Chinese Walnut Cookies 中式合桃酥

When I took a bite of this walnut cookie, I couldn't believe it was made without lard or hydrogenated shortening. It is so crumbly it just melts in your mouth. It is just the taste of the cookies I had in my childhood, yet this recipe is much healthier.

傳統中式合桃酥或其他酥餅，與豬油是分不開的，但這食譜的作法只有菜油及牛油，也沒有人造(氫化)油脂，完全符合健康標準，食多幾件也無防。

入口酥鬆、即溶，做法簡單，你一定要試!

Chocolate and Walnut Babka 猶太麵包

" Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf. Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold before the Lord. By each stack put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the Lord. This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant"         Leviticus 24:5-8

「你要取細麵烤成十二個餅，每一個餅用兩公斤細麵。 你要把餅擺列成兩排，每排六個，放在耶和華面前精金的桌子上； 把純乳香放在每排餅上，象徵這些餅作獻給耶和華的火祭。 每一個安息日，亞倫都要把餅擺在耶和華面前，不可間斷，這是以色列人永遠的約」      利未記 24:5-8

Walnut and Date Tartlet 合桃棗蓉撻

This is a great finger food for parties because it involves minimal preparation. All the ingredients are store bought--date paste, puff pastries, and walnuts. I call it semi-homemade. The date paste is made with 100% dates, no sugar added, so it is naturally sweet. It is very convenient to use and work with and can be found in Mediterranean/Middle Eastern or international grocery stores. Puff pastries are also available in the frozen section of most American grocery stores. I always keep some in my freezer. The spices in this recipe--nutmeg and cardamom--are best whole, and freshly ground right before being used.

Cinnamon Walnut Braided Bread 肉桂核桃麵包

This is one of my favorite sweet bread. It is good for breakfast, afternoon snacks, or whenever !

Walnut Cinnamon Swirl Bread 核桃肉桂麵包

I always get excited about learning, no matter if it is new knowledge, technology or, of course, new recipes.

Until recently, I did not know about this kind of bread, called Povitica. It is a Croatian sweet bread. For Croatians, Povitica is a very common gift between friends and families. This culture is very similar to gifting of mooncakes during Mid Autumn Festival for the Chinese.

Although Povitica is similar to cinnamon rolls here in America, it has its own characteristics. The dough needs to be rolled out as thin as possible and it does not need a lengthy second rise as in making regular yeast bread.

And the filling is decadent: lots and lots of ground walnuts with cinnamon and cocoa powder, all of my favorites. Perfect choice for the Holidays.

Please read the recipe and the notes at least once before you begin for best results.

Omega-3 Banana Muffins 超健康版香蕉蛋糕

By looking at the title of this post, you may wonder what this is all about. I was inspired by a recipe in a book called The Queen of Fats by Susan Allport. It is not a cookbook in any way. Its subtitle is "why omega-3s were removed from the Western diet and what we can do to replace them". By reading the subtitle I guess you can get an idea what the book is all about. I do not intend to do a book report here. If you are interested, you can check it out from the library. In short, omega-3 is the good fat that our body needs in order to function properly, especially our brain and eyes. Fish, walnut, flaxseed, fruit, vegetable, and so on are good sources of omega-3. But most of the processed foods in the market have had the omega-3 removed because it has a short shelf life. This is another reason to avoid processed foods in general.

Walnut and Cranberry Biscotti with Cornmeal 義大利脆餅

After making a few "R" rated desserts (Ginger Ice Cream and Lemon Chiffon Cake with Ginger Mousse) for adult consumption, how about "R" rated cookies for grown ups--I mean biscotti. These twice baked cookies have a lot of variations and are good keepers, but they usually are gone in a short time at my home.

Rugelach

These Jewish cookies remind me of the time I had them in Boston, where a large community of Jews resided (more precisely in Brookline, Massachusetts). I still remember on my way to the subway station, there were a few Jewish bakeries that had these little cookies on display. Many times I would wander into one of the shops and buy a few to nibble on my walk and on the train. They are flaky, tender and filled with walnuts and cinnamon sugar.