Zaatar Palmiers

Ingredients:

1 pack (375g) Puff Pastry  

1 cup Zaatar mix (Thyme, Sumac & Sesame seeds)
½ cup Olive Oil (enough to make a spreadable   consistency)

Preheat oven gaz mark 6. Roll the pastry, on lightly dusted flour surface, into a rectangle. I use the ready rolled pastry; unroll the pastry flat.

Mix the zaatar with the oil. Spread the mix in a thin even layer over the pastry.

Roll up ends from the short side of the pastry to meet in the middle.

Cover with cling film or foil & refrigerate for 30min.

Cut the roll into 1cm thick slice. Place into a greaseproof lined baking sheet leaving space between each palmier.

Bake for 12-15 min until they are crisps and golden.

Ardishawkeh ( Stuffed Artichokes )

Ingredients:

400g Artichoke Bottoms (about 9 pcs) (I use frozen)

1 cup Peas

1 Carrot peeled & diced into small cubes
1 Vegetable stock cube
1/2 cup Lemon juice
2-3 tbsp Flour
1 ltr Water
1/2 tsp White Pepper
1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Place artichoke at a room temperature for 2 hrs to thaw. In a saucepan put in the artichoke, peas, dice carrots, veg stock cube & water. Bring it to boil & then simmer for 20 min or till it is done.

 

Drain and keep the stock aside. In a shallow baking dish (Pyrex) , place artichokes side by side. Fill in with the peas and carrots.

 

To the stock add lemon juice & the flour & bring it to boil till it thickens.
Pour the thick sauce over the artichokes .

 

Bake, uncovered, in oven at gas mark 6 for 20 min.

Serve as started or next to boiled rice as main course. 

Almond Crescents

  A simple, soft, delicious recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup Flour
1 cup Ground Almond
1/2 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Butter
3 Eggs
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla


  Mix all ingredients together until it becomes a workable dough.
Pinch a small amount, roll it between your hands and form a crescent shape.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350C (gas mark 5) for 10 – 12min. 

Let it cool and sprinkle with icing sugar. Sahtein!

Buche de Noel a la Tonia (Tonia's Christmas Log)

   Every Year, the day before Christmas, Mum spend all day in the kitchen making Buche de Noel. She will make loads a give out to neighbours, friends  and family. She use to make chocolate ones & white ones.
I am making some and decorating them the way she use to do it.

Ingredients:
Cake:
5 Eggs
1 cup Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
Vanilla
If Chocolate: add 3 Tablespoon Cocoa sifted + 1 Tablespoon Water ( or Rum)

Cream Filling:
1 1/2 cup Milk  ( if chocolate add 2 tsp of Cocoa to the Milk)
1 Egg
1 1/2 Tbsp Flour
2 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter
 Vanilla

Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla then add flour & baking powder.  Pour in rectangular tray (32x21cm) lined with a greaseproof baking sheet. If you like the buche thin, divide the cake mix into a rectangular tray (32x21cm) & square tray (21x21cm) both lined with greaseproof paper ( this is what I usually do).
 Bake in medium hot ( gas mark 5) oven for 15 mins or until sponge-like to the touch.

Remove from oven, roll the cake with the baking sheet & leave it aside to cool down.
Meantime, prepare the cream. Mix egg, sugar & flour. Add the milk and place in saucepan on low heat and stir continously. Once the cream thickened, remove from heat and add butter. Leave it aside to cool and  stir the mixture from time to time till it cool down.

Once cake is cold, peel off the baking paper carefully & straight away spread the filling cream on the cake from inside to out. Re-roll cake.

Place, seam-side down, on serving plate. Spread cream on the top of the log. Run a fork up and down the icing until the icing resembles tree. Dust the Christmas log with cocoa powder and icing sugar. Sprinkle on top a little bit of coconut. Decorate the log with Glace cherry if you like or any festive decoration.
Put it in fridge for 2hrs before serving. 

3eid Melad Majeed!! Joyeux Noel!! Merry Christmas!!

