Vanilla Ice Cream 

with Haroset 

(Date Syrup & Ground Almonds)

This was the last of some homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, topped with leftover Haroset. Different kinds of Haroset are part of the Passover Seder, to symbolize and commemorate the mortar used by the Biblical slaves in ancient Egypt.

There are many different kinds of Haroset made, depending on the family and community. Unfortunately, I don't have a specific family recipe. So, I decided to find a simple recipe that would use ingredients I already have at home.

I found several versions online of Iraqi Haroset, using Date Syrup (Dibs al-Tamar/Silan) and ground nuts. Most of these versions used walnut or pecans, but some contained pistachios, and a couple used ground almonds. I was very pleased with this version, and just like plain Date Syrup, leftovers go well with ice cream.

Almond Halwa 

(Indian Milk Fudge)

I made this with ground almonds, sooji/cream of wheat, milk, sugar, and cardamom. The recipe is from Suneeta Vaswani's Easy Indian Cooking. Halwa is an Indian sweet that's thicker than a pudding. I've seen it described as "fudge." This one stays nicely in the fridge for several days. 

Baked Qatayif 

(Pancakes with Ground Almonds)

Now for something sweet! Here are Baked Qatayif (Pancakes with Ground Almonds). I wanted to make real Qatayif, Arabic pancakes filled with nuts, then baked or fried, and sweetened with a sugar syrup. Sounds yum! But ... it would be too rich for me, so I'd never made it before. Another thing is, while I enjoy pancakes, I find it difficult to stand at the stove long enough to make a batch, sometimes. What a bummer! Now, how could I make it more suitable for me?  Recently, I found an answer ...

I made Baked Pancakes, in a muffin pan! This was according to the Kitchen @ Hoskins method in the recipe for Baked Pumpkin Pancakes. I used the Basic Pancake batter from Mom's Big Book of Baking, by Lauren Chattman, except: I used 2 Tbsp almond filling instead of sugar, added 1 Tbsp rosewater and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to the liquid, and used a little less milk.

The filling I used was from Lebanese Cuisine, by Madelain Farah, for her Qtayif recipe. The only difference was, I used 1 cup ground almonds instead of walnuts, and added a little extra rosewater. I stored leftover filling in the fridge, to use elsewhere.

I added some batter to each of the muffin liners in the muffin pan, sprinkled in some almond filling, and then covered it with more batter. Towards the end, there wasn't quite enough batter to cover the almonds, so they became more of a streusel topping. I baked it all at 375 F, for about 26 minutes. When I would eat one of these goodies, I'd reheat it gently, and then drizzle some sugar syrup on it. (Note: errant almond topping sticks to the pan, so it helps to at least wipe it off, after baking, while the pan is still somewhat warm.) I hope someday to try the real thing, but until then, I'm glad I have a substitute!

To illustrate what the real deal looks like, I've taken the liberty of adding links below, to YouTube videos of SmileyGirl230 making Atayif (just the pancakes), as well as Atayif bil Jibneh (pancakes filled with cheese, and baked). While I have never made her Atayif before, I have made other of her recipes, and they were outstanding! I have also added a link to Najat's Kitchen on YouTube's video of Atayef (with English subtitles), as she uses a walnut filling. While I have not made this particular recipe, I thought it would help to illustrate the traditional version. 

Kitchen @ Hoskins Website, Pumpkin Streusel Pancake Cups  

SmileyGirl230 Facebook

SmileyGirl230 YouTube, Atayef - The easiest pancakes you will ever make 

SmileyGirl230 YouTube, Atayef bil Jibneh - Lebanese pancakes with cheese 

Najat's Kitchen YouTube, How to make Atayef (Arabic Pancakes) (with subtitles)

Almond Halwa, Biscuits, 

& Crunchy Indian Snack Mix

Teatime! featuring Almond Halwa, Biscuits, and a store-bought Indian snack mix. The Halwa contains coconut oil (instead of butter), semolina flour (instead of fine sooji), ground almonds, sugar, cardamom, and whole milk. Halwa recipe from Suneeta Vaswani in Easy Indian Cooking. The Biscuits are from Mom's Big Book of Baking, by Lauren Chattman. Lastly, the snack mix contains a spiced mix of crispy fried lentils and chickpea noodles. A nice way to recharge in the late afternoon.

Chocolate Chip Scones

This recipe is from James Villas' Biscuit Bliss. I decided to try almond milk instead of regular milk this time, as well as my usual use of oil instead of butter. Very nice! 

Ghuraybat Lawz (Almond & Tahini Cookies)

These cookies are from a recipe in Habeeb Salloum's Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa. These are a little different than the usual ghurayba, which are like shortbread. These contain tahini, ground almonds, eggs, and baking powder, in addition to flour and sugar. They also contain coconut oil, as a substitute for butter, and I added in some salt for flavor. As they are never very sweet, I added extra sugar this time, in the form of confectioner's sugar, which was a big help. I really enjoyed the cookies, and it was also fun to make them pretty, this way! 

I took the opportunity to test out one of my new cookie stamps, as I thought these were the right kind of cookie for the test. To prevent the cookie dough from sticking, I dipped the stamp in confectioner's sugar and coated it well, before stamping each cookie on a plate. This worked very well, but stamping directly on the parchment-lined baking sheet, caused the dough to stick to the stamp. I hope that helps with using this kind of cookie stamp!

Almond Buttermilk Scones

#tbt : The recipe is from Biscuit Bliss by James Villas. The original recipe called for walnuts, which for some reason I don't like, so I substituted ground almonds. (For the buttermilk, I used a mixture of half-yogurt/half-water.) Delicious!