Levain Style Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

In all the times that I've traveled to New York City I never managed to make it to Levain Bakery.  If you ask my why I couldn't tell you, I guess it just never crossed my mind.  There was always someplace else that took priority.  But recently I'd been seeing their famous chocolate chip walnut cookies featured countless times on social media.  The clincher was when Stella Parks posted on her Instagram Stories that she was working on a Levain style cookie recipe for Serious Eats.  That was it, I had to try these cookies for myself.  Immediately I emailed Stella asking if she might perhaps share her recipe with me and she was kind enough to send a preview.  [Look for the actual recipe to be posted soon on SeriousEats.com]

The one thing I noticed immediately about her recipe was the high ratio of chocolate chips and walnuts compared to other chocolate chip cookies.   These ones are not for the faint of heart...they are stuffed to the max!   Another thing is that they are H-U-G-E, each one weighing about six ounces.  The recipe yields eight gigantic cookies, each one could easily be split with two or three people if you're so inclined to share.

Now I must admit that chocolate chips are not my favorite kind of cookie but these were pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.  I broke in to one while it was still warm and the bittersweet chocolate was just slightly melted and oozing with the crunchy walnuts serving as a really lovely complement.  On my next trip to NYC I'll be sure to stop by the bakery that started it all!

Cinnamon Walnut Babka

My introduction to Babka began with a Seinfeld episode.  The one where Jerry and Elaine are waiting to buy a chocolate babka for a dinner party but end up with a cinnamon one.  According to Elaine the cinnamon variety was the "lesser babka", but I beg to differ.

I liken babka to a Jewish version of brioche.  The yeasted dough is laden with lots and lots of butter for extra richness and filled with brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon.   Since I didn't have a recipe I turned to my friends at Cook's Illustrated for help.  Caution: I don't recommend attempting this babka without a stand mixer because of the amount of mixing and butter required in the dough. 

The rested and chilled dough rolled out beautifully and was super easy to shape.  After a rise at room temperature it baked in the oven for about an hour.  The smell of caramelized sugar, cinnamon and walnuts was hypnotic.  I'll be bringing these loaves to my parents to enjoy for Christmas.  I know they'll love it.

Morning Glory Muffins

Why is it that nowadays some places have the chutzpah to refer to massive un-frosted cupcakes as "muffins"?  Have you stopped by the bakery department of your local Costco lately?  You know which ones I'm talking about.

In search of something more to the core of what a muffin should be I was really happy to find this recipe from Cook's Country.  I'd never heard of Morning Glory Muffins before but with ingredients that included carrots, coconut, walnuts, apples and pineapples it sounded delicious and healthy to boot.  Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for anything with pineapple and coconut!

I made these for Mother's Day breakfast recently and they got the thumbs-up.  How could they not?  They met all of Mom's requirements: not too sweet, moist and super flavorful. 

TWD Rugelach

This week's TWD recipe is rugelach, a Jewish pastry traditionally formed in a crescent shape by rolling a triangle of cream cheese dough around a filling.  Inside you'd typically find cinnamon, nuts, chocolate or fruit.   

I strayed from the published recipe on two fronts: filling and shape.  Personally I'm not really a fan of cinnamon mixed with fruit, the exception being apples, so I skipped the filling recipe and instead used prepared jams: raspberry and mini chocolate chips or apricot and toasted walnuts.  Secondly I shaped my pastry the traditional way, as crescents, rather than rolling and slicing them.  Call me a baking rebel if you must.

I can't honestly say that I fell in love with the rugelach.  My reception to them was lukewarm at best but I did love how flaky the pastry was.  If you'd like to try the recipe for yourself you can find it in the Baking With Julia cookbook or head over to The Urban Hiker or My Baking Heart blogs.

2011 Holiday Treats

A quick post to show the fruits of my labor this holiday season.  Just a pic of some of the treats I made, and gifted, to friends and family.  Some are old favorites and some are making their debut to the party: 

Dark Chocolate Truffles 

Raspberry Marshmallows

Hat and Mitten Sugar Cookies

Spiced Candied Nuts

No-Bake Rocky Road Bars

Macarons (the ones above are raspberry and pistachio)
Walnut Snowballs

Shortbread