Chocolate Stars (no cooking)

   I came across this recipe; I tried it out of curiosity to see how all the ingredients would mix together without cooking.... The result: it works & it is very tasty & very easy.

Ingredients:
250g Ground Almonds
150g Caster Sugar
120g Dark Chocolate ( or Milk Chocolate)
2-3 tbsp Brandy
2-3 tbsp Water

Melt chocolate. Mix all ingredients in together to make soft dough.

Roll out the dough about ¾ cm thick and cut out stars (or any shape you like). Place the cookies on a baking sheet & let them dry overnight. 
 Yummy! Enjoy!

Baileys White Chocolate Truffles

  One of my favorite Truffle recipes...

Ingredients:

125g Belgian White Chocolate
2 Tablespoon Double Cream
2 Tablespoon Irish Cream
2 Tablespoon Butter

Flaked Almond for coating ( optional)

Coarsely chop the chocolate. Melt Chocolate and butter.remove from heat. 
Add the cream and Baileys. Mix well. Chill the chocolate mixture 1-2 hr.
Spoon out a bit of mixture; shape into ball. Roll in flaked almonds.
Keep refrigerated until serving.

Truffes aux Dates a la Me’me’ ( Me’me’’s Dates Truffles)

     Christmas Truffles that Me’me’ used to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups Dates pitted & chopped
1/2 cup Walnuts chopped
1/2 cup Rice Crispies (or crushed biscuits)
2 tbsp Butter

A handful of Rice crispies crushed  for coating ( optional)
 

Put dates and butter in microwave for 30 sec, so dates become soft & easier to knead. Add walnuts and rice crispies and mix all together. Using a small spoon, scoop up a bit of the mixture; roll into small ball.

  It can be served as it is, or can be coated with some crushed rice crispies.  

Chill before serving. Sahtein!

White Chocolate TuttiFrutti

    This is my favourite white chocolate recipe. I have been making it every Christmas for the last few years.

Ingredients:

200g White Chocolate
50g Butter
6 Rich Tea Biscuits (Biscuit Marie)
6 Glace Cherries
2 Tablespoon Raisins
1 teaspoon Cut Mixed Peel (candied citrus peel)

Melt White Chocolate and butter in microwave for 30 sec, stir once then put back in again for 30 sec. Repeat until chocolate completely melted.
Stir mixture together until smooth & set aside to allow to cool. In the meantime, cut the glace cherries into pieces.  Crush the biscuits into little pieces using your hands.  Stir the biscuits and the rest of ingredients into the melted  chocolate. Chill for 30 min.

Tear off a sheet of cling film. Place half of the mixture on a sheet of cling film, shape into long sausage & then wrap it up with cling film. Put it in fridge to firm up. Unwrap and carefully cut into 1 cm thick rounds.

Truffes aux Marrons a la Me’me’ (Me’me’‘s Chestnut Truffles)

       Every Christmas, Me’me’ use to make these truffles & we were only allowed
 1 or 2 because they were saturated with Brandy!

Ingredients:

400g Chestnut peeled and crushed (or Chestnut puree)
200g Chocolate Dark (or Milk or both)
50g Butter
3 Tablespoon Double Cream
5 Tablespoon Icing Sugar
2 Tablespoon Rum or Brandy (or more if you prefer stronger in alcohol)

Sifted Cocoa Powder for coating.

Break chocolate into pieces & melt it with butter and milk. Add icing sugar, chestnuts and Rum. Let it cool; Put in fridge for 30 mins. With a small spoon, scoop up a bit of the mixture; roll into small ball; dip into the cocoa powder and coat thoroughly. Chill for 1-2 hrs before serving.

If you like, decorate with dusting of icing sugar.

The truffles will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the fridge (never lasted that long in my fridge!)

Christmas Truffles

    One of the family tradition during Christmas  is Truffles. My aunty use to make delicious Chestnut Chocolate Truffles & Dates Truffles. I added to the tradition : White Chocolate Baileys Truffles & White Chocolate TuttiFruti. Trying to decide which one to make this Christmas,  I made a bit of each......

Recipes to follow...

Apricot Truffles

I was looking into a different recipe of truffles and I came across this recipe and I had to try it....It is really good & healthy!

