Coconut Macaroons

When living in Toronto, we used to sign up for cooking classes with Bonnie Stern's cooking School downtown. It always a fun night out with your girlfriends. In this recipe,  you can drizzle melted chocolate on the macaroons (dark semi-sweet), for a finishing touch.
Ingredients
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups unsweetened dried large flaked coconut
Directions
Place egg whites, vanilla and salt in a large stainless steel bowl. Stir in sugar and then coconut. 2. Set bowl in a skillet of gently simmering water and stir for 5 to 7 minutes with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until hot to the touch. Let batter rest 30 minutes at room temperature. 3. Mound about 2 tbsp of coconut mixture for each cookie on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated 350F oven about 5 minutes until just barely starting to brown at the tips of the coconut. Reduce oven temperature to 325F, rotate pans and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer until cookies are different shades of cream, gold and brown. Cool on racks.

Almond Pistachio Cherry Bark

Use the best chocolate you can find for this recipe. 

Ingredients 

1 lb. bittersweet Callebaut Chocolate (chopped into pieces) 

1/2 cup roasted unsalted almonds

1/4 cup unsalted pistachio nuts

1/4 cup dried cherries

Directions 

1.  Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a bowl over simmering water. 

2.  If you don't have roasted almonds, buy raw almonds and bake them in a 350F oven for about 10-15 minutes till they're lightly toasted.  Cool them before adding to the chocolate. Add the nuts/fruit and mix well.

3.  Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap or parchment paper.  Spread the chocolate mixture out to a thin bark.  Spread the nuts and fruit equally so it's about 1/4" thick. 

4.  Put in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to cool.

5.  Remove plastic and break the bark into pieces.  Store at room temp. 

You can use cashews, orange peel, raisins or other dried fruit to make different kinds. 

The chocolate is available at Whole Foods or Wild Oats or kitchen specialty shops.  Bittersweet is preferable, but semi-sweet works as well.

Tuna Fish Spaghetti

You see this tuna sauce in Italy. We had it growing up as my Italian grandmother would make it for us. It's lighter than a meat sauce and served with a thin spaghettini pasta.

Ingredients

1 jar of your favorite sauce (Hunt’s, RAO, Marinara) 

2 cans of Chunk or solid tuna in oil*

1 Tbsp olive oil 

¼ cup of chopped carrots

¼ cup of chopped onion 

¼ cup of chopped celery 

¼ cup pitted black olives (optional) 

3 whole cloves 

¼ cup chopped Italian Parsley 

1 package of dried or fresh spaghettini pasta. 

Directions

Fry the onions, celery and carrots in the olive oil till lightly browned.  Add the tomato sauce and heat through.  Add the cloves, olives and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tuna and heat through. Stir gently. You want to leave large pieces of the tuna in the sauce and if you stir it too much, the tuna will flake.

Add the fresh parsley and serve over spaghettini pasta cooked al-dente. 

Add capers as a garnish. 

* Look for the Italian brand Unico or Pastene tuna. There is also another brand called TONNINO which is sold in glass 6.7 oz jars. It is excellent and I prefer this tuna to canned tuna. 

Rugalahs (Cinnamon Crescents)

This recipe is from a 1980's cooking class with Bonnie Stern in Toronto.
Check - www.bonniestern.com for some excellent recipes. 

I’ve made these crescents every Christmas, and they are an excellent hostess gift if you can part with them! They’ll stay fresh in a cookie tin for a few days.

Pastry

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

4 oz cream cheese, cold and cut into pieces 

1/2 cup of seedless raspberry jam (to brush on the pastry)

Filling 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans (or walnuts) 

