I am still getting back in “the swing” from the holidays, although last week was much smoother on all fronts and a full work week got done leaving me the weekend to catch up on chores and even putter in the kitchen a bit.

I saw the recipe for these bars and liking absolutely everything in them and the fact that there is no refined sugar and no flour of any kind…they were first up on my fun list. Medjool dates provide the sweet as well as the stickiness for binding the rest of the ingredients: nuts, cocoa, coconut and a little salt. Fresh from California, Medjool dates are currently in my favorite natural food store and they are so plump and fresh that I skipped the soaking in water step in the recipe.

These are Mom’s Kitchen Handbook Chocolate Coconut Bars.

The bars are chewy and delicious. I used walnuts and almonds per the recipe. BUT, I was tempted to use the hazelnuts that I had just skinned and roasted in place of the walnuts and will try that next time.

What I did use some of the hazelnuts for was a try at hazelnut cream using the same process as for cashew cream. The cashew cream is made with raw cashews and has no taste of cashews. Making the hazelnut cream with roasted hazelnuts…good golly!! – the cream tastes like liquid, creamy hazelnuts.

I didn’t use the hazelnuts in the bars this time, but I did make a hazelnut cream egg nog this morning to go with a bar or two. YUM!

And not only is today, Monday, yet another sunny day … 5 or 6 in a row in mid-January in Montana – yowza!! …

A bit of California sunshine-in-a-box arrived on Saturday: Meyer Lemons from Lemon Ladies Orchard.

Happy Monday!

I am positive that this is not authentic Lavash, aka Turkish/Armenian flatbread, BUT I looked at a lot of lavash recipes and have been making this lavash style cracker bread for a snack/appetizer through the holidays and am very happy with the result.

I have been using Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day’s Olive Oil dough which is their master dough with a bit of olive oil and sugar…but I sub honey for the sugar and use 1/2 white whole wheat and 1/2 white flour (Wheat Montana flours). The sugar or honey makes a crispy-chewy thin flatbread. For a dinner plate sized amount I use hunk of dough about the size of a large lemon or small orange. For a salad plate sized amount a large walnut sized bit of dough.

Roll the dough as thin as possible on a floured Silpat. Traditional lavash has a light cornstarch wash with sesame or poppy seeds – the wash holds the seeds on the dough and the result is a thin crispy-chewy cracker-flatbread that stands up to hummus or other dips or a slice of cheese (smoked goat cheese has become my new fav!)

I have also been using just a small amount (VERY small drizzle or you will have fried crackers) of olive oil spread over the dough, then various other toppings…but using a very light hand for the topping: a bit of blue cheese and some rosemary, capers and goat cheese, some smoked salmon and dill and goat cheese and today: roma tomato, goat cheese and rosemary.

I like to cut the dough into large cracker pieces with a pastry cutter – before baking. A pastry cutter cuts the dough but not the Silpat as opposed to a pizza wheel which will probably damage the Silpat. And the pastry cutter leaves a pretty edge :) !!

Pop into a 450 oven for 5-7 minutes and out comes a wonderful, delicious and not too heavy snack, appetizer or a nice cracker bread to go with soup or salad.

I continue to be a huge fan of the high moisture, no knead doughs. I’ve read that people do not like making room for storing 4-6 pounds of dough in their refrigerator. I have yet to make a full batch of the dough and find that 1/2 and even 1/4 of a batch works fine for just me. I store a 1/2 batch in a small casserole dish vs 4-6 pounds in a large tub container. And guess what??? The doughs all freeze well. Going from frozen to in the oven means a bit more planning ahead, but not much if you freeze in small hunks vs large. If I want to make a large loaf of bread, I grab several of packages – they come to room temperature in 20-30 minutes. As soon as they are soft, I combine and shape them for whatever and if a rise is required, it is the normal rise time so the only extra time involved is the first 20-30 minute thaw. Easy-peasy and for something like the lavash or pizza crust which doesn’t require a rise, it is just the thaw time.

High moisture, no knead dough…lavash style cracker bread.

These may not be the prettiest holiday cookie, but I love them!

Last week, I saw a recipe for tahini cookies. Tahini is sesame seed “butter” and is an ingredient in hummus which I make often. Sesame seeds are chock full of good stuff and I have also been making a tahini salad dressing. The cookie recipe was very intriguing. I made it, they were good and the texture reminded me somewhat of Russian Tea Cakes.

I have no idea if Russian Tea Cakes are actually “Russian”, but that is what they are called in the Betty Crocker cookbook from WAAAAYYYY back. My mother made Russian Tea Cakes as part of the Christmas Cookie repertoire and although they were not my favorite as a kid, I did like them and haven’t had them since leaving the nest some 39 years ago. Yikes!

I looked at the Russian Tea Cake recipe side by side with the Tahini Cookie recipe and made my own Tahini Tea Cake recipe which I think is wonderful and since it is heavily adapted from two different recipes, I am violating no one’s copyright by disclosing it here!

Without further ado….Tahini Tea Cakes: (this is a smallish batch and is easily doubled)

1 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp (heaping) cinnamon
1/4 tsp (scant) nutmeg
1/4 cup finely crushed nuts (I used pecans…walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts…I think they would all be good)
1/4 cups coconut oil
1/4 cups tahini
2 T butter unsalted w/ 1/4 tsp sea salt or use salted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar divided 1/4 and 1/4 cups

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet (I used a half baking sheet) with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and nuts – stir well or sift together and set aside. The nuts can be lightly roasted which brings out their flavor a bit more.

Combine coconut oil, melted butter, tahini and 1/4 cups powdered sugar in a separate bowl and beat until creamy.

Add dry ingredients gradually, mixing well – use your hands if you want :)!

Take a teaspoonful of dough at a time and make a ball. Set on cookie sheet leaving about an inch between.

Bake 12-15 minutes until slightly brown/gold. Let sit on baking sheet 5 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and cool on a rack.

Store in an airtight container…I used a Mason Jar.

I am going to try another version with almond flour instead of wheat flour which makes them gluten-free…providing it works!