Cookie Dough Bars

These days, I mostly try to avoid refined sugar. Mostly. Of course, it can’t be avoided if I’m inspired to bake an exciting, new cake recipe or if ice cream making is on the agenda. But, most days, I opt for savory over sweet or treats lightly sweetened with dates or a little maple syrup. This approach to sweets has been made very easy by the recipes from Good Clean Food: Super Simple Plant-Based Recipes for Every Day. After writing about this book in April, I’ve tried two more recipes that I have to mention. One of the handy things I’ve noticed about the recipes from this book is that they don’t make too, too much. You end up with a tasty treat made from great ingredients that lasts just long enough for two people to enjoy without overdoing it on sweets for days. First, I tried the Cookie Dough Bars, and they really taste like delicious cookie dough. They’re topped with a drizzle of chocolate sauce that you can either make with raw cacao powder or by melting dark chocolate. The other recipe I tried was the Salted Caramel Bonbons. The date- and almond butter-filled bonbons were dipped in chocolate and were surprisingly filling. I didn’t get quite the same sweet, bitter, salty flavors I know from salted caramel, so I might start calling them by another name, but they were great, little treats in their own right. 

The processes for making both of these treats are similar. For the cookie dough bars, dates were pitted and covered with hot water. In the food processor, raw cashews, oats, coconut flakes, salt, and vanilla were pulsed until fine. The dates were added with some of the water they’d been soaking in along with cacao nibs. The mixture was pulsed again until it formed a dough. This was pressed into a pan, and you can decide how thick or thin you’d like the bars to be. I pressed the dough into an eight-inch square pan, but only filled half the pan. The pan was placed in the freezer for a few minutes. The chocolate drizzle was made by stirring together cacao powder, coconut oil, maple syrup, and a little salt in a double boiler. The sauce was drizzled over the chilled bars, and the pan went back into the freezer for 20 minutes before cutting into pieces. The bars do need to be stored in the refrigerator. 

For the bonbons, dates, almond butter, a little almond meal, coconut oil, and a little salt were pulsed until smooth in the food processor. This mixture was placed in the freezer to firm up for about 10 minutes. Then, the mixture was scooped into balls that were placed back in the freezer while chocolate was melted. Each bonbon was dipped into the melted chocolate and topped with flaked sea salt. These are also stored in the refrigerator. 

Both of these quickly-made treats come in handy when you need a boost of afternoon energy. And, both have great flavor from dates, coconut, and nuts. I know I’ll be making them again soon, and I’m especially thrilled to have learned a way of making a pure chocolate topping that’s sweetened only with maple syrup. Although, there’s probably a decadent, sugar-filled recipe in my near future too. 

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Crispy Haloumi Cheese with Dates, Walnuts, and Apples

Sometimes new cookbooks don’t draw me in right away. I might need to read a few pages to get a feel for the style of cooking in the book, and eventually I start getting excited about the dishes. That was not the case with Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. My first look inside the review copy I received had me completely intrigued. The colorful, vibrant salads and vegetables dishes, the various rice dishes and pilafs, and skewers of grilled chicken and salmon with flavorful marinades left no doubts that I’d enjoy this book. Zahav, the restaurant, opened in Philadelphia in 2008, and this book presents the mix of dishes from the menus over the years. Chef Michael Solomonov writes that these dishes “make an impression of a cuisine that is evolving.” They reflect an idea of Israeli cooking, but at times, traditional approaches are changed to accommodate what’s available and in season at the restaurant. I like this thought of the food giving a sense of a culture and a place and not sticking too strictly to original versions. I learned that “tehina” is the same thing as “tahini,” and it’s invaluable in Israeli cooking. It’s used to add richness without the use of cream or butter for keeping kosher. It’s used in hummus, of course, but also in many other applications both sweet and savory. For instance, there’s a vegetable dish in which cooked green beans are mixed with sauteed mushrooms and tehina sauce and then topped with lentils and crispy garlic. I’m noting that for my Thanksgiving menu. One recipe I already tried was the Latke with Gravlax. It’s one big latke made in a skillet and turned in one solid piece. There’s no onion, flour, or egg, just grated potatoes cooked in oil. It was simple, crispy, and delicious. The vegetable-filled borekas are similar to turnovers and are made with a dough kind of like puff pastry, and I want to try them all. I also want to attempt making laffa flatbread. The recipes in the book quickly caught my attention, but so did the writing. Solomonov shares his stories about living in Isreal at different times and his training as a chef. There are interesting historical insights like the fact that Israeli couscous was first made as a wheat-based substitute for rice when there was a rice shortage. And, there are explanations about the mix of cultures that make up Israel and how the food represents many different origins. There’s so much to appreciate here from the Pumpkin Broth with Fideos soup to the Chocolate Babka served with cardamom-flavored Turkish Coffee Ice Cream. 

I’ve been making use of our fall fruits in salads like arugula with pears, gorgonzola, and pecans and mixed greens with apples, pecans, and goat cheese. I can’t get enough of the mix of sweet, tart, nutty, and salty. With these flavors already on my mind, I had to try the Crispy Haloumi Cheese with Dates, Walnuts, and Apples recipe. And, I can never resist a dish with haloumi. Pitted dates, toasted walnuts, olive oil, sherry vinegar, pinches of salt, and some hot water were combined in a food processor and pureed until smooth. This paste formed the base of the dish. Next, cubes of haloumi were sauteed in oil until golden on all sides. These were set on top of the date paste. Last, an apple was cut into matchsticks, and I used a Benriner, and those little sticks were perched on top of the haloumi. Dill and Urfa pepper were sprinkled on top to finish the dish. 

In the head note for this recipe, it’s mentioned that this dish cannot be taken off the menu at the restaurant because it is so well-loved. I can understand completely. This is such a good mix of textures and flavors, and haloumi works its magic when paired with something a little sweet like the dates here. And, crisp, fresh apple brightens the combination. Now, I need go shop for fideos to try that soup I mentioned, and I really want to attempt making Persian rice and about 20 other recipes as well. 

Crispy Haloumi Cheese with Dates, Walnuts, and Apples 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. 

Serves 4 

1 cup roughly chopped dried dates 
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped 
1/3 cup olive oil 
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar 
Kosher salt 
Canola oil 
8 ounces haloumi cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes 
1 apple, peeled and cut into matchsticks 
Chopped fresh dill 
1/2 teaspoon ground Urfa pepper 

Combine the dates, walnuts, olive oil, vinegar, a couple pinches of salt, and 1/2 cup hot water in a food processor and puree until smooth. Set the date paste aside. 

Film a skillet with canola oil and heat over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering but not smoking. Arrange the cheese cubes in a single layer in the skillet and cook, turning, until the exteriors are golden and crisp, about 2 minutes per side. 

Spread the date paste over the bottom of a serving plate and add the fried haloumi. Top with the apple, dill, and Urfa pepper, and serve immediately. 

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Genmaicha Granola Bars

With perfect timing, in the midst of the vegetable love I mentioned, I got to read a review copy of Feast by Sarah Copeland. It’s a book devoted to fresh and fabulous vegetarian dishes with just a few, minor seafood appearances. And, the influences for these dishes come from around the world with tacos, tempura, gulyas, romesco, kimchi, curry, pizzas, crepes, and more. The book was mentioned back in April in Living magazine when the Barley Risotto with Radishes, Swiss Chard, and Preserved Lemon recipe was shown. I added that page to my to-try stack of recipes at the time. Then, when I recently saw the recipe in the book, I finally had to make it. The barley starches blend with the stock as it slowly cooks, and the radishes become tender and mild as they braise. Swiss chard and bright, citrusy sorrel add fresh flavors, and the preserved lemon adds a punch. It’s a clean-tasting dish that’s filling at the same time. Some other dishes I’d like to try include the Sweet Potato and Kale Tortilla Soup, Pea Guacamole and Seared Halloumi Soft Tacos, and the Indonesian Rice Bowl. I didn’t want to risk overdoing it with vegetable propaganda, so I’m showing a sweet recipe from the Breakfast and Brunch chapter. Granola bars are one of those things that always get my attention. I love making every version I ever see, but I was especially drawn to this one because of the genmaicha tea in the ingredient list. Copeland writes that the tea “adds depth, a malty richness, and a caffeine boost.” 