1 Tbsp cinnamon 

1 Tbsp cocoa 

1 tsp finely rated orange peel 

Glaze 

1 egg 

2 Tbsp cream  

2 Tbsp coarse white sugar to sprinkle on top 

1. Put the butter, flour, and cream cheese in a food processor and process until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in half and shape into two balls. Refrigerate until ready to use. If you don’t have a food processor, in a medium bowl, cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender. Add the cheese and blend until crumbly. Knead the dough a few times, then divide in half and refrigerate. (about an hour).
2. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, cocoa and orange peel. 
3. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
4. Roll out each ball of dough into a circle, about 12” in diameter. Spread each one with a thin layer of jam (1/4 cup per circle). Sprinkle the filling over the jam and pat it down. 
5. Cut the dough into 12 wedges like a pizza. Roll each wedge up tightly from the wide edge. 
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the crescents on the sheet (12 per sheet) and curve them slightly.Combine the egg and cream by mixing them with a fork.  Brush the cookies with the glaze and then sprinkle with sugar. 
7. Bake about 20-25 minutes until golden. I find 22 is just about right.  Let cool slightly on the baking sheet and then remove to a rack to cool completely. 

Makes 24  

Chocolate & Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened (4 oz) 

3/4 cup pure organic cane sugar, or white sugar 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1 egg at room temperature 

1/4 tsp vanilla 

1 cup flour 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

3/4 tsp cinnamon 

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats 

1/4 cup dried cherries 

1/4 semi sweet chocolate chips 

1/4 cup chopped pecans 

You can omit the pecans, and add more cherries/chips.

You can use a sugar substitute like Z-sweet for the white sugar.

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 375F. 

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. 

Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to the butter mixture alternating with the oats until fully incorporated. Use a wooden spoon. 

Mix in the cherries, chocolate chips and nuts till combined. 

Line a baking pan with parchment paper.  Using a small scoop or spoon, make a round ball from the dough and flatten them slightly. Bake 12-14 minutes till light brown on the edges and light brown on top. Do not overbake.  Let cool on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool. 

Makes 15-16 cookies 

Apple Rhubarb Crumble

Peach, Blueberry & Raspberry Crumble

This recipe can be made with apples, or a combination of berry fruit as shown above. 

6 Servings

Ingredients

• 3 Granny smith apples 
• 4 Stalks of fresh rhubarb 
• 1 tablespoon sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice 

Topping

• 1/3 cup flour (white or wholewheat) 
• 1/3 cup brown sugar  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter,chilled 
• 1/3 cup rolled oats 
• 1/2 cup blanched, sliced almonds 

Preparation

1. Peel and slice the apples into 1/4" slices.  Trim the end of the rhubarb and chop the stalks into 1/2" pieces.  You should have about 1 1/2 cups of rhubarb. 
2. Toss the apples and rhubarb in a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice.  Add the sugar and cinnamon and mix. 
3. For the topping:  Mix the flour, brown sugar and salt in a food processor, or mix by hand.  
4. Add the chilled butter (which has been chopped into 1/2" pieces) and pulse 6 times until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Or mix using a fork or pastry cutter till the butter is incorporated.  
5. Add the oats and mix well.  Add the sliced almonds. 
6. Put the apples and rhubarb mixture in an 8x8 baking dish which as been sprayed with Pam, or buttered lightly.  Cover evenly with the topping. 
7. Bake in 375F oven for about 1/2 hour till the apples are tender.  Cool 20 minutes; serve warm or at room temperature. 

Tips

• After the crumble is cooled, cover it loosely with tinfoil.  Plastic wrap will make the topping soft. 
• If you can't find rhubarb, or its out of season try 1/2 cup of cranberries (fresh or frozen). 
• For an elegant presentation, bake the crumble in individual souffle dishes (6-8) and dust with icing sugar before serving. 

Snickers

These remind me of 'Eatmore' chocolate bars in Canada. 

Ingredients

1⁄2 cup sunflower seeds
1⁄2 cup sesame seeds
1⁄2 cup honey (or less), or agave nectar, molasses 
1⁄2 cup nut or seed butter (almond works well)
1⁄2 cup carob or cocoa powder
1⁄4 cup ground flax seeds
1⁄4 cup unsweetened coconut

Method

Combine ingredients in bowl of food processor. Blend until smooth.
Form into small balls (if mixture is too soft refrigerate for half an hour).
You could also roll each snicker into carob or coconut.
Keep refrigerated.

If you are making these for small children, grind the seeds first in a coffee grinder.
If you don't have a food processor, melt honey and almond butter together and add the other ingredients, mixing with a wooden spoon.