a square about 1/8 inch think. Let sit 2-3 minutes.
Spread softened butter in a thin layer over both pieces. Cut into strips 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. Stack them into 6 or 8 layers. Using an extremely sharp knife or kitchen string, cut pieces off the stacks 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Place cut stack pieces into greased muffin tins, with the cut edges facing up. Cover with towel or greased saran wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size again. (Click here for a great example on how to do this, plus another great fan-tan recipe.)
Bake 15-20 minutes, in a preheated 425 F oven, until well browned.
Most often when I make these, I only make 12 rolls, and the rolls look like stay-puffed marshmallows trying to fit into a thimble. They’re pretty epic, and sometimes they stick together completely, and I can just dump the whole pan upside down to get them out.
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