Interestingly, there’s no butter or oil in this recipe and no refined sugar either. Everything is bound together by a mix of pureed dates, maple syrup, and honey. I made one substitution because as I began measuring ingredients, I discovered I didn’t have millet although I was sure I did. I used amaranth instead. So, oats, amaranth, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and I used black sesame seeds, cinnamon, and salt were combined. Toasted pecans and almonds were coarsely chopped in the food processor and added to the oat mixture. Pitted dates were then pulsed to form a paste, and maple syrup, honey, and vanilla were added and pulsed. The date puree was added to the oats with genmaicha tea leaves, and the mixture was stirred until well-combined. The granola was baked until brown at the edges and then allowed to cool. I found it easier to cut bars after chilling the pan for a few hours. 

The bars had a great mix of crunchy seeds and nuts and chewiness from the date puree. The flavor from the tea was very subtle, but I liked having a little green tea caffeine in each bar. Now that I’m looking back at the breakfast chapter, I’m marking the pages for Avocado-Cheese Arepas and Mustard Greens, Cheddar, and Farm Egg Breakfast Pizza. I won’t be running out of great recipe ideas for vegetables any time soon. 

Genmaicha Granola Bars
Recipe reprinted with publisher's permission from Feast.

Many granola bars masquerade as health food when, in fact, dozens of them are anything but, laced with sugar and chocolate chips. The granola bar of your dreams, though, can be chock-full of fast energy and lasting nutrition like this one—loaded with nuts and seeds, like almonds and sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame seeds. Millet adds incredible crunch, and naturally sweet dates and maple syrup hold it all together. Genmaicha—green tea leaves with roasted brown rice—adds depth, a malty richness, and a caffeine boost. If you can’t find genmaicha or simply don’t do caffeine, skip it. These granola bars will win fans far and wide either way. 

Makes 8 TO 10 Bars 

2 cups/170 g old-fashioned rolled oats 
1/2 cup/60 g millet 
1/3 cup/30 g raw sunflower seeds 
2 tbsp raw unseasoned pumpkin seeds (pepitas) 
1 tbsp sesame seeds 
1 tsp ground cinnamon 
1/2 tsp fine sea salt 
1/3 cup/50 g toasted pecans 
1/3 cup/50 g toasted skin-on almonds 
 Packed 1 cup/170 g pitted Medjool dates 
1/3 cup/75 ml Grade B maple syrup, plus more as needed 
1/4 cup/60 ml honey or brown rice syrup 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract 
1 tbsp genmaicha tea leaves 

Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C/gas 3. Line an 8-in/20-cm square baking pan with parchment paper so that there are overlapping flaps. 

Stir together the oats, millet, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. 

Pulse the pecans and almonds in a food processor until coarsely chopped (it’s okay if some nuts are coarsely ground and others a little powdery). Stir into the oat mixture. 

Pulse the dates in a food processor until a thick paste forms. Add the maple syrup, honey, and vanilla and pulse until a puree forms. Scrape out the puree with a rubber spatula and stir into the oat mixture. 

Add the genmaicha tea leaves and continue stirring (your clean hands work best) until the oats and nuts are sticky and coated with the puree. If the mixture doesn’t clump together easily, add up to 1 tbsp of maple syrup. 

Transfer the granola to the prepared baking pan and press into a smooth, even layer. Bake until just starting to brown around the edges, about 25 minutes. Transfer to the counter to cool slightly in the baking pan, about 15 minutes. Grab the flaps of parchment paper, lift out the whole batch, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into eight to ten bars while still warm. Let them cool completely and serve at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. 

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Sticky Toffee Pudding

I always assumed there was a complicated secret to making sticky toffee pudding. I had never attempted it and was sure it would be messy and annoying to prepare. But, this is exactly the kind of dessert I love: a tender cake with chewy dates, a buttery toffee caramel sauce, and some whipped cream for serving. It also happens to be a classic dessert for colder weather since the cake and sauce are served warm. I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a try for Christmas dinner, and now I’m wondering why I thought this was going to be so difficult. The cakes are easy to make in ramekins. The sauce was a simple mix of ingredients that simmered on top of the stove. And, whipping cream and toasting walnuts for garnish isn’t too hard to do. The recipe I used is from Lost Desserts by Gail Monaghan. Some of the desserts in the book are less lost than others. There are things I’d never encountered before like Siedel Torte, Pruneaux au Pichet, and Crepes Verlaine. Then, there are more familiar although somewhat old fashioned things like Carrot Cake, Baked Alaska, and Schrafft’s Famous Butterscotch Sundae. I’m certain that sticky toffee pudding isn’t one that’s lost because I ordered a delicious version of it at King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs last May. I guess that was also proof that it doesn’t have to be served in cold weather. At any rate, it does make an excellent dessert for Christmas or any other special wintertime meal.