Ingredients:

100g ready to eat Apricots (dried - no soak)
40g Cut Mixed Peel ( Candied Citrus Peel)
50g Walnuts chopped
50g Raisins or Sultanas
1 tablespoon Orange juice or Orange liqueur

Chop the Apricot into small pieces, and mix all the ingredients together.  With a small spoon scoop up a bit of the mixture, roll into balls.

Roll the balls in dried coconuts or sesame seeds.

Gateau de Semoule a l'Orange ( Semolina Cake with Orange)

   Ages ago in Brussels, a family friend use to make Gateau de Semoule a l’Orange. It tasted nice. As much as my sister & sister in law tried to get the recipe, she always used to find excuses not to give it to us...Well, after several trials, this recipe below taste much nicer :)
This is for you Ladies!

Ingredients:

1 Orange Peel
3/4 cup Semolina
3 cups Milk
2 Eggs
1 tablespoon Butter
4 tablespoon Sugar
few drops of Vanilla


  Rinse the orange and grate the peel finely. Pour milk in a saucepan and add the orange peel. Gently bring to a boil. 

  As soon as it starts boiling, lower the heat down, to a very low temp; slowly pour the semolina while continuously stirring. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and butter. Remove it from heat, add the beaten egg yolks with vanilla and mix very vigorously. 

  Pour the mix in the mould, level the mix surface, cover with a cling film and let cool in the fridge for 1-2 hr.
 
  
  

  To serve, unmould the dessert into a serving plate and decorate with slices of orange or if you have a sweet tooth poor over some sirop like Clementine Sirop or some honey....... Bon Appetit!!

Bascot Sikar Asmar (Brown Sugar Cookies)

A simple cookie recipe......

Ingredients:
4 cups Flour
2 cups Brown Sugar
1 cup Butter
2 Eggs
4 teaspoons Baking Powder

Handful of Walnuts for decoration

Mix all ingredients together to form a dough.

Roll into a thick roll. Wrap it tight with cling film. 

Put in fridge for 20-30 min.

 Take out of fridge. Cut it into ½ cm thick slice.

Put them on a greased baking tray.
Leave space between the cookies.

Decorate each biscuit with a half of a walnut.

 Bake in preheated oven gaz mark 6 (200C/ 400F) for 15-20 min

or until they are done.

Sahtein!

Joz ElHind ( Coconut Balls)

Simple recipe with simple ingredients for a great taste for coconut lovers!!

Ingredients:

1 tin (400ml) Condensed Milk (I used Light!)

400g Desiccated Coconut

1 tablespoon Butter (melted)

Few drops of Vanilla

Handful of peeled Almond ( for decoration)

Mix coconut, milk, butter and vanilla together. Rest the mix for 20 min.

Pinch a bit of dough and roll it up to a ball between your hands and then place it in a greased or greaseproof paper lined baking tray. Place an almond on top of each ball and press it down a bit.

Bake in hot oven (gas mark 6) for 5-10 min or until slightly golden. Delicious!!

Sahtein!!

Bascot ElQuaker (Oat Cookies)

 Bascot ElQuaker was my Dad’s favourite type of cookies. He introduced us to oats and porridge after his trip to the UK...

Ingredients:

3 cups Flour

1½ cup Butter (softned)

2 cups Sugar

2 cups Oats

1 cup Walnuts

1 cup Raisins

3 Eggs

2 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 teaspoon Baking Powder

Pinch of salt

4 tablespoon of sugar with ½ tsp of cinnamon (for decoration)

     Rub flour, oats and butter between your hands.

 Add the rest of ingredients and mix all together to make dough. Mix sugar & cinnamon (for decoration) in tea saucer. Pinch a bit of dough and roll it up into a ball between your hands.

Then flatten it a bit. Dip it in the tea saucer so the top of the cookie is coated with the sugar mix.

Place it on greased baking tray. Repeat until the tray is full, leaving some space between the cookies.

 Bake in preheated oven gas mark 6(200C/ 400F) for 15-20 mins or until they are done.