To start the cakes, or puddings, you chop the dates and remove the pits as you go. They were then covered with boiling water, and vanilla, instant espresso powder, and baking soda were added. Eight ramekins were buttered and the oven was preheated. In a stand mixer, softened butter and granulated sugar were creamed, and eggs were added. Flour and baking powder were sifted together and slowly added to the egg mixture while mixing. Last, the date mixture was folded into the batter, the batter was divided among the ramekins, and the puddings baked for 20 minutes. The cooled puddings were removed from the ramekins and stored on parchment in an airtight container. They can be made in advance and refrigerated or even frozen. For the sauce, brown sugar, butter, salt, and cream were combined in a saucepan and brought to a simmer. Once the sugar was dissolved and the sauce thickened a bit, it was ready. This step could also be done in advance, and the sauce can be refrigerated and reheated just before serving. When it was time for dessert, the broiler was set to high. The puddings were placed on a baking sheet and topped with some of the sauce. The sheet pan was placed several inches under the broiler, and the puddings were warmed until the sauce was bubbly. The puddings were transferred to serving plates, topped with more sauce, and garnished with whipped cream and toasted walnuts. 

Obviously, I was delighted with this dessert and could have eaten the sauce by itself with a spoon, but still, there seemed to be not quite enough sauce since I ended up making a second batch to serve with the leftover puddings the next day. This is no place to skimp on buttery, caramel sauce. And, I’m delighted to find out how wrong I was about making them. They’re easy enough to whip up again whenever I want. 

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Oat Bran-Applesauce Mini Muffins

The Lenten season is well underway, and that means different things for me today than it did when I was a kid. Growing up, my family and I always observed Lent and the traditional rules of not eating meat on Fridays and giving something up for the 40-day period. Some people gave up candy or ice cream or whatever, but in my family, we always gave up eating between meals. 40 days of no snacks also pretty much meant 40 days of no candy since it wasn’t easy to pass off a pile of jolly ranchers as dessert. These days, things have changed. I don’t eat much meat in the first place, so telling myself I’m not going to eat meat but will eat fish on a Friday doesn’t mean much. Also, since the real idea is to simplify and be a little less decadent, sitting down to a meal of lobster just because it’s Friday is missing the point. As for not eating between meals, I let that go years ago when I couldn’t determine what might be a meal and what might be a snack depending on what I was doing each day. So, I just give up popcorn which kills me every year because I have a serious popcorn problem. And, rather than focusing solely on giving something up, I like to take on something good as well. This year, I’m cooking even more vegetables than usual and spending even more time with my healthy eating types of cookbooks. I recently picked up a copy of Power Foods which showcases 38 of the big players among nutrition-packed fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains with recipes for every meal of the day as well as snacks. So far, I’ve only cooked from the breakfast chapter, but I see many healthy dishes for Lent and the rest of the year coming from these pages.

The little, oat bran-applesauce muffins looked like a perfect way to have a healthy, grab-and-go breakfast on hand. They’re mini muffins, so you can have one for a tiny breakfast if you’re not that hungry or grab a few on a morning when you need more energy. With no refined sugar, they’re sweetened only with applesauce, dates, and some honey. They were made by reducing applesauce with chopped, pitted dates to cook off some liquid while plumping the dates. Once cool, that mixture was combined with wheat bran, buttermilk, one egg, two tablespoons of honey, some grated fresh ginger, and vanilla. The dry ingredients were whisked together, and those were flour, ground flaxseed, baking soda, salt, ground allspice, and rolled oats. The dry ingredients were stirred into the applesauce mixture, the mini muffin cups were filled, and the muffins baked for about 20 minutes.

The ginger and allspice smelled lovely as the muffins baked, and I thought those flavors were even better after the muffins had sat for a day. Yes, they do contain wheat bran and flaxseed and no actual sugar, but the dates and applesauce give them sweetness and keep the texture very tender. I have several other pages in the book marked, and I predict it will still be getting a lot of use beyond these 40 days.

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Banana-Date Tea Cake

I had leftover dates after making tamarind-date chutney, and I started thinking about different ways to use them in baking. Date scones came to mind, and I know I have a recipe for walnut date bars somewhere, but neither of those options were quite right. I was indecisive until I saw the banana-date tea cake recipe in Tartine. This was perfect. It’s a simple quick bread with lots of banana flavor, crunchy walnuts, and sweet, chewy dates. The batter is mixed, poured into a loaf pan, topped with long slices of banana, and that’s it. When I’m making use of a leftover, I feel like what it’s going into needs to be a simple preparation, and I had all the other ingredients for this on hand.

Bananas were mashed and eggs and vanilla were added to them. Flour was sifted with cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Butter was creamed with sugar, the banana mixture was added, and then the flour mixture was folded into the batter. Toasted and chopped walnuts were added with pitted and chopped dates. I use kitchen shears to cut dates in half, pick out the seeds, and then cut them into chunks. It seems easier to me to cut with shears since the dates are so sticky. The finished batter was placed in a greased loaf pan, and then it was to be topped with full-length slices of banana. My banana broke in several places as I sliced it, so my slices were quartered rather than full-length. It was still pretty enough though, or so I thought. The banana slices were sprinkled with sugar, and the tea cake baked for a little over an hour until an inserted cake tester came out clean.

This was a somewhat dense but very moist and flavorful tea cake. It sliced easily, and each piece was full of walnuts and dates. I stored the cake for an entire week in the refrigerator, slicing pieces for breakfast each morning, and it was as delicious on the last day as it was on the first. In fact, Kurt dropped a few hints about how there should always be a breakfast item like this in the refrigerator, and I think he’s right about that.

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Tamarind Chicken

I somehow managed to take what was supposed to have been a quick and simple stir fry and turn it into a two-day preparation. This meal is from the book Modern Spice, and the focus of this book is on updated, doable dishes that bring forth the great flavors of Indian cuisine without extreme effort. And, I completely ruined that concept when I went and made my own chutney. After calling around town in an attempt to locate prepared tamarind-date chutney, I learned it was available at one market. When I arrived at that market, there were several other chutneys from various brands and some wonderful, natural, preservative-free options. However, there was only one brand of tamarind-date chutney, and it was not so free of preservatives. A quick online search led me to a simple recipe for making my own, and so instead of purchasing a jar, I bought jaggery, tamarind paste, and dates. I exaggerated a bit when I said I stretched this into a two-day process because making the chutney takes about 15 minutes total, and the stir fry comes together in not much longer. I just made the chutney in advance so the meal itself would be an especially quick one. I’m happy to have my homemade chutney and plenty of it because it’s also used in recipes for peanut tikkis, tamarind-glazed honey shrimp, catfish curry, and the tamarita which is a tamarind-flavored margarita.

You can use brown sugar instead of jaggery, but since I was going to the trouble of making a homemade chutney, I wanted it to have the flavor of jaggery. That flavor is like molasses with a hint of smokiness. I bought enough that I can use some for cookies, and I can’t wait to taste them. Chunks of jaggery are very firm, and the best way to make them usable is to whack them with a hammer. I put a big chunk in a plastic bag, covered that with a towel so the plastic wouldn’t rip, and gave it a few wollops. It crumbled into a powdery pile after just a couple of hits. The jaggery was combined with pitted dates and water in a saucepan, and that was simmered for about eight minutes. Tamarind paste was added, it was blended until smooth, and then it went back into the saucepan with hot chile powder, ground ginger, garam masala, and salt. It simmered again until thick, and then I refrigerated it until the next day. Making the stir fry was as simple as can be. Chicken was cut into cubes, serrano chiles were halved, garlic was sliced, and shallots were chopped. The shallots, chiles, and garlic cooked for a bit in vegetable oil, and then the chicken was added. Once the chicken was cooked through, turmeric, red chile flakes, and salt were added, followed by the tamarind-date chutney. All the while, basmati rice was cooking.

I sliced a piece of serrano to use as garnish, but I should mention that those slices were not needed for any added spice. The halved serranos that cooked in the oil along with the red chile flakes gave the dish a very good level of heat which I enjoyed. The chutney was a nice, sweet, sour counterpoint to that heat giving the dish exciting, varied flavor. This is a meal that will be repeated often, and next time I’ll think to mix up some tamaritas while the rice starts cooking